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A review by ladypalutena
Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.5
THIS IS NOT A STAND-ALONE STORY. I foolishly picked up this book thinking it was a single novel, since nothing indicated that it was going to be either a duology or a series. In fact, if the author wanted to torture us, she could just leave it here. It does wrap up well enough that it could be a "hopeful look to the future" and another book not be published, but that would be rude.
Of course, now that I've said all that, I've done my due diligence with Googling the book and it's going to be a duology. Great. And I read it way too long before the next book could even conceivably be written. Excellent.
Anyway.
The magic system in this book is phenomenal. Everything is hooked to the lunar cycle, and your magic is tied to the specific phase of the moon you were born under. You can only use your magic during that phase of the moon, unless you do some bloodletting and "borrow" some of your future magic. It's the most interesting magic system I've seen in a long time, and I am looking forward to reading more about it in the future.
The characters - you can sort of tell that everyone has shifty secrets and something isn't going to go as planned from about 1/3 of the way through the book, but when it hits, it really hits.I saw it coming, and still felt the breath knocked out of me when Keiran ended up revealing his entire plan to Emory.
The plot had me guessing almost the entire time, and towards the ending of the book, I was literally checking how much longer I had left because "There's no way they can wrap it up in that many pages, can they?" And no, they can't.
If you're looking for a dark academia setting, mysterious deaths, people with mysterious secrets, and the most interesting magic system I've seen in a while, this is the book for you. I will be waiting for the next one to come out.
Of course, now that I've said all that, I've done my due diligence with Googling the book and it's going to be a duology. Great. And I read it way too long before the next book could even conceivably be written. Excellent.
Anyway.
The magic system in this book is phenomenal. Everything is hooked to the lunar cycle, and your magic is tied to the specific phase of the moon you were born under. You can only use your magic during that phase of the moon, unless you do some bloodletting and "borrow" some of your future magic. It's the most interesting magic system I've seen in a long time, and I am looking forward to reading more about it in the future.
The characters - you can sort of tell that everyone has shifty secrets and something isn't going to go as planned from about 1/3 of the way through the book, but when it hits, it really hits.
The plot had me guessing almost the entire time, and towards the ending of the book, I was literally checking how much longer I had left because "There's no way they can wrap it up in that many pages, can they?" And no, they can't.
If you're looking for a dark academia setting, mysterious deaths, people with mysterious secrets, and the most interesting magic system I've seen in a while, this is the book for you. I will be waiting for the next one to come out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Blood and Alcohol