I really loved this one the same as Lore of the Wilds (One of my top 5 of 2024). What a way to end it! I fell in love all over again. I do like that I was able to see so much growth and personality in Lore.

I will say that the book did start slow but that was to be expected since I felt that Lore of the Wilds was also a slow burn. I was not bothered by it.

Thank you Harper Collins for this advanced reader copy ARC!

What an adventure!!!! This was a great conclusion to the Lore duology!

I absolutely loved Lore of the Wilds and Lore of the Tides is right up there with the first! The ending of Wilds left me absolutely stunned and was so excited to get back to this story. There was so much adventure in Tides, I was loving all the underwater settings!

And most of all, I loooove the love triangle! This one is really done well! Because at some point, I am rooting for everyone! I love the conclusion and who she picks, I love that Analeigh also mentions seeing a different timeline where they all did work out together.

Audiobook notes: the narrator does a great job since she is the one doing all the voices! She does a good job doing different variations to help give each character their own voice. I loved the audio for both Wilds and Tides! Definitely recommend the duology on audio!

I have mixed feelings about this book because halfway through there's great action and growth from the main characters! The first part of the book feels too long compared to other sections (the end went SO fast). Overall I enjoyed it but the pacing was not my favorite at times.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Harper Voyager for the ARC. This review is my own.

I absolutely loved Lore of the Wilds. I needed to know what happened to Lore, Finndryl, and the rest as soon as I finished so I was beyond thrilled to receive this ARC. I enjoyed it, but I don’t think it quite lives up to Wilds.

Tides picks up directly from the end of Wilds, finding Lore and Finndryl confined on Syrelle’s ship. The first third of the book was great. Even though the action was largely confined to the ship, I was thoroughly engaged in Lore’s struggle both physically against the limits of her magic and emotionally against Syrelle’s betrayal. Sbrana starts giving needed depth (no pun intended) to Syrelle but keeps it within believable bounds. The stakes feel real and the tension is high.

Things start to fall apart in the second third, however, which is a shame because it’s set in a new location with a ton of potential. Unfortunately, the newly introduced characters are flat and one dimensional. Lore stops having moral complexity and becomes a stereotypical romance heroine. The sense of tension dissipates: everyone immediately helps Lore with no strings attached, and every problem is easily solved with magic.

The pacing problems continue in the last third, this time rushing through things. I think it was an attempt to create a sense of urgency, but it just felt like not enough time was dedicated to arguably the most important parts. And again, it feels as though there aren’t any real stakes.

I think my biggest complaint is that Tides feels like a completely different genre from Wilds. Wilds reads as a fantasy book with romance elements. Tides, however, reads as a romance book with fantasy elements. Things I thought would be explained in Tides were dropped, and the sense of tension disappeared. Tides isn’t a bad book or story; it just doesn’t follow Wilds in tone or execution. I would have enjoyed Tides more if it had.

“They call me a witch. I do not mind. To be hated for being something new. Unknown. To be feared for it…it is better than being pitied.”

While Lore of the Wilds had more cozy vibes, Lore of the Tides leaned heavily into darker more high-stakes fantasy.

We get more world building and character growth, along with more adventure and side characters. I really liked Hazen and Pytheah (I need a novella of her treasure hunting adventures).

Lore must temper her rage and make difficult decisions while trying to save and protect the ones she loves.

There’s action, romance, humor. There are moments that’ll have you kicking your feet giggling and moments that’ll make you want to burn the world down. The fae think calling Lore a witch threatens her, it just makes her more sure of herself, her power, and her drive to protect those who can’t protect themselves.

Overall a fantastic sequel and conclusion to the duology.

The tone and language in this novel take a sharp turn from the first installment. The intimate scene is described in much more graphic detail than before and it felt out of place, clashing with the story’s overall mood. I see a lot of promise in both the author and the narrative. A more attentive edit could’ve smoothed out the inconsistencies that pulled me out of the story.

Thank you to Harper Voyager, NetGalley, and NerdFam for the advanced reader copy of this book.

If you are a fan of the Crimson Moth (Heartless Hunter) duology but wanted more spice, I think this duology will be for you.

If you read the first book in this duology and you were disappointed in the lack of romance, then you will enjoy this second book as the focus was definitely the romantic relationships. This was very much a Romance book set in a fantasy world, unlike the first book, which was more of a fantasy with a splash of romance. We spend a lot of time in the FMC's internal thoughts regarding her relationships, and there are entire chapters dedicated to spicey time. These scenes go into detail and kick this duology out of the Young Adult category, I would say it falls into the spicey New Adult category.

The writing is much improved in this second book. However, the pacing issues are still present. This book picks up shortly after the epic ending of the first book. We spend the first half of the book traveling and working up to trials that the FMC must undertake to complete her mission. The actual trials last only a chapter. Then, the remainder of the book is spent traveling and preparing for the battle that both books have been working towards. The battle to free the FMC's people from their oppressors. This battle is very anticlimactic and also only lasts one very short chapter, with the following chapter being dedicated to yet more spicey time.

