Reviews with content warning for Murder - Curious Tides

Found this book difficult to get through even though i really like it. I just spent sooo long on it and i don’y know Why it was such a struggle to get through.

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courtsport3000's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An absolutely addictive read that delivers on everything it promises.

It's got:
-dark academia vibes featuring a big old school on a cliff by the sea (with multiple libraries!)
-secret societies with eerie initiation practices
-a unique magic system boasting a diverse array of abilities, each influenced by phases of the moon
-a creepy sanitorium type facility where something sinister is happening
-family secrets on family secrets on family secrets
-dual POVs where both characters are actually equally engaging
-New Adult energy with YA grade romance (not in a bad way)
-betrayals, cover ups, murders, rescues - alll the drama

This is everything I want from a dark academia fantasy. It was thrill to experience and I cannot overstate how eagerly I'm anticipating the sequel later this year. I want to lose myself in this mysterious world again as soon as possible. Highly recommend.

Special thanks to Margaret K. McElderry Books for an ARC in exchange for review.

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piperclover's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This was so painful to listen to. I very quickly became resentful listening to it and every 2-3 minutes would convince myself that I needed to quit reading because I was disliking it so much. And then I would convince myself that I needed to listen to a little bit more just to see and I ended up listening to the whole thing out of sheer stubborn will. I took 3 pages of notes on my phone's note app bc I needed someone to yell at at so I just had to yell back at myself.

The most notable thing is that I think this is a case of an author who fell victim to having too many ideas and not understanding how to sort through them and pick the best ones for this book. There's 2 main plots going on and while they do intersect, I think they should have been 2 separate books. I think the first book should have been about Emory and Romi and the second book should've been about Baz, Kai, and Jay. I think having an entire book dedicated to Baz, Kai, and Jay's plot line would make it less rushed and shallow. I really only want to read this book about these 3 characters because I find this plot line so fascinating and I absolutely adore Baz and Kai as characters.

I found myself listening to Emory's plot and povs at 2.5x- 3x times speed but would slow down Baz's. I think splitting it into 2 separate books with Romi and Emory in the first book would give you context and understanding for Baz's plotline while also giving each plot its own space without making a book so long that it was nearly unbearable. I just think that there were better ways for this author to handle the amount of story that they wrote into the single book.

There's so much you have to remember and understand in order to even decently understand this book. So incredibly dense with context and lore and you're listening to chapter exerpts from an in story inside the story that is important to the plot so there's a ton of moving pieces. I swear it took 10 minutes to listen to a single percent of this audiobook because of how dense it is. I just could not outright enjoy it. I was intrigued in the overall plot line and I was super intrigued in anything to do with Baz and Kai but anything to do with Emory or Romi bored me.

I was really excited when I first started listening to realize that it's dual POV but then I realized that I would honestly rather it be just Baz's because I hate Emory with a burning passion. I just cannot stand this character. There was one side character in her plotline that I would have loved to have a POV from and would have even loved to read everything happening to Emory through this side character's eyes because that's how much I hated our main character. I think the characterization is completely intended and I don't think you're supposed to think that she is a good person or a lovable person but because of that I could not care about her and honestly I just wanted her to die. And everything she touched and she ruined every person that she interacted with and I just hate her. It's hard to enjoy a story when you downright hate one of the main characters especially when you're in their head so much.

She's such a greedy power hungry selfish person eve and sheltered and doesn't understand how anything works and doesn't research or figure out anything for her own. She discovers she has these incredibly rare powers that are mythologized and feared and so she immediately outs herself to an entire room full of people who are terrified of the type of magic she has. She has no idea who these people are and has been thrust in front of this group in the secret order and has no idea if they're going to kill her for having this magic but she does it anyway because she's so blinded by her own insecurity and what's to be fanned over. She does stuff like this all the time and trusts people with no proof that they're not going to hurt her and everything she does is to further her own gain and her own power but in such a naive way that I genuinely think she's just a stupid person. She's mean and manipulative and heartless to Baz, using his lingering childhood crush and trust in her to get him to help her hurt people unknowingly. And then Baz is left to pick up the pieces. I also don't like Romi and she's the entire reason for Emory's motivationsnbut I don't thinks she deserved it

.

