It is rare for me to like a sequel more than the first, but here we are. This story picks up 21 years after where the first novel leaves off. Alinor has never recovered from the incident, and Alys is running a merchant warehouse, just as they planned. James suddenly shows up and wants to make amends with Alinor. At the same time, the Reekies receive news of Rob’s death, and his Italian widow, Livia, shows up. Ned has taken up in the New World, and has befriended the natives.

This story mostly follows Livia and her schemes, with Sarah (Alys’ daughter) as the hero. This one moved much faster than the first, and had much more intrigue. I enjoyed Livia’s constant scheming (even though I despised her) and Ned’s internal conflict.

All in all a good read with a fairly satisfying ending (although I wish I knew more about Ned).

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was slightly better tidelands, but it still felt like it was lacking...especially in regard to a strong male lead. The writing style itself was good as usual. I will still recommend philippa gregory as an author.

Phillips Gregory is one of my favorite authors! I have enjoyed a majority of her books! Tidelands was also an excellent novel, and I’m pleased that Dark Tides was a worthy sequel! I am interested in seeing where the characters go next! Phillippa Gregory is the queen of historical fiction!

I love Gregory’s writing style. I’ve read all her historical Tudor romances and her contemporary work. Dark Tides is in her historical whew house, haunting and thriller-like, I forced myself to take my time getting lost in this world of deception and mystery. In a word- it was delicious. A delicious tale made to savor.

“It’s bad news. It’s the worst news. She writes that Rob is drowned dead drowned. Rob’s wife widow says that she is coming to England with his baby. I write to you now as I can’t believe it as I know that you would want to know at once. But I don’t know what to write. Ned-you know that I would know if my son was dead. I know he is not. I swear to you on my soul that he is not. I will write to you again when she has come and told us more.

The book begins as Alinor writes a letter to her brother Ned that she has received news that her son, Rob, has died by drowning.
Livia, Rob’s wife but now widow, arrives from Venice to stay with Alinor and Alys.

Also during this, James Avery, a man that Alinor prefers to forget, arrives at their doorstop to begin a life with Alinor after 21 years.

Ned, who now lives in New England, is trying to find his way between is friendships with the Native Americans and the settlers he came with.

As a fan of Philippa Gregory’s work, this is not one of her best books. Although the time periods discussed in the books are quite interesting, this book just didn’t hit the mark. Also, the characters are just not likable and I found myself not really cheering for anybody to succeed.

I enjoyed this at least as much as the first book in this trilogy and I thought the part in the New World was as interesting as the events in the Old World. I am looking forward to the last part of this series and I hope my guess is is right as to who will be the focal point of that book. I also hope the bad person in this book will get her comeuppance. Can’t wait!

I have read a lot of books by this author and I found this book to be lackluster in comparison to prior titles. I really liked the first book to this series and was really excited to read this one. At the beginning you find that Alinor's family and Ned have all relocated and moved on. Alinor's family still has a warehouse business and are still very poor. Ned is running a different ferry. I really wish there would have been some sort of reminder of what had happened in the past book as it did take me a while to become interested in the story. Livia's entrance into the family has provided some drama, however is also extremely dull and just drags on. The part where Sarah goes on her mission just ends up being rushed and seems extremely ill planned and just easy. This book was just ok for me and I am not really sure if I will read more in this series.. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this book! I received this Arc from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I have read several of Ms. Gregory's books. They have been centered around palace life and royalty. This book is different in that. It deals with a mysterious man who appears in a seaside shipping port town.in England. . A second story line deals with a man who has dealings with some Indians and life in America.. The book is a good read and well written.. The worst thing I can say about her books is that they are usually long.. I would enjoy them more if she could cut out about 50-100 pages to pick up the pace. However, having said that, I still read them and enjoy them.

I am a BIG fan of Philippa Gregory's writing and the second book in the Tideland series didn't disappoint! If you haven't read one of her books yet.....what are you waiting for?

Another masterful tale from Philippa Gregory, as she continues the Tidelands series. She transports readers to the times of kings, castles, witchcraft and mystery. I can never get enough Philippa and her colorful female characters striving to find survive in time when men ruled and women were ruled.

I thoroughly enjoyed Tidelands, and the sequel Dark Tides did not disappoint! I enjoyed the timeline switching, and I'm a huge fan of Gregory's ability to write historical fiction but make it seem modern.

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. I'll hopefully try again in the future. Didn't capture my attention and engagement. I'll hopefully try again in the future.

No. This one is a hard pass. To be transparent, I stopped reading it about 60% through. Let me tell you why this one is a hard pass.

Ned: This story doesn't need to be in the book. It felt like it existed purely to allow Philippa Gregory to do her research thing. But, as someone who has a PhD in English Literature and who has spent years of her life studying Indigenous literature and learning how to respectfully speak on it (meaning, look critically at my role as a white woman in the oppression represented in the pages), this was a hard pass for me. No. I do not need Gregory giving me a history lesson here.

Livia: Again, hard pass. So very obvious from the start. Clearly, her written charisma does not emerge from the page.

Alinor: A frail, ghost of who she was in Tidelands. No again.

Alyce: Again, a ghost of who she was. I should have known this knowing the unsatisfactory ending of Tidelands.

Finally, what caused me to put this book wasn't the bad storytelling--and boy was it not great. It was the use of a highly offensive word to describe a fire, of all things. It was in the author's voice, the narration of the story so it couldn't even have the weak excuse of being a word of the times. There are other words to describe something, so why use something so seeped in such an offensive term?

This book needed some serious heavy editing.

Dark Tides, the sequel to Tidelands, by Philippa Gregory was a great follow up in the Fairmile series! I just really love her writing and the way she can captivate her audience with an era in time and make such dark issues and time periods be interesting to read about!

I love Philippa Gregory - she's the author who got me into reading Historical fiction and she's usually an auto-buy author for me. Dark Tides is the sequel to Tidelands. In Tidelands, 25 years ago, Alinor and Alys were both pregnant with bastards. Alinor nearly died after being drowned as a witch, and she and her daughter escaped to London. In the second book, we see the fallout and subsequent consequences. The characters, though, seemed different than the previous book, which made the continuity confusing. I also had a hard time switching back and forth between timelines. I enjoyed this book. but not as much as her others

Dark Tides by Philippa Gregory is book two in the Fairmile series, which I did not realize when I chose to read the book. I have not read the first, and my thoughts on this one may be impacted by that fact. I enjoy the picture of the time and place that the book draws. I can envision both the wharves of London and the colonies of the New World. The characters have potential. For that, I would try a different book by the author.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2021/12/dark-tides.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

Had a tough time finishing this one which is surprising since I love this author. Thanks to publisher and NetGalley for chance to read.

Total disappointment. I liked the first book so much, and while I was happy to catch up with these characters again, 1) I could not care less about the brother in America. I found myself skipping those chapters because they were totally irrelevant to the rest of the story. 2) I was irritated at how stupid the mother and daughter had become and how easily they were manipulated by someone who was practically screaming at them that she was trouble. I'm not sure I'll read a third book in the series.

Predictably good with characters and a story I couldn't set aside for any length of time. Like all of her novels, this one left me wanting more.