The Tide and the Stars

"The Tide and the Stars" by Dylan Roche is a captivating maritime adventure that sweeps readers away on a journey across the high seas. Roche's masterful storytelling and richly detailed world-building bring to life the vibrant tapestry of nautical lore and legend.

The novel follows the exploits of a diverse cast of characters, each with their own dreams, struggles, and motivations, as they navigate the treacherous waters of the Caribbean. Roche's characters are vividly drawn and deeply compelling, drawing readers into their world with empathy and authenticity.

What sets "The Tide and the Stars" apart is Roche's impeccable attention to detail, from the intricacies of shipboard life to the pulse-pounding action of naval battles. The prose is lyrical and evocative, painting a vivid portrait of life on the open ocean that is both exhilarating and immersive.

Overall, "The Tide and the Stars" is a thrilling maritime adventure that will appeal to fans of historical fiction and nautical tales alike. Roche's talent for storytelling shines brightly in this engrossing novel, making it a must-read for anyone who loves a rip-roaring adventure on the high seas.

This is such a 5 star read for me. This is fantastic. Super lovely writing, the characters are super amazing and interesting.

This book was a solid stab at a coming of age adventure fantasy. The themes of overcoming self doubt are very prevalent and articulated many times throughout the book.

One thing to note is that this book definitely feels very Middle Age to me. Initially I went in thinking it was going to be adult fantasy and it took me a while to adjust.

The plot is extremely simple and basic to follow which could be good for beginner readers! If you have any middle school aged kids wanting to get into fantasy adventure this could be great for them!

For the adults looking at reading this, I have a bit of a different opinion. The story points are extremely elementary and also feel like the problems come and go so quickly. It takes the characters no time to overcome challenges and the story just moves on.

Without giving too much away, I also found myself wondering why and how certain things were happening. I couldn’t always understand the logic, or how convenience played a part in the characters overcoming their obstacles.

There were also some glaring plot holes that I don’t think a younger reader would notice, but if you are an adult fantasy reader this will leave you saying “WAIT WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?” Or “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THAT?”

Overall I would give say this is a 2.5 star read personally, but if I was a middle age reader it could be more of a 3.5 star. So I rounded it out in the middle at a 3!!

This is a lovely story: fairytale in quality, with two different POVs. It's detailed, strong worldbuilding, with a real hint of Narnia to it. If you like stories of young princes lost and princesses, this might be the one for you.

i absolutely loved the fairytale elements in this. the world-building was really captivating and i really enjoyed every minute i spent in this world.

the characters felt very real and it was easy to connect with them, but i think the standout for me with this was the writing. it was so lyrical and i pulled everything together beautifully.

i really look forward to reading more from this author.

thank you so much to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc 🫶🏻

Written with great enthusiasm and love of storytelling, “The Tide & The Stars” is a fun ride.

I kept hearing Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” in my head as the story unfolded. Fans of T. Kingfisher and J. A. Zarifian will likely enjoy the fairy tale vibe of this adventure.

Solidly a middle grade read, might be great for young readers/writers who are interested in learning how to structure a story. The bones of this story may be too apparent for older readers, though I still found myself getting swept away from time to time despite being way older than the target demographic!

Thank you to Indigo River Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.

This is a sweet adventure story in which the question is asked if fate is in our own hands or written in the stars. It's a big theme in a young voice that isn't shy about reiteration, and the story itself is well-balanced between an earnest plot and it's self-aware tropiness. It reads like a nostalgic fairytale and has the vivid side characters of an 80s Henson film. It's a delightful (and almost... cozy?) fantasy read!

I was really looking to read this. The blur was amazing ....I think I got to about halfway through, and then I started to get bored... there were things written that didn't really make sense, and it kept jumping around.

It came across as a YA book, then felt like it dropped down to a child's book. It seemed to be promoting several issues like anxiety and self-confidence, which is fantastic, but then it seems to keep bringing these issues up every two minutes. There was also an attempt at girl power and then resulted back to the whining girl needs a man to save her....both becoming annoying.

At times, characters involved from the beginning seemed to be forgotten about and then just jumped back into the story again.....

This could have been such a great book, but didn't really hot the spot for me

This book is a lively YA fantasy adventure with strong themes surrounding found family, overcoming low self esteem (and in turn, gaining confidence and believing in oneself), kindness, and teamwork. I would recommend this book unhesitatingly to a late middle grade/early high school level reader with an appetite for reading about plucky young protagonists, interesting magical critters, and high fantasy escapades.

Thoughts: while I personally would have preferred more time for the love interest angles to develop (it was a bit of love-at-first-sight), the four main characters were very likable. I wish there had been more time to enjoy each of those characters, to explore beneath surface-level interests and motivations, to learn more about why their connections with one another were so immediate and vibrant, and to see their relationships grow. We spend a lot of time embroiled in Marin's struggles with his own self worth, which is a valuable theme for any novel and especially for YA fiction. It seems like Marin is a character who is often in his head, so reading his express thoughts was understandably on-brand; however, I felt that this sometimes impacted the pacing of the action. (Unrelated to the thematic content: there was one typo I noted that's probably already been identified - page 278 mentions "Vaz," but other instances have the name as "Val." Again, probably already caught but it's against my nerd ethics not to mention it and wasn't sure where/how else to do that!) All of that said: I'm an adult reader who stayed tuned in until the end and my eleven year old self would have enjoyed this book very much! I was invested in the characters' growth and earmarked a handful of quotes and passages that either made me chuckle or that resonated with me.

