3/5 Stars | Tales, Tails, Tides, and Tangents

Lore of the Tides had so much potential, and while I really enjoyed parts of it, it ultimately didn’t hit the same as Lore of the Wilds for me.

What I liked: Lore continues to be a strong and compelling character, and I appreciated how this book stayed centered on her growth and perspective. The world was also expanded in exciting ways—I especially enjoyed getting to meet new characters (the sirens in particular were a standout). The lore (pun intended) of this universe continues to be rich and intriguing, and those glimpses into the wider world were some of the most compelling parts for me.

What I didn't like: That said, the pacing felt disjointed and meandering, and the structure of the book often worked against the story it was trying to tell. It felt like two books crammed into one—trying to balance a cozy, character-driven tone and a sweeping fantasy arc—but neither aspect had the time or space to fully land. The cozy elements had potential, but often felt forced or unnecessary (for example, the orc’s backstory and the overly detailed hotel setting didn’t add much for me). I found myself wanting a stronger throughline—either a tighter plot or more in-depth character development—but instead, most of the narrative was carried by Lore’s monologues in a “tell, don’t show” way that left me a bit disappointed.

I wanted to love this, and I still think there’s so much to admire in the world and its potential, but this one didn’t sweep me away the way I hoped it would. Still, I’ll be keeping an eye out for whatever comes next from Analeigh Sbrana!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the advance copy of this book!

Lore of the Tides is an amazing end to its duology! The plot was original, fascinating, and addictive. Lores adventures almost give me Lord of the Rings level vibes.

Lore is a heroine through and through but I loved the power she held and how she chose to use it, from beginning to the end. This character lives deeply but she is not to be trifled with!! Lore is strong-willed, clever, and passionate which makes her super easy to root for.
The sexual tension and scenes were swoon-worthy, of course! However, it’s the respect between the characters that makes it hot as hell.
If y’all are looking for a new adult romantasy, I highly recommend you pick up this duology!

2.5 Stars

Thank You NetGalley for providing me with this ARC!

I had several issues with this book and was expecting to like it much better than the first. The pacing was the main thing I disliked, with the first half of the book being very slow and almost feeling like filler. Then when we get to points that needed to be drawn out, they were rushed and constantly move on to the next thing giving me constant whiplash. I also disliked Lore's extremely long inner monologues that would be repetitive. I had a problem with this in the first book as well. This author's writing style does not resonate with me. I would have Lore to have more character development as she felt like she had no growth for most the book. I was more interested in the world than I was with the romance; a lot of the smutty scenes were rushed and felt out of place. I also wished our love interests would be more fleshed out as I felt a lot of her conversations with Finndryl lacked depth.

I did enjoy the representation we had throughout the book and the banter between the characters.

Honestly, I’m not sure what I was expecting here but it certainly wasn’t what I got.

Let’s start with the good:
— The focus on POC characters was refreshing from the standard fantasy romance where the FMC is as white as wonder bread and the MMC is “lightly tanned.”
— The new characters were interesting.
— The expansion of the world made things much more exciting. The side quest to Lapis Deep was fun to read as I’m not sure if I’ve read a fantasy romance with fae that features a queendom fully underwater.

Onto the bad:
— The pacing here was really off. Nothing happened in the first 40% of the book. Then when things start actually happening, they all happen so quickly that they felt meaningless. I was skimming pages for a good portion of this one and felt like I missed nothing.
— The intimate scenes between our heroine and her love interest came up out of nowhere. A lot of relationship background was established in book one and then never established again, leading to no sort of build up in this book.
— This book’s prose was wildly different than that in book one. From the way the characters spoke to descriptions of intimate scenes, everything was wildly different. Mostly for the better, but in a way that was so jarring that the stories feel disjointed despite taking place back to back.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

2 stars flat. I didn't love the first book in this series but I had hope that the writing would get better in the second book. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I had so many issues with this book. The writing just felt so juvenile for no reason. I'm not even sure how old the FMC is supposed to be but she reads like a naive and clueless 18 year old. The MMCs were slightly better but their use of "good girl" actually made me want to vomit. The dialogue itself didn't feel right either, regardless of the phrases that didn't seem to fit in, nothing flowed well.

Here is a short list of the most annoying parts of this book:
1. The use of ellipses. I swear there were times that there were 8+ on a kindle page. I'm sorry, but this is a horrible choice especially when it came to the dialogue. Tell me why there were three ellipses in a single dialogue sentence. It's unnecessary and ruins the flow! No one speaks like that either.
2. The overuse of the word "hush" why are all of these characters constantly hushing each other??? It was giving me school teacher vibes and these are supposed to be villains saying it? I will give you Lore. She seems like the type. But the others? No.
3. The use of "kiddos" was so goddamn annoying. No one was capable of saying kids or children, it was always kiddos???? Not to mention human and fae said it. I'm assuming they're all a bunch of millennials. I'm surprised I didn't read the word doggo in here too.
4. "Good girl" I'm sorry but there is a time and place and this was NOT it. It felt so wrong every single time it was said.
5. Authors need to do a simple google search of the difference between venomous and poisonous. I have DNF'd books solely for the reason of getting it wrong and I WISH I would have done that in this but no, I had to push through only for the words to be used interchangeably. THEY'RE NOT INTERCHANGABLE, PLEASE USE GOOGLE. ITS FREE! I will not get off my soap box for this.
6. I don't understand the magic system (or lack thereof) and I found everything to just be too convenient (<easily getting Finn and Isla powers again>) or utterly useless (<Ember's entire existence>).
7. Whatever the fuck that ending was. <it was so anticlimactic to the point where I almost just stopped and didn't read the rest of the book. Like I didn't even care anymore>

Anyway. Wish I could have liked this but in my opinion the entire duology can be skipped. Which sucks because the covers are so gorgeous!

