Full of magic, mysticism, and mayhem, Curious Tides is a blend of suspenseful dark academia, haunting fantasy, and a touch of simmering, tension-filled romance—that will have readers racing to find the next clue in an intricate story about the depth of grief and how far one will go for the answers they seek.

Dark secrets haunt the halls of the prestigious Aldryn College, where mysterious disappearances and unexplained events have been occurring more frequently and with no known cause. With new bewitching magic and a book of fairytales as a guide, two students hunt for answers and find the depths of buried knowledge hold more than what they expected.

Right from the beginning, I was absorbed into this dark, enchanting story with its intriguing lunar and tide magic, beautiful storytelling, and detailed world-building. I loved the idea of a magical college set near the sea where students use different powers based on the moon phases. I enjoyed how the magical aspect was interwoven with the cautionary tales of the Tides and how important their symbolism was to the story, how it played a critical role in the skills of each lunar house, and how crucial it was to the main characters’ development as well.

My heart fell completely for Baz and his complex and deeply layered journey. His character seemed to leap off the page with his fears, thoughts, and ambitions so real and relatable that I couldn’t help but fall for him, shy smiles, quirks, and all.

I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next and be immersed back into this atmospheric world. (I am 100% here for the mix of dark academia with magical fantasy aspects! I LOVE it!) If you are a fan of A Study in Drowning, I think you’ll enjoy this one too.

4.25/5

*Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

This was a great tale and perfect for the witchy/fall season - especially in the northeast!! (My favorite time of year!)

Lunar magic, a prestigious magic school, secret societies, and year after year of student deaths. Curious Tides has all the elements of a story I would love, plus that gorgeous cover art is going to look amazing displayed on my shelves when my finished copy arrives. I think I say this every single time I review a young adult book, but I’m far more selective in my choices when it comes to that age range now that I’m older but I could not resist the allure of this book.

Curious Tides follows Emory Ainsleaf, a student healer of average skill who has just returned to university after the death of her best friend and seven other students the previous semester. Students routinely brave the Dovermere sea caves for some arcane ritual that Emory snuck along to witness, and thanks to the unpredictable and deadly tides students often drown. It’s not often that eight students drown and it seems to be a singular occasion that the student who survives washes back ashore with extraordinary magical abilities. The story follows Emory as she dares to uncover the secrets of Dovermere, the secret society who recruits the most talented students, and learns to wield her deadly powers. 

We also get to follow these events through the eyes of Baz Brysden, the older brother of Emory’s best friend, Romie, who drowned the previous semester. Baz is Eclipse born, and those born under an eclipse are cursed with deadly, terrifying magic and they risk Collapsing, which is a tremendous and deadly cascade of power. Baz can manipulate time and once the discovers that Emory seems to be Eclipse born herself, despite having previously only shown healing abilities he reluctantly agrees to help her. He desperately wants to know what happened to his sister, if only to get the closure he needs. 

This was a really compelling, if somewhat slow to get going story. It felt like it took me forever to really immerse myself in this fascinating magical world, but once I did I sped right through the remainder of the book. I liked Emory, though I felt she was somewhat manipulative and just wanted to be told she was special and thus fell in with the popular kids. Baz, however, I really liked. He’s impeccably controlled thanks to his fear of Collapsing just like his father did and he’s quite in love with Emory, though he doesn’t really admit this to himself until near the end of the story. He’s quite brave and got some very cool chapters towards the end of the book. I think my biggest disappointment of the book was that it was painfully obvious right from the start who the “bad guy” was. My thought was immediately, “why would this popular, talented guy suddenly have one iota of interest in sidekick Emory unless he was going to use her or expose her?” and I was right. 

Overall, I enjoyed this and I’m interested in the sequel. If you’ve already read A Study in Drowning and liked it, I think Curious Tides has a lot of the same vibes and it has characters of a similar age. It is comp’d to Ninth House and A Deadly Education, and though I think Ninth House was a lot darker and had a better mystery element I can see the comparison. So, this was a success for sure but it literally took me ten days to actually finish it! I'd like to just throw in that I wish there had been more of a focus on the school part of things - why have a magic school setting if you don't spend some time enjoying all the things about the school setting? I don't know what they eat or what the classes were like - the characters spent all their time either lurking in the libraries or partying on the beach.