I've seen people say that they enjoyed the way that queer relationships are alluded to in this book, how this book handles the complexity of queer relationships and crushing on people when you're queer. I don't want to undermine the people who believe that but personally I don't think that's what this book does. It frustrates me that there are 2 same-sex relationships in this book and both of them are off screen with dead or perceived dead characters. I don't think that's representation, I think that's a tragic form of queer baiting or something adjacent to it and it bothers me a lot. It's also implied that Kai has a romantic interest in Baz but is never confirmed with words or actions but I desperately want Kai and Baz to get together. They have such a fascinating dynamic as friends and as the last of their house. </Spoilers> when the second book comes out and if these 2 characters do not get together I'm not going to bother listening to it. This book is very plot-driven and not so much character-driven and I need intense character-driven stories in order to care about the plot.

I could go into such detail about all the things that bothered me or disappointed me or liked but wasn't given enough of. The last things that I'm going to mention is that this book has so much blood in it. I'm absolutely horrified by descriptions of blood so when blood letting magic and taking blood became progressively more present, I was getting worried. There are entire scenes that feature blood being drawn or injecting into blood etc. This alone nearly made me dnf at 28%.

There are 3 narrators and I think all 3 narrators did fantastic jobs, particularly Gary Furlong.

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mgcalder's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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tenderbench's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

4 ⭐ CW: violence, self-harm, murder, death

Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle is book one in the Drowned Gods duology. This is a YA dark academia with a magic school! I really liked the magic system in this book surrounding the moon and the tides. Neither of the MCs seem to be queer (yet), but we do get a few sapphic and achillean side characters.

We follow Emory, a New Moon student with mediocre healing abilities, who is returning to Aldryn College after a tragedy the semester before killed several of her classmates. We also follow Baz, an Eclipse student with the ability to control time, whose sister was part of the tragedy. When one of students who had been presumably swept out to Sea, is returned to shore, only to die a horrible death, Emory discovers she has powers no healer should have. Baz is the only one who knows, and was able to keep Emory's powers from going out of control.

Not only do we have a magic school, we get a secret society, a magical prison with a jailbreak, scholarly obsession, and a portal to another world. I do wish we had gotten more world-building. We get a bit about the discrimination that Eclipse-born endure as well as the exploitation at the hands of the Institute Regulators.

I pretty much guessed all the twists not far into the book, but it was still enjoyable. I did find Emory to be a bit annoying, and she treated Baz like crap, when he deserves better. I completely ship Baz and Kai, so I really hope that happens in the next book instead of him ending up with Emory. I wanted to love this book, although I enjoyed it, it still fell a little flat in a way I can't really articulate. It could just be because it's a debut book. Looking forward to book 2!

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natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A delightfully lush, dark academia debut that’s teeming with forbidden magic, mystery and secret societies—that fans of Lev Grossman’s The Magicians or Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House are bound to enjoy.

Set in a world full of magic (and told through alternating, dual perspectives) we follow Emory, a teen mage still grieving the loss of her best friend, Romie, to a tragic drowning accident. And Baz, Romie’s reclusive brother still coming to terms with her loss.

Estranged since childhood, the pair haven’t spoken in years. But when the drowned students start to wash ashore—with bodies that aren’t as dead as they should be. Emory and Baz must reunite once more.

Working together, they hope to uncover the truth behind the drownings, and the shady secret society that shares ties to the all the missing students. But time is of the essence and they must solve the mystery before the magic that claimed Romie and the others, decides to claim the lives of anyone else.

I loved every exquisitely detailed second of this! The world-building was breathtakingly, with prose that practically swam off the page — and in a very Erin Morgenstern fashion, submerging us in a world of intricately woven lore and lunar-based magic that I found utterly fascinating.

I was particularly fond of the excerpts we encounter (from MC Baz’s favourite book, Song of the Drowned Gods.) Which I thought were really reminiscent of the interconnected stories I fell hopelessly in love with, in Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea.

Our protagonists, Emory and Baz were likewise incredibly fascinating too. Suffering from survivor’s guilt (having followed Romie to the sea cave, and being present moments before the tragedy occurred) Emory’s emotional response was quite heartbreaking. However, some of her choices had me seriously questioning her decision making skills.

I do admit, that of our two main characters, it was Baz that I felt the most connected to. Being born with Eclipse magic (the most stigmatised branch of magic), Baz has endured a lifetime of vitriol. And yet, his determination to help Emory, (and risk having his own magic bound if they’re caught) was incredibly endearing. Especially after witnessing the depth of his compassion and his unwavering drive to do the right thing—even if it means breaking the rules.

Overall, phenomenally magical and mystery filled, YA fantasy with a sprinkle of romance (and dark academia deliciousness) that will have readers on the edge of their seats and eager for book two immediately.

Also, a huge thank you to Rachel Quin and Simon & Schuster UK for the e-arc.

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