Overall, I found the idea of these oppressed people standing up and fighting back intriguing and wish it had been a larger focus of this second book.

2.5⭐️
3🌶

You know when I first read Lore of the Wild I didn't enjoy the book. So I was actually shocked that I like this book little more than the first book. Now they are some flaws in this book that just wasn't necessary. The pacing of the book was just terrible!!! First it started off slow in the beginning of the book. Then out of nowhere it starts speeding up and then slow down again. I feel the plot wasn't really focused on in the book. Like the main plot just went away and started following something else that wasn't the plot. Let's not even get into the love triangle which clearly didn't feel like a love triangle to me. I'm kind of confused on how Finn personally just changed so quickly. He didn't really give me anything in this book, but be so focuses on Lore. Overall the advantage of the journey is really fun and it wasn't really bad. Thanks to Net Galley for the Arc.

This book started out well. I picked it up on a whim after it was recommended by a friend of a friend, even though I hadn’t read the first one. I was very prepared for it to go either way. Some books are good at getting you up to speed, some books are not so great.

I spent about three hours straight listening to the first half of the book. I wasn’t lost, I was enjoying myself. I liked the characters, although I didn’t love anyone.

I put the book down because I had to do something… and I never picked it back up. I tried a couple of times, and I just wasn’t pulled in like I was before. I don’t know if it was the lack of momentum, and maybe if I had listened to the whole book in one go I would have stayed hooked (although that’s impractical) or if the second half of the book isn’t as good as the first half.

Either way, I DNFed this book at 55%.

Thank you NetGalley.

I think this was a good ending to this duology overall, but could have been 50-100 pages shorter. A lot of the middle felt really repetitive, which made the story drag a lot even though there was a lot happening. I also think that the pacing of the end wrapped up wayy too quickly - it felt like there need to be a little more in between all hope is lost and happily ever after.

The magic system of this world is so interesting, especially for Lore. I wish there had been more around that overall, but the way the source worked in this was very unique.

I do think that narrator for both this and the first book did a great job with them - her voice fit both Lore and the story really well.

Thank you to Harper Voyager, HarperAudio, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

I enjoyed this conclusion to the duology, possibly more than the first one. I felt that there was a lot more going on in this book, which makes sense since they were travelling a lot more. However, I do think the pacing is off in some places where I was starting to get bored and wanted to move on. The ending for instance had a lot of buildup, and yet I wasn't very enraptured by it as I thought they blew through the climax quickly. One thing that bugged me was the fox/moth friend as it was never really explained to my knowledge which is a shame. I think the story would have benefited by having this familiar be more prevalent such as following Lore onto the ship and had it had a bigger importance.

While I enjoyed the romance between Lore and Finn, I felt that the whole love triangle fizzled out in this book because of the betrayal Lore felt towards Asher/Syrelle. I think Lore was a bit too mean after Syrelle shared his motives, and then she randomly forgave him out of nowhere (because he helped saved Finn?). The change in emotions just didn't feel realistic to me.

Even so, I do like the magic elements in this series; I do wish the grimoires were explained a touch more on their capabilities but that's just me being picky. I get that they are essentially a portable reserve of Source, but what did having both grimoires achieve? Just that Lore could use magic regardless of the day? It made it seem like Auroradel was stronger for some reason as Lore mostly called on it after she retrieved it. And are all humans capable of magic like Lore? I don't think that was explained either, but she was referred to as the "first witch".

Overall, this is a good duology. It's great seeing a sassy and fierce FMC who gains the ability to do magic herself and learns to harness this ability to her advantage to save her people with only some help from others rather than having to rely on them.

What a wonderful finale to this duology! Lore's journey expanded in such a beautiful, sexy way in this sequel. I thoroughly enjoyed the world created from Lore of the Wilds, and to dive into Lore's growth, friendships, love and power was such a great way to close out this story.

I’m a little disappointed in this one. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Lore of the Wilds, but I remember enjoying the story still, even though I had some issues with the book.

Lore of the Tides doesn’t really do anything to fix the issues I had with book one. The writing is still very young, even though it is marketed as adult and Romantasy. Neither of the love interests felt very fleshed out to me, and I didn’t feel chemistry between them and Lore. The pacing also felt very strange, especially the first third of the book.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lore of the Tides by Analeigh Sbrana

Analeigh probably sensed how upset we were with the cliffhanger in book 1 and made up for it in this book! Lore’s journey to find Deepening Lune’s sister grimoire Auroradel took us through a mutiny of paranoid seamen, a side quest to help restore the life force to an underwater siren queendom, and even to a spooky grave site. I think that the author did a fantastic job at putting so many different fantastical elements into this story while also prioritizing the plot, and giving us some steamy intimate scenes.

Book 1 was very light and whimsical; this one was a little darker and had higher stakes.

