Book Review: Isle of Legends: Surrender to the Tide by Carla Eveleigh

Title: Isle of Legends: Surrender to the Tide

Author: Carla Eveleigh

Genre: Fantasy

First Publication: 2019

Language: English

Protagonist: Felice and Laverna

Major Characters: Pascal, Catalina, Felice, Alessando, Laverna

Theme: Throughout the book the theme of hope is evident. Hope that the decisions we make will be the right one. Hope that there is an island of paradise in all our lives. And even though this island might be filled with unknown elements and even heartache, there is always the hope that we will stand at the end of each chapter in our lives and know that we made the right decision for that time.

Book Summary : Isle of Legends

In a village on the Mediterranean coast, all is not what it seems. An air of secrecy hangs in the air. A drifter, Pascal, travels through the town and a one-night stay, at the worn-down house of Catalina and her grandmother, turns into a more permanent situation. Catalina and Pascal do not see eye to eye from the start, but when Pascal learns, that just like him, Catalina has a tragic past, he realizes they might have more in common than he thought. Catalina’s grandmother also appears to know more about the village and its legends, than she might reveal. This generation is the start to the story of the unknown and a family bound by magic.

About 18 years later a young girl, Felice loses her heart to a local fisherman and a love affair starts very soon. Tragedy once more engulfs this family and Felice is left heart broken, with her unborn son growing inside her belly. As a young boy he becomes gravely ill and out of desperation Felice consults unusual help. For her son’s sake, she makes the ultimate sacrifice. Her life for his.

She is thrown into an unknown world of mythical creatures and magical beings. Her turmoil is worsened when she starts to have feelings for her captor and can’t decide if she should stay or return to her family. A shattering secret makes the decision for her, but not before Felice makes the terrible mistake of trusting the enemy of all that is good in the world and beyond. Once again, she is left with a choice to be made. Will she listen to her heart or sacrifice her happiness?

Character List: Isle of Legends

PASCAL: Frenchman, traveller with a dark past

CATALINA: Lives with grandmother, tragic past,

FELICE: Daughter of Pascal and Catalina. Widow and mother. Strong characteristics but has a weakness when it comes to Alessandro.

ALESSANDRO: King of Gorgonia and the mer-people. In love with Felice

LAVERNA: Mermaid that hates humans and out to destroy Alessando and Felice.

CASSIA: Felice’s chambermaid on Gorgonia. Becomes her friend

QUINTIS: Bodyguard and friend to Alessandro

ALBERTO: Tavern owner and friend to Pascal

CATALINA’S GRANDMOTHER: Lived in the village her whole life and believes in the magical/mythical.

VENA: Felice’s other chambermaid

GAIA: Sea witch/goddess

BETINO: Alberto’s son

ANNA: Village girl that helps Catalina

JACK: Old sailor that tells Felice about the legend of the Sea King

DARK OLD LADY: Lives in a shack on the rocks. Messenger between humans and mer-people.

DANIEL: Felice and Hector’s son

Book Review: Isle of Legends

Sometimes you stumble across a book, and, for whatever reason, your expectations are low. Could be the harlequin mask on the cover, could be a previous series by the same author that you were wholly uninterested in, could be a billion different things that are individually insignificant, but cumulatively . . . You turn up your nose. Isle of Legends by Carla Eveleigh is one of those books, which you pick up with low expectation and put down with your mind blown away.

Everyone loves legends, lore, tales of long ago, filled with heroes and magical beings. They dilate our pupils, excite our imagination and provide the fodder for our dreams. Carla Eveleigh has written a very grown up fairy tale, bringing magical beings to life . In doing so she has transported old world legend to a place where and a time when vast numbers of more ordinary people were trying to create new dreams, new legends of their own.

A book that encompasses vast lands and centuries of loneliness and solitude, it is told in the perspectives of a dynamic cast of characters, with their own stories to tell, fears to hide, and desires to pursue. There are three main reasons I loved Isle of Legends by Carla Eveleigh.

First, the front cover. THE FRONT COVER! I just have so much love for a beautiful book cover, and this one is no exception. This one is that mesmerising, I’d purchase the book without reading the blurb. Madness you say? Yes, most likely!

Second, the story. I found Isle of Legends be a fun, magical fairy tale of a romance with a fair bit of excitement to it. But it is pretty clear that this is also a serious, literary work, raising meaningful philosophical questions, while offering a fascinating look at a place and time, and linking the experiences of the two different worlds. This book was beautiful. It was written incredibly well, I loved the plot and the characters and it was really quite unique in comparison to other books I’ve read.

And third, Writing. Carla Eveleigh has a totally fresh and beautiful style of writing. It is fairy-tale like, but it is immensely descriptive and I think this adds so much to the story. She was exceptionally good at writing from other characters perspective, and I cannot fault her there. At many points in the story, I felt as if I was really there, taking in the incredible sights and smells of the story. It takes talent to do that. I love the way the two characters combined together into one story. It was done stylishly, and I was definitely satisfied with how it eventually occurred.

About Author: Carla Eveleigh

From an early age Carla had a passion for the literary world. Reading books, writing poetry and short stories became a hobby for her. As a wife, a mother of two lively sons and having a full time job, she used her free time to write her first novel, Isle of Legends: Surrender to the Tide. Although it took years to complete, she never lost the dream that this book will someday be on book shelves in stores and homes.

Carla was born in Pretoria and now lives in a coastal town in the Southern Cape. Isle of Legends: Surrender to the Tide will be the first instalment of a series of books with the title Isle of Legends.