I am usually a sucker for dark academia, but I couldn't seem to get into this one. There was too much plot and not enough focus on the characters and I found myself putting this book down a lot. Not for me.

My absolute favorite read in a long time. An interesting magic system. I can’t wait to see where this series goes

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I am obsessed with dark academia, and this book definitely scratched that itch and had a very unique magic system that I appreciated. It was not hard to understand and other people will be able to pick it up easily. I can’t wait for a book two!

Anything with moon-based magic is an auto-read for me. This story set in a dark academia setting had me on the edge of my seat. The mysterious undertones kept me turning the pages, and the lush prose wrapped me in its arms and drew me even deeper into the story. As a mystery it was satisfying. I will be thinking about this book for a long time!

I was completely drawn into this world! The first book at the Drowned Gods duology was everything I love in a good YA fantasy. The characters were well developed and relatable, the world building vividly flushed out, and great conflict. I loved the magic and secrecy too.

Curious Tides had many wonderful literary elements. The chapters rotating between Baz and Emory showed multiple perspectives from two strongly written characters. Their magic was strong, while the forbidden magic was even stronger. The plot which circulated around finding the key to open a door in the deep was an excellent premise, but at times, parts of the book just seemed too long and drawn out. There were too many trivial characters for me to easily keep track of them and their importance or lack thereof to the story. I waver between 3 and 4 stars, so 3.5 stars from me, rounded up to 4. The ending left me curious enough that I may need to read the second book as well.

2.5 rounded up

While I did enjoy some elements of this book (huge shoutout to the cool magic system and Baz) the bad outweighed the good. It took me ages to finish, almost to the point where I thought about DNFing.

I don’t see myself picking up the sequel.

*Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC

It took me quite a while to really be Blw to get into this book.
I've had a good run with fantasy lately being able to jump straight in and not struggle with all the world building and set up that comes.

But this one slowed me down for a bit. I will say that once I pushed myself to keep going I wound up loving the story. It was just the feel that the description had set me up for. And I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to continue in the book afyer those initial couple chapters I struggled with.

I thought the book also had an interesting magic system to it. It's been done. After times the whole magic academy thing. But I think Curious Tides did a good job and making its sytem unique and interesting.

A story told through two different point of views. It was supposed to take place in a magical school, for a dark academia vibe. It was on the longer side, over 500 pages.....with a slow story. Sometimes I think these stories are better depending on my mood at the time of reading it.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster children's publishing for the e-arc!
What an absolutely stunning cover! I know it's bad to admit, but this cover definitely drew me to the story, and I am so glad it did. This book delivers on so many things that I absolutely love to read about, and it was overall a fantastic story. Featuring a spooky and mysterious magic school, creepy secret societies, and powerful magic, this book has a ton of fantastic elements.
The story itself is extremely detailed and mysterious. Watching our heroine try and figure out what happened to her classmates while dealing with her out-of-control magic made for a very interesting read. The story and characters also go a bit deeper than I initially expected for this book but that is definitely a positive from my perspective.
Overall I really enjoyed the story. I wasn't very interested in the romance elements but I think that's just a personal thing.

An absolutely addictive read that delivers on everything it promises.
It's got:
-dark academia vibes featuring a big old school on a cliff by the sea (with multiple libraries!)
-secret societies with eerie initiation practices
-a unique magic system boasting a diverse array of abilities, each influenced by phases of the moon
-a creepy sanitorium type facility where something sinister is happening
-family secrets on family secrets on family secrets
-dual POVs where both characters are actually equally engaging
-New Adult energy with YA grade romance (not in a bad way)
-betrayals, cover ups, murders, rescues - alll the drama

This is everything I want from a dark academia fantasy. It was thrill to experience and I cannot overstate how eagerly I'm anticipating the sequel later this year. I want to lose myself in this mysterious world again as soon as possible. Highly recommend.

Special thanks to Margaret K. McElderry Books for an ARC in exchange for review.

Curious Tides has an interesting magic system that was fun to explore. It was a slow start and the FMC was frustrating at times but that’s par for the course with YA fantasy. Once the story picked up it was just okay. I’m not sure if I will continue the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.

Really interesting world building but I found the pacing and storylines to be a bit messy and uneven. It was hard to figure out what to focus on and there was a lot vying for center stage of the reader’s attention. I feel the moon houses and different powers aligned to them were also not as clearly laid out or easy to follow even though the book itself was very lengthy.

I was unsure what to expect when I heard about this book. I was drawn in by the cover. I enjoyed this story. Thank you for the gifted copy.

I have not finished Curious Tides yet, but I enjoy this book. It is very atmospheric, intriguing, and engaging. I will post a full review once finished.

I really enjoyed this dark academia novel! It kept me intrigued and even though it is a little lengthy, I didn’t feel like it slowed down. The magic system in it is simply superb and it was one of those phenomenal reads you can’t put down. I can’t wait for the next book because I want to spend more time with these characters and in their world! I can’t wait!!

Not at all what I normally read, but it was enjoyable! It did take me a minute to get into because I’m not a fantasy world person usually, but overall it was easy to understand and follow the world and magic system!

I really enjoyed this book, and I know my students are going to love it! I have already recommended it to several of my girls. It's such a unique storyline, full of interesting characters and surprising developments, that it's hard not to love it just for the change of pace it offers.

If you like details and intricate magic systems in your fantasy, this book is for you. If you like moon magic and ocean tides, this book is for you. There was a huge power struggle and high stakes along with gray characters. That being said, there was a good balance of plot movement and details so I enjoyed but maybe not for everyone.