I was hoping to like this book. I struggled so much finishing the first book but after the cliffhanger I thought for sure the sequel would make me love this duology. Yet I found myself struggling to get through this book the same way I struggled with the first one. Don’t get me wrong, this one was much more entertaining then the first one but it still did not keep me engaged enough to want to keep reading it . I had to force myself to finish the same way I did with the first one.

The pacing was also inconsistent. The sequel just seemed a little off for it to be a sequel to the first book. Even though I considered the pacing for the first one to be sort of inconsistent as well.

For starters in book one Lore was so hyper fixated on Asher and then as soon as she met Finn she was attracted to him instantly and had feelings for him BEFORE they really got to know each other . There was no real build up considering she was supposed to be inlove with Asher at the time. Which was odd to me . Now fast forward to book two she’s hyper fixated on Finn and even talking about loving him when again there was no real build up to it . Granted they were both trapped but were in two separate places for 30% of the book so there was no real development for their relationship aside for the very little development they had in the first book. It just didn’t really feel paced correctly at all.

The sex scenes just felt oddly placed in the story . The use of “good girl” made me cringe . Lore getting turned on because Finn touched the spine of the book made me roll my eyes .

I just could not joyfully push through this book no matter how hard I tried . This just wasn’t for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper voyager for the advance copy of this book .

What worked well/What I liked
Honestly, there was not much about this book that I liked.
I liked the extended worldbuilding of the other mythical creatures and their lands or kingdoms.

What didn’t work well/What I don’t like
Part 2 felt like a side quest that didn’t seem necessary to the overall plotline. I understand why it happened, but I think the goals could’ve been achieved in another way.
It seemed like the male characters had personality changes that seemed out of place. For example, Syrelle seems like an evil, bad guy, yet he tries to portray himself as a victim who was forced to do horrible things.
I didn’t understand why Lore doesn’t use her magic when she encounters the powerful magical creatures; that’s the ideal time to use it! Also, it seems like her magic is only in her mind. Although there are spells to recite, she rarely recites them, and when she does, she doesn’t have to do it right for it to work. It’s as if her magic is simply vibes.
Sometimes her inner dialogue was too much; I didn’t need to know every single random thought and tangent that came into her mind.


Despite the items I did not like about this final book, I would recommend it to people who like romantasy and fantasy books with magical creatures.

This breaks my heart to write because I loved the first book so much, and I was so excited for this release, but this was so unenjoyable for me.

The writing and characters felt extremely YA and childish, so when the smut scenes came up, they felt so out of place and uncomfortable. This might’ve prospered in YA with no smut.
The pacing was tiring. I was 40% and nothing of value happened yet, and once something important did happen, it was touched briefly. This trend continued until the end. So much that happened at the end happened too quickly and too easily. Things that could’ve been explained, like the Fox, were never explored.
And to top it off, I know I got an ARC (thank you so much NetGalley), but the amount of grammatical errors were ludicrous. I’ve received many ARCs, but this one was by far the most unedited to the point where it was hard to follow sometimes.

I don’t know what happened between this book and the first, but I’m honestly so sad to write this. I could have missed a lot because I listened to the audiobook of the first one, but boy was I disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Analeigh Sabra for the ARC.

I read <i>Lore of the Wilds</i> shortly after its release, so I revisited it before diving into this ARC of <i>Lore of the Tides</i>. I’d definitely recommend a refresher, as this sequel picks up immediately where book one left off.

While this duology doesn’t break new ground in the romantasy space, <i>Lore of the Tides</i> does shift noticeably in tone from book 1; it leans more adult than its predecessor which skewed more YA, both in language and mature content.

What stood out once again was the representation. The cast is entirely made up of characters of color, and the rich descriptions of skin tones and hair textures bring a refreshing layer of inclusivity that’s still too rare in the genre.

That said, the pacing felt uneven. My main critique is the rushed resolution of the final battle. After significant buildup across two books, the climax felt too abrupt and underwhelming, leaving the ending without the emotional payoff I’d hoped for.

Overall, this is a cozy, character-driven read. The stakes may be light, but the relationships and sense of community shine. For fans of softer fantasy with inclusive casts, this series may be worth checking out.

