Pascale Lacelle came for neck again. I haven't been attached to a series like this in so long and its completely refreshing to get caught up in a world and it's characters and it's magic so fully you don't see the time passing.

This book was nothing short of a masterpiece—an intricately woven tapestry of beautiful prose, unparalleled worldbuilding, jaw-dropping twists, and deeply compelling characters.

From the very first page, Lacelle’s writing pulls you in. Her words are both stunning and purposeful, crafting a story where every detail matters. The worldbuilding in this series is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced—dark, lush, and entirely unique. The settings are so vividly described that my imagination ran wild, picturing every scene as if I were there. And the magic system? It’s mind-blowing in its complexity and originality, expanding in ways I couldn’t have predicted but loved every moment of.

The plot is a thrilling, emotional rollercoaster filled with twists and revelations that left me gasping. Just when I thought I had things figured out, Lacelle proved me wrong time and time again. The execution of each twist was flawless, and the final pages left me desperate for more.

What truly makes this book shine, though, are the characters. The growth and dynamics among them are breathtakingly real. Emory’s transformation from someone I didn’t care for in the first book to a character I now adore is a testament to Lacelle’s skill in crafting complex, evolving personalities. Her friendship with Virgil is one of my favorites, layered with mutual respect and growth. Baz is a standout—one of my favorite characters ever. His journey is heartfelt and deeply relatable, and his bond with Kai? Absolute perfection. Their dynamic is everything I could have hoped for, and watching them grow individually and together was a joy.

Romie, on the other hand, still drives me up the wall—but even that speaks to how well Lacelle writes her characters. And the new additions to the cast? Intriguing and full of potential. I can’t wait to see how their stories unfold.

And let’s talk about the romance. The slow burn was exquisite, and when my ship finally became canon, I was a mess of emotions—tears, joy, and sheer excitement. It was everything I wanted and more.

Stranger Skies is a masterclass in storytelling. With unforgettable characters, a breathtaking world, and twists that will leave you reeling, it’s a book that sets a new standard for fantasy. I’m absolutely in awe of what Lacelle has created and cannot wait to see how this incredible series concludes in book three. This is a story I’ll be thinking about for a long, long time.

'Stranger Skies' picks up after the events of Pascale Lacelle's stunning YA debut 'Curious Tides' with more mysterious, cozy 'dark academia'. 'Curious Tides' struggled a bit with pacing in my opinion but 'Stranger Skies' is much better in this regard, having got a lot of the world-building over with in the initial novel. Lots of twists and turns and new characters as well as returning characters. Lacelle excels at big reveals and twists and this book was no exception. Recommended.

This was great read with a wonderful story and relatable characters. It’s easy to get lost in the pages and hard to put down. Highly recommend

Pascale Lacelle is such a talented author and I was so excited to get back into this incredible world that she has created and learn more about the history. Her world building is amazing and the magic system is such a refreshing new concept. Love her writing style and this book.

I had a really fun time diving back into the world of this book. I had my issues with it, but I still overall enjoyed myself because I like the characters and I think the story has potential. I think it was trying to be too many things all at once, which was a very cool concept but made me feel a bit like I couldn't catch my footing. I didn't feel rooted in the story or stable enough to know what was going on all the time since we were jumping timelines and universes often. I think it may have benefited from having fewer worlds and new characters. I am excited to see where we go from that ending though and will definitely enjoy being reunited with the characters in book 3!!!

I stuck it out for just over 100 pages and then decided to call it quits. I had a hard time engaging with the characters and having much empathy for them. While I appreciate Lacelle's efforts in world building and expanding upon what she started in Curious Tides, I had trouble tracking with everything that happened. Other readers may be willing to stick it out for the end reward, but at this time I am not.

This is a god tier book. Oh my god. I just finished this & I feel like I need to stare at a wall for an hour to process everything that just happened. The magic in this series is actually insanely well done. The magic doesn’t just support the characters in following through with the plot, the magic is the entire essence of the world & plot. It’s actually crazy how intricately this world & magic system is built & how so so many details were expertly placed to play a role in some way. This book blew my mind. It broke my brain. This was incredibly well done & I genuinely don’t know how I can go on with life without knowing what happens next. Thanks Pascale for ruining every other book ever for me because I don’t think anything else will compare to this.

