A planet with no water: a planet with barely any land. A strange phenomenon that means every forty years, the water switches planets.

That is the most unique premise I’ve read in science fiction. I loved it. You’ve got one population that saves every drop and are dying of thirst when the rains are late. Then you’ve got their counter-population led by a sea-king who thinks it’s a good idea to try and kill the god on the other planet with nothing more than his ships, while his son rebels against him.

Believe it or not, that’s almost the background to this adventure. Altered Tides is the fifth in a series, albeit my first time in this world. There were moments, especially towards the latter half of the book, where I paid for not having followed the series: confusion with names, histories, the universe, etc. But I’m not letting that affect my review, as that was on me.

After crash landing on the dry planet, our main character, Ales, meets the locals, falls for one of them and decides to try and help the planet. Very noble. He was a fun narrator despite not knowing his past and even starting at book five, I got a sense of his character. Despite it not always being his brain that he’s thinking with!

The book is told through a split narration, so our second main narrator is Malar. Malar is the prince of the sea, but doesn’t agree with his father’s bloodthirsty attempts to wage war on their neighbouring planet, or selling him off in an arranged marriage to a princess he has no interest in!

Despite the intense planetary systems and the sense of danger throughout, it surprised me this was a relatively short book with a strong focus on sex. Both main characters are gay: both also seem to come from societies that don’t accept it. It provided an interesting parallel between our two narrators.

But with both men more interested in other parts of their anatomy, it meant a large proportion of the book was either thinking about sex, or having it. It surprised me given the high stakes of an interplanetary war quite how much of the story was dedicated purely to whether Ales could get laid. It was entertaining, albeit explicit, especially when an estranged mother bursts in on Ales finally getting what he wanted.

As mentioned, this is a short book that certainly leaves it open to wanting more. The characters haven’t finished their stories. Not just Ales – who I’m assuming the rest of the series is focused on and how he got to this point – but also Malar and the other characters left behind. I want more.

While this didn’t blow me away, I enjoyed it – and probably would’ve enjoyed it more if I’d followed the series up until now. It has some unique ideas in it and likeable characters, even with their one-track-minds. I’m interested in tracking down the rest of the series now.

It was my first time reading a book in this series, so I have to admit I was pretty confused at first, but it didn't take long to settle into the world building and appreciate the storytelling and the characters. I found the setting between the two planets very interesting: they are so different from each other, yet so deeply interconnected. It was quite unique and fascinating, and definetely the more intriguing part.

The only negative note for me is given by the different povs, which in my opinion alternate in a bit confusing way. Aside from that, it was an enjoyable read, which got me interested in the series. I will definitely consider the previous installments as well.

Actual rating: 3,75.

(Thank you to NetGalley and NineStar Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

In Altered Tides, the main protagonist crashes onto a distant planet far from his own galaxy, a planet barren and dry as dust while another planet flooded with water hovers at the edge of its atmosphere, the two planets nearly intwined.

The POV changes (as in, third person to first person and back again) was so glaringly distracting and ended up annoying me. Like why. Why would you do this. Are the other books from Ales' POV? Who knows.

The world building was cool enough and you can tell the author put a lot of thought into all the details.

But I kept thinking to myself 'why am I reading this when I could be reading Addie LaRue or The Song of Achilles?'

Please note I have not read the others in the series, so perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I had!

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC!

this was SUCH a fun read for me - i didnt want to put it down! i loved the characters and the relationships between them - especially ales and suni. malar's character development was also so satisfying to watch and i'm excited to see where he ends up in the future.

trigger warning
<spoiler> abusive relationship, trauma, racism </spoiler>

Captain Ales has landed on a very dry planet, where the rain is overdue and people are lethargic from living on one teardrop per day. Meanwhile, the land and ocean population of the neighboring planet ready themselves for war.

The setting was what intrigued me the most, I believe. We have two planets, so impossible close to each other they share the atmosphere. Once every fourty years, the oceans from the blue planet get sucked up and land as rain on the red planet, where people will first celebrate and then scramble to save every last drop they can, because it will take nearly another generation till the rain will fall again.

Our protagonist is literally thrown in there, is unconscious and dragged to a city after his crash.
Thankfully, the device strapped to his wrist is able to get a translation going, so he can puzzle out what's going on.

Though this is the fifth part of a series, due to him landing on a foreign planet and being there for most of the book, it posed no problem for me to get into it. I could have done without the two sex scenes, but now I know what to expect from this author and this series.
But I have to admit that the use of spit as lubricant freaks me out. You know that spit has flesh dissolving properties, right?

The main question I have is what the different of homo sapiens and hetero sapiens is, which is never explained, while the distinction is used pretty often.

If you're into sex scenes in books, and into sci fi, especially into first contact kind of stories, this could appeal to you.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

This book was pretty good! I felt like perhaps I missed some things coming into the series so late, but I could definitely still understand what was going on. I did feel like maybe the intersection of the two plot lines was a little confusing and rushed but again, could just be my lack of knowledge. Overall, definitely an easy and pleasant read! #AlteredTides #NetGalley