I really enjoyed this book! It picks up immediately where book 1 ends and we take off from there.

We see old faces, new faces, and more in this journey with Lore. Her ultimate goal remains the same - save her people, the humans, but she still stops along the way to help others in need.

Overall I really enjoyed the characters and story here - the challenges Lore & crew face were unique and the fact that Lore struggled through the ups and the downs was refreshing to read. I was not sure there was going to be a way to forgive/like Syrelle in the end but Analeigh surprised me with how she tied all that up.

Lore of the Tides by Analeigh Sbrana is a strong and satisfying conclusion to the duology, delivering even more depth, emotion, action, and spicethan the first book. The characters come into their own, the world expands in exciting ways, and the story wraps up in a way that feels both complete and rewarding. A great read from start to finish—loved it even more than the first.

4.5 stars

"If they were going to accuse her of it anyway, terrorize her for it, end her life for it, then she would embody it. Let her be their monster, their demon, the witch from their nightmares."

Lore of the Tides delivers on the promise of feminine rage, magic, and reclamation. This book was chaotic in the best way, it packed in so much that it easily could’ve been a trilogy.

The FMC’s transformation arc was fantastic. I loved the magic system, the worldbuilding, and the sharp, socially relevant lines like "You bowed to a king of darkness. You are as complicit as he in the crimes against my people, and for that, I condemn you all to death."

A bit predictable at times, but emotionally satisfying and thematically powerful. After Lore of the Wilds (which was just fine for me), this one was a resounding yes.

Thank you to Harper Voyager, NerdFam & NetGalley for the free eArc!

I read this physical and audio. I really love the audiobook narrator on this one. The story had some really interesting parts but as a whole, it did not keep my interest. I wanted there to be better pacing. And it just felt a little bit disjoint from the first book. There was some good character development for the main character but by the end it did feel a little bit too predictable for my taste.

Bugs. I hate bugs. Lore was put through the wringer in this one. From not only the situation she found herself in at the end of book one; Lore finds herself underwater helping sirens with a problem while [REDACTED], having to go through the small trials/tasks to obtain the grimoire, and then eventually come face to face with the king to try and free her people. She really needs a break. I was exhausted reading everything she had to go through and was ready for a nap.

This is the final book in the Lore of the Wilds duology and follows Lore Alemeyu following the events of book one, Lore finds herself on a ship in the middle of the ocean as a prisoner. Lore is tasked with finding the sun book, a grimoire. All this while dealing with the sting of betrayal and being surrounded by those distrustful to her and would harm her in a moments notice given the chance.

What you Can Expect:
📖Fantasy Romance
📖Spice
📖Love/Hate triangle
📖Conclusion to the Story
📖Sirens & Sea Monsters
📖Bugs, SO MANY BUGS **internally screaming**
📖Magic
📖Darker at times
📖Feminine Rage

“It’s true, Lore. You’ve had my heart since you trusted me enough to sit upon the swing in the garden. I’d tried to fight it . . . Gods, I tried to ignore your irresistible charm, gorgeous freckles, and wild, unyielding spirit . . . but every wall I built crumbled when I saw you swinging there in my favorite place in the entire world, the moonlight kissing your hair . . . I wanted to kiss you so badly it terrified me.”

Lore’s eyes welled up again. “I hate you.” “I deserve your hate . . .” His tone turned bitter. “And I still can’t keep you safe. I leave you alone for a single bell, and it’s my own people who try to kill you. I thought this was safest, getting you away from my uncle, but you’re in danger no matter what I do.”

I want to talk a little bit about the characters and some changes I noticed from book one to book two. Firstly, being Lore. Lore remained pretty similar to her personality and thoughts from the beginning of the duology. Which I don't expect a ton of character development when honestly if we think on the timeline of this story, not a lot of time has passed, only A LOT of events. We do get to see this feminine rage side of Lore and I know that the king is bad, but I was gasping at what she did at the end. I blame too many superhero movies of me thinking they're has to be an alternative. Like some of the actions she had to take in this book really messes with your soul. Although, she did seem relatively unphased by it at the end.