This book was provided to me for free in exchange for my honest review. Rating: 3.5/5

Super happy this was a duology and not another series I’ll never be able to finish. The covers are both beautiful and the story was enjoyable. However I think I liked the outside more than the inside. I really wanted to love it but it fell a bit flat for me. It was good but not great.

You ever read the final book of something and just sit for a moment like, “Dang it’s really over?” That’s what it was like reading Lore of the Tides the conclusion of this duology by Analeigh Sbrana.

Lore of the Tides EXCEEDED all expectations of where I was thinking the story was going. We pick up directly where we leave off in book 1 and immediately on an adventure. This book is darker, more intense, more risky. The stakes are so much higher for Lore and she pushes through. Her love and her people are the driving forces to become everything she can be to lead everyone to freedom. She is such a shining star and I love her so much.

As much as I absolutely adore the romance in the story, watching Lore just become this strong willed person is satisfying. Defying the odds and fighting the obstacles she proves herself over and over again

An amazing finale to the Lore of The Wilds story. This was refreshingly unique! A mix of Lord of the Rings, Children of Blood and Bone, and your fave romance story. I thoroughly enjoyed the detail and world building and the story had me hooked. It was long, though. very long. 😅

Dropping my fave quote from the story:

"I'm no writer; I can't tell our story without you... I want to write our story as we live it- together"

2.5 ⭐️

I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did, but it unfortunately fell flat for me. For the most part I liked the first book and thought there was a lot of potential going into this book. And while I liked the addition of the underwater kingdom Lapis Deep and the storyline there, pretty much everything else was underwhelming. The pacing was really off. There was an emphasis on the filler/in between moments and all of the conflict-resolution moments were so rushed that they felt anticlimactic. Because of this, the stakes didn’t feel very high and I never really felt invested. I enjoyed the love triangle in the first book and was excited to see things develop in this book, but the romance also fell flat. It didn’t feel very compelling and the conclusion of the triangle wasn’t really satisfying either. So much of the book reads kind of YA so the random spicy scenes feel out of place especially considering the romance outside of those scenes wasn’t really there or fully developed. So while this book wasn’t really for me, if you read and enjoyed the first book give this a try and hopefully you like it more than I did.

I was super excited for this one after finishing Lore of the Wilds a few months ago, but was sadly disappointed.

I’ll start with what I enjoyed. Lore’s time in the siren kingdom was great to read. It was action-packed and worked as a way to expose Lore to kingdoms different from the one she knew. Her friendship with Queen Naia was well-deserved. This part of the book gripped my attention the most.

The first half of the book is paced much better than the first book, but then it just all fell apart. I felt as though lots of important conversations and events were cut to speed the story along, but it just resulted in me caring little about what was going on.

The development of Lore’s relationships with Finn and Syrelle left a lot to be desired. I wanted more from her and Finn besides the jarring sex scenes, and I would have loved to see a more well-developed arc when it came to Syrelle redeeming himself and Lore coming to terms with her feelings for him.

Lastly, the development of her magical powers seemed underdeveloped. After two 400-page books, I know close to nothing of the creation of the two grimoires. There was little study and training of her skills, minimal planning for their attack on the king, and yet everything ended up working out.

Overall, I think the overall concept of this book—as well as Lore of the Wilds—was a unique story that was just executed poorly. There needed to be more emphasis on Lore’s intentional development of her powers, her wrestling with her feelings for Syrelle and the bonds she created with Hazen and Finn.

We seriously need more duologies because Lore of the Wilds and Lore of the Tides delivered everything I could ever want and then some. This series gave me epic adventure, found family, cool magic, betrayal, heartbreak, and one of the best love triangles I’ve ever read—like, real emotional damage but in the best way. Lore is such a powerful main character, so full of heart and fire, and the worldbuilding was just unreal (plus, the humor?? I was cackling). It’s fantasy at its core but tackles so many raw, heavy topics too, and I loved how real it all felt. I flew through both books, cried way more than I expected, and honestly, I’m still not over it. Analeigh blew me away and I’ll be thinking about this story forever.

I got the chance to read the conclusion to this highly anticipated duology! and a conclusion it was.

I can’t lie, Analeigh had me in the first half. I was not sure where the plot OR the love interest would go by the end of book one (and into book 2) but the last half of Lore of the Tides had me completely locked in.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦... 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬, 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘸.. 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦.”

