Absolutely beautiful story - the writing pulled me in and kept me tightly wrapped in the vivid imagery. The development of the main characters was well balanced, with there being just enough information for me to care but not overly heavy deposition to cover their past. I received an ARC and the detail within the ebook is gorgeous - black print pages, the images of the Moon phases, the maps and the interwoven story of Song of The Drowned Gods. So much attention to detail is really appreciated by me as a reader. I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy and read it all again. Then get lost in the other half of the duology!

This was beautifully written, with what I would describe as poetic world building.
It started off and played right through as a mystery, building off of relationships and character developments. It was a slow building story, but with with a large crescendo.
The last 30% of this book became a really page turner and I couldn’t put it down but for more coffee.
It has a very unique magic system, that was easy enough to understand, and made me excited to explore.

A thoroughly enjoyable read 5/5

I’m looking forward to seeing what else this Author puts out into the world

3.9⭐️

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for giving me a copy of this to review!

In the Curious Tides world, people have powers based on the moon’s position at the time of birth. There are four lunar houses (new moon, full moon, waxing moon and waning moon), and people’s powers are dependent on their tidal alignments within their lunar house. For example, those born during the rising tide of a new moon are healers, while those born at the ebbing tide of a new moon are seers.

Of course, as well as the above four lunar houses, there is the rarer, “outcast” house, which is for anyone born during an eclipse. Their powers are feared and although they are not completely ostracised from society, they are not welcomed by any means, and are often the subject of discrimination.

This is a dual POV book. We first meet our FMC Emory, who says she was born during a new moon at rising tide, making her a healer. She is a quiet, reserved person who has always found herself living in the shadow of her best friend, Romie. From Emory’s perspective, Romie is the classically charming and charismatic girl who everyone loves. Of course, things happen along the way which change the way Emory sees herself (and the way others see her), but she goes through a big (sometimes painful to read) learning curve before this can happen.

Our MMC Baz is eclipse born (so part of the “outcast” house), and it’s really interesting to see how he’s treated by others within the world, and how he internalises that treatment.

As a reader, I could see the writing on the wall for the way certain things were going to play out and it got a bit frustrating to read Emory’s internal monologue at certain points. However, the reason I say these events are sometimes painful to read is not because it’s badly written. Rather, Emory is almost painfully human. I may have disagreed with some of her actions based on what I thought was likely to happen, but came to an understanding of why she thought or acted in particular ways - she has been through trauma, and others in the story can see this, and take advantage of it to further their own interests.

There is also some beautiful prose in this book. I sometimes find that prose can be written in a pretentious way (like it’s included just for the sake of being “flowery”), but I didn’t find that to be the case in this book.

Overall, I enjoyed getting to know the characters. I think I would say I preferred the chapters which were from the MMC’s point of view (only because of the frustrations I had with the FMC’s internal monologue, as I mentioned above). And the ending definitely leaves me wanting to read the sequel to see what’s going to happen next!

I really enjoyed Curious Tides from start to finish. It is a polished YA fantasy tale with an intriguing plot, excellent world building and relatable, well-drawn characters. The story moved at a good pace and I raced through it in just three nights, always wanting to turn the page and keep reading. I would definitely read more books by this author in the future and I recommend Curious Tides to any fans of dark academia fantasy and/or fantasy with a mythology bent as it is a well executed work with a fresh and fascinating premise. I am giving it 5 stars.

Curious Tides was brilliant. Tidal and moon magic is a great concept, which was very exciting to explore.

Some things I loved:
- The length. It's a big, juicy fantasy, that bookworms will adore sinking their teeth into. - The character growth. Emory and Baz are different people by the end of the book. Sometimes protagonists (especially "heroes" like we kind of have here) can be completely immune to their own shortcomings, but Emory and Baz both self reflect and grow.
- The way the magic was described. It was otherworldly and beautiful and sometimes terrifying.
- It had everything a good fantasy needs: a map, a chosen one/s, and a few names I can't pronounce.

Who I'd sell this to:
- People who love fantasy but haven't read it in ages, and want to get back into it. A duology isn't as big a commitment as a trilogy or longer.
- Grandmas who know their grandkid likes "that Maas woman" but would be mortified to gift a book with sexy bits.

Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to receive this ARC.

Reading this book felt like a breath of fresh air.

The beautiful world building is one of a kind, creating a different plane of existence and playing around with the concept of liminal spaces, while teasing the possibility of other realms.

The magical lore was a highlight of this book. The intricate rules and various abilities, all unique to each other, while balancing the complex topic of prejudice.

Let’s not forget about the beautiful chapter heading art.

I can’t wait for the second instalment.

This was a great debut, with an awful lot to like. It struck a great balance between hitting a lot of the tried and true YA fantasy tropes, while injecting them--and the book itself--with fresh spins. The characters were interesting and well rounded, and I particularly appreciated seeing both a love triangle done well, and a male lead who bucked the typical YA fantasy stereotypes. In fact, for me the male characters were the ones whose character writing stood out: Emory was a decent lead though not an extraordinary one, while Baz, Keiran and Kai were all particularly complex and interesting. The magic system was well developed and really cool (Moon and water magic!! Yes please!), the mysteries compelling, and I particularly loved the atmosphere of 'creepy caves and ocean'-based dark academia. The aesthetics of the book itself are also gorgeous.

There were a few rough edges, however. The prose was unremarkable and relied too much on sentence fragments. The first half of the book in particular was also far too heavy in exposition and navel gazing; it's a very long book for a YA fantasy debut and definitely could have been tightened. I also felt that many of the most significant character moments came through telly-y inner monologue rather than being shown in a way that made their significance hit home. And while this is really a matter of taste, for me the story felt too much *about* the magic system and its (often a bit convoluted) worldbuilding. That's very much a preference thing though; I'm sure many readers will love exactly that. It's also worth nothing that the book doesn't stand alone, reading very much like the first in a series. Hopefully the recent S&S acquisition won't hurt the publication of the next volume.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable upper YA read from a promising new author whose career I'm excited to follow. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!