One of the best books I've read this year, and so different from anything else I've seen recently.

Curious Tides is part mystery, part horror, part fantasy, part coming of age. It is the story of Emory, a college student in a place where magic is linked to the moon and the tides. As a healer, she has always been mediocre, and eclipsed by her best friend, the vivacious Romie. When she gets caught up in a ritual she doesn't understand, and several of her classmates, including Romie, are drowned, Emory is determined to uncover what the ritual was, why Romie was there, and how it all links to the myths and legends of the drowned Gods.

There's a whole host of characters, all well developed, and I particularly love Romie's brother Bas, and his friend Kai. Definitely a book to recommend, and the first of a duology. It comes out TODAY, 3rd October, so is an immediate hardback purchase for me!

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a chance to read an advance copy in exchange for an independent review.

Um, wow?! This book had my jaw dropping with how beautifully written it was - so poetic and captivating, and definitely one of my top 2023 reads.

'We are born of the moon and tides, and to them we return'.

𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀
Emory Ainsleif attends the Aldyrn College for Lunar Magic - born under a New Moon, her magic is healing - or so she thought.

Following her best friend, Romie, to Dovermere Cove, Emory finds herself in the midst of a ritual for the Tides of Fate. One that will change her life forever.

We follow Emory and Baz as they try to figure out Emory's newly acquired magic, and the lies and secrets that surround those born under an Eclipse Moon.

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
To say I was captivated by this book is an understatement, I was completely enthralled. The writing just draws you in, the world building, the magic systems, the descriptions - everything was so beautifully poetic.

'She was his sea, moving in and out of his life, between this world and the next. But what was the sea if it had no shore to return to?'

If you're looking for beautifully written dark academia, this is definitely for you. The universe is filled with magic (and forbidden magic) based on the Lunar cycle, secret societies, strong main characters and love interests, and enthralling world building.

'Her mother was a sailor and her father a lighthouse keeper, and somewhere in between them, Emory was the sea'.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this copy. This review is voluntary.

I'm that YA reader. That YA reader who has been stuck reading YA for such a long time that really exploring the adult fantasy genre is hard. A lot of those books are slow, focus on parts of the story I don't care about or are so hard to read as a non-native reader. But this plot sounded so incredibly good and interesting. I really wanted to give this book a chance. Luckily Simon and Schuster granted my request for a review copy through Netgalley.

In a way this book reminds me truly of The Starless Sea. Don't worry. It doesn't contain that many plots and that many different stories. It just breathes the same kind of vibe. A vibe that's hard to explain. It's a little gothic, it's a little dark academia, it's a little cult, there is a touch of romance, a little bit of politics and there's a story binding our characters to their fate. A story we get to read throughout the stories of Emory, Baz and Kieran.

This book is quite heavy on the mythology. Normally I skip indexes at the beginning, trusting that the author will explain everything during the story. I'm glad that in this case I at least read through it already once. It helped to grasp the gist of the concept and then the author only had to clarify the details. And there were a lot of details. But once you start getting it, it's amazing and incredibly well thought out. Especially because of all those details it feels very solid and realistic too.

I also really loved the characters. Baz is probably the easiest character to like. He is kind, nice, galant and constantly sacrificing his own needs for others. On top of that his advice is actually quite intelligent. Emory is a little harder to like, but she's also very realist and I recognized a lot of my own longings and mistakes in her. And then there is of course Kieran. He has that true bad boy vibe and as a reader you constantly wonder: What does he really want?

I'm looking forward to the sequel already!

Curious Tides captures the essence of the sea: dark, shifting and entrancing. It offers an oasis from reality, a deceptive mirage, with its shatteringly beautiful storytelling and the glint of deadly tides threatening to sweep you away.

From the first few pages, I was hooked on this gloomy Dark Academia style fantastical mystery that moves like the sea. It is impossible to capture. Lacelle intricately crafts a deadly mystery, with secrets that threaten to pull down every established aspect of this world. This goes to some dark and unnerving territory. It is mired in blood and saltwater, with death and grief as core themes colouring everything around them. It is a real mesh of genres, but seems to pull the best from each and spin it into something entirely new. This is such an imaginatively rich and wonderful book. I was completely under its spell the entire time.