***MILD SPOILERS***

I would not want to be Lore when it comes to choosing from such beautiful and caring men. Finndryl and Lore had me giggling and kicking my feet with their flirtatious banter. Let a man braid my hair AND soothe my period cramps with his fire magic, I would be putty in his hands just like Lore was with Finn! I remember thinking very little of him in the first book, but he stole the show this go round.

Syrelle’s family lineage put him in a very unfortunate position, but the way he supported Lore throughout the book really showed how much he cared for her. Despite not spending as much time with him, there was a complexity in his character that was very captivating.

It was really hard for me to put this book down, and I know that this is a duology that I will enjoy coming back to later.

Thank you to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for allowing me to read and review this book early.

Lore of the Tides was a fantastic ending to this duology. Just like Lore of the Wilds, it was filled with humor, romance, and beautiful and vivid scenery. One of my favorite parts of these books is the unique magic system. In Tides, I especially enjoyed learning about the siren/underwater magic. It was so creepy and interesting.

This was also a satisfying conclusion to the love triangle with an HEA. As someone who's read the love triangle trope for years, it's very hard to give readers an ending that not only makes them feel happy at the end of the journey, but one that feels like the organic conclusion of the story, and Analeigh Sbrana did a fantastic job.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book! I loved it.

Asher being Syrelle was such a twist and betrayal! When Lore was coming around on the ship, the mix of both her emotions and the sea sickness was very well written.
It wasn’t until we met Syrelle’s family and he took out the crew that I started to forgive him.
Lore learning new ways to use her magic while in restrictive situations was cool! Taking source from other places, projecting to talk to Finn, and how she could use it under the ocean.
The magic of the puallas kiss was unique and reminiscent of siren mythology. The way the sirens and the underwater magic was revealed was creepy and intriguing, much like the ocean itself!
Each transition in the book felt valuable to the story.
I liked how Finn’s release from the curse took time to recover from and then he spent most of the rest of the book learning his power/how to control it. Also that his release from it didn’t release Isla and she had to separately be released.
The BUGS! I could feel them and Lore’s anguish when she was trying to get the book out. It gave me the heebie-jeebies! I just got a creeping shiver thinking about it again.
When Lore gets all the way back to her people, I could feel her exhaustion. They said it had been a month and I was shocked that so much had happened in that time. It felt like so much longer. I was a little surprised there wasn’t more of shock or fear from the other Duskmeres about Lore having Magic and that her non-human companions were found attractive instead of feared or hated, given how they had been viewed in the beginning of Lore of the Wilds.
I did have to reread the scene when Lore goes to confront the King because I was shocked how that unfolded, but learning it was mind magic made it make sense. It also made sense why Syrelle kept warning Lore about him. The struggle Lore dealt with when Syrelle was trying to wake her felt real because the reality she thought she knew was different because of what the King did. When you killed everyone (by the King’s Magic) my jaw dropped. I couldn’t have anticipated that and thought you were going in a vastly traumatic ending for the story!
I’m glad the Sirens came back. The big battle felt realistic with how they trapped the King, the help they had, and the powers everyone used.
When everyone was on their way to their new home, it felt like a deep breath you take when you’re returning home after a long big event day. Exhausted, happy, and relieved. I snorted when Grey suggested Dawnmere but liked that Lore went with the name that was symbolic to their people, Ziara.
Whew! Lore has been through it! I like that she’s not some all-powerful suddenly mastered everything witch by the end and that it left things open for her to continue to grow and learn more. Lore is one badass witch with a heart of gold. Lore of the Tides was action packed travels of trauma and undoing hundreds of years of suffering.

The first book had me curious enough to request this, but I fear I should've remained mildly curious. Lore of the Tides felt like a train wreck I couldn't look away from. So in that regard, it was at least engaging! However, the overwhelming amount of new information, characters, and what ultimately felt like forced chemistry just didn't work for me.

This is how your conclude a duology ! Jumping right back into where we left off in book one was a smooth pace that quickly ascended into one of the most exquisite word builds I have ever come across. I love the three mains, they are all so complex and full of wonder and mystery. What I loved the most was getting to see Lore in all her glory. She is unforgettable and a force to be reckoned with. The romance was just absolutly beautiful. In the end it was with the level of depth and connection the author went to that left me in complete awe.

I enjoyed the premise and locations in this story - it read somewhat like a Elder Scrolls Online fetch quest, journeying from some islands, to the bottom of the ocean, to the top of a mountain and so on. That was fun and I think romantasy readers would enjoy this. Personally I found the prose to be a bit clunky, and I did not feel invested in the characters, however this being an ARC, I am hopeful that some revisions may have taken place between this version and the final one that may have resolved some of those issues.

Thank you so much for the ARC! I loved that this was a duology and the story wrapped up so nicely. The pacing did feel off at certain points but I enjoyed this overall. I did really enjoy the side quest and the new characters we were introduced to. Overall great duology and ending to the story. Review on fable!