I really did enjoy the overall premise of this book, and who doesn't want a completed romantasy duology? We begin where we left off after that whopper of an ending in book 1, and I was so excited to have some nautical adventures and see what happened with character development. What missed the mark for me was the pacing of the story- many parts felt slower paced and "cozy" while other parts felt more "epic" but it felt rushed to fit them within the confines of a duology. I also felt that the spicy scenes didn't really fit as much with the overall tone of the rest of the book. I wish there would have been more time for character development, especially involving the romance aspect. I did enjoy the underwater world and the unique setting.

I would say this may be for readers who enjoy cozy vibes, want completed romantasy series, and are maybe newer to the genre

Lore of the Tides is the action-packed sequel to Lore of the Wilds. When we left Lore she had been kidnapped by someone she had trusted. When she wakes up, she realizes that she’s on a ship in the middle of the ocean with circumstances out of her control. She must figure out how to escape her capture, find the sister book to her grimoire and ensure her and her loved one’s safety. Unlike Lore of the Wilds, this book leans a bit more toward the adult fantasy versus the YA fantasy.

I enjoyed seeing Lore continue to grow into herself and her powers. There were many sweet moments in the middle of the action between her and the main male character that made me appreciate their relationship and the way he cared for her in unassuming ways. I wasn’t quite sure how the “love triangle” from the first book would play out, and at times seemed a bit disjointed, but ultimately ended in a good space. The new side characters were fun to meet, but I was hoping for them to come back around a bit more. I would love to see more of the greater world in this fantasy realm.

Sometimes the action scenes seemed a bit rushed or too easily figured out. There was a lot of buildup, and then it was fairly easily completed. I wouldn’t have minded a bit more trying/trial through the adventures.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, and the duology. I would be interested in reading more stories set in this world, even if it’s not focused around Lore and the humans.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy for an honest review.

Lore’s story has come to an end and I’m really glad the author decided to make this a duology.

Overall, I like what this book represented. A chance at justice for the oppressed and an opportunity for liberation under a cruel ruler. Unfortunately, there were parts of the story that just didn’t work for me. I understand how Hazen and Queen Naim later came to be part of Lore’s allyship, but the second part of the book felt longwinded and didn’t contribute that much to the story. I really wish more time was given for the third part because once Lore came to face off with the King, it felt rushed and anticlimactic. Also, the spicy parts with Finn felt out of place and didn’t really contribute to my understanding or belief in their relationship. I honestly felt she had more chemistry with Asher/Syrelle.

A good read with just a few weak plot points, but glad Lore and her people found a happy ending that led them to freedom.

ARC REVIEWER

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice 🌶

This is most likely the only BIPOC cozy fantasy book I have ever read. This is such a beautiful touching story. Lore is exactly what every book girly wants to happen to them. Love their books get kidnapped into a fae world and have a handsome spicy MMC. This is the perfect duology to start into a fantasy genre. Even though it was high stakes this book still felt cozy. I was so suprised about sirens/mermaid world that was so interested and their world is amazing. Also the spicy scene in the library girl! I cannot wait on your next book or series. I love this duology.

I really enjoyed this one. It was a nice ending to the duology. Thought the world-building brought forth interesting kingdoms/settings in this world. I particularly enjoyed some of the descriptive narrative, which helped me picture the scene. Also loved the inclusion of magical libraries, including an underwater setting.

Both books are very readable and I’d recommend them. As an aside, another great cover.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

An Epic, Emotional Sequel That Delivered Everything
Lore of the Tides is a stunning conclusion to a series that’s completely stolen my heart. The worldbuilding, emotional depth, and character growth especially from Lore and Syrelle were beautifully done. I laughed, I cried, and I almost called off work just to finish it! While I secretly wished Lore ended up with Syrelle, I still loved how everything wrapped up. Finn and Lore surprised me in the best way, and the ending left me full of hope. Thank you HarperCollins, NetGalley, and Analeigh Sbrana for letting me experience this incredible story. This series is officially one of my all-time favorites!

This was a masterpiece, a perfect end to a beautiful story - one of courage, perseverance, love, freedom and magic. I have recommended this book to everyone I know. Brava, Analeigh, brava!!

I slid down the wall at the end of LotW and stayed on the floor throughout the beginning chapters of LotT. The betrayal! I was so angry for Lore and that anger kept driving me to turn the pages. I just had to know what happened next and boy, was I in for a magical ride!

As the story progresses, we get to see more of Lore’s growth is beginning to really shine as she is trying to make the best out of a bad situation. And it’s bad, sometimes beyond bad but not hopeless. She questions herself and makes mistakes, which is understandable as this is all new to her. And it’s bad - all hope seems lost as she traverses a new obstacle that she nor anyone (meaning us, the readers) saw coming.

The love triangle! Lord, this was messy because I was Team Asher, then Team Finn, then Team Asher until I slid down the wall at the end of the last book. In this book, I thought the choice would be obvious. It was not. Finn, the meanie who melted my heart in LotW melted my heart even more but then here comes Asher with his morally grey self and let me say, Lore had more than one decision to make. What a ride!