It is heavy on the academia, full of research and storytelling from within the world’s mythos. This is just one of the ways in which Lacelle has created such a rich and expansive world with a unique and deeply fascinating magic system. It is carefully built up around you and explained in a way that felt natural within the story. Though it did take me a little while to grasp everything, that exactly conveys the overwhelming sensations Emory is experiencing. The way the lore intersects with the mystery was excellent. Lacelle includes these extracts from the story within the story, which mirror and refract so well onto what you are reading.

Curious Tides presents a captivating conundrum in a book that holds its secrets close within the watery depths of its pages.

After reading the synopsis of Curious Tides, my interest was peeked and I was so happy that the book met my expectations!
Even though I liked Emory, the protagonist of the book, l have to admit that I preferred Baz and most of the secondary characters, who were extremely interesting and can't wait to learn more of their backstories. The story was a very atmospheric with great world building and personally I think the best part about the book was the magic system and how it was built upon different views on the same topic...
The only thing I didn't like was the love triangle, even though it was not that big part of the story, it was unnecessary in my opinion!

Perfect to read this season! I can wait for the second book to come out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in a exchange for my honest review.

Curious Tides by Pascalle Lacelle is a sweeping awe-inspiring dive into the murky world of the Aldryn College for Lunar Magic. This book comes highly recommended to those who like a bit of magic and fantasy in their reads. It has you hooked from the first moment with the story, but also the wonderful poetic style of writing.

I was really impressed by the world that Pascalle invented for this story. The descriptive prose helps you imagine what it's really like at Aldyn College. The interplay between the main protagonists is sometimes joy but can cause you to scream at the pages at times. However when you persevere, no hardship honest, you'll discover the beauty that lies within the pages.

The magic system is really very clever, not your usual Harry Potter here. The beauty of the book is not only in the exquisite presentation but the words. It's a story that unfolds as each page opens. A wonderful magical fantasy book.

— 3.5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

"We are born of the moon and tides, and to them we return."

📖 | 544 pages
👤 | author Pascale Lacelle
🏢 | publisher Simon & Schuster Children's, UK
📅 | release date 3 October 2023

What you can expect:
— Third-person POV
— Dual POV
— YA/crossover Dark-Academia Fantasy
— Book one in a duology
— Magical college by the sea
— Love triangle
— Magic system based on moon phases and tide levels
— Cult-like secret society
— Murder mystery

Trigger warnings include: death, grief, branding/tattoos, body horror, mild panic attack, anxiety and depression, bloodletting, self-harm, alcohol, magical substance abuse, magical asylum/prison.

Curious Tides is book one in a new YA dark-academia fantasy duology by debut author Pascale Lacelle. Emory returns to her second-year to Aldryn College for Lunar Magic as a shell of who she once was, lost by the tragic death of her best friend Romie. Romie was light personified, a true Dreamer who enchanted everybody she met whereas Emory always believed she fell short. Not bright enough, not magical enough, not good enough. Emory was content to live within Romie's shadow so long as she had her best-friend, but that all changed one fateful night gone wrong which led to the death of eight students and new magic flowing through Emory's veins. Scared and confused Emory turns to the only other person who could help her with this new and untrained magic, Romie's older brother Baz. Baz is the last student of House Eclipse at Aldryn and is a social recluse. Members of House Eclipse are shunned from the rest of the world as the power in their veins is unlike any other, and if their magic becomes too great they can trigger what is called a Collapsing which results in a powerful magical blast that can kill anybody within reach. Baz lives his life staying within the lines and following the rules as he desperately wishes to avoid triggering his own Collapsing. When Emory comes to Baz in desperate need for his help, he is hesitant to agree. Baz begrudgingly agrees, and he and Emory find themselves on a dangerous path in search for answers on what happened that fateful night.

