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I have to be honest...I enjoyed Tidelands much more than Dark Tides. I had a really hard time getting into this sequel. I read about half the book before I just started skimming and then finished reading the end. I had a hard time liking Ned's story as well. This is not usual for me. I tend to really enjoy the books I choose to read.

If you are a long-time fan of Philippa Gregory you may really like this though. So if you have enjoyed her previous books, give this one a try too.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This is book 2 in the Fairmile Series, where we now find Alinor living in London with her family, when news comes through that her Son has drowned in Venice. Following this her daughter-in-law arrives from Venice with her son and turns the whole household upside down. Alinor is convinced her son is still alive as she would have felt it if he had died. At the same time we have the parallel story of Alinor’s brother out in New England where friction is building between the native tribes and the in-comers.

Overall I think I enjoyed the first book more but this was certainly still an excellent read which I would recommend to others, Quite a convoluted story, and quite long with it, but it was great spending more time with Alinor and her family. Like the first book it built up to quite a climatic ending with a few twists and turns along the way. These were the first books that I have read by Philippa Gregory but based on this series they certainly won’t be my last. Recommended.. 4.5 Stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing a copy of this book for me, for an an open and honest review.

Similar to the first book in the series, I love Philippa Gregory books and will read anything she comes out with, but it's not my favorite series. Regardless, Philippa Gregory's average books are still great in my opinion. They totally hit that historical fiction sweet spot and this one is no different. Riveting plot, great characters. If you liked Tidelands, this one is worth reading as well.

Philippa Gregory, Dark Tides, Simon & Schuster, 2021.

Please do not read this review if you do not want to see possible spoilers for Tidelands, to which this is the sequel.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me this uncorrected copy for review.

In some respects, Dark Tides is a disappointing sequel to Tidelands. The poetic language associated with the ebb and flow of the water and land in Tidelands is missing. Instead, the Thames, dark and odoriferous, swills around the docklands of Shad Thames, the wrong side of the river where small warehouses, mean dwellings, and the thought of poverty prevail. However, despite these surrounds, Alinor and Alys appreciate their escape from the physical and emotional assaults they have left behind in Sealsea Island, Sussex and are making new lives for themselves and the children, Sarah, and Johnnie, in London.

Alinor, still suffering from her near drowning, is a muted character, far from the strong, although perhaps foolishly romantic, figure she appeared in the first novel. The formerly lively, mischievous, and larger than life character of Alys has subsided under newly adopted harshness, where she seeks only to conduct a hard-headed business through a small warehouse and docking facilities. Into this environment comes the elegant and duplicitous Nobildonna da Ricci, her sister-in-law, with her son, Matteo. She has arrived from Venice after the death of Rob, seeking her remaining family’s support. Father James, now having left the priesthood and taken back his lands and title appears again, as Sir James Avery. He also arrives at the women’s warehouse, seeking not only Alinor whom he denied when carrying his child twenty-one years before, but, he believes, his son and heir. Like the time they first met in Tidelands, it is Midsummer Eve. Now it is 1670.

In the wider world, King Charles 11 has been successful in retrieving the crown and Britain is again ruled by a monarch. As a result, Ned who followed Cromwell and despairs of Britain under another monarch, has departed to New England. His story unfolds in conjunction with that of Alinor, his sister. This narrative follows the advent of the British into indigenous American lands and the impact on their society. Ned is torn between his Indian friends, the need to work with patriots opposed to the monarchy who have also escaped to New England, and his ingrained sense of justice.

Gregory’s move into more political events with a contemporary impact through her storyline in New England is engaging. It is an integral development of the monarchy’s return, the hasty departure from Britain of those, often formerly wealthy, who abhor the change; and their lack of understanding of the wider relevance of justice. Their sense of justice, and to whom it belongs, stops firmly with their own interests. These are directly opposed to those of the indigenous people who own the land until it is ‘exchanged’ for baubles to underpin the new wealthy lives the British wish to claim. The British hierarchy remains, so that Ned’s interests and wellbeing are also subsumed by those of the men above him. The characters and ideas in this section of the novel provide an understanding of the situation that prevails today in relation to the attitude towards the indigenous people of America.

The story lines associated with the London characters include detailed descriptions of Venice and its role in trade, the way in which the conduct of trade impacts on people such as Alinor, Alys and their family, the enduring disadvantages of being a woman, and the continuing impact of class.

There is a wealth of enterprising writing, ideas, and narratives in this novel. However, as much as I admire Philippa Gregory’s work, this time I feel that the whole did not work as smoothy as previous novels. Perhaps it was the loss of the past Alinor, and change in Alys, that gave this novel an almost subdued air. Alinor’s now quietly contained intelligence is a logical outcome of her suffering, physical, mental, and romantic at the end of Tidelands. However, I wanted some of her spark to remain. The change in Alys, although also plausible, again deprives the novel of a delightful character. Although the Nobildonna provides some lively moments, and Sarah is a strong woman who means business, neither have the charm of Alinor and Alyse. Perhaps if there is a third novel in the series, and I would like to see this, these two women might again come into their own.

