Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Curious Tides

Curious Tides is the first book in a new fantasy series that follows Emory, a student of house New Moon who finds herself caught in a secret societies plans after she is branded during a tragic mistake.
I really wanted to love this book because I am such a huge moon, stars, nighttime fan and the idea of how the moon affects the magic in this world really interested me. Unfortunately, this just fell flat for me.
The biggest complaint I had was that this book did a lot of telling but not showing of things. They told us that Emery's good friend was one of the ones caught in the high tide but we never got to see it, they told us that Baz liked Emery but we never got to really see it and so on and so forth. I was also a bit put off by the fact taht Emery seems to use a certain character to try to learn more and she "feels bad" about it but continues doing it and not showing really any remorse.
I found I didn't really care for any of the characters as well. I thought they were all pretty two dimensional and easy to switch out. I wasn't connected to any of them or quite frankly, cared what happened to them. The plot of this wasn't super engaging and, although I did like the idea of the magic system, it just wasn't explained enough or shown enough for me.
If the synopsis of this book interest you, please do read it, I encourage you to give it a try and I hope you love it. It just wasn't for me.

Content Warnings

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

Content Warnings

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

In the world of Curious Tides, the moon phase of your birth determines the type of magic you possess. Not everyone is powerful enough to study magic in college, but Emory and her best friend, Romie—a prodigy—made it in. But after a mysterious ritual turns deadly, Emory must do whatever it takes to get Romie back. As death haunts school grounds, Emory’s magic, once-lacking, changes into something much more powerful—even dangerous. The desire to be special and the need to find her friend lead Emory to a cult-like society and into the arms of its magnetic leader. Meanwhile, Romie’s brother, Baz, of the ostracized House Eclipse, is determined to uncover the mystery that stole his sister and to save Emory before it’s too late. This atmospheric, gripping debut is sure to appeal to fans of astrology and moon magic!

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