Isle of Wrath: An Epic Slow-Burn Romantasy

Cloudstan

Isle of Wrath

"⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Stars 🌶️ 1/5 Spice I just finished Isle of Wrath by Claire Contreras and holy smokes, what an incredible read. I’ll be honest, I was a little intimidated going into this one because Romantasy is still a genre that sits slightly outside my comfort zone. But Claire makes the entire experience so accessible. The quick guide at the front was such a lifesaver, and I found myself flipping back to it a few times to make sure I fully understood the government structure, the gods, and the characters. I really appreciated that extra touch. What surprised me most was how beautifully the intrigue and mystery unfold throughout the story. Every chapter reveals just enough to keep you hooked while still holding back the bigger truths, and I was constantly on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. It’s the kind of tension that sneaks up on you and refuses to let go. Everything about this book worked for me, the world-building, the supporting cast, and especially our FMC and MMC. Truly, chef’s kiss. The connection between Ada and Malachi is electric. Their soul bond goes far beyond the goddess’s intentions and grows into something richer and deeper than either of them could have imagined. Ada is smart, strong, and watching her confidence grow throughout the story was such a joy. And Malachi… I mean, where do I even start. The way he protects her, craves her, and matches her so perfectly, they were absolutely made for each other. If you’re looking for a new Romantasy read, run to Amazon and grab this one. Just be warned, it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but trust me, Claire has buckled us in for one wild ride. ["

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April 9, 2026 Verified Purchase

Liz Thompson

Slow burn and totally captivating!

"I was very excited to listen to the audiobook of Isle of Wrath by Claire Contreras, narrated by Juniper Reyes and Oscar Reyes, this is a dystopian fantasy slow burn romance about a prophecy, curse and two people determined to discover the truth. Ada has lived her life, at least the part she can remember, in Lunaris with so many questions and defying her truths. Then her brother needs her and she makes a dangerous bargain with a goddess trickster. Now she is indebted to the goddess until she fulfills the bargain. The bargain will cost her more than she will ever realize. It also sends her Malachi Bain, a warrior to collect the debt and work together. Now they are fighting against time to break a curse, find out the truth and survive. This book spends time giving us the worldbuilding and characters, including their friends. I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook, diving into this world and that ending. That ending left me impatiently waiting for the next book. Happy listening! ["

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April 24, 2026 Verified Purchase

Kyla

Good plot, but lacks worldbuilding

"The first half of this book was a struggle for me to get through and I thought several times about DNF’ing. I am glad I stuck it through though, because even though it was hard to get into, I enjoyed the ending. The story follows Ada and Malachi, two strangers bound together to break a 300-year-old curse. It’s definitely an enemies to lovers story with slow burn and I enjoyed both main characters. The magic system isn’t super unique though, and I felt the storyline was fairly predictable. While it’s a great plot, my biggest issue was just the extreme info dump. There’s no slow world building and instead, you’re just thrown into this world with everything being dropped into the story at a fast pace. It was a bit of an overload. The story does end on a cliffhanger but I don’t think I’ll be continuing the series. ["

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May 4, 2026 Verified Purchase

Robin B

Isle of Wrath

"I'll be the first to say, this is not my normal read nor is it Claire Contreras normal book. I don't usually read fantasy. That being said, it had everything I have come to expect from one of her books. I enjoyed the fantasy world and the story line. ["

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April 13, 2026 Verified Purchase

Makenna McNaughton

A bit disappointing

"When I first read the blurb of Isle of Wrath by Claire Contreras I knew it would be a book that I would love. It was right up my alley of my go-to reads. Unfortunately, once I actually read it it just....fell flat for me. I wasnt able to connect with any of the characters like I wanted. The concept of the story was promising and had a lot of potential. The execution just didnt live up to that potential in my opinion. It felt like a fast paced fantasy that also wanted to be a romance, but the 'romance' felt forced and like it wasnt given enough room to flourish. Ada and Malachi didnt have any angst or yearning moments that you would typically want or see in a romantasy book. It felt like they barely even had a handful of interactions. I dont understand how one of the tropes can be 'slow burn' when she literally falls for him in the first 25 pages. That's literally the opposite of a slow burn romance. It just didnt make sense to me. A missed opportunity for me was when they mentioned their bond and how they could feel/share eachothers emotions. They just left it at that. That was all that we got. Tell us more about the bond! It made me want to shake the book and force it to give me more information, literally anything else! I will say that I appreciate the pronunciation guide at the beginning of the book so we would at least know how to pronounce each of the many many characters names. A suggestion that I. would make though would be to expand the Glossary portion because there is so much dense political and religious world building that its hard to keep straight what everything is. I was constantly flipping back and forth every few pages and often felt confused. It felt like that is where the world building stopped though. You had a lot of politics and religion spewed at you and you didnt get any actual world building other than being told briefly about the shroud/veil closing of Lunaris. I really wish there were more descriptive world building. It was just one more way that hindered me from connecting with the story and its characters. After finishing the book and reaching the cliffhanger, I kind of wish I had just DNFd the book. Nothing about this book made me want to rush to read book 2. It felt rushed and I wasnt able to connect and fully enjoy it like i thought i would. I wished that I had read something else, and that made me sad because I was so excited to read this book. If you're new to romantasy or fantasy in general, then this fast paced fantasy book than this might be for you. Thank you Claire Contreras and Valentine PR for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. ["

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May 18, 2026