I found that I labored through reading this sequel. I was very disappointed and won’t be reading another in this series. While the history was interesting and there was a good character development, it still left me unfulfilled.

Ms. Gregory does not disappoint. Strong characters, engaging plot, and historical accuracy make this an enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed Tidelands, the book prior to Dark Tides, so maybe I went into it with too high of expectations, because unfortunately this book just didn’t quite work for me. Dark tides picks up Alinor’s story 20 years after a dramatic ending in Tidelands. And that’s all I’ll say there.

Sadly, this book felt like it was missing that magical “something” that Tidelands held. I’m always for multiple POV’s but this instance it felt a bit much, between 1670’s Venice, London, and New England, and I didn’t quite understand the necessity of the back and forth storylines. It made for a very slow pace and not quite enough to redeem it for me by the end. And even with the rich descriptive writing that Gregory does best, a bit of that atmospheric feel was lost here. Yes, there are definitely things I once again enjoyed about the the author’s lovely writing and storytelling like her well developed and true to life characters. But overall it just fell a bit short for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the gifted e-copy!

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for honest reviews.

Dark Tides is the second book in the Fairmile series. This book should definitely be read second to understand what is happening. While I generally love anything by Philippa Gregory, I found this book to be very slow. The story bounced between two different locations and I did not feel at all connected to one of them. The overall story was great, but the characters lacked some of the dynamic feeling that I associate with Philippa Gregory's books.

I was torn whether I liked this more or less than the first in the series (Tidelands). This book is set 20 years after where the first book left off and follows Alinor and her daughter as they built a small warehouse business on the 'poor' side of the London outskirts. A mysterious (cunning and dangerous) woman shows up claiming to be the widow of Alinor's son, Robert. Witnessing the machinations of this lady was TRULY entertaining. She is an extreme example of a woman who used her many wiles and skillful deceptions to get what she wants. She manipulates EVERYONE and it's great watching how it all unfolds right up to the climax at the end. I also really enjoyed the parts of the story that take place in 17th century Venice! It was a truly different lifestyle (everyone reported on everyone - not that unlike the Witch craze in Britain to be honest). Definitely a strong follow up to Tidelands and I hope there's another book in this series. Downsides: the parts with Ned (Alinor's brother) in early New England (America) were less interesting. Bad treatment of the Indigenous peoples by the Colonial settlers but not much exciting really happened with that storyline.

Dark Tides drove me a bit crazy, and not at all in a good way. The story is kind of all over the place with passages about characters doing things that have nothing at all to do with moving the plot forward - actually feeling more like filler than anything else. The plot itself is convoluted, and the amount of suspension of disbelief required for a lot of this one is just more than I'm okay with. I think the premise here is good, but for me, the execution falls short.

The follow-up to Tidelands was a novel I greatly anticipated. The completion of the story was wonderful, but I was slightly disappointed. I wanted a "happily ever after" ending that I did not fully receive, but there were so many twists and turns that I did not expect. I will not give the ending away, but Dark Tides takes the reader on unexpected journeys to places that are unexpected. Overall, a wonderful summation to Tidelands, and a fascinating read!

Like the first in the series, this novel is quite different from what I am used to reading from Philippa Gregory. The good news is that I still very much enjoyed my reading experience! The story continues from where we left off in The Tidelands, but a couple of decades later. This does leave a bit of gap in the story and Gregory could have easily taken advantage of this to build another book in between, but I didn't really find myself missing the extra years. It does create an effect that nearly makes the two books act as standalones, though there is some background necessary to fully understand this installment.

The story is broken into two separate pieces, with one following Alinor and her family in England, while the other follows Alinor's brother, Ned, who has moved to colonial America. I don't mind dual narratives, in fact I enjoy them most of the time as they tend to give a better overall view of the plot and the characters. In fact, I liked both of these story lines, but I think they may have been better served to have been divided into separate books. They don't really interweave, but rather run parallel to one another. Keeping them together did result in a little bit of a lack of cohesion for the overall novel, but not in a way that made the stories murky.

I loved Gregory's writing as usual. She is great at setting a scene and creating complex characters. There is a good mix of good, morally gray, naive, and devious. Alys continues to be a bit of an annoyance character for me and I certainly hope that the actions in this novel prove to show some change in her if this series continues. I like Alinor. She's a bit of a subtle genius and it seems that no one really likes to listen to her, though she really does know more than everyone else seems to comprehend. Livia proves to be an interesting character. She is a bit heavy-handed for a Gregory novel, but it becomes very clear who she is without readers having to work that hard. I guess in a way that can be nice. I didn't like her, but I appreciated her as a character...if that makes sense. I can't really say more without spoiling some things.