THANK YOU Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC copy - this is quite possibly my most prized possession & I will be in your emails begging you for an ARC of the next book right away.

I really enjoyed Curious Tides and was so excited to be approved for this title. The magic continues here, but I felt that perhaps it continued for too long - this lost the snappiness and page-turning excitement that the first installment had, traded in for deeper world-building across multiple worlds and timelines that felt draggy and overwhelming at times. All the same, I'm glad this series has another installment remaining in the future and I look forward to finding out what happens next to this group of magic-wielders.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was so freaking good. The writing style is beautiful and so intricate. The world is so unique and I wanna be there so bad, especially helped with the amazing descriptions.

I absolutely loved the characters. They are so complex, and their growth was admirable. Their dynamics with each other and the friendships were amazing.

I LIVED for the plot twists. There were so many things I never saw coming and had me shook.
The slow burn romance was EVERYTHING and the angst has me in shambles.

I absolutely cannot wait for the third book!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

Infinite stars. I’m honestly speechless.

Shoutout to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

This was such an incredible continuation of the Drowned Gods trilogy, I was absolutely blown away by the way that Pascale expanded this world and story in a way that felt so natural but also unexpected. Picking up right after the events of Curious Tides, we get to follow Emory, Romie, Baz and Kai as they navigate new worlds and times.

I loved having multiple POV’s in this book, as it helped give a more well-rounded view of both people and events. We meet new characters, and get to know familiar faces even better. Baz and Kai truly have my whole entire heart, and so many moments between them had me either crying or giggling and cheering them on. Emory also experienced so much growth in this book, and I’m so invested in where her story will take us!

I will never stop praising this book and series, and I cannot wait for the finale!

This is the second book in the series, and although the overall characters and vibe were similar, the setting and story took a turn. Instead of taking place mostly at the college, this book takes the characters into different worlds, timelines and introduces entire new aspects to the world.

I really loved this book, and I’m hooked into the series. It did occasionally get a little too deep into the details, and I got a bit lost with the gods and the worlds and the levels and kinds of power. But I still loved the entire concept, of magic tied to the elements, and the characters had me enthralled.

I found the pages going by quick, even though I didn’t have a ton of time to read over the last week, when I did I immediately fell back into the story and it was hard to pull away from.

Can’t wait for book 3.

Thanks to simonschusterca for my copy, I was thrilled to receive it.

after the events of Curious Tides, Emory reunites with romie but is separated from baz.
In an attempt to join them/ solve the mysteries of the academy and institution, baz,and kai,are sent back to a dangerous time and meet the author of Song of the Drowned Gods
Em and romie are lost in the otherworld of the drowned gods battling umbrans and other creatures
new characters are introduced alone with old friends and foes
a wonderful sequel to the 1st novel, one of my new favourite series! I am super excited i was able to read to 2nd book! seeing all my favourite characters come back and will be searching for a physical copy!
Friendships are tested across time and worlds as Pascale puts us through an emotional rollercoaster!!

Book review: 4/5 ⭐️
Genre: YA fantasy
Themes: myths and stories, knowledge as power, shadow and light
📖 Read if you like: A Study in Drowning, The Hurricane Wars, Ninth House

I had mixed feelings about Curious Tides. It had a lot of promise, and I probably would have given the concept 4.5 ⭐️, but the characters lacked any depths and are were terribly cliche falling into obvious traps, which we hear about through a string of rambling thoughts in many of the chapters. This dropped my overall review somewhere in the 2.5 ⭐️ ballpark. The saving grace was of course the magical system interwoven with legend, and the supporting cast. Kai and Jae alone with the eclipse born mystery could have made me want to read this series. I wasn’t sure if I was going to read the next book as I had enough of Emory, but I am sure glad I was able to get an advanced copy of the next instalment because the story was wonderfully imagined with puzzle pieces fitting together in a creative way.

Emory grew on me, mostly because in comparison Romie was the terribly flat character. Clearly a bad friend, self-centred and judgemental, she lacked the enigmatic persona that I expected from her character after Emory and Baz waxed poetically about her in book 1. It didn’t really make sense why she inspired any loyalty, nor the friendship she claimed to have with Emory. Even with her POV I couldn’t understand why she was so self-righteous and complaining constantly while doing nothing herself. The Emory-Romie chapters were particularly painful to read. If you’re going to have a duplicitous friend make them more interesting, a puritan more polarizing, an outright villain more devious. This lack of commitment left Romie boring I’m afraid.