Finn. Finn the broody, gumpy bar keep in Wilds sort of changed into golden retriever energy man. I loved Finn's grouchy demeanor in Wilds so I was slightly saddened to see him shift his character into moreso just pleasing Lore and doing things for Lore. He did have some moments where it was touch her and d-- but overall, it was very I shall please Lore PHYSICALLY and MENTALLY, if you catch my drift.

Syrelle. I don't care what he did in book one which led to the events of this book. I was always rooting for him. This man had depth and was flawed. We learn some more about why he is so flawed and despite his upbringing and life, I think he turned out good. Reading the end, made me understand his course of actions and why he did what he did. PLUS it wasn't that he didn't feel bad for the things he did. He was not heartless. If I was praying for a why choose it would be this duology because Lore ran to Finn essentially because of the actions in book one, but Syrelle stole our hearts.

As for the progression of the story, Lore spends a lot of time traveling. Like a lot. Girliepop is never gonna leave her home by the time this adventure is over because I was exhausted for her. There were some action which were the tasks that she was traveling for. They were kind of brief and Lore didn't encounter a whole lot of bumps. I think the bug scene really was the worst of it. But even then it was more so swatting away all the critters trying to crawl all over her.

I think my favorite place Lore traveled was her time in Lapis Deep. I would have loved to spend more time there and get to know Prince Hazen in the personality that he took on there more. Once they left the ocean it felt like he was more just the money bags and extra body and didn't provide as he could've character wise in the story.

Lore really proved how strong and brave she is by the end of the duology and I loved that she preservered in the revolution despite how absolutely terrifying it was getting.

It was out of rooting for this author—and honestly, general curiosity on how the series would wrap up—that I carried through to read Tides. An underwater setting & seafaring adventure sounded promising. Unfortunately, Tides struggled in ways similar to Wilds, namely in plot, character development, and tone.

First, a few positives: There’s some nice character development here with Asher, and I wish she’d gone deeper on building out his family dynamics. I also liked the Sirens, and felt that world was visual and interesting.

Once again, though, this book reads like YA up until almost jarring sex scenes are thrown in. I really wish someone had encouraged Sbrana to just keep this story YA. While there’s spice, there’s really no tension here. I couldn’t’ve been less invested in Lore’s relationship with Finn—there’s no chemistry and he doesn’t seem to have much of a personality other than being a grump.

This book also struggles with the same pacing and plot issues of the first. The beginning felt so slow again, with waffling that made me like Lore a lot less. In other climactic moments, you don’t once have a feel or sense of stakes - everything just resolves easily. It makes it hard to invest in the characters—you’re expecting the resolution and so when you get it, there’s nothing really to celebrate.

The ending here, too, felt predictable and honestly, a bit boring. I actually think the other choice romantically would’ve been more compelling had she developed it well.

Look: I think Sbrana has so much potential. The ideas, the creativity, it’s all there. Fantasy needs more authors who can bring this authentic and genuine a perspective into injecting fantasy with much-needed diversity. It’s just a shame she wasn’t given a stronger editor and team to help her shape this one better.

I had high hopes for this sequel after enjoying the first book a fair amount, but I fear this second book has almost entirely lost the plot.

Let’s start with what I liked: we saw SO much of this magical, exciting world Analeigh created in this book. The different locations and creatures were obviously created as a total labor of love, and did add something captivating and exciting to the story. I loved the underwater kingdom especially, as well as the stretch of traveling with an Orc.

Unfortunately beyond this, I was severely underwhelmed. It just really felt like the first 60% of the book was one very, very long side quest. It had loose ties to the overall plot, but mainly just serving as Lore needing to get out of a situation in order to move forward with her overall goals, and learning some more about her power. It was just entirely too long to spent on this task, and then the retrieval of the next magical artifact felt rushed (which really felt like what should have been the primary focus of the first half, but really, really wasn’t).

