strictly literary: island of exiles by erica cameron

island of exiles brings to life a world of magic and lies, one where gender fluidity is the norm and asexuality and bisexuality are nothing remarkable. the glossary and the explanations of magic and rank are all nested at the end of the book, which if i had read the physical copy of i would have happened upon it much sooner than i did in the ebook, when i only found it because i had reached the end of the story.

there is a lot of world-building here. it's complex and detailed and maybe a little overwhelming. i'm still kind of confused by everything with tsua and osshi but i'm guessing book 2 will continue to provide answers.

at its heart, this is khya's story. realizing that what she loves most in the world is in terrible danger she pulls together a quest that will betray everything she believes about her society. working with her brother's lover, sanii, and her longtime nemesis, tessen, they come up with a daring plan to rescue her brother, yorri.

but when things go sideways, they soon learn that there is so much more to uncover about the world around them. and the battle they will need to prepare for will be more challenging and difficult than any battle they've ever faced before.

the only thing they have to rely on is each other, on each other's abilities and the bonds that tie them together. watching the bond between khya and tessen grow in strength throughout the novel is so satisfying. it's pretty clear from early on that he's totally into her, but she sees him as her enemy. i think she reacts so strongly because she knows that he is important. he's the only person to both challenge and support her unconditionally. how he does both things at the same time is impressive. he has the strength to let her be herself, and at the same time, he bolsters her in a way that allows her to shine and yet doesn't deny his strength either. their relationship is so unique and layered and i can't wait for more. luckily my review of sea of strangers is coming up shortly.

**island of exiles published on february 14, 2017. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (entangled: teen) in exchange for my honest review.