Tessa of Delos is a sought-after hetaera. She is beautiful. She is cunning. She is a marble Athena. After years of trying to block out her own pain and suppress her past, she has had enough. She seeks to release herself from her captivity by taking her own life. However, when her master dies in a freak accident, she finds herself in a position where she has never been before: with hope. She, along with Simeon, a Jewish slave in the same household, and Nikos, a mysterious dock worker who arrives on their doorstep one day, embark on a dangerous game where she tries to keep the death a secret long enough to escape to freedom.
Unfortunately, she is not the only one with something to hide-- Spiro, a power-hungry politician, plans something sinister that only Tessa, Nikos, and Simeon know of. Before long, Tessa is thrown into a masquerade where she must struggle to uncover the plot and keep her own secret simultaneously. She looks to the god Helios for help, not realizing that God has the freedom and hope that she has always desired. The question is, will she see past her own intentions to do what He wants for her?
I have slightly mixed feelings on the book. I began reading it and immediately was thrown into the plot, which was exciting and fast-paced from the start. However, having read Tracy L. Higley’s other book, Garden of Madness, only a short time ago, I saw very similar parallels between the two stories, which made Isle of Shadows easy to predict. I was very impressed with the former book, and looked to the latter to be just as good. I wasn’t entirely mistaken, for I enjoyed this book very much. However, I feel like the plot was just a little bit too unrealistic and predictable for what I was hoping for. I feel that the ending was a bit rushed, and that certain events could have been expounded upon further. One other thing that I couldn’t help but think about the whole time I was reading was that the entire story only spanned a time of about seven days, but the characters developed at a pace that would have taken months in real life. I do realize that this minor detail was absolutely necessary because of the time constraints that Higley incorporated into the book, and it didn’t bother me too much since it felt like longer when I was actually reading the story.
On the positive side, the book had a very entertaining plot line that was easy to follow and not confusing in the slightest. I was actually reminded quite a bit of Francine Rivers when I first started reading the book, as it seemed similar to something she would write. I found myself comparing Tessa to Rivers’ characters as I read, which made me smile inside because I am a huge fan of the Mark of the Lion series. I would recommend Isle of Shadows to those who like historical fiction, especially ancient historical fiction, and those who want a quick, easy read. (I found that I couldn’t put the book down.) I am definitely looking forward to reading more of Higley’s books, especially those in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World series, and I have high hopes for what they hold.
Thank you to Booksneeze.com who provided me with a free copy of the book in exchange for my review.
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