My favourite thing about this entire book was the magical system created by the author. I loved the detail that went into creating each Lunar House and their tidal alignments. When you are born determines your Lunar House and the sole tidal alignment you manifest. The magical system as a whole felt very intricate and thought out, and it created a very convincing atmosphere going into this story. The story was full of mystery and adventure as we follow Emory and Baz on their journey in search of the truth surrounding Romie's death. The mystery surrounding the deaths had me hooked and eager for truths to be revealed, and overall Curious Tides was strong as the first book in a duology that has me eager for the next instalment.

Considering this book is 544 pages long I didn't find the real story beginning until around the 40% mark. So much of the first two parts of this book resolved around going back and forth in time, setting a scene and a lot of repetition. I will admit, I really struggled to initially get into the story as a result of this. Had this not been an ARC read I most likely have DNF'd at this point. However I will say that I'm glad that I persevered and stuck with it, as once the story flourished as did my reading experience. This truly is an incredibly unique and stand-out story which would have better benefitted with the beginning being revised and cut down to avoid the repetition.

I'm so glad that this was a dual-POV book as I came to care less and less for Emory's POV. Emory as a character was difficult to like as she came across as self-centred and selfish. She willingly admits to using the feelings a character has for her to her own gain, and despite showing signs of remorse and guilt, continues to do so until she no longer can. I understand why Emory was so tedious in her quest for the truth after the trauma she endured, but so much of her internal monologue is how she never lived up to the type of person Romie was. Emory is riddled with insecurity and fear which could have added to her vulnerability had it not driven her to behave as she did. Emory bordered-on mean girl behaviour with how she regarded some of the side-characters in this story, characters who didn't deserve her jealously-driven treatment. I was glad to see a semblance of growth with Emory in the end, and I hope to see that growth continue in book two.

I loved Baz as a main character. Baz has suffered through a great deal in his life and desperately wants to find a resemblance of peace to live out his life and become a teacher. After the loss of his sister Baz shrunk further into himself until Emory comes knocking in need of help. Baz is patient and kind, and I truly sympathised with his struggles displayed during his POVs. After his father Collapsed and his sister died, his mother has struggled with depression and Baz is constantly under watch by his peers. I loved learning about his dynamic and unlikely friendship with Kai, and how as opposites they formed an unlikely bond built on truth and loyalty. Kai is exactly the type of friend that Baz deserves, and vice-versa. I was proud of Baz's overall growth from beginning to end, and I really think his character will be one of the strongest to watch out for in book two.

Curious Tides was atmospheric and haunting in the best possible way. Filled with twists and turns I never saw coming, it enthralled me and left me yearning for the answers that Emory and Baz were seeking. The initial pacing in the first half is what really let me down, but the story was strong enough to keep me going and the pay-off in the end was rewarding. I really look forward to see what comes next in book two of this duology.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Children's, UK and NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

CURIOUS TIDES is the start of a fantasy duology with an intricate magic system full of myth and secrets.

I really enjoyed the magic system of this story, where the phase of the moon and the tide at the time of birth determines your magic - and when you are best able to use it. It was a neat way to put rules onto what could be done, but also explain why tensions existed between most magicians and the eclipse magicians who don't follow the rules. Plus it ties in so neatly with the mythology of the world.

This is a world where the tides are personified and are now gods who have vanished, though there are theories and disagreements over what exactly happened. It felt like a slightly different take on magic systems, using two things that often are involved in them (the moon and water) but combining them in a fun new way.

The mysteries at the heart of the book - what were the drowned doing? What are their society doing now? - made for a compelling plot, with other mystery threads being woven in along the way to create a layered web of suspicion. It meant there was always at least one mystery you were invested in at any one point, pulling you forward.

It is set at a school for the magical, where they learn to control their powers - and maybe join a secret society, if they're deemed important enough. I'm not sure I'd quite class it as a dark academia though, as there isn't a quest for academic knowledge at the heart of the book. It's more about understanding what's happened to these students and to Emory's magic that just so happens to take place at a school.

