What a fun end to this incredible duology! This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and Analeigh delivered an enjoyable sequel that ties up the storyline into a neat package perfect for any romantasy fan!

I absolutely love duologies and have always felt that they are the perfect length and this one is no exception. With more time spent at sea in this book, the adventure continues as Lore becomes more powerful as she acquires the grimoires to save the humans. She truly is such a fantastic FMC and I love her gentle yet powerful spirit, especially in her moments of feminine rage. I love the magic system and the drama that came with the betrayals and secrets. This is easily one of my favorite fantasy duologies! It also has one of my favorite love triangles (and this is coming from someone who has never been much of a fan of them). And the romance? Finn is peak fantasy book boyfriend and *phew* this spice!

I can't wait to see what Analeigh's next project is!

✨Book Review @hearourvoicestours✨

Lore of the Tides by Analeigh Sbrana @literaryxqueen
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🎵Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6d4Z30FQ0xFkHf72lEcW0U?si=tUsSkFFRR4-IhEYPhmvMxQ&pi=btaJBcSFRRunW
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✨Rating & Review✨: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s the end of an era and what a way to end!!! This book is the perfect sequel/ending/companion to LOTW. We learn and grow with Lore as she is forced into a new journey with the same mission: save the people of Duskmere. There’s so much longing to be found within these pages as Lore goes through her journey. She’s longing to be the heroine her people need while also longing to find a safe space for herself. If she happens to fall in love while she’s on her mission, can you truly blame her? Especially when a certain fae knows exactly what a girl loves to hear. If he called ME “good girl” best believe, I’d be a puddle. And don’t get me started on libraries. Analeigh spells out how arousing libraries can be and the fantasies they can inspire 😏. All that aside though, the parallels of the injustices of their community and what’s happening in the world today? Spot on. Thank you HOV & Analeigh for the chance to read this duology and create my own soundtrack. I hope you enjoy ☺️.
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#Books #BookRecommendation #BlackGirlsReadBooksToo #BlackGirlsRead #Bookstagram #BlackBookstagram #BooksAreAGirlsBestFriend #QueerReadersOfInatagram #ReadersOfInstagram #BookishGirls #BookReviews #LoreOfTheTides #HearOurVoices #HOV

First of all—YAY! This book picks up right where the last one left off. Lore wakes up on a boat in the middle of the ocean without her grimoire—holy crap. Talk about coming out the gate swinging!

This epic adventure is all about overcoming obstacles and making the hard choices for the greater good—and it gave everything it needed to give. Lore is about that life. She’s willing to risk it all to free her people from the grip of the oppressive fae king. After the betrayal at the end of the last book, she’s more guarded now—but somehow, she still manages to find forgiveness for those who hurt her (personally? I would’ve been way too petty).

Watching her build new alliances as she navigates her way home was such a powerful reminder of how karma works: give, and it will come back to you tenfold.

Now, Lore is bold, brilliant, loud, and completely unafraid to take up space—but can we talk about that semi-love triangle?! I was literally yelling at her not to fall for the wrong guy. Like, sis—please.

Between the epic struggles, the love triangle, the found family, and the sirens—whew—I felt like I was the one being dragged underwater. Lore of the Tides completely took my breath away.

Thank you to the publisher and The Nerd Fam for the eARC copy.

I really enjoyed the continuation of Lore’s story and how everything was wrapped in the end.

I did feel the pacing in this book was off, the action parts of this story seemed to be very fast paced while the rest of the story was slow paced. I would have liked to have more detail into the plot points.

For some reason I didn’t click with the romance in this book, I felt Lore was justified in her actions for who she chose but I wasn’t a fan of him. In this book he seemed different from how he was in book 1. And I kinda liked their relationship in book 1.

This is very cozy fantasy as nothing in the story was too high stakes as well.

What a fantastic conclusion to the duology! I enjoyed the book immensely and it was wonderful to be back with Lore, Finn and the rest of the world.

We start off pretty much where the first book ended and the first few chapters brought us up to speed nicely. I didn’t have any trouble remembering the big plot points from book one (though I do want to go back and read book one again after this, just to see if there were any hidden clues of what is to come in this book) and the characters felt familiar. There’s plenty of drama and action even from the first pages and we don’t really slow down as everything is heating up and time is limited for Lore.