I don’t want to give spoilers, but I will say that the stakes are so much higher and Lore’s broken heart is weighing heavily on her as she tries to figure out how to free her people and become what she knows her people need. She doesn’t know who to trust or where to turn and I was tuned in for every heart racing moment! As the story progressed, I found myself bargaining for one more hour of reading because I simply could not put it down. There were so many layers to work through - Lore and her relationship with the Source, Lore’s relationships with both Asher and Finn, and most importantly, Lore’s determination to free her people.

This was such a beautiful conclusion to Lore’s story! I love how Lore’s power grew and developed further in this story and how she was able to use it for the good of so many. I loved the Lapis Deep portion of the story and the journey to the Golden Cascades. Lore and Finndryl’s relationship was developed so well, and I thought the way they depended on and protected each other was beautiful. Though the ending may have been a little rushed, it didn’t change how much I loved this!

Beautifully Woven Sequel Full of Passion and Growth

Lore of the Tides is an absolute triumph. As a sequel, it not only lives up to the promise of the first installment but elevates the entire story to a powerful, emotional conclusion. What stood out most to me was the sheer passion infused in every page. The worldbuilding and the deeply personal journeys of its characters. It was just amazing to see it all come together.

Syrelle and Lore, in particular, showed tremendous growth. Their development felt organic and earned, shaped by the trials they faced and the choices they made. Watching them evolve was both satisfying and moving, especially as their paths intertwined with the broader, rich tapestry of the world. This story was immersive and meaningful, expanding the universe in ways that felt both epic and intimate.

Without giving anything away, the ending was perfect. It was a rare blend of closure and impact that left me feeling both fulfilled and hopeful. Though I do wish Lore ended up with Syrelle. If you're a fan of heartfelt fantasy with strong character arcs and a deep connection to its world, Lore of the Tides is a must-read.
Thank you to HarperCollins Netgalley and Analeigh Sbrana for the opportunity to read and review the perfect ending to this series. I will miss these characters dearly!

When I say this series is becoming one of my favorites I mean it. Analeigh your pen game don’t play. When I finished Lore Of The Wilds it instantly became my favorite fantasy book I’ve ever read and Lore of The Tides is taking the torch!!! I love this book so much … I can’t believe I love Finn and Lore together so much this book kinda scared me at first but I’m so happy with the ending To Ziara

I enjoyed Lore’s story in Book 1 Lore of the Wilds and couldn’t wait to keep reading her journey in Book 2.

It was easy for me to relate to Lore and her complicated feelings between her mission and her heart.

Through all the distractions to her main task she discovers more about her magic and the abilities. She stays true to herself by helping others.

I enjoyed the book so much and while I’d love more time with her and her world, I know this was a fitting end to duology.

Thank you Analeigh Sbrana for your Threads post ;) and Harper Voyager for this ARC.

Ahh!! This book did not disappoint! I really enjoyed the pacing and the character development we see from Lore. I am glad that I decided to reread the first book, because there were details that helped me out with the second book.

I was waiting for the second book in this duology! I absolutely love this world and was so exited to dive back in to where we left off in Lore of the Wildes.

This book was amazing. I read it in one day while on traveling, and could barely put it down. I almost missed a flight because I was so engrossed! It gave me everything I needed. To avoid spoilers, I need to stop there. But this was truly the best way for Lore’s story to conclude.

Honestly, when this book started, I was probably just as confused as Lore was, waking up on that ship. But after a few chapters I was hooked and had to know what happened next. Despite this book feeling slightly rushed towards the end, this was a satisfying ending to an amazing duology. I would love to see more of this world as a whole especially the after effects of everything. What will happen now that the humans are free?

Unfortunately this is an incredibly difficult review to write for all the wrong reasons. I had high hopes for this story, even though I didn’t particularly care much for the first book. My hope was that the common debut novel issues that the first book had would be ironed out a little with more development on behalf of the author and their writing, as well as perhaps in the editing. While I believe the author has immense talent in the idea of story, this unfortunately fell flat for me again.

I recall there was much dialogue surrounding Lore of the Wilds, where people were displeased that it was classified as a Romantasy, but had a more YA-leaning tone in terms of the interpersonal relationships. Lore of the Tides did seem to take this critique because it was leagues more explicit than the first, but it seemed very forced to me. I think it’s certainly possible to write from this more YA-leaning tone in the first book and naturally shift it more in the Romantasy direction if that was the desire of the author, however this didn’t accomplish it well. It didn’t work mainly because pairing these explicit scenes with dialogue that feels incredibly young just doesn’t feel natural and it doesn’t work well.

The YA-tone of the dialogue in an adult Romantasy novel made it particularly difficult to get through at times. Additionally Lore of the Tides continued my critique of the first novel by telling rather than showing readers as much of the story is driven either by spoken dialogue or descriptions/plans in Lore’s head. The romance also didn’t feel all that genuine or believable, even compared to the first book.