What an adventure!! This was a nice conclusion to this duology.

Thank you Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC

I love a good duology, and this one is up there! Everything that you could want, an epic adventure about saving the ones that you love & making hard choices.

This series should have been called a series of unfortunate events because Lore counldnt catch a break.. My girl had something new to grieve every 15 pages. the ending is a bit fast paced compared to the rest of the book. and it wasnt the happy ending i was looking forward to.

Analeigh Sbrana is a breath of fresh air to the realm of fantasy. This duology is underhyped!! It's truly a perfect duet. I couldn't put down the first one when it premiered, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to read this as well and it did not disappoint in any way.

This has everything I need to stay engaged with a story - chemistry, banter to die for, that found family and the magic is a realm of its own! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to have read this. Bravo!

I DNF'd it about a quarter of the way though. The premise sounded really interesting and I thought it would be a great read but it just wasn't for me. I felt the plot was moving way too slow and lore is kind of annoying. When I saw how many hours I had left to read on my kindle I was disappointed rather than excited and that's when I really realized how much I wasn't enjoying the book.

This was well written, but not well thought out. The plot was sped through in important areas and then lasted longer in filler areas. Lore is very fickle with turbulent emotions - she’s either horny or pissed or crying. Her emotions change so frequently its like she’s bipolar. The book seemed very immature? Or very simple so the sex scenes really threw me off. The first book was supposed to be a love triangle tease that follows in this book but it didn’t. She hyperfixated on Asher in book one and then hyperfixated on Finn in this book. I still don’t know how she ended up liking Asher and then essentially dropping those emotions to falling deeply in love with Finn. There was no buildup or moments that led me to understanding why she loved them. Also how many times is she gonna say the journey is dangerous? Like girl I think the fae are more used to danger then you are. For a weak human who just got magic, she acts like she’s all powerful. The ending was so anticlimactic and I unfortunately did relish a little in her suffering. I also was thrown off by a fantasy world of horses and carts also having jollof rice and stitch braids. It wasn’t adding up lol. I love that this book focused on POC characters but alot was missing for me overall.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book, but I feel like this world would have actually benefited from a trilogy rather than a Duology-or at least this book could have been significantly expanded upon. There’s sort of four main challenges within this book, without giving spoilers, and the first two could have been their own book, followed by the second two. It felt a bit rushed, and each of these points could have taken a little longer. Maybe because it’s supposed to be more cozy fantasy, everyone’s a little nicer and not as impeding as the main villain (who we only even see in the last 5% of this entire Duology), but it just felt like there could have been more. More time spent on each challenge, more time where Lore actually faces the real villain and loses, so we can see how much she grows, more time spent between “side quests” where the characters are happy and safe and just hanging out and having a good time-these scenes really help with the character growth. We introduce new characters and see more of old characters without ever actually getting much character growth from anyone. The story is solid and I enjoy the characters we do get to know, but it’s not a 5 star for me because I feel the structure is rushed and needs more time to breathe.

Lore of the Tides is artistically different than Lore of the Wilds. Be ready!

Book one in the duology, which I shorthand as Wilds, reads like a soft moonlit night spent in a cozy house. It is a gentle lamb of book, and it reads steady like the phases of the moon. The plot of Wilds does cycle into darkness, but only momentarily.

Tides, on the other hand, flys close to the sun. It is Tyger, Tyger burning bright. A roaring fire. Unpredictable and bursting with flame. It hurts sometimes. Like the sun, this adventurous book does not stop blazing, nor does it run out of fuel.

The major differences between Wilds and Tides is by design, of course! Wilds mirrors the lunar-themed grimoire - The Deeping Lune - in Lore's possession for most of book one, whereas Tides mirrors the fiery Book of Sunbeams (also know as Auroradel) that she searches far and wide for in book two.

It is tempting to call Lore of the Tides by Analeigh Sbrana revenge fantasy, but Lore is driven by justice not vengeance. Lore of the Tides is (refreshingly) a justice fantasy.

Seeing Lore's version of justice play out on the page - entirely on her terms - was a great reading experience, but not an easy one. Justice, after all, is not an easy thing. Admittedly, there were some particularly despairing and violent moments where it was comforting for me to remember that I was reading Fantasy Romance with an HEA. Analeigh Sbrana does not pull punches in this book.

