The Island

Half of this novel I wished Shaw and Lee wouldn't end up together. Despite the obvious attraction, I still was uncertain about Shaw. Then the last 10 chapters or so happened and I wondered how I did not pick up what was really going on earlier.

The plot is not the lightest, I mean there is torture and rape, but the writing is masterful and most of it happens off page, there's not much detail.

The first three quarters or so of the book happens on the island, but the last quarter is what really made me like this novel and boost my rating. Lisa Henry slipped in all kinds of hints and I almost want to read it all again, now that I have some clarity, and I probably would if there wouldn't be a big list of books awaiting for me. After everything that happened on the island, I liked to read about how everything affected the main characters and how they dealt with it. I found it to be realistic and that's a pretty big plus from me.

In the end I didn't get to really like Shaw, but I understand why he acted the way he did. I wish him and Lee met under different circumstances, and I bet they would have liked that too. I'm conflicted about Shaw, is he really bad or not? He has some morals, that's for sure, but is it enough? I don't want to condemn him, but I can't completely blame him either. Just by making me so conflicted this novel fully deserves all the five stars.

I liked the themes throughout the novel and I even liked the repetitions, they really set the tone of the story and it all came together in a intriguing, excellent novel.