So, I love the idea of Black Tide and that's what caught my attention. I think I would have liked the book a little more if it didn't primarily take place on the beach and we got just a little more the monsters. I would have loved to get more of them in action and figure out what they were or what they wanted.

Dark, thrilling and never a dull moment with this book! I really enjoyed it and wish I had gotten to it sooner, but alas I had a lot of ARCs on my TBR. However, read this book as you won't regret it!

I’m a sucker for a movie that is shot in one location with a cast list so small they could fit at my dining room table. Black Tide is basically the equivalent of that in book form. I love that the majority of this story takes place in one of the smallest settings possible: a car. And I love that the main character gets trapped there with her one night stand and a dog. I’ve never read a book like this, and while I grappled with giving this a 3 or 5 star rating, I’ve decided that ultimately this story was amazing. I read this book well over a year ago (my review is embarrassingly late - I’m blaming it on my newborn), but I still think about this story to this day. It was incredibly easy to read in one sitting. If you’re in the mood for a light horror with a few laughs, then this is the book for you. K.C. Jones, please write more in this world.

When it comes to summer reads, there are few things that bring me more joy than Creature Feature style stories. I think part of it has to deal with growing up and the idea of the summer blockbuster. A period of movies that have plenty of action, larger than life monsters and just all the makings of fun.

KC Jones' Black Tide is the perfect book for summer and provides plenty of thrills. Set on an empty stretch of the Oregon coast, Black Tide takes the idea of a seemingly widespread apocalyptic scenario and focusing it down into a much smaller, intimate snapshot of those events. This approach really dials up the tension and while yhe book features plenty ofadrenaline-fueled scenes, it also offers a portrait of how sometimes terrible events cannlead to unexpected moments of connection.

I don't understand all the high ratings for this book, tbh - it's okay? It's the screenplay for a cheesy B movie horror nonsense rewritten as prose, and even keeping that in mind, it's nothing special. So I'm not sure why all the gushing, even accounting for taste. I am usually a huge fan of cosmic horror, but this missed for me.

Black Tide by KC Jones was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. I had never read this author before. This book starts out slow and I pondered moving onto other books, but I stuck with it and was glad to do so. Once the action starts it never really lets up, even with the limited cast. KC Jones does a good job of sci fi horror and I will watch out for their works again. If monsters, being stuck on a beach, a wonderful dog sidekick and a Suburu make you wanna read something, this is the book to read.

4 Stars

Thanks so much for the arc!

The premise had me intrigued a beach, mentor shower and the idea of post cosmic horror apocalypticness.

Though once the story started I lost my connection with narrative and didn't care for the characters in the end. Plus the complexity of the characters took me a while to wrap my head around them. A bit of the pacing felt too rushed.

I don’t know exactly what I was expecting from Black Tide, but it truly delivered on its promise of high stakes and tension. KC Jones has written great characters, who I found myself connecting with in spite of any faults they may have, and truly rooting for them throughout the third act. The story is wonderfully descriptive and has all of the elements of sci-fi horror that I love. I’m so excited to read more.

I'm ashamed to admit this book sat in my NetGalley backlog for so long. As soon as I saw a Twitter post announcing it won a Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel, I immediately bumped it to the top of my list. What a wild ride! With a bit of Stephen's King's The Mist and Cujo and a whole lot of apocalyptic WTF, Black Tide kept me on the edge of my seat and reading the entire book in one sitting. Not even a potty break, for this one, LOL. What is more terrifying than the things you can't see? Well, when the things you can't see start eating you is number one in my book. Full of dread and heart-pumping tension, Black Tide ticked all the boxes on what I want get out of an end of days horror tale. Congratulations to KC Jones on the Bram... I can't wait to see what he puts out next!

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I really hope there’s a sequel. I really want to know what happened after the last sentence! If there’s not a sequel coming, I may need to lower my rating as this story leaves a of important info unsaid and questions unanswered.

I like the premise of this story and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it until the very end.

Recommended for lovers of sci-fi and thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to read this early. Review has been posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

A cross between a horror and an apocalyptic thriller, this was a great read for anyone who doesn't mind when...

******SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT**********







...the dog dies in a book. I, personally, am not one of those people. I care more about the dog characters than the human characters, and I get very emotional and pissed off when an author kills off a dog. Yes, I know this is irrational, but that's just the kind of reader I am.