All of this led to. Severely rushed final showdown, enough so that even after 90% I was suspecting th at a third book would have been necessary to wrap up the plot (and I still feel this way). It just felt like Lore became conveniently overpowered, and a bunch of her prior convictions flew out the window by the end. The romance also unfortunately felt wildly flat to me, and the spicy scenes felt tonally off and out of place.

I will give this authors next work a try, as I have historically had a lot of luck with later loving an authors work after the growing pains of their debut series. This just wasn’t at all what I hoped, unfortunately. Thank you to Avon & Harper voyager for this eArc!

This was the perfect ending for this duology! I loved Lore’s journey and adventures throughout this book, especially their time spent with Queen Naia. This has found family, a love triangle to die for, and a really unique magic system. Finn and Syrelle perfected yearning to the point where I wasn’t always sure who I wanted Lore to end up with. This is a great story full of hope, love, female strength, and adventure. I am sad to have finished Lore’s story but it was so worth the journey!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

After blazing through Lore of the Wilds, I was so excited to immediately press on to Lore of the Tides. I was also so glad that I didn’t have to wait for the next installment, what with the previous cliffhanger. Unfortunately, the sequel didn’t live up to the intrigue of its predecessor for me.

Lore and Finn have been betrayed and captured, now stuck on a boat to an unknown land and be used as unwilling guide and leverage, respectively, in Syrelle’s quest to find the grimoire he considers his birthright. Lore can trust no one, least of all the man who so deeply hurt her, even if he is one of the only ones on the ship who doesn’t outwardly despise her. She hasn’t been allowed to see Finn, is forced to scry for the location of Auroradel, and is given a riddle in order to pinpoint its location from the book itself. Lore is determined to have her revenge and save the humans left helpless in Duskmere. But how can she escape when she can’t even trust her own feelings?

For the first part of this book, I was willing to go with the narrative, despite noticing a few inconsistencies. (e.g. Who is Ember? When was Ember named? Where did Ember go, and how?) Though the pacing was more off than I’d found it to be in the first book, I wasn’t really bothered by much until reaching the end of part two about halfway through. That was truly where the plot seemed to unravel in several ways. The characterization, especially of the trio we’re most familiar with from the first book (Lore, Finn, Syrelle), was all over the place. I understand the complicated nature of the feelings Lore had for Syrelle, and vice versa, but neither of them were consistent in their actions, both in terms of themselves and each other. This felt much more pronounced on Lore’s account, as we’re effectively in her head. Conflicting feelings make perfect sense; deciding to hate Syrelle and kill him one chapter and then trusting him in the next is too much of a swing. Lore’s thoughts themselves also seem to be all over the place, and not always consistent with the tone or setting of the book. Some terms aren’t necessarily too modern (like the use of the word “business” at one point), but in context feel out of place.

One of the most jarring things I experienced, though it was present in the previous book, became a much larger issue for me in this one: timing. The jumps between chapters were abrupt, often with chunks of time missing and not particularly well explained. Some things happen extremely slowly, and others are way too fast. The last twenty percent of the book is where I see this the most: when Lore returns home, everything suddenly moves at a glacial pace, despite the urgent nature of their situation. Then once the confrontation of the king happens, events happen both extremely quickly and without much care for any progress we’ve seen the characters make. I simply can’t justify that someone who was incredibly powerful, regardless of the extreme trauma she’s experienced, can go from utterly broken by torture to believing (and forgiving) someone she has previously entirely distrusted to suddenly be ready to fight the same man who tortured her. Even accepting this fantasy world for what it is didn’t allow me to suspend disbelief to the point that the characters that had been relatively well fleshed out in the first book would so swiftly fall apart at the (very late) climax of the series.