The romance of the book felt well developed and I adore the couple. There’s still that lovely tension with both main guys in this book, but it feels more mature in a way. And I love the care and thought that was shown by character actions, I loved how it ended and how the HEA came to be.

I also really liked that the book was divided into three sections and I think a favorite of mine was the second part, though parts one and two are amazing too! There’s just something about the part two of this book that speaks to me and made all those cozy cottagecore vibes come to life for me. And it felt like a good balance, we got the emotional-heavy part, the cozy part and the really intricate and lore-heavy third part, which brought tension and real stakes into play.

I’m really excited to see what the author does next!

Really enjoyed this sequel. Lore remains on her quest to restore peace to her people, while also getting caught in other people’s plans. Expanding from the original, we get to see much more of the landscapes and creatures of this world, and to watch Lore’s connection with magic grow. What I think is also a surprise is the complexity of the relationships between characters, especially as Lore understands herself and her agency better. This book leans much more into the romantasy element—there’s plenty of steamy scenes, sometimes paired with impending danger. Without spoilers, there was also a compelling element towards the end of controlling your own vision/mind/dreams that aligned in a wonderful way with Lore’s story arc

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

Lore of the Tides by Analeigh Sbrana is the third person-POV Romantasy sequel to Lore of the Wilds. Since learning of Asher/Seyelle’s betrayal, Lore has been trying to untangle everything she still feels for him as well as her blossoming feelings for Finn. But Asher’s uncle is still searching for her and he’s not going to wait for Lore to be in a better place emotionally. Lore is going to have to process her feelings, make a choice between Asher and Finn, and save her people all at the same time.

Like the previous book, attention is drawn to Black hair and hair care as well as how Black skin can turn ashy if it gets too dry. This is highlighted in a sweet romantic moment between Finn and Lore where Finn does Lore’s hair. The importance of food in Black culture is also given a bit of a shout-out as a meal is once referred to as communion, which I have heard used in reference to important meals in Black communities. I appreciate all of this because this kind of representation is important and soft Black women deserve to be seen and shown to have partners caring for them.

Lore and Finn’s relationship is one of the softest I’ve seen in a while. I can’t call Finn a Shadow Daddy by any means and it’s nice to see that sometimes. I’m into a Shadow Daddy like a lot of people, but Finn’s more of a Cat Person, someone who only likes specific people without going to that extreme. There’s a lot of soft moments between Lore and Finn and he is super supportive and understanding of her weird feelings regarding Asher/Seyelle and never pushes her to do anything she doesn’t want to.

Over the past year, I have heard a lot of comparisons between ACOTAR and Lore of the Wilds/Lore of the Tides. I only ever read the first ACOTAR book so I can’t comment on the rest of the series, but given that there is a bait-and-switch couple and the forced proximity love interest as well as fae, I would say the comparison is apt. I think where Lore really stands out when compared to ACOTAR is not only with the world being mostly populated by Black-coded characters, but also in how soft Lore is. I wouldn’t call Feyre ‘soft’ but I can definitely call Lore ‘soft.’ There is a moment where Lore breaks down because she’s been on such an emotional roller coaster and she’s coming to terms with how quickly everything is changing. They are different books, the leads are different, but if you liked ACOTAR, please give Lore of the Wilds and Lore of the Tides a shot.

I would recommend this to fans of Romantasy who like softer moments in the romance arc and readers looking for fantasy book that pays attention to Black hair care

I really enjoyed the conclusion to this series. The main character Lore goes through a lot of changes and personal battles and comes out pretty bad ass. I really liked being able to see different parts in the world. I really wish that this had been a trilogy, because I do feel there was a lot crammed into this book.

I was left a little disappointed after the first book and was hoping that this second one would be better for me. Thankfully it was.

I really enjoyed the world building and the high stakes quest. It's not very often I get a story set on the seas and I really enjoyed it. You def get Lore's struggles and frustrations through out the book and I really like her character. The romance was okay but I preferred the plot. Also, the pacing felt a bit off.

