The Isles of Gracidea by Cora-chan

Genre: Adventure/Fantasy.

Chapters Reviewed: 7 chapters.

Update Schedule: Every other Saturday.

The Isles of Gracidea is by far one of the best original Pokéfics I've read this year. One of the many things I LOVE about Pokéfic is when writers go outside the Pokémon genre and combine it with something else. That's exactly what Isles of Gracidea does. It reminds me of that old Disney movie Treasure Planet where pirates have flying ships and daring sword fights. Though, it's been a while since I've seen the movie, this book gives me that feel of nostalgia.

If that isn't enough to make it a wonderful book, then there's the details. I crave details as a reader. Sure, there's such a thing as overkill, but just the right amount is always refreshing to see. This writer knows exactly how to do just that. She uses a wide vocabulary that makes a reader feel like their actually in the story. I'm thrilled to see that someone doesn't use cliches or phrases.

These details really help because this is a new realm in the Pokémon universe. As the reader, you are given a clear picture as to how everything works. Each chapter ends with a glossary of the new terms given, which helps the reader understand what's going on. These terms are also placed at the glossary towards the end of the book, which I love as it really helps organize the book.

The only part of the detail I'm not a big fan of is that it takes place in a new realm and I can't quite picture it. Yes, the writer gives many details to describe the place, but I'm still a bit confused as to where places are in relation to one another. While this isn't a big issue, it's something to look into which can be easily solved with a map. This is all preference as creating a map of a new world can be difficult, but it could help readers create an image in their head.

Besides that, the only complaint I really have of this book is the time skip. In the prologue, August Gold is a young girl who has snuck herself onto a pirates ship of all things. Despite this, she able to become a pirate like the rest of the crew. This works for the prologue as the following chapter starts off with "Several years..."

Chapter 02| First Mate, on the other hand, starts off with the phrase, "Two years later..." It's at the point I become detached from the story. While I can see where this is helpful to keep the story going, doing this too much can make readers feel like they aren't a part of the story anymore. Just keep this in mind when writing and use time-skips sparingly. Whether this is at the beginning of the story or at the end, just try not to do too many. I'm glad to see that as the book goes on, these time skips happen less often, but the first few chapters make me feel disconnected as to what's going on in August's life.

Other than this, this story is pretty much flawless. I've read this book twice and I still can't find a single spelling or grammar error. That's amazing! Putting that much time into a story where it's nearly impossible to find little errors like that shows a lot of dedication.

With it being a new fictional realm, I love the length as it's easier to follow what's going on whereas shorter chapters could take away from that. These chapters are at a good length, and aren't ever on the "too short" side (which can get frustrating as a reader, as I crave a good read). They tend to be on the longer side, but that can easily be overlooked when the story is easy to follow and very enjoyable to read.

Even early on in the book, I love the amount of twists and turns that happen. I don't like giving spoilers in my reviews, but the writer is ruthless with her characters. As a reader, you're never going to know what's going to happen to the characters at any given time. Whether they betray an ally without batting an eye, or kill a decent character that readers have fallen in love with, I no longer feel safe on what's going to happen to my favorite characters in this book, which is good. Creating this sense of danger really keeps the reader on their toes.

That doesn't come with faults.

True, characters are very well written. I love seeing how August Gold has quickly grown into the young pirate she is. Calico definitely shows leadership, the kind that can make her crew either respect or loathe her, which is so true when it comes to people holding high positions. There's a ton of characters that are like this too, ones that are just so interesting to read about.

The character I'm alluding to is one that August is "closest" to. Again, I don't do spoilers, so I'll replace this particular character with gender neutral pronouns. It's said that this shipmate is nice to August, but in the single scene that zie is in, zie dies. While I understand this death is to show how quickly August moves up in rank, I didn't mourn zie's death. If there was a scene or two beforehand that showed how zie was nice to August rather than a few paragraphs saying why they were close, I might have mourned zie's death a bit. Again, I think this is more due to the fact that there's multiple time skips, making the reader disconnect with the characters a bit.

All that aside, this book is amazing. Every character in the storyline is so lovable, especially Gracie, the Shaymin. I love it when writers give Pokémon personality, and Gracie's personality is just perfect! She's so playful and gives a different demeanor than all the characters that are in the story. They're not all the same (it's quite the opposite as no two characters are alike) but having a character like Gracie really puts the cherry on top. After all, a majority of the characters are pirates with their own agenda. Having a character like Gracie, a Pokémon who would rather play hide-and-go seek, getting herself into loads of trouble, and is just this happy little Pokémon, it's a good contrast to have.

The plot is executed well. I love where the storyline is going. It's still too early to tell where or how it'll turn out, but even with six chapters and a prologue, I can still tell it's there, which is good.

The Isles of Gracidea is definitely one of my favorite books here on Wattpad by far. I'm excited to see what Cora-chan has in store for this piece of work, as it's amazing!

After reading this wonderful book, I was excited to see that the writer, Cora-chan, has agreed to do an interview for her book.

JunieWeathers: The Isles of Gracidea is such a unique idea. What was the inspiration of this story?

CoraChan: Right after I finished writing my last Pokéfic, Bonds, I had no idea what to write. I was talking to my friend @MAGICK- about it, and she offered to loan me an idea. That idea was an AU about magicians and pirates who sail through the sky trying to save the world. I fell in love with this concept right away. The world-building aspects of TIOG came naturally to me, truth be told.

Originally, August was supposed to be a guy who ended up kidnapping a girl magician and they were to fall in love, but I wanted to change that. I wanted to redeem myself for having a weak protagonist in Bonds by having a kickass female MC that we all know as current August.

JW: That is amazing! Also, what other parts of the story has changed since you started drafting?

Cora: Well, there's no romance at all. The story's elements are also a lot darker instead of being a fun adventure fic.

I basically made the entire plot myself out of the concept my friend gave me lol.

JW: That's awesome. I love that you've merged Pokemon with pirates, magic, and that it has it's own realm, all of which can be challenging to incorporate into Pokéfic. What is the hardest thing for you to write when making this book?

Cora: Setting the atmosphere, definitely! I've watched TIOG as a movie in my head several times and know the outline like the back of my hand. The thing is that I struggle trying to capture what I see to share it with others. I'm very picky with TIOG's diction because I want to get the mood right.

JW: Well, you'll be happy to know, I think you did a wonderful job capturing the mood. It's very well thought out. Another well thought-out part of the book are the characters. They're all so unique. Which character is your personal favorite to write?

Cora: Thank you! I'm trying my best to make a memorable, dare I say iconic, cast. Right now, my answer would have to be Omar (my fav character to write depends on what chapter I'm working on XD). His gentle soul and overprotective, big brother behavior is so nice to write about after following August's hot-blooded self for so long.

JW: I love that you've paired him up with August like that to even things out. He's a very lovable character too. One of the characters I've fallen in love with is Gracie the Shaymin. What made you incorporate this Pokemon to be the main Pokemon in the book?

Cora: I've made it my goal on Wattpad to give less popular Pokémon the spotlight they deserve. Shaymin caught my eye because of their ability to morph between a land form and a sky form, making them perfect for my floating island world. Plus they're adorable :3

JW: I can see where Shaymin's ability can become useful in this realm. Thank you for letting me interview you about this book. If you haven't already, I highly recommend checking out this book as it's such an original and amazing concept with wonderful characters.