Overall, I would definitely suggest anyone left bereft by the first book’s cliffhanger should try to make it through this one, if not for anything other than closure. I sadly just lost the ability to connect with the characters in this book. Many threads from the first book, or questions I had, were dropped or unanswered. (Why the emphasis on astronomy, especially if the sun and moon are almost exclusively tied to the time of day the magic is active? Lore was so strongly connected to the woods, do why does it barely feature here? What is Ember’s purpose other than to be a magical creature somehow bound to the Source magic?) It is, of course, possible that the author was rushed in finishing the book due to publishing deadlines. And I’d still be curious to see what she has for us in the future. But sadly, Lore of the Tides fell flat for me. I hope it doesn’t prevent me from rereading the first book again in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

🌶️

Rating: 1.75 stars

Review posted to StoryGraph on July 1, 2025 (https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/8b4eb401-136d-4514-810b-185495e0569c)
Review posted to Instagram: PENDING

What can I say if not that’s I am obsessed? This was such a fun read and really got me out of the mini slump I had put myself into!

This story is an adventure and a half that will leave you reeling! Full of hard decisions and showing the strength of love! Found family has to be one of my favorite tropes and this was absolutely amazing! There is a slew of tropes including betrayal, hidden identities, and a love triangle 👀

This story will make you fall in love with the characters and the plot is absolutely amazing! I loved being able to see the conclusion to this wonderful duology!

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is probably my new favorite 2 book series. The way Analeigh Sbrana sets every scene is so picturesque and every single one of the characters we meet has incredible depth. I love the way this author tells stories. I love Lore. I love how this book had me on the edge of my seat, kicking my feet and giggling. LOVED!!!!

Lore of the Tides has been one of my most anticipated new releases for this year, and this was such an engaging conclusion to this duology. If you’re seeking a feminine rage recommendation, Analeigh Sbrana dialed up Lore’s rage to 100 in this book. This book had its tender, emotional, and comedic moments, but the story was really in service to rising up against racism and oppression.

I found the plot twist at the end of Book 1 very shocking when I read it last year. While there were reveals in this book that took me by surprise, there was nothing on the level of the Book 1 plot twist in this book. To make up for that, though, this book moves around a lot: It’s split into three parts, and each part has its own cohesive location and plot arc. There is abduction, there is adventure, there is a side quest, and there is, of course, the big mission. I thought this was all well-organized, and I liked how unique each part was compared to the others.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was the romance arc. I don’t want to say too much in order to avoid spoilers, but I thought Analeigh did a lovely job balancing the intensity of feelings and intimacy against the tender emotions and bond forming between the characters.

I appreciated how the story was woven for how the humans aimed to get out from under the oppressive dark fae regime. It was a powerful allegory for real-life resistance, and although I never share more than one quote from ARCs when I’m reviewing (in case of edits), I saved multiple quotes related to their conversations around fighting back against the oppression, the importance of maintaining hope, the necessity of allies, and the power of their community.

I do have one of the same critiques that I had for Book 1, which is that sometimes the dialogue felt unnatural in terms of how people would naturally speak out loud in normal conversation. It was oddly formal at times. (I do know some of this may have been changed in edits.) There were also a couple of plot points that felt like they weren’t as well wrapped up as I would’ve liked; I still had questions at the end. There were explanations provided for these things; I personally just wanted more thorough explanations than what was given.

Overall, though, I enjoyed this conclusion and look forward to rereading it in the future to catch details I missed the first time!

Such a satisfying conclusion to a wonderful and fascinating fantasy series filled with magic, fae, and a PARTICULAR fae male with brooding stares and striking features who GOOD GIRL’s her ahhh ! “GOOD GIRL ARE YOU KDDING ME” - literal words from my mouth.

FINN.FREAKING.DRYLLLLLLL this man is everything to me, and Lore deserves a man that takes up for her NO. MATTER. WHAT!! If you went into this not expecting things to develop between Lore and Finn, I’m sorry to disappoint, but there was/is no contest when it comes to this ‘love triangle’ — I knew Finn was endgame the minute I met him; I just had to be patient, and it definitely pays off!!

I love that we got to see more from the world; the development from book 1 to book 2 was SO well done and I loved seeing Lore own her awesomeness! She's such a complex and beautiful FMC; her fierceness, determination, and the love she feels for her people is something I'll always admire about her. So much more growth and depth in this book and I am very satisfied after finishing this duology!