A new take on the school for magically gifted trope.

Emory is a Healer in a world where magic is inked to the stage of the moon on the day you were born, her gift weak, unlike her best friend Romie, bright, ambitous and full of talent. But Romie is gone, along with seven of their classmates, in a freak accident that only Emory survived. Racked with guilt, Emory doesn't know why Romie was down in the caves that day, and if Emory's presence was responsible for her friend's death. But only four bodies were found, none of them Romie's, and when one of the other presumed drowned students washes up on the beach, alive, only to die horribly just a few minutes later, Emory finds new powers awaken, dangerous forbidden powere. Powers that might just help her discover what happened that night, and maybe just maybe help her find out if Romie is also alive somewhere and can be saved.

Pascale Lacelle has conjured up a complex original world and a creative plot. At times it felt almost too complex, with some clunky backstory filling (a lot of 'She remembered') and I did find my attention wandering at times but overall a clever readable debut.

This book is dark academia at its best!! It sets the tone perfectly, spooky, a sense of impending doom, you’re on the knife edge of something big and there’s a real lingering foreboding - I loved it!! It had all the right elements and hit all the marks perfectly for me and was exactly what I was looking for in a fantasy dark academia set up.

The world is thought out in so much depth and was so intricately created. It’s a beautiful bookiverse and one that you can so easily get immersed in. I loved the set up, the details, the revealing of more and more of the history, lore, backgrounds, myths and legends of the story, I was completely entranced.

We have secret organisations, cults, mysterious disappearances, a magical university and all kinds of magic to get to grips with. The plot was fantastic and the more I read, the more invested I became. Considering it was a fairly big book, I found I didn’t waver at all on my concentration (and after reading a speight of easy reading contemporary romances and nothing books, I was amazed at how quickly I got into this considering I had to use my brain more!).

Great characters, great atmosphere and a really great core plot and story. Honestly can’t wait for this to come out in hardback because even from the ebook, it looked stunning!

And I’m glad this book isn’t a standalone and there’s more to come, because I’m not ready to leave Lunar magic behind and need to catch up with Baz, Kai, Emory and Romie stat!

A dark academia fantasy with magic based on tides, the phases of the moon and eclipses.
Emory is the only survivor of a ritual gone wrong, one she wasn't supposed to have been a part of. Deep in the caves just down from the college, eight other students were lost to the tides but only four bodies were recovered.
Emory returns for a new term but is soon confused by a strange pull she feels back to the caves and a change to her magic. She seeks help from Baz, the brother of her drowned best friend Romie and an eclipse-born magic user. At the same time, Emory is drawn in to a secret society and drawn to Kieran, the society's golden-boy.
I really liked the mythology and magic system involved in this world, the author has obviously put a lot of thought into how all of it works together. The setting is also great, a magical college on the cliffs, a dangerous cave system - it's all very atmospheric and intriguing.
The story alternates between Emory and Baz, and I found Baz to be a much more sympathetic character. Emory had her moments, but she was also clearly obsessed with and jealous of Romie, manipulative and occasionally incredibly stupid.
My other complaint was that the chapters were very long and, especially in the first half, full of repeated, rambling, self-absorption and recounting past events.
Having said that, I liked the general progression of the story and the unfolding of the mysteries surrounding the cave and the magic connected to it and I'm interested to see where the story goes next.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster UK Children's for providing a netgalley copy for me to review

Wow!! This book is exceptional!! It creates one of the most unique and original worlds of magic I’ve ever read. The plot is complex but completely enthralling. I am absolutely in love with this story. A wonderful weaving of dark academia and fantasy- it’s truly stunning. I need the next one now! READ THIS!