I loved that moment for Lore. The character growth was great to me but honestly — even before any growth occurred it was actually very pleasing to read a story where the FMC WANTED magic/power. I feel like a lot of the times in fantasy the FMC is always timid and reluctant to be in power so, HELL YEAH LORE.

I can’t wait to get this beauty in physical form! Thank you to NetGalley/ Avon and Harper Voyager for giving me the opportunity to read and review Lore of the Tides ahead of release!

My love for Finndryl grew more and more in this book! I think this was a nice conclusion to the story. Lore getting to be happy and with her family again is all anyone who’s read this could really hope for.

Perfect conclusion for this duology! I loved this one even more than the first one! I’d def recommend this!

Full of beautiful phrases, complex characters, and all the emotions, the sequel to Lore of the Wilds blew me away from the very first page! Lore (The main character) has been horrifically betrayed and kidnapped by someone she loves. She wakes up in a ship, and is forced to help her betrayer find something that could lead to the destruction of what is left of her people, the humans. Lore of the Tides covers Lore's eventful journey while she tries to free her people.

I devoured LotT in one sitting, it was so good. The writing was beautiful, being full of descriptors yet somehow not slipping into purple prose territory. The characters were also amazing - both the main and side characters. I particularly loved Hazen. He brings such lovely levity to the book, adding a few giggles here and there. Lore, Finndryl, and Asher all evolved into better versions of themselves, which was satisfying. Oh, and the presentation of certain creatures was interesting. I like the idea that those creatures are not bloodthirsty creatures, but are rather peaceful ones who view their supposed weapon as sacred. The way they hold free will as something important while in possession of a weapon that subverts free will really puts them above fae (and real life humans) in terms of morality. Also, their kingdom was described beautifully. I mean, a library with swirly shelves and glass ceilings, along with a few other things, sounds absolutely lovely.

The best part though was the emotions! Lore is torn over her betrayer, with her heart saying two opposite things at once. Finndryl being so amazing doesn't help her inner turmoil either. To add to all this, she has a magic book to find, a kingdom to save, her own people to save, and a king to kill. Lore feels so real with her ability to not be perfect. Sometimes, she feels too tired to fight anymore, but she picks her battles and resists where it matters. The way her inner conflicts are written make you feel as if you are right there with her. Be prepared to lose lots of sleep when reading this emotional roller coaster of a book!

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Voyager, and the Author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.

THANK YOU ANALEIGH FOR THR ARC😘

Get in losers, we’re going on an adventure!

Seriously- this is the book for all readers who love a quest! I won’t spoil anything for anyone but the places you go and the new characters you meet make it seem like you are entering whole new worlds. This was such a lovely conclusion to Lores story and I am so happy to have been a reader


Also.. im literally JUST saying… If a novella (fuck it a whole series) about Prince Hazen were to be written… I would absolutely eat that up.

Whew!
3.5🌟🌟🌟


This book took me on a ride && my favorite parts were seeing Lore be more bold and wanting revenge. I did see some growth in her as a character. She fought for her community, but remained gentle and loving. I also loved the interactions between her and Finn. I have been shipping them from the first book, so all of their moments made me very happy!

My biggest complaint with this book is the pacing. The first 30% felt so repetitive and was very slow. While the beginning of a book being slow isn’t uncommon, I did feel like we were going in circles. When we reached the second half of the book I thought it was better. Again, the pacing was off. Everything was resolved too quickly and it felt very rushed.

We were introduced to some new side characters that I really enjoyed as well. I love the representation this book brings and I really like Sbrana. This may not be my favorite duology, but I wish her all the success and cannot wait to see her grow as an author! Keep writing!!

Thank you NetGalley/Avon and Harper Voyager for the eArc!

"I am yours until the seas run dry and the earth dissolves to dust."

Yes please!!! More of this and more of Sbrana. I needed a duology that doesn't fall short. It is a phenomenal fantasy story. I love the grimoire magic and all the spice!! Plus I want to continue to see this representation in publishing. "We cannot be cynical when fighting for justice. When your cause is a worthy one, it is hope that will fuel the fires of change."

Harper Collins - please continue to publish and support diverse stories and authors. Help fight for IMLS funding!