~
“The dark means stars and moonlight . . . You shine golden in the moonlight; you thrive under the glow of the stars, Lore. You are worthy of adoration. Unveil your mosaic wings for me. Let me adore you.”
~
She remembered that he was no longer that irritable fae from the tavern but simply Finn, her Finn, and he thought she was lovely.
~

Like seriously?? SWOONING!!

Lore of the Tides is an action packed fantasy with swoon worthy banter and deep world-building. I noticed a great improvement in writing and overall world-building compared to the first book in this duology. The relationships between characters was stronger and intentional, the magic system was explained a bit more in depth, and I felt that I became overall more attached to the story in book 2. However, I do feel that the ending felt rushed. The beginning of the book had great pacing, and I was fully invested, but towards the end of the book it felt that there was not enough time. I felt the need for more detail and background which it lacked. Overall, I enjoyed the duology, and I enjoyed Lore of the Tides more than the first book. I’m excited to see what else Sbrana writes!

I adored this book so much! Analeigh put crack in here I swear. This was everything I wanted for book 2 and more. I’m so obsessed with her characters and her world. She’s definitely an auto buy author for me forever.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 rounded up for rating scale
🌶️🌶️

“She would take everything from him. She would be his utter ruination. And then, she would set his entire beloved kingdom on fire.”

Lore of the Tides was the perfect conclusion to this duology. I don’t want to say a lot because there are twists and turns that I don’t want to spoil.

As you can guess by the name, book 2 takes us to the ocean. Lore wakes up as a prisoner on a ship. It was really fun to go to a completely different setting for the second book. I feel like the pace and the stakes also pick up in this book. There were times I wondered how everything would wrap up by the end because Lore and crew are dealing with a lot through the story.

I also really loved the romance in this book and the way the love triangle was handled and wrapped up.

Definitely a fantasy duology to add to your TBR.

Thank you to Harper Voyager for the gifted copy and e-arc. All opinions are my own.

The first book was so good and I've been dreaming of this world for a year now and it did NOT disappoint!! The emotions kept me entranced and the adventures of Lore kept me hoping for the best throughout it all!! This was a beautiful ending and I will be recommending to absolutely everyone!!

3.5 stars rounded up

I enjoyed Lore of the Wilds, and was curious to see how the story continues after plot twist ending in the first book. The second book in this duology is a lot more action and adventure with new places and new characters. I found the ship plot to be interesting, and I really liked Lore’s strength being shown in one of the scenes. I also thought the underwater world and characters to be fascinating and would love to read more about that world. Overall, I enjoyed the book, and I would be interested to see what else Analeigh writes.

For me, the romance felt a little flat and a bit forced, though at least part of that is likely due to that I personally dislike ‘good girl’, and I really dislike when it is shoehorned, especially several times, into books. If that’s your yum, you may enjoy the romance more than I did.

Thank you to Analeigh Sbrana and Avon and Harper Voyager, Harper Voyager for providing an ebook. I am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

𝙴𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 & 𝙰𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠
🌟🌟🌟🌟
I have mixed emotions and mixed reviews about this book. I have been going back and forth if I should rate it 3 or 4 stars! But I went with 4 stars; the cover art and the spicy content in this book were chef's kiss.
This is book two in the Lore of the Wilds Duology! I really wanted to love this book, but I felt like it dragged, and it just didn't give me those feelings I wanted. The romance was good; I can't talk too much about it, as I don't want to spoil it.

The audiobook is narrated by Marcella Cox, and she honestly saved the book for me. She was amazing and easy to listen to and understand, and gave the characters so much depth. I listened at 2x speed.

Thank you, NetGalley, Avon and Harper for the ebook, and Harper Audio for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

The beginning was a little slow, but picked up as we moved through the story. I was glad with who she ended up with, but it did seem like a quick transition from her angst. Someone else said he was hot and then it was like Lore said "oh he IS hot, I'm gonna get with him." The relationships made me want to pause the book and come back to it. I loved it more when the plot picked up, and I'm so glad I kept going.

Ultimately, the ending was a delicious finale to the series.