This was an enjoyable story, if a somewhat predictable one. I might have enjoyed it more if it hadn't been pitched as 'dark academia.' A heroine who makes a mistake and then spends the rest of the book making up for it isn't exactly dark. Don't get me wrong, she's a great heroine, but there isn't anything morally grey in her makeup. And for me, an academic setting isn't enough to classify something as 'academia': for that, it has to be thoroughly steeped in a particular academic discipline, with a plot that revolves around that scholastic exploration. Admittedly, that's really hard to achieve in a fantasy setting, and the world-building here is solid, just not layered enough to give that academia vibe.

Overall, it kept me engaged.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC of the book. All opinions are my own.

Emory is a student at Aldryn College for Lunar Magics where people who possess magic can train and develop their powers. However, there is a caveat—each person who possesses magic can do so when the moon is in the right position for their magic; otherwise they need to resort to bloodletting.
Emory is back for her second year, but this year she needs to figure out how and why her best friend died. Who were the people with whom she had gotten closer? What do they know that she doesn't?
It's a year full of mystery and investigation for Emory. She'll have to join the popular crowd at school and a secret society and she'll need to realise her feelings for the two guys who make her heart beat—her best friend's older brother and the leader of the popular crowd.
However, the secrets that Emory discovers are devastating as they bring back more questions than answers about her past, especially about her mother.

This YA novel was full of adventure and mystery since the beginning. I didn't always liked Emory as I thought she was being dumb quite a few times (especially when the boys were involved), but I could see her grow throughout the book. I'm curious to see what book 2 will bring and the answers about Emory's past.

New dark academia obsession? YES, ABSOLUTELY!

It's definitely one of my favorite books now. I can't even find the words to describe what an incredible read this is! I'm already bullying my book club friends to preorder and read this because I need them to be as obsessed with Curious Tides as I am; and I definitely know they will be. The writing, the characters, the unique magic system are all so wonderful! I could not stop reading, I was living in this amazing world and now I'm having such a hard time coming back to reality. Please, please give this book and this author the hype they deserve for this magical masterpiece!

Thank you to S&S for the arc in return for an honest review.

Ok so the atmosphere in this book is to die for. Secret societies, gloomy caves, lunar and tidal magic, mysterious deaths, all delivered perfectly packaged up in beautiful writing. After having just rewatched Wednesday Addams, I am totally here for those vibes. Gimme.

Admittedly, the magic system took a lot of concentration for me to fully get to grips with. It is interesting and complex and I loved the idea that not everyone is super powerful all the time and it depends on your place in the lunar cycle etc, but there were so many Capitalised Names and Phrases where you feel like 'ok this is important to remember', but I couldn't get it to stick. I kind of wish I'd made notes. I also would have kind of liked a bit of a faster pace in the plot department/a little less inner monologuing and a slightly shorter page count.

That being said, this book is still a good A/W read and perfect for moody fantasy fans.

And the cover is absolutely gorgeous right?!

I did not manage to read this unfortunately, due to unforeseeable issues at home but I have preordered this book as I’m interested in reading it once I get the opportunity.

Beautifully written, this book just sucks you in and does not let you go. I do love a bit of dark academia but this one was just so rich and immersive I did not want it to end. More please ......

The feeling you get when you discover a truly phenomenal book is like no other. THIS is a welcome and incredible addition to the Dark Academia genre, and I think it’s going to take the world by storm. It’s exactly what I seek for in this genre - dark, gloomy, enchanting, secretive. I truly could not put it down: the plot was so intricate and well paced, the characters fully fleshed out and likable whilst not being without flaws, and a unique and enthralling magic system. It belongs up there with the greats, and I think lovers of Ava Reid’s A Study In Drowning are especially going to love this one.

The twists were fantastic, with just enough clues dropped along the way that made the pay off so grand. Some I was able to (eventually) predict and some had my jaw dropping. I am counting down the days until Book #2.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children's UK for providing me with a eARC. All opinions are my own.

This is a fantastic YA dark academia book set in a unique and well crafted world with a strongly developed magic system. It suffered majorly from some initial pacing issues but I highly recommend pushing through the early, repetitive exposition as the story and pace really pick up from part two. Once the stakes become clear this races along with some clever twists and great character development. I will definitely be ordering the next in the duology!