Promising YA debut (though it is higher YA/NA), and perfect for the fall season as it's atmospheric and dark academia. People who love a good mystery will enjoy this.

This was a weird read for me. I was really invested in the story and the characters for the first half (ish) of the story, but then I just really lost steam for the story. The tone and atmosphere of the story was really dark academia fun, and I really liked the magic system in the story, too. Overall, I really loved the characters and the world. I had fun with this even though I did loose some steam in the middle of the book. This is a really great world and plot, and I think that the teens at the library will love this one!

"𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴."

There is so much I want to say about Curious Tides, but I'll preface everything by saying, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵! I received my @turnthepagetours copy on Friday and finished it Sunday. I could not put this book down. It has quickly become one of my favorites of the year!

This is listed as a YA dark academia fantasy, I'd put it more in the New Adult category. Though upper YA could still definitely read it. And while I haven't read A Deadly Education yet, the synopsis (swipe for it) saying it's a bit like Ninth House is not wrong. There's a secret society, magic, and a FMC who's trying to find herself and overcome the loss of her best friend. Plus it sucks you in just like Ninth House does.

I really enjoyed the multiple POV. I think it gave us a better look at how both Baz and Emory were aligned, and the way so much became clear in the end - how so many people were connected without realizing it - really was so satisfying. And while I had some guesses that were actually right about certain things throughout the book, I ended up just being smug that I was right instead of upset it.

Now for the look of this book - IT'S GORGEOUS? I mean, just look at it. And the details throughout the book were just as captivating.

I am so happy I got an arc of this book, but that means it hasn't even come out yet and I'm already obsessing over when the next book in the series will be released. Please, @simonbooks, put me out of my misery and tell us the release date!

The premise of the story is intriguing. The story pulls you in with the tide and doesn't let go, until it looses focus. The first 25% of the story I was invested, the magic system and dark academic atmosphere is interesting and fresh. However as the reader I lost interest due to the constant reminder of the dead friend and self loathing. For a story like this, it doesn't need to be drawn out, but more made to the point and to move on with the plot line and characters.
This is a promising YA debut for readers that enjoy dark academia, new magic systems, and a mystery.

Thank you for Netgalley Simon & Schuster for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

What a way to start off the fall season! "Curious Tides" takes astrology to the Magical Dark Academia side and does some really interesting things with it; in the world of the novel, one's magic is tied to the tides and as a result, the moon. Everyone is divided by their birth dates and this enables everyone to be housed with others whose magic manifests in the same or similar way. I'm explaining it horribly but the magic system and the world building of this book is top notch and SO good. I don't want to give too much away but it's such a wild ride.

For a YA DA-themed fantasy book, I unfortunately did not have high expectations based off of previous books that were similarly described and ended up just being...not my cup of tea. But this? This was right up my alley. It helps that it's set in a college setting which I like so much more since I'm in graduate school and it feels less weird to read a story set in a college rather than a high school.

There were some things that I think will get better with time and honestly weren't necessarily bad. There were some characters that I found super unlikable and didn't care for them but Lacelle does a great job of making them feel grounded and real and sometimes that means there's any unlikable person or two. I also thought that the slower, more info-heavy sections were a bit too long but honestly, it wasn't even that bad.

I can't wait for the next book!

This was one of my most highly anticipated reads for this year. When I saw some advertisement for it somewhere, I was immediately sold on the idea of magic that is tied to the tides, and the dark academia vibes. And goodness did the read live up to my expectations!

The things that really stood out to me about this book was honestly the plot. I love a book in a college type environment, as I feel like it helps create such an interesting pressure cooker for the drama to unfold. With this book, add in the secret society, and it led to such an interesting combination of events. Without giving anything away (which is hard because I feel like to really gush I need to tell you all the twists and turns), I will say it was one of my more unique series of events I’ve read, and I highly recommend!

Additionally, I really liked the characters. While the romance did feel kind of cliche in some ways, it was in a very comfortable way which I felt balanced with the not as conventional rest of the plot. Emory was a relatable FMC, and I really found her journey as a young adult was along the veins of what I enjoy readings. Baz was also really interesting, and I found myself wanting to know more about him.