There is some great writing to savor in book two! Analeigh Sbrana's talent for writing metaphors shined in this sequel. My favorite metaphor appeared in a Chapter 4 moment where Lore's anxiety gets paired up with millstone imagery. Her anxiety is a stone that's constantly "grinding serenity to a fine dust." Chef's kiss!

Keep an eye out for my other favorite metaphor, a Chapter 1 moment where Sbrana pairs molten anger with plugged geysers.

Not to be missed or glossed over: There's the most direct, incredible, and just perfect representation of period pain in the field in Chapter 32. Brava Analeigh Sbrana for not shying away from this topic!

Lastly, this duology has a lot to say, but one of my favorite themes is that libraries, private and public, are places of refuge and safety. This book says over and over again that libraries literally hold the knowledge that will save a society from collapse. This focus makes me teary with gratitude for Analeigh Sbrana. In 2025, with our libraries under so much threat from the current administration, it's just so meaningful to see a library theme play out this triumphantly.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC! After the way the last book ended was really looking forward to this sequel and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed the adventure in this one, meeting new characters and learning more about the world. There were a few times I found myself losing interest there in the middle but not for long. This was a strong sequel and conclusion.

Thank you Net Galley and Harper Voyager for the ARC! I was so excited to read this sequel and it did not dissapoint. Lore of the Tides was a great ending to this duology.
I loved seeing Lore come into her own as a strong, powerful woman. It was fun to explore the magic in this world more in this book too. Oj the flip side, it was also cool that the author incorporates everyday stuff women deal with (periods, managing unruly curls). There were a few parts that felt unorganized and left me with questions (like how they decided to go to the underwater volcano for instance)... but maybe this will be cleared up before official release.
Overall I loved the book and it left me feeling all the feels!! Bonus points go to the cover artist, the cover is amazing!

Thank you Netgalley & Harper Voyager for gifting me with an eARC, all thoughts expressed are my own.

To start: I felt like this book provided an excellent follow up, and conclusion, to Lore of the Wilds. It definitely fit well as a duology, and I enjoyed the character arcs and romance throughout.

This book felt different than the first, in that it felt like multiple mini stories in one novel. To equate it to a known story: it feels similar to The Witcher - with mini side quests, new friends, and monsters. I did enjoy the new places to see. I loved the town of Galjien on the water, the siren city, the Golden Cascades.

When I started this story, my immediate thought was: Lore should come with the warning, violent when provoked. Her dependence on her anger rules her emotions and interactions, and led to many an internal monologue. But as the book progressed, so did her growth and emotional maturity.

Lastly, the romance! I really appreciated the tender moments that were incorporated (he braids her hair!), in addition to the intimate moments. I felt torn up until the end, on who I wanted Lore to end up with. But I liked how Analeigh chose to portray how things ended in a way that was open, yet fully satisfying.

I was so hyped to receive an e-ARC from Netgalley for this book! The first book was one of my favs last year, so I was so excited to receive this.
Lore Of The Tides has the same slow-build pacing as the first book. This next book in the duology takes us to the open seas and we explore places we didn't get to go in the first book. I love Lore's character, and it was so nice to be back with her and the other familiar faces from the first book, as well as the new faces.
There were so many beautiful quotes that I have screenshots of that I plan to highlight once I get my hands on a physical copy.
I do feel like the ending was oddly rushed for how big of a threat something was made out to be. But I also know that the ARC was a very early version of the book, so hopefully the ending is stronger in the final version? Time will tell.
I wish that Finndryl's character had had more time to shine. I found him to be really interesting in the first book, but in this book he kinda felt like he was just there to hype Lore up (which I love him for, tbh) and to occasionally fight on her behalf when needed, but that's about it. I was hoping to see more of how his personal goals conflicted with his desires, but it felt like most of the time when there was a potential conflict that involved him, it was just kinda sidelined and not addressed. Maybe this will be remedied in the final version, but I have less hope for this.
I did enjoy the conclusion to Asher/Syrelle's character arc and I thought that was well done. I find him to be a more interesting love interest than Finndryl, but Finndryl was my fav.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and I'm excited to get my hands on a final physical copy!

I will read anything Analeigh Sbrana writes. I absolutely love how she writes and tells stories.
I love a good fantasy duology and did Analeigh DELIVER!
Lore is a strong female character, exactly what I want to read these days.
I am obsessed with the humor, adventure, romance and the banter. The world building was written very well and it was easy to picture the new places we visited.
Many thanks to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for letting me read this early. I can’t wait to get my physical copy on release day!

This was a great ending to the Lore of the Wilds duology! You do need to read the first book as the story picks up right where the first book ends. I could not put this book down! There was almost non-stop action, the pacing was wonderful. The only thing that keep this from being a 5 star read was the few spice scenes. The male character says "good girl" to the female character and it just felt very degrading. Like he was talking to a child or a dog, very off putting. Thankfully, there was not much spice in the book. Overall, this is a wonderful story.

This was wonderful. I loved book one and that ended on a cliff hanger and when I got this arc, I read it so fast. This is such a fun and unique story and I can’t wait to see where this series goes. Definitely worth the read.