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A review by beccabookshelf
Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle
5.0
Honestly when I saw the cover and blurb on Netgalley I instantly clicked request, this book both looked and sounded like it had manifested out of my wildest dreams. Almost as if Romi had plucked it straight out of my dreamscape. Like look at this cover guys, it is BEAUTIFUL. I was immediately tempted to buy a physical copy regardless of if I ended up disliking/DNFing this book, just because it would look so Tides-damn good on my shelf. Thankfully though, I absolutely loved this book. The concept of the magic system had me instantly curious, lunar magic that is heavily based around the ocean tides?!? Such a beautiful concept and as a major greek mythos/Artemis girlie I was vibing out.
The world that Pascale Lacelle has created for this book is SO Deep, you can really tell that she has put everything she has into it’s creation. The political system, the different regions, studies, mythology, multiple books both fiction and non-fiction within the world, as well as an entire magic system that has strengths, variety, as well as reasonable limitations. These are all really hard things to combine without plot holes or inconsistencies but it has been a really solid foundation for this book, and I would’ve expected much worse for a debut novel.
As usual for me with a new fantasy world to delve into, the first 100~ pages went by a little slower paced just as I wrapped my head around how the world worked, but once I got into it I struggled to put it down. I forced myself to put the book down a few times, just so I could savour it for a few more days. I ended up reading majority of the book during a Full/Blue Moon, which honestly just felt so fitting and wonderful.
The characters within Curious Tides are brilliant, as I’ve seen from a few reviewers most of us seem to have preferred Baz>Emory whilst reading the two perspectives. I am also within that boat, however I am prepared to eat my words as I feel like Book Two will be where Emory really develops into a character we all will love. Absolutely loved Baz and Kai, their friendship is just so great and you can really tell how well thought out their characters are.
There were a few plot twists, some definitely more predictable than others. SPOILERS -
Also for anyone interested in a good LGBT+ read, this book features an expansive range of diversity. Whilst not the biggest theme in the book, there is gay/lesbian, bisexual, nonbinary/trans representation. There was only one moment where it was directly pointed out in an internal monologue about a characters sexuality, otherwise the rest was just very subtle with mentions of a partner or ex partner and the pronouns used when discussing. I personally prefer this more casual approach of mentioning sexuality/gender diversity while reading, as it doesn’t feel like a character is surrounded by large neon signs of ‘TOKEN GAY’ but rather just like in the real world there is a diverse range of people that are just existing all around you.
I am sorry that this has been a crazy long review, I am just so enthralled with this book and universe. I cannot wait for it to be released so I can get a physical copy or two up on my bookshelf, as well as for book two as I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! Thank you so much Pascale for writing such a wonderful book, as well as putting up with my Instagram DMs while I read.
Content Warnings are for the following, and if you have any triggers within this list I’d be wary about reading the book as some are major topics/frequently mentioned: death, grief, branding/tattoos, body horror, mild panic attack, anxiety, depression, bloodletting, self-harm, alcohol/drugs, magical substance abuse, magical asylum/prison.
AGE: Young Adult
GENRE: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Magic, Dark Academia.
DETAILS: 544 Pages, eBook
I received this as an eBook through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
The world that Pascale Lacelle has created for this book is SO Deep, you can really tell that she has put everything she has into it’s creation. The political system, the different regions, studies, mythology, multiple books both fiction and non-fiction within the world, as well as an entire magic system that has strengths, variety, as well as reasonable limitations. These are all really hard things to combine without plot holes or inconsistencies but it has been a really solid foundation for this book, and I would’ve expected much worse for a debut novel.
As usual for me with a new fantasy world to delve into, the first 100~ pages went by a little slower paced just as I wrapped my head around how the world worked, but once I got into it I struggled to put it down. I forced myself to put the book down a few times, just so I could savour it for a few more days. I ended up reading majority of the book during a Full/Blue Moon, which honestly just felt so fitting and wonderful.
The characters within Curious Tides are brilliant, as I’ve seen from a few reviewers most of us seem to have preferred Baz>Emory whilst reading the two perspectives. I am also within that boat, however I am prepared to eat my words as I feel like Book Two will be where Emory really develops into a character we all will love. Absolutely loved Baz and Kai, their friendship is just so great and you can really tell how well thought out their characters are.
There were a few plot twists, some definitely more predictable than others. SPOILERS -
Spoiler
I think everybody is onto Kieran immediately, maybe not his full plan but at least knowing he was manipulating her and that it would go south real quick. I predicted Baz being the one who Collapsed, which I think would’ve been a trickier one to prepare for. Though I cried when reading his dad reveal it to him. I absolutely did not predict the Luce/Adriana plot twist though! Wild.Also for anyone interested in a good LGBT+ read, this book features an expansive range of diversity. Whilst not the biggest theme in the book, there is gay/lesbian, bisexual, nonbinary/trans representation. There was only one moment where it was directly pointed out in an internal monologue about a characters sexuality, otherwise the rest was just very subtle with mentions of a partner or ex partner and the pronouns used when discussing. I personally prefer this more casual approach of mentioning sexuality/gender diversity while reading, as it doesn’t feel like a character is surrounded by large neon signs of ‘TOKEN GAY’ but rather just like in the real world there is a diverse range of people that are just existing all around you.
I am sorry that this has been a crazy long review, I am just so enthralled with this book and universe. I cannot wait for it to be released so I can get a physical copy or two up on my bookshelf, as well as for book two as I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! Thank you so much Pascale for writing such a wonderful book, as well as putting up with my Instagram DMs while I read.
Content Warnings are for the following, and if you have any triggers within this list I’d be wary about reading the book as some are major topics/frequently mentioned: death, grief, branding/tattoos, body horror, mild panic attack, anxiety, depression, bloodletting, self-harm, alcohol/drugs, magical substance abuse, magical asylum/prison.
AGE: Young Adult
GENRE: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Magic, Dark Academia.
DETAILS: 544 Pages, eBook
I received this as an eBook through NetGalley in return for an honest review.