Finally, I have to touch on the writing. Pascale’s writing was SO lyrical and well done, I found it flowed so well and was also beautiful in many moments. She also created such an intricate and well developed world that I was shocked at points with how deep her lore went. Even for people who might not enjoy YA novels, I’d say this is probably one you’d like based on the writing and lore alone.

Overall, this was a 4.75 star read for me, and I cannot WAIT for a sequel (if there is one).

Aldryn College for Lunar Magics divides its students based on their birth dates (because their manifestation of magical powers. that aligns with that date). Students here cross houses to form connections and seek to explore the magic that others possess.

The characters here are unique and nuanced. Even if I didn't like one, I couldn't help but recognize their depth-which I'm sure will only continue to grow as the series unfolds. The pacing was great; moments to slow down and collect info and moments that had me racing through pages teetered back and forth. The world building itself was some of the best I've read all year.

This is YA dark academia at its best. I couldn't put this one down, and now I can't wait for book 2!

Overall: 4 stars
I'll tell my students about: language, magic, drugs/magical substance abuse, self-harm, death, trauma/grief, anxiety/depression/panic attacks, language, alcohol, LGBTQIA+

**Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Wow! Curious Tides took me on quite an incredible journey, and I loved every second of it.

The world-building is incredible. I’ve never seen a magic system like the one in this story, where the basis is what moon you were born under. Your precise magical abilities under that moon are determined early in your life, and your path is chosen based on that. The magic skills themselves were not unusual, but how they are determined is.

I love the dark academia aspects of the story. They help drive the world-building, being a microcosm of that world. The comp titles are Ninth House and A Deadly Education - I read both and agree. It’s an exciting combination of those two books but done in such a way that it is uniquely its own story.

The pacing is pretty quick, and the narration supports that with a third-person perspective focused alternately on Emory (the main character) and Baz. I loved the twists and turns the story took, as I didn’t see any of them coming. I was happy to be along for the ride and not spend time trying to predict what would happen.

I look forward to the next book in this series, and I was happy to find the ending of this book to be a very soft conclusion and not a true cliffhanger. Two thumbs up to the author for the choice!

“𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐓𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬” 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

A perfectly done dark academia fantasy that I absolutely devoured.

𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘈 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴’ 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴.

This book is what dark academia is all about. The world building and magical atmosphere were immaculate and I loved all the wonderful twists. I was just completely captivated with the mystery and although I was wrong about what was happening I loved it more than what I imagined. Overall this was the perfect fall dark academia fantasy mystery and I can’t wait for book 2!

Thank you so much to @simonteen @netgalley and @pascalelacelle for my review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for providing me with an eARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this novel! I absolutely loved the magic system and how the phases of the moon controlled so much. I was really invested in the mystery at the center of this story. I enjoyed the various points of view. I have been finding myself falling farther and farther away from YA fantasy, but this was such a nice surprise for me. I would like to continue to spend time in this universe. The setting was so great with the ocean and the forbidden caves. There were some points that I felt like I didn't really know what was going on, and I felt like the story started to drag a tiny bit in the middle. Otherwise, I loved it.

There was so much that I almost loved about this book but I think in the end I just wanted it to be more. Emory's flaws were unique in YA but I felt they needed time and more depth, the same with Baz's entire plotline. I love a good vibe but recently I've found a lot of books that seem to let tone muddle character and plot and I end up sliding off something that I think I could otherwise have loved.

This book was a lot. It was creative, magical, intricate, and intense. The magic system based around the tides and moon phases of birth was really interesting, and I liked the way it was designed and represented. I also really liked that Emory was allowed to make mistakes; to have the wrong magic designation, to trust the wrong people, and to make a wrong judgment. It made her so much more relatable.

The story itself was an epic, sweeping tale about a story of legend that some believed to be real, the people and magic involved, and the place that linked everything together, Dovermere. I appreciated the friendships we see formed and dismantled within this as well.