All in all a decent doulogy that I would go back and reread.
Thank you thenerdfam and harpervoyager Avon for the gifted ebook.

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Praise for @AnaleighSabrana
I love her writing. This second book to this duology was phenomenal. Thank you.
I loved everything about this story, Lore, the Adventures, the Representation. Love Triangle,Fae, humans, Sirens. This story was everything and a must-read.

Thank you to Net Galley, Harper Collins, and the author for an eARC to read and review.

Despite not loving the first book, I was cautiously excited to pick up the second. The duology had so much potential! I love the concept of exploring themes of hidden histories and liberation through literacy in a cozy romantasy story. That said, I don’t think this book (and duology) achieved what it set out to achieve.

First a few positives: The author writes a really compelling morally grey character in Syrelle— one that I found myself begrudgingly rooting for. Sbrana also writes especially vivid and beautiful descriptions of the various settings where the story takes place (this was especially true for the middle third of the book). Finally, I loved the detailed attention the author paid to Lore’s hair and skin care throughout the novel. This is how you know this character was created with love for Black women by a Black woman!

Here’s where I struggled with this book:

Lore’s characterization often fell flat for me. I found her most compelling in the first third of the book as she wrestled with her mistrust of Syrelle and attempted to harness her rage towards saving herself. In other sections, her behavior and dialogue often contradicted how other characters in the book described her. She was often immature, impulsive, and still too trusting. Yet Finn and Syrelle both described her as brave, clever, and the greatest hope for her people. Finn’s character also fell flat. He was far more richly depicted in the first book. In the second, his two personality traits included: being grumpy and loving Lore.

I wanted more explanation of how the magic system worked (or perhaps more recapping of book 1, though I also thought the magic system was too thinly described in book 1). And I wanted to see more of Lore’s development as a witch/sorceress. She became very powerful very suddenly and with very little observable work. I asked myself a few times: How does she know to do that? How did she learn that spell?

Related, for as much plot as there was in this book, Lore had very few challenges to overcome. Once she identified a problem to be solved, she was able to almost immediately identify a solution. This was true when she saved the underwater kingdom and when she found the second grimoire.

This gets to one of my two bigger critiques. This book is marketed as a cozy romantasy/adventure novel, yet the plot and tone lent itself towards exploring darker themes giving it a high-stakes fantasy feel as times. It was jarring to read. I also felt this way about the first book.

My second major critique is related to the thinness of the romance plot. I generally don’t like romance plots that feature instalove, and Lore and Finn’s instalove was intense in a way I didn’t find compelling. There was so much romantic angst (towards Syrelle) in the first book that I found Lore's love story with Finn almost unbelievable.

I have read a lot of series where I don't love the first book but then the succeeding books change how I view the series. Unfortunately, this was not the case with this book. My sentiment remains among the series. If you remove the spice scenes, this should have been YA. It's written like it is made for the YA audience. The romance and sorta weird love triangle for Lore is what typically is seen on YA. The characters are a bit flat and the growth is barely there. I did some more research and did not realize it was not considered traditional fantasy where there is more action and consequences. That's what it should have been marketed as. I would have liked it more if I went in as it being YA.

This was a great ending to the Lore of the Wild duology! This book was great because it didn't drag scenes out like some other fantasy novels. It was well-paced, and we got to know the characters more, especially after how the first book ended. We find out there is a 2nd grimoire, and Lore tries to find it in this book. The revelations that were made about family, characters, etc. were jaw dropping! I love that this story cleaned up nicely, and Lore was becoming such a strong FMC while facing many harrowing events in this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for this advanced copy for an honest review. What can I say this was such a beautiful end to this duology. From the dedication to the end it was beautiful, powerful, inspiring, and inclusive. Lore grew as a character while simultaneously staying true to who she was as a character. The plot twist in book end came to a beautiful conclusion in this book that I truly did not anticipate and I’m so glad I had no idea where this book was going.
This book has all the old faves with a few new surprises that left me truly excited to read more from Analeigh.
Truly a magnificent ride, there is something for everyone and the spice was *chefs kiss*

I’m going to preface this review by stating that I am a ✨ vibes ✨ reviewer first and foremost. I enjoyed the vibes of Lore of the Tides, as I enjoyed the vibes of the first book.