Black Tide by KC Jones, personal entertainment value 5⭐️. I really enjoyed this read. Initially you get strong NOPE vibes then it expands quickly into something more, things get weirder and more claustrophobic. Did I mention crazy? Both main characters are great and play off each other well. If there were to be more from this universe, I'd be all in. Same goes for anything from KC Jones.

A science fiction horror cooked just right!

Directions and ingredients are as follows:

Note: Recipe requires two cooks. Strangers that met under random circumstances. Both heavily burdened by their own personal traumas. As a result, they are only existing rather than truly living.

1. Begin prep while located directly on the Northern West Coast shore. (Should be able to feel the sand under your feet).

2. Combine at least 3 different types of scary, deadly destructive alien(s) for variety.

3. Throw in a tablespoon of plot romance with a touch of spice.

4. Add 10 cups of adrenaline, intensity, and 4 cups of fear.

5. Mix in character depth and self-discovery.

6. Top it all off with a dash of animal sidekick: use "awesome dog" flavor.

Serving size: one book.
Amount of servings yielded: enough to feed every hungry book reader!

*Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire via NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review "Black Tide" by KC Jones.

The world has been invaded by bowling balls and floating jellyfish? Not what you want to wake up to after a hangover and one night stand with the next-door neighbor. Black Tide by K.C. Jones felt very short but in a good way. This peri-apocalyptic story is fast-moving and kept me moving from page to page. Continue reading to get my take on this new debut by K.C. Jones.

Pacing
Black Tide starts out the night before the apocalypse and it just keeps moving. The pacing of this story was very well done and kept me wondering how things were going to turn out. With this apocalyptic story, we the readers see the world begin to fall apart. We witness the characters go from their “normal” lives and try to cope with the reality of these new alien invaders. As a reader, learning about the alien entities and what has happened is a very unique experience that helps you stay hooked on the narrative.

Characters
Starting pre-apocalypse gives the readers an intimate look into the characters. How people react in crises (especially of apocalyptic proportions) can really tell you a lot about them. Throughout the novel, these strangers are thrust into survival companionship that does not feel too forced. By the end, there is also significant character growth that one might not expect with such an action/horror-driven plot.

Plot
Technically, not a lot actually happens in Black Tides but at the same time so much has. The narrative is set very in the moment and the suspense was palpable. I got some serious A Quiet Place and Birdbox vibes from this book. But I don’t want to put it in a box like that. Once you read it and come across some of the aliens (yes some, because there is more than one type), you’ll get what I’m saying.

Overall
Black Tide by K.C. Hones was an impressive debut novel. The pacing and plot made this a very quick read. It is action and suspense-packed but with strong and real characters. This book will have you second-guessing your lack of doomsday prepping the next time you see a meteor shower on a beach. If you are looking for your next science fiction/horror read (but probably a beach read), check out Black Tide by K.C. Jones.

I wasn’t quite sure what I was expecting going into this book. The title suggested something nefarious I suppose.

I found myself left wanting. Just grasping trying for more that just wasn’t going to appear on the next pages.

The book is well written and fits well within its genre but, it just wasn’t for me.

Beth is a bit of a hot mess, and she is the first to admit it. But she is working to turn that all around, she's pet sitting regularly and has happy clients. That's how Beth ends up alone at a beach house on an empty stretch of Oregon coast on the day the world ends. When the world ends, Beth teams up with a neighbor named Mike to figure out exactly what is going on.

BLACK TIDE is one of the most intense, thrilling book I have read in a long time. I was on the edge of my seat by the end of almost every page. This is a fun and unique science fiction horror mash-up, with fantastic character development and ratcheting tension. While the creature horror was a bit convoluted, the book overall was cohesive and well constructed. I would definitely recommend this for people looking for a little end of the world horror.

This had been sitting on my kindle longer than anticipated, so I went into it pretty blind. And oooh, what a ride it was! Fast paced and engaging with complex, imperfect characters. It's sci-fi with heart. I"m only sorry it took me so long to get to it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy.


I liked the start of this one, especially with a bit of romance before the world went to bits. A one night stand on the beach between two strangers grabbed my attention and I held on to that initial connection even while I felt the story just wasn't doing much for me. There were some bits I enjoyed more than others, like the cosmic horror vibes and isolation, but not so much the characters intentionally doing things that were obviously going to bite them in the ass. Overall, not a bad read, plus it's a quick one.

3-3.5 Writing was well done and the story was interesting, but not enough actually happened by the end. I was left wanting to know more about what happened to the characters and creatures.