Baz is a wonderfully designed character, not knowing his own power or history, and yearning for something more despite not knowing what. Kieran is a suave, convincing character who uses his charisma to his advantage in his quest for power and knowledge. Jae is sly and secretive, helping Baz the best they can. Kai is smooth and dark and capable of harnessing so much more darkness and power than he knows. Everyone is important in some way, and the way that things start to tie together and become one major picture is so well done.

As I said, this one was intense. I had moments of joy and sadness, complete dread for what would come next, and a few moments that had my jaw dropping! This was so well orchestrated, and I can only hope to have a sequel to dive back into Dovermere and see where they all end up.

The description of this book caught my attention and while it doesn't have nearly as high of a death count as I expected based on the comparison to Deadly Education, it's definitely a great read with top notch worldbuilding.

Emory is a mediocre healer at a magical college, struggling to come to terms with the death of her best friend and seven other students during a secret ritual that she party-crashed the previous year. Baz is that best friend's brother and wielder of terrifying "eclipse" magic that is not limited by the phases of the moon. After Emory develop powers only known to legend--powers she believes to be linked to her survival of the magical ritual--she and Baz team up to figure out how to control her powers and start to uncover the secrets surrounding not just the ritual and the secret society that runs it but the nature of magic itself.

"It's always the quietest minds that hide the worst sort of violence."

"We are born of the moon and tides, and to them we return."

You know that feeling when a book consumes you completely and you can't do anything but read?? This book did that to me and it's the best feeling. The immersive writing makes you feel like you're at Aldryn College alongside the characters.

Read this if you love:
- Dark academia
- Forbidden magic
- Myths & legends
- Incredible world building
- Secret societies
- A little angst
- The moon, stars, and dreams

I loved the characters so much and I appreciated both POV's. I saw another review saying there should have been a third POV with one of the other characters, but I actually think this was perfect and that would have taken away from the story.

It's rare that I order a physical copy of an e-ARC, but I definitely will with this one. I just know the art in this book is not done justice on the ebook version. Thank you so much to NetGalley for an ARC of this incredible book! Looking forward to my physical copy and for the next book!

The dark academia book I needed! If you liked Atlas Six or Deadly Education you will love this.

Though the world building was intense I appreciated Emory's story. The dual POV with Baz kept the story going at a nice clip. But I will say sometimes I was annoyed with Emory's decision making and found the twists and turns predictable albeit still fun to read.

Definitely invested in this cast of characters and what's next! A fall must read.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster/Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

curious tides became one of my most anticipated releases as soon as I heard about it the first time. the premise is clever and intriguing but unfortunately, I don't think it's doing it for me at the moment. I won't rule out the possibility of going back to it sometime in the future, but I got about one third in and I don't find myself enough captivated to keep going for the time being. wishing all the success to pascale lacelle though!

This was a hard book to nail down a rating for multiple reasons. Ultimately, I decided on four stars because despite the issues I had with it I will be reading the next one and the book deserves credit for that.

What I loved about this book the most was the magic aspect. I loved the idea of a magic system so closely connected to the tides and the moon. The magic system was hard to grasp a certain points, but since this is only the first book I am suspecting some of the answers will be revealed then. There were also secret societies and houses for the students (this is considered a dark academia book).

I loved the descriptions of the school itself and the expansive libraries that are available to the students. This book deeply immerses you into the academic atmosphere of Aldryn College. I was invested in the mystery from start to finish and I am ready to find even more answers in the sequel.

Another aspect that I cannot praise enough is the diversity, especially the queer rep. Although the FMC Emery is not queer, she is surrounded by queer supporting characters. These aspects are never questioned or challenged and that filled me with joy.

Emery is not meant to be a likeable character, she has flaws and character traits that are grating and annoying from page to page. I understood her and why she became like she did but I could not feel for her in any capacity even towards the end of the book. I did not enjoy most of the characters in this book, and I had a hard time engaging with them. Baz, Jae, and Kai were my favorite characters and I came to love them so much. I am hoping the next book shows more of them and enables the characters to grow more as they come to terms with their world findings.

Despite my feelings towards Emery (which I admit colored my view of the book slightly), the mystery of the story and the magic elements kept me reading more and I will be anxiously awaiting the sequel.