Simran was warm in her arms, her lips soft. Her hair under Vina’s hands was silk. She smelled of smoke and sweat and of herself–of skin, heat, the promise of velvet under Vina’s mouth. Simran gasped against her mouth as their lips parted for a brief heartbeat. They met again like the tide touching the shore.
page 204, Chapter Sixteen: Vina, The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri
Table of Contents
Next Stop: The Isle in the Silver Sea
It is coming up on four years since I last read anything by Tasha Suri, the last book I read from her was the second book in the Burning Kingdoms trilogy, The Oleander Sword. I never got around to reading the third and final book in the trilogy, my short review of the second book will clue you into at least one of the reason for that. The other being that the third book came out two years after the second one and I had forgotten the series existed by the time it did.
So when I heard about the latest Tasha Suri book from the booktuber thisstoryaintover I was intrigued. Like with the books in the Burning Kingdoms trilogy, this was also a sapphic romance, however this was definitely more romantasy than the epic fantasy of the trilogy. Also a standalone which made me more likely to read it.
I placed a hold for this in late October 2025; due to the low number of copies and the demand for the book, it took me until January 2026 to get my hands on a copy. It was fortuitous timing, after having finished another sapphic romance in late December 2025, I was definitely in the mood for more in that vein.
So here we are, let’s get into it.
The Book
I don’t remember the last time I enjoyed a romantasy novel as much as I did The Isle in the Silver Sea. Romantasy is one of those fantasy sub-genres that while I don’t have a frothing hatred for (unlike some people), it is not my most favourite of the fantasy sub-genres. That space goes to epic fantasy with urban fantasy just behind it. This book is romantasy through and through, the fantasy elements while very much present are not the primary focus of the story.
The thrust of the narrative is driven by the slow burn sapphic romance between the two main characters – Simran and Vina. Simran is a witch, Vina is a knight in the Queen’s service. Before we go any further I think it is worth talking about romance genre tropes, this story very much leans on the knight romance trope that seems to be having a renaissance at this time. I am very much here for it. I like this particular trope especially when it is done as well as it is here.
The Isle in the Silver Sea is set in a medieval fantasy version of England, the titular Isle as it were. In this version of England, the magic comes from tales, stories so powerful that they shape the reality around them. People who take part in such powerful tales are referred to as Incarnates. Our two lovebirds Simran and Vina are both Incarnates in the same tale, that of The Knight and the Witch.
That tale is a tragedy, a devastating one, Incarnates in this story are doomed to fall in love and kill each other every single time. So when I first started reading this I was hoping that Tasha Suri wasn’t going to do what she did in The Oleander Sword and turn this into yet another tragic queer love story. I am quite tired of such stories. Thankfully, this story is not one of those.
Let’s talk themes – This book says quite a lot and manages to do so reasonably well for all the themes it tries to tackle. There is of course the aforementioned queer love story, racism: both Simran and Vina are brown women from Elsewhere (implied to be India), a pointedly unsubtle commentary about racism, xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment in contemporary UK.
There was an in-lore newspaper clipping that made this very obvious in case you missed the increasingly unsubtle commentary on that topic. The screed wouldn’t be out of place in a right wing rag today. I am not going to be quoting it in this review since I genuinely found it to be a little too Real for me to feel comfortable putting it here.
“They’ll never–think you’re like them,” Vina rasped. Grinned, baring her teeth. “Never. You can destroy all of us. Any of us. You’ll still be other.”
page 292, Chapter Twenty-Two: Vina
There are also themes of anti-monarchism and a sprinkling of found family throughout that I found heartwarming. All-in-all, The Isle in the Silver Sea packed more of a thematic wallop than I was expecting. In my experience, romantasy tends to be light on the thematic exploration and this book bucks that trend.
As for characters, I love both Vina and Simran. Simran, a prickly witch who cares fiercely for her friends and found family. Vina, the knight, ever so gallant on the surface but underneath a person estranged from her upper class upbringing and looking for more. Protect them both at all costs.
I enjoyed the way these two interacted throughout the story, the slow build of the romance, the blushes, the yearning, the first kiss – it was all so delectable and I ate it the fuck up. This sapphic romance healed my soul and watered my crops. This was very much a story I needed at this particular moment in time when the cruel world weighs crushingly heavy on the soul. It was much needed respite in these times and I am very glad Tasha Suri wrote it and that I had the pleasure of reading it.
Concluding Thoughts
January 2026 continues to be filled with some incredible books and The Isle in the Silver Sea is one of them. In the process of pondering this book and writing this review I have decided that this book goes into my list of 2026 Books of The Year. Two additions to that list in the same month, I think that may be a first!
This book was good enough that it has me considering going back and doing a re-read of the first two books in The Burning Kingdoms trilogy and then read the third book. I don’t think that will happen any time soon, my TBR is ever growing and I have other series that have priority on my list of “series to finish”.
Tasha Suri, please continue writing these sapphic romances involving South East Asian characters. It is very rare to get nuanced, well thought out South East Asian representation in fantasy and I need more of these to exist out there in the world for South East Asian queer people like me to read and find joy and connection in.
That’s all from me. Stay safe out there, I’ll see y’all in the next one.
P.S – Simran is such a good name, I just love it so much. Hard to say why, I just do. On the other hand, I still dislike the word “romantasy” but it is the contemporary parlance for such books and I also find the alternative term “fantasy romance” to be hella clunky. So I use the contemporary term.
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