I love a good bit of botanical horror, and this book does it perfectly. The monsters were genuinely terrifying, and the poetic prose was just beautiful. The second half moves much faster than the first, and I struggled to put it down. Andrew and Thomas were deeply flawed characters, and I liked having Andrew as a somewhat unreliable narrator - it made the final twist that much more surprising. The ending was a little abrupt for me, and the prose sometimes verged on melodramatic for my taste, but the overall execution was excellent. A perfect read for any fan of dark and twisted fairytales. The addition of the illustrations and stories at the end was also a nice touch.

Part fairytale and part political commentary, The Isle in the Silver Sea was an intricate and lush tale. The whole concept of Incarnates and living fairytales was so intriguing, and the added layer of "Elsewhere" tales and their erasure was a great addition, though I do wish they had had more of a role in the storyline. My only other struggle was the modern language and dialogue, which sometimes felt out of place with the poetic prose. Both Veena and Simran were captivating characters, and Suri did a great job keeping their voices distinct. The way their tale was written and enacted was so beautiful, though I do think the romance progressed a little quickly (even if they were fated for each other). The ever-expanding cast of side characters was really charming as well. I think people still hung up on The Everlasting (like me) will love this story.