The story starts off right where we left off on a cliffhanger of betrayal and secrets. From there the world expands with new place, new characters and a mission to find the twin grimoire. I was mainly interested in seeing what happened with the love triangle but the new lore (lol) they were learning kept it interesting! The enemies to lovers drives the story but we all love that.

Read this if you’re in the mood for…
- Adventure mission
- Love triangle
- Mind to mind speaking
- Witchy grimoire vibes
- Don’t touch her
- More spice than book 1

The connection to grimoires and the riddle/lore to solve was a great concept and the betrayal and love triangle gave the enemies to lovers that I always look for. It's easy to read and follow and would be a good option for readers who are new to the romantasy genre or don't want *too* much spice. I just wish it wasn't 3rd pov! I think I would have attached to the characters much more.

Here are a few of my favorite things...
- the mind to mind speak
- new places were so fun! Love how they were woven into the riddle
- the way he protects her at all costs and is only sweet with her
- the love triangle was torture but also made sense and not just forced for a conflict

Overall, I enjoyed but wasn't my favorite! but I will recommend for someone looking for a witchy read!

Thank you to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for this advanced copy. All opinions in this review are entirely my own.

After the betrayal and heartbreak at the end of book one, this sequel picks up with Lore’s journey to find the second grimoire and liberate her people from the rule of the alytherians.

This book it’s very much an exploration of real-world oppression, discrimination, and the strength of community-led resistance. Through Lore’s fight for her people’s freedom, the author discusses themes that feel deeply relevant to so many marginalized communities today. It doesn’t shy away from the realities of injustice, yet still leaves you with a strong sense of hope.

Lore’s character development is one of the highlights of this book for me. We get to know her in a much more intimate way than before. Her journey isn’t just physical, it’s deeply emotional. We watch her deal with betrayal, helplessness, rage, forgiveness, and love, and through it all, she grows into herself in a deeply empowering way.

I think the love triangle concluded incredibly well. The way it transitions from book one, made it feel like there’s wasn’t really a choice at all, but I was still so torn between the two MMCs. Even though I knew where the story was headed, I could help but feel just as conflicted as Lore. The author really made me care deeply for the person Lore doesn’t trust, and I love morally grey characters, but in the end, it’s hard to reconcile and come back from lies and betrayal.

Her relationship with the mmc was just perfect. He was supportive, loyal, attentive, charming, and respectful. He really believes in her strength and doesn’t try to save her from it. Their bond was safe and real, the kind of love that makes you feel seen and cherished and that’s build slowly with trust and devotion.

The new characters introduced in this book, Prince Hazen, Queen Naia, and her betrothed, were also standouts. Their introduction to the story really helped expand the world and bring a lot of dimension to the story.

My only con was the pacing of the book. The beginning was a bit slow for me, but the rest kept a steady momentum, until the very end, where I wish there had been a deeper exploration of Lore’s confrontation with the alytherians and the liberation of her people. That part felt a little rushed compared to the emotional buildup we went through throughout the book. Overall, the ending had a satisfying conclusion.

I also really appreciated the inclusion of everyday details like hygiene, periods, and hair and skincare, things that I think are often overlooked in fantasy books. This added a layer of realism to the world building, especially because these things are part of the lived experience of us women.

Lore of the Tides was an incredible way to close out this duology. The adventure aspect, especially the underwater scenes and the journey to find the second grimoire, was exciting and immersive.

I would also like to highlight the representation in this book, it was powerful and refreshing. This world centers around black characters and doesn’t rely on the addition of poc or racially ambiguous characters to meet a diversity quota. I encourage readers to read more stories like this, that broaden our views and offer meaningful insight into experiences that don’t often get space in mainstream fantasy.

Final Rating:
⭐️ 4
🌶️ 2 (emotional intimacy, romantic tension, a couple of steamy moments)

Read if you like:
🪸 BIPOC fae
🪸 Stories about liberation and resistance
🪸 Rich worldbuilding & magical adventures
🪸 Female rage + empowerment arcs
🪸 Soft but strong MMCs
🪸 Morally grey love interest that make you question everything

This book was so good, it's been over a week since I finished it and I can't stop thinking about it. The vibes are like Lord of the Rings mixed with ACOTAR. I really loved the focus on adventure in the plot, we see different worlds and landscapes. The characters were complex and well written and the romance was done very well.