Review of 'Curious Tides'

Curious Tides follows Emory, known for being a healer with mediocre magic, who now has powers beyond her after a near-death experience.

While intriguing and unique, the story was a little hard to follow.

Storytelling

For the most part, Curious Tides was a fascinating book. But there were times I found myself a little lost.

The pacing wasn’t always consistent and dragged out too much. It was understandable and made sense in the long run because Lacelle created a new world, a unique magic system, and her fable.

Going back and forth between the stories of the drowned gods probably disrupted the pacing the most. And I’m torn about this because of Lacalle’s storytelling and prose; they are beautiful. I was lured in and yanked back into Baz’s or Emory’s POV.

Where Lacelle inserts these passages makes sense for the story because it creates this air of mystery and intrigue. It adds to the Gothic atmosphere of Dovermere, an old school built so close to the sea. A school with a secret society and infamous for the deaths that have happened there.

And while I found Lacalles’s prose to be fantastic and beautiful, it was also slightly confusing and not always clear.

I had to read some passages of the story of the drowned gods multiple times because I was often a little confused by it. Lacalle does write beautifully. Her prose and imagery are brilliant, but I sometimes found it hard to follow.

Then there was the romance. Emory and Baz’s relationship, the romance between them, felt off. Baz has been in love with Emory since they were kids, and now she’s paying attention to him again.

I’m not a massive fan of Emory, to be honest. She is using Baz, using his feelings for her to manipulate him, and does it knowingly. Granted, the same thing happens to her by Kieran, but I wasn’t a fan of how the romance plays out here.

Thankfully, there was some growth for her, but we’ll have to see how things are okay in the sequel to see character development.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed the novel, especially the dark gothic atmosphere and unique lunar magic system here. The pace sometimes falters and is a little hard to follow, but I enjoyed it.

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About the Author

Cynthia Bujnicki graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing. She has always loved to read since she was a child. A contributing writer for YA Fantasy Addicts, she is also the Editor-in-Chief for Cyn's Workshop. She lives in sunny South Florida with her husband, two kids (the perfect pair), and their two cats Mr. J the Kitten and Nyx (aka Girl).