I know this is starting to wax a little too poetic for a book review, but I tend to think that the "point" of a story is to leave the audience (reader, viewer, whatever) feeling or thinking differently than how they started out. This story reinforced the importance of believing in yourself and surrounding yourself with people who value and support whoever that "self" is - or at least, that was my takeaway. I know that I finished reading The Tide and the Stars different than I started, and I'm better off for it. I look forward to reading more of this author's work in the future.

The book overall is quite good. The story was a bit predictable and there were a few plotholes. I'd rather recommend it for younger readers.

I really enjoyed The Tide and the Stars. Dylan Roche created a world I would love to come back to. He did a great job of weaving in elements of self-esteem into a world of adventure. I also liked the idea that we create our own destiny. Yes our stories may be written in the stars, but the tides are always changing, and so does our stories. I think this would be the perfect story for a young teen just entering high school and having to navigate these same experiences while also being emerged in fantasy and adventure.

In this captivating read, the author masterfully weaves a narrative that is both engaging and thought-provoking. Through a blend of richly developed characters and a meticulously crafted plot, the book offers a unique exploration of its central themes, inviting readers to immerse themselves in the story's depth and complexity. The narrative is paced perfectly, balancing moments of intense action with thoughtful reflection, ensuring that readers are hooked from the first page to the last. The author's ability to evoke emotion and create a vivid, immersive world is truly remarkable, making this book a must-read for anyone looking for an exceptional literary experience.

The quest of a Servant who has been forced to serve and evil witch called IIth and he doesn't know anything about his past or even where if from, so after he meets other servant who also wants to escape they come with a plan and the courage for that.. But the world they both wanted to see isn't quite what they imagine because there's a lot of evil, tyrant kings, demigods, monsters, legendary ones and goblins.. So Marin the MMC finds himself on a quest to save the princess Elspeth and the kingdom but can he?

The book was an entertaining read and I believe that especially young readers will enjoy it a lot. The world building is fairytale like and beautiful. It's easy to empathize with the characters and the writing style is great.
As an adult, I might not be the right audience as I seek some more complexity, more character development and less predictability but I can see that older children or younger teenagers would enjoy it a lot. Very magical and compelling.
I really loved the symbolism of the tide and the stars within the story.

thank you to netgalley and indigo river publishing for giving me this eARC!

i unfortunately had to dnf this book. i tried really really hard to read this book, but i got a quarter of the way through and noticed myself doing anything i could to avoid reading it. i just didn’t really care about the characters i had been introduced to and i wasn’t very attached to the plot. i think the multiple plots happening simultaneously made it so that it took a while
to develop the characters and the world and it just took too long for me to feel like it was worth it to keep reading. i’m stilling giving it 3 stars because what i read was well written and it wasn’t unpleasant to read, i just wasn’t invested in what was going to happen.

3.5
I enjoyed reading this book! It was a classic adventure fantasy story, so to be honest, it was quite predictable at times. Although it did hinder my enjoyment a bit, some of the characters definitely make up for it.
The blurb was really intriguing to me. Tyrannical kings? Demigods? And goblin armies??? It definitely seemed to be right up my alley. And although the story did include all of the elements mentioned above, the execution felt somewhat subdued. Don’t get me wrong, the writing was fantastic. I just thought that the encounters weren’t as… epic(?) as I thought they were going to be. The worldbuilding was also quite generic, and I thought that the romance was not very developed. (Seemed much like an instalove which, ironically, I didn’t love.)
The book also left a lot of questions unanswered, and that’s a bit frustrating sometimes. The convenient plot progression also it made it seem like the main characters were just breezing through all the obstacles they face in the book.
I will say though, since it reads a lot like a middle-grade book, it can definitely be a good book to recommend to children who are trying to get into fantasy adventure books! The plot was really easy to follow, and the main character faces a lot of trouble with self-esteem, which can be quite relatable.
I also really love the message that the story was trying to tell. Yes, sometimes, things happen that are out of our control, but ultimately your fate is in your hands, you just have to seize every opportunity you get. As the book puts it, ‘I guess there are some things in life we’ll never have control over. And those things might as well be ruled by the stars in the heavens. But there are many things we do control, that are up to us, and we’re merely sailors trying to navigate a vast ocean, hoping for the tide to move in our favor.’
Another element I really like about this book were the girl characters, Elspeth and Carys. It was really refreshing seeing the girls trying to take their fates into their own hands, rather than relying all the time on their ‘knight in shining armor’ to come and save them.
I loved the conclusion to the book as well! It just felt satisfying, and I was content knowing that things turned out how they did by the end.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read for me. Although the book didn’t end up reaching my expectations, I still have a huge soft spot for fantasy adventure stories, so I still had a lot of fun reading this.
Thank you Indigo River Publishing and Dylan Roche for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.
It's amazing emotional roller-coaster ride with growing into power and courage, prophesies, magical creatures and ancient relics! The characters are fun and lovable. The novel has it all - intriguing adventure, fun characters, and all things we love in fantasy.