Lightlark (Lightlark, #1) by Alex Aster🎧 Narrated by Suzy Jackson

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Welcome to the Centennial. 

Every 100 years, the island of Lightlark appears to host the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play. The invitation is a summons—a call to embrace victory and ruin, baubles and blood. The Centennial offers the six rulers one final chance to break the curses that have plagued their realms for centuries. Each ruler has something to hide. Each realm’s curse is uniquely wicked. To destroy the curses, one ruler must die.

Isla Crown is the young ruler of Wildling—a realm of temptresses cursed to kill anyone they fall in love with. They are feared and despised, and are counting on Isla to end their suffering by succeeding at the Centennial.

To survive, Isla must lie, cheat, and betray…even as love complicates everything.

I really enjoyed Lightlark! I wasn't sure about it initially, but after the first 100 pages or so I was invested in the characters and the story. Isla and Oro do wander around quite a bit looking for something, and that does eat up quite a bit of the book, but I think it was necessary for their relationship to develop naturally, and for us to understand more about the island. 

Isla is kept in the dark for most of the book, and I really liked discovering truths and new information when she did. She's one of the youngest rulers and doesn't have the centuries of experience and knowledge that everyone else has. Her guardians kept her locked away most of her life until the Centennial, and were largely what shaped her as a young adult. However, none of that could have really prepared her for what Lightlark would be like once she was there. I also didn't like the expectations they placed on her, despite her role as their ruler. She should have been able to have books, if she wanted them, or the ability to leave her room whenever she wished. 

I wasn't overly shocked by the ending, although I did enjoy seeing how everything played out. There were some surprises with a love interest I definitely didn't see coming, and I hope we get more of that story in the next book. I agree with Isla that he did a bad thing, but I can also see it from his side where he thought he was doing it for the right reasons. He should have trusted her with the truth and allowed her to make her own choices, and removing someone's ability to choose is never the right path, especially when love and trust are involved. 

The romance was also something I wasn't on board with at the beginning, especially since both potential love interests are significantly older, but that's easily overlooked when you think about how long the Centennial is and when you're given new information at the end. Isla's relationships and friendships had time to develop organically and I appreciated that. Someone seeming to insta-like her is explained later on as well. 

I'm really hoping we get more of the character's backstory in the second book, because I think they've all been through a lot and have interesting tales to tell. I also want to know more about Lightlark itself and how it works. The audiobook for this one is amazing, and I think Suzy Jackson did a phenomenal job. I'm definitely going to pick up Nightbane soon! (★★★⋆☆)