Lore is entrapped by Fae. Again.

As the only human known to wield magic, Lore is sought out to find the twin to her Deepening Lune Grimoire. Sought out is a nice word. She was kidnapped. Along with Finn and Syrelle (the two Fae males fighting over her from Lore of the Wilds), Lore has to learn to live life at sea, conquer her powers, and try to find a way to free the humans. In this love triangle there are a few spicy scenes. I wouldn't necessarily call it young adult, but it is close as Lore is just 21.

Like most sequels I was afraid I was not going to remember any of the important details from the first book. Thankfully Analeigh Sbrana uses character memories in the earlier chapters to help the readers catch up. As you could probably tell from the cover and book name, at some point our love triangle ends up in an underwater kingdom. While underwater palaces and societies often go against the rules of physics and general logic, Sbrana mixes bipedal humans with swimming creatures extraordinarily well, and even manages to get underwater libraries to make sense.

Now for the down sides: as one of the very few Black romantasy books out there I hate to say anything negative. But at times the writing took me out of the story. This is not to say that I will not be going back to Analeigh Sbrana or wouldn't recommend this series, the story just didn't flow at times. For example at one moment a character is totally against something, but the next chapter they're totally okay with it? (I'm looking at you Syrelle.) Overall, it is still a LOVELY duology, I was just hoping for a little more.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy. Links will be updated as they are posted.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an early copy of this book.

My initial feelings upon starting this book were that there was a lot of potential for the story to really go somewhere interesting. The first book had left off on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I was excited to see what would happen between Lore and Syrelle/Asher, as well as where Finn would fit in.

Though the beginning of this book was a bit slow, I enjoyed seeing Lore starting to really embrace her powers fully and begin the search for Auroradel. I felt like the hostility she felt toward Syrelle was warranted, though it felt a bit forced.

When we get to the point in the book where the sirens make their appearance is when I feel like the whole story went a bit "off the rails". I don't think that entire plot point was necessary, or needed, in this story. In fact, I feel like it severely detracted from the overall plot. It was just filler.

From that point on, I had to drag myself though this story. Much of the dialog throughout was just not good (though some of the banter between Lore and Finndryl was enjoyable and made me smile). Where the beginning was slow, the end felt very rushed. The pacing of the entire book was not good and was super disjointed.

Overall, I was rather disappointed with this book. Again, I feel like there was a lot of potential for a great story, it just never reached those heights.

Thank you Avon & Harper Voyager for the eARC via NetGalley and physical ARC via HearOurVoiceTours.

This review is 100% genuine my own opinion.

Book — Lore of the Tides (book 2 in Lore of the Wilds duology)
Author — Analeigh Sbrana
Release date — July 8th, 2025

Review —
The imagery is everything. There are so many scenes that while I can visualize in my head I would love to see illustrated!

If I had to describe this book it would be a ruthless adult cozy fantasy with open door spice (about 3 explicit scenes and I believe the first scene happens around 45%) full of beautiful imagery.

This book picks up immediately after Lore of the Wilds ends and I enjoyed not fully knowing what happens next.
I really love and enjoy Lore and all the other characters.

Now, I have to be honest. I haven’t read a duology fantasy before and I am not sure if this contributes to the following:

There are some things I wanted more of. I wanted a better, deeper understanding of the magic the fae has and Lore acquires.

Some things seemed to work out “easy”. There were obviously violent scenes and battles Lore had to overcome but somethings like Syrelle and Finn’s relationship, the details of how Finn’s outwardly behavior towards Lore truly changes (I wanted more detail), Ember (the fox) is an important key but a reminder of why and how — i feel like i wanted to explore these areas more.

The resolution of part 2 (which part 2 just seemed like a side mission overall..) or really the resolution of most conflict — while there is confrontation and violence, it still seemed “easy” or understood that it will be handled. The reader isn’t necessarily stressed about IS IT gonna work out , we just don’t know the how. Which makes me type it as cozy. There are high stakes but things tend to work out.

I would recommend this book to those who like cozy fantasies but more violence, bloodshed, adult open door intimate sex scenes, a love triangle or is it a why choose? (Just a touch of that).

I battled with myself on what to rate this as. I settled on 3.5 which is still a great rating. I loved the imagery and how some relationships grow in part two but I could’ve lived without the side mission. I love the characters and the overall vibe of this book — so I still highly recommend!

TYSM for reading.

This was a really interesting premise and Analeigh has a unique, lyrical writing style that was enjoyable to read.

While I wanted to love this, I struggled with the pacing and what felt like big jumps between some of the action, while a lot of time and detail was spent on quieter moments. Sometimes we ended up somewhere and I really had no idea how we'd arrived there, which is similar to what I struggled with in book one. It pulled me out of the story and left me un-engaged with the characters.

Lore had a more interesting journey in this book and I was excited to learn about new parts of this world, but I still felt the romance wasn't for me and I didn't particularly like either MMC. Unfortunately this book was just not for me.