The Black girl magic here is perfect. Lore is strong but also soft, she cares for her people and she loves SO HARD. I wanted her to get everything she ever dreamed of. Her passionate care for her community and her desire for both justice AND their safety felt very relevant in the current day and age.

The care that Sbrana gives to Lore’s hair and skin needs and care, particularly the scene where Finn braids her hair, FEELS so important.

One of my favorite parts, found family got me once again. The cast that rallies around Lore feels like a warm hug. My favorite character is Queen Naia, who must be protected at all costs.

I did have some things that weren’t my favorite. I felt that the magic system wasn’t consistent and everything was just a little TOO easy. While I loved the underwater portion, the setting itself has almost no impact except a general threat of “once this magic wears off we might all die.”

I will also clearly state - I am not a fan of spicy scenes and therefore I’m not going to give feedback on the scenes themselves because that feels unfair. I will say, however, that I have similar feedback as I had for Lore of the Wilds - the book reads very YA until the explicit sex (and late-book extreme violence) scenes. I know this is listed as an adult romantasy, which the author makes clear when she posts about it (and I truly appreciate!), but the writing outside of the sex scenes doesn’t FEEL very adult. It somewhat feels like Sbrana received this feedback from Wilds and tried to make the dialogue a bit more “adult” but it really just turned into a clash of high-brow lines followed by the word “fuck” a lot. I also hope the final round of editing cuts out most of the “Good girl” instances - again it’s not my jam, but the impact decreases each time, and I swear it’s in here a half dozen times.

I loved Finn. I adored Finn. He lost his personality from book 1, but honestly, I don’t mind him as hot set dressing (also everyone in these books is hot AF). Lore’s lingering conflict over Syrelle made no sense to me, but I am a “burn it to the ground” person re: betrayal. It did lend itself to the ending, so it all turned out alright.

Overall I’m very excited to see what Sbrana writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled with the pacing in this one.

Parts of the plot dragged so much that I had trouble pushing through, only for things to suddenly speed up dramatically. Major plot points would get resolved in a single chapter, right after spending several chapters lingering on far less important events.

The uneven pacing even made it hard for me to stay invested in the story. I struggled to connect with the characters or care about their struggles when conflicts were wrapped up so quickly. At times, it even felt like certain plot points were thrown in like little side quests to solve character’s problems.

Overall it was okay and I’m glad to mark another series off my list.

Beautiful!! Atmospheric. Hilarious. Captivating. Inner conflict. Desire. Fiercely romantic. Highly recommended!!👏🏾✨

“𝐿𝑒𝓉 𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝒹𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊.”💕😍

Such an amazing end to this duology. We pick right back up with Lore, Asher and Finn who are now on a quest to find the counterpart to Lore’s Deeping Lune. The writing still flows so beautifully and the story itself took me to places I was not expecting to go. Every character has such depth and personality, it’s hard to not just love them all. What I love most about it though is it doesn’t follow the typical fantasy romance duology plot. Yes we get some more spice in book two but I never would have been able to predict how this one would end. This is probably one of the most underrated traditionally published fantasy series (in my humble option).

After the cliffhanger ending of Lore of the Wilds, I was very curious as to where Lore of the Tides would take us - other than someplace that had to do with water. The ride that Analeigh took us on in this sequel was wild and I loved every single minute of it! While searching for Auroradel Lore’s confidence in not only her powers, but herself becomes a strong through line for the story.

You can see the love put into this story in every page. From the affection between Lore and Finn to the story of an oppressed people fighting back against their oppressors, this book has SO MUCH heart!

I will say, I am sending a bill to the author for my therapy because the way that the last 15% of this book BROKE me should be a crime!

This book was amazing. I enjoyed the world building and the underwater scenes were my favorite. I’m happy for fin and I loved how his character grew in the story. Lore grew into a strong female lead and I enjoyed every moment of her growth. I couldn’t put this one down . I still miss Asher