As with the first book, the supporting characters were much more interesting and saved the day with a group ensemble. There were several new faces and some old favourites. Putting the relationship of the MCs aside, the plot was where this book really shined. It was creative and integrated mythological stories within stories, time travel and gods well into the existing world. It was certainly an adventure with a unique magical system that varied somewhat throughout the worlds and a twist that could be seen, but I didn’t mind it. I wish there was a bit more lead up to the final unveiling given how long this book was, but I am just enamoured by the world building and the creative plot.

Traversing the sleepscape to enter different doors and fulfill the prophecy to bring back the gods is not as simple as it was written. Not to mention Baz and Kai being pulled into a new challenge out of time itself. As these parallel story lines collide we discover what is really at the heart of The Song of Drowned Gods and the sacrifices needed to save magic and the worlds from collapsing. When the dragon entered the scene that was the final selling point. If you like plot-forward YA with a really creative concept and some dark academia you may enjoy this one.

Sometimes second chances really do pay off! Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced e-book.

I loved Curious Tides and this book did not disappoint in terms of the character development of some of my favourite characters. Although the pace was a little slow and I was unsure about how the characters were split up, I really had a great time reading this book. I cannot wait for the next one!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this arc in exchange for an honest review .

“As with most stories, this one begins with the gods.”

This book is a RIDE. I absolutely loved Curious Tides and was so very excited to join Emory and the gang again in Stranger Skies.

The sequel did not disappoint! Time travel? New worlds? DRAGONS?!? A possible new shadow daddy (was that tension on purpose…or am I crazy)?

Now I will say, Curious Tides was one of my top five favourite books of 2023, so I feel I can honestly say this with all good heart; Stranger Skies is too long (and I do believe there is some filler to take it over the 600 page mark).

It is A LOT.

BUT if you stick with it, the ending and all the pieces coming together was everything I loved from Curious Tides - so it is 100% worth it (but also, note to authors, a book can be clever and not be the size of an encyclopedia).

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada, Edelweiss, NetGalley and Pascale Lacelle for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. Stranger Skies comes out on Tuesday, November 5th.

I enjoyed the first book, so I had high hopes for this one, and it delivered. Dare I say, I might have even liked the sequel better than the first! There were lots of twists, and the plot kept me on the edge of my seat, as a lot happens in this book! I enjoyed the multiple point of views as well. Overall, a great read, and I look forward to reading the last book to see how everything wraps up.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC!

I loved Curious Tides and I was super excited to be approved to read the sequel early, almost as excited as I was when I learned that it would be a trilogy instead of a duology. I was wary about the multiple points of views that Stranger Skies introduced, but I didn't find it overwhelming and it worked well. None of the characters felt like I was reading the same character's point of view, either. I was SO excited about the one budding romance in this sequel, that I will not spoil, and I hope they are end game. I cannot wait to read the third book! I need it yesterday.

Review: Stranger Skies by Pascale Lacelle

Stranger Skies is a stunning sequel full of twists and high stakes adventure. I have tried to write this review for so long and my words have come up short of how much I loved it. I immersed myself back into the world and luxuriated in every minute I got to spend with Baz, Emory, and the others.

This series is a unique play on dark academia and a school of magic. I thoroughly enjoyed the first and was anxiously awaiting the second, and it did not disappoint! If anything, I may love the sequel even more due to the beautiful writing and growing cast of characters. The portal aspect of the stories also continues to take the reader on twists and turns, and scintillating adventures.

I don’t want to give anything away, so all I can say is that if you haven’t read this series, please do! It is the perfect chilly weekend read with delightful characters and a magical world created with depth and detail.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

SUCH a good sequel! I loved getting to know all the new characters, and the plot kept me so on my toes. At one point I was shocked that so much was happening at such an early point in the story, and the excitement just kept going from there! There were so many interesting character parallels that I just loved as well, and Pascale’s prose is, once again, beautiful.

If you haven’t read this series yet, you’re truly missing out!!