Audiobook Review: The Isles of the Gods #2

The Heart of the World by Amie Kaufman

Read by: Nikki Patel, Homer Todiwala, Donnabella Mortel, Vidish Athavale and Steve West

Publication Date: September 17, 2024

Summary from Goodreads:

When Selly and Leander began their treacherous voyage to the Isles of the Gods, the captain’s daughter and the playboy prince were strangers. But amid talk of war and a deadly attack on their ship, the unthinkable happened.

They fell in love.

Leander’s ritual at the island temple was meant to prevent a war between the gods. Instead, it nearly cost him his life, and drew the goddess Barrica back from exile. Now, as her Messenger, Leander is imbued with her deadly magic, and only Selly’s presence can stop it from consuming him.

But Barrica wasn’t the only immortal roused from sleep. The God of Risk, Macean, was awakened by an enemy all thought dead, and across the sea he’s calling for war.

The fight to save their world will take Selly and Leander from the gilded ballroom of the royal palace to the hallowed halls of an ancient library. Battle lines will be drawn, and bonds will break.

With the wrath of gods and the machinations of power-hungry rulers straining their loyalties, can their love withstand the trials that await them?

Confession:

I am so glad that I decided to wait until the audiobook was available for this one. Just like book one, The Isles of the Gods, the full cast did an excellent job with this book. I really enjoyed listening to all of them bring their specific characters to life. I would choose a book that any of them narrate in the future.

The book itself was also excellent. It was a solid exploration of love, sacrifice and the role destiny plays in ordinary lives and for the most part it kept me on the edge of my seat. It did get a little bogged down in the politics of war for a while in the middle of the book, but otherwise it was solidly paced throughout. I loved the writing, it is just beautiful and she does an excellent job of bringing the nuances and complexity of the characters lives into the story without it overwhelming the story.

As I had hoped Jude played a much bigger role in this story. I just love him and his character really shined in this book. I looked forward to his chapters as they brought some of the realities of what an impending war means to the average citizen. I also loved how he worked through many of his issues.

All of the other characters were great as well. Selly and Leander were wonderful together, even when they were questioning their love for each other. I loved how Selly supported Leander even when it was obvious that his God was influencing his thoughts and emotions. Keegen was also a delight in this one, and I loved meeting his ex fiance, Kiki. She was a delightful addition to the group. I loved her banter with all of the characters. Laskis was also amazing and perhaps showed the most growth in her character. She was horrible as the messenger for her God, but soon saw that the reality of her life was not what she really wanted.

The story was also pretty fast paced, except for a bit of slow time in the middle. I loved the descriptions of everything from the palace to the desolation of the land surrounding the ancient library. The Gods were portrayed very well and behaved exactly how I would think Gods would act. How the whole mess was solved was brilliant, and not exactly what I thought was going to happen.

Overall this was a solid sequel and conclusion to this story. It had everything that I was hoping it would from the fast paced action, to a wonderful little love story, to everyone finding their happy ending. If you haven’t started this duology yet, now is the time to do so.