The plot moves at a nice speed in both parallel stories, but feels a bit more natural on the Ned side. The narrative for Alinor's family does admittedly get a bit convenient in a few spots. It feels a little lazy for Gregory, but did make the read fun. Without being spoilery, I will say that Sarah's character arc in particular requires a bit of suspension of belief. I will admit that I rolled my eyes a couple of times.

Despite the flaws that may be present in the construction of the novel, this was still a very fun read for me. I just enjoy everything that Philippa Gregory writes. Some more than others, but I was in the right headspace for this one to read quite well and provide ample entertainment. It's not the best book for an introduction to Philippa Gregory, but it will prove a good read for those familiar with the breadth of her works.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

I must admit I was at a disadvantage because I had not read the first book “Tidelands”. I think I probably will go back and read that book because I enjoyed this one. I like the characters Alinor and Alys and I’d like to get the background on them. I love stories about Restoration England and there’s not many that do them as well as Philippa Gregory.
The story switches between England and Alinor’s brother, Ned who left the country when King Charles II was restored to the throne. Ned’s story didn’t much interest me. I actually found it a bit irksome whenever it switched to him. Again, to be fair, perhaps that maybe because I didn’t read the first book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

After reading all novels by author # Philippa Gregory # Dark Tides is also just wonderful. She has been published since 1987. And this is her second in the # Fairmile series.
Midsummer's Eve, 1670. A wealthy man waits outside a poor London warehouse to meet with Alinor, the woman he failed twenty-years....
Thank you for the advance copy,
#Netgalley, # Philippa Gregory and # Simon & Schuster

I was a little on the fence about reading this sequel because I didn’t quite hit it off with the first book but I decided to give it a shot anyways because I love Philippa Gregory. I was also intrigued by the addition of some new characters from Venice. The storyline seemed a little bit far fetched at times but it ended up really working for the book as a whole. I was a little surprised at how easily Alys was ready to accept Livia’s story of Rob at face value… it seemed a little out of character for her. I was very glad to see that Alinor wasn’t going to be taken in at all until she had solid proof. I really enjoyed Sarah’s journey to Venice to investigate Livia’s claims. She really seemed to come into her own and I loved having a strong female character in this story. James, though…. Oh James… what an absolute idiot. First he tries to come back into Alinor’s life to claim his son 21 years later and then completely falls under Livia’s ridiculous spell. I don’t want to say a whole lot more about all of that drama because for one, spoilers, and for another, you just have to read it to believe it.

One thing that I really didn’t think was necessary in this book was Ned’s part of the story. He’s living in America but the only times he really connects to his family is when Alinor writes him a letter or he sends them goods. I feel like his scenes could have just been cut because they kind of distracted me in a bad way from the drama still going on in England and Venice.

Overall I did end up enjoying this book and kind of hoping there will be a third book.

I am a huge Philippa Gregory fan, having read most of her books multiple times. While I enjoyed Tidelands, I was not able to finish Dark Tides. I enjoyed the story of the family and there were more interesting characters (Alinor) added, I didn't feel the story was progressing fast enough with enough intrigue and/or drama to keep me interested. I felt the pace of the book was very slow and hard to get into. I will still probably purchase and come back to this book at a later time since I have always enjoyed Gregory's books.

I loved the first book in this series, so I was really excited for this one! Ultimately, I didn't like it quite as much as the first, but I appreciated the continuing saga of this family. There was plenty of tension and forward momentum and a killer of an ending again. There are characters who are pretty steadily likable, some who go back and forth, and a few that are completely unlikable. I struggled a bit with Livia because she was so terrible and I could barely stand her. I didn't quite understand why everyone except for Alinor was naive enough to have bought into her when she was pretty clearly up to no good. so that got frustrating at time. But, all in all, this kept me fairly engaged and I'll look forward to the next book!

Philippa Gregory is one of the queens of historical fiction. In 1670, a wealthy man arrives at a rundown warehouse on the River Thames. James Avery thinks that Alinor, the woman who owns the warehouse, hides his son and heir.
Another visitor arrives, this time a lovely young widow from Venice, who claims she is Alinor’s daughter-in-law and that her husband, Rob, Alinor’s son has drowned.
Letters go back and forth between Alinor and her brother, Ned, who is in New England fighting his own battles. We learn that Alinor doesn’t believe a word her new daughter-in-law says.
As always, Gregory gives readers a dose of history along with a well-plotted story.

I love Philippa Gregory books, but the prequel to this book, Tidelands, was not my favorite. I'm glad I decided to give Dark Tides a shot. It was much better and I enjoyed seeing how the characters' lives had evolved. I also liked the dual story in colonial America. Overall a great story! I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.