Thank you for the early copy to view.
Thank you for the early copy to view.
One of the best debuts of this year!

This was so very enjoyable.
The world is superb- dark academia with a fantastical lunar/tidal magic system. The writing too is quite engaging and I was hooked and invested in this world of secret societies, hidden portals, and dead bodies being washed on the beach.

On the downside, I found the characters and their actions quite predictable . Especially, the FMC, she really got on my nerve because of how unbelievably stupid some of her decisions were. I did like the MMC better and found him much more relatable. I truly hope that the relationship between these two is explored more in the next book as in this one it barely scratched the surface.

Excited for the sequel to see what happens next!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Simon & Schuster for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: death, depression, grief, self harm, injury

“Curious Tides” is one of the most beautifully written, dark academia-style, mystery fantasies I’ve ever read, and it’s not afraid to go darker and more raw places from the first page which I always love in YA. It takes place in a world where a person’s magic is decided by the lunar phase they are born under, the ones who are strong enough are sent to Aldryn College of Lunar Magic to learn how to control their power. Emory is returning to the college in a shadow of grief for her best friend Romie, who died under mysterious circumstances the year before alongside seven other students. Emory is haunted by the fact that she is the only survivor of what appears to be a mass drowning, and she’s determined to solve the mystery behind what drove Romie out into the darkness, even if it means returning to the place of her nightmares. However, since that night, Emory’s healing powers have turned into something entirely new. She is forced to turn to Baz, Romie’s brother and a rare magician who can stop time but risks his mind breaking like his father and his friend Kai’s, for help while also infiltrating a secret society alongside Kieran, the person who found her on the beach after the mass drowning. Emory soon plunges into a world where stories from childhood are real and the darkness hidden within the cave deepens as the victims wash up on shore.

There’s a beautiful lyricality to the writing of this book, I found the atmosphere so realistic and the representation of grief was excellent. The worldbuilding is so elaborate and original, I adored how it used the moon phases and tides, and I loved how people took religion and stories so deeply to heart. One of the highlights for me of this book, besides the characters, was the dark academia style setting; there was something incredibly isolated and tense about Aldryn College from the first page and every scene that took place in it had the same sensation. The character of Emory appealed to me instantly, she's an open book but at the same time she was never predictable while Baz had his own intense battles and moments to get through, both of them being driven by the events of the year before. Even though we hardly meet Romie, her presence is palpable throughout and as you read, you start to mourn her as well. I loved how Emory's recollection of events coloured her perception completely differently to Baz's and that his relationship with his own magic limited what he was willing to do. I also really liked the character of Kai, Baz's friend who destroyed himself shortly after Romie died and had his magic taken for it; his scenes with Baz were some of my favourites. If I had one complaint about this book it's that it's such a slow burn, and there could have been faster moments, but even then I really enjoyed reading it and can't wait to see what will happen next.

Following the death of her best friend Romie, Emory returns to Aldryn College with only one goal: uncovering the mysterious circumstances that lead to Romie and seven of their classmates drowning in a cave close to the school.

This is a novel of secret societies, forbidden magic and the dangerous tightrope between control and collapse. And at its heart is another magical story leading students to their deaths, and a missing epilogue that holds the key to great power.

Curious Tides is an exploration of the depths we will go for answers, power and friendship. With fascinating, complex characters, a clever tidal-based magic system and lyrical prose, I'm really intrigued to see where this story will go next.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I thought Lacelle did a very good job of presenting a different kind of magical system within this book, and I also really liked the way the narrative progressed. At 500+ pages it could perhaps have done with a little trimming, but I'll forgive it because I enjoyed the ride, though I could have predicted the twist with Keiran from a mile off. I'll be intrigued to see how the plot develops in future books.

4.5/5 stars

This was such a great read! One of the aspects I loved most about this was its unique magic system. I love anything to do with the lunar cycle especially when magic related, and that's exactly what this was. The Lunar/Tidal magic system was described so well throughout the book and you really got to know how it worked, it's capabilities but also its limits. It was incredibly constructed by the author.

I also really loved the academic setting and the world-building was really rich and fascinating. In true academic setting style, we got those dark academia feelings with a mystery needed to be solved. One where people have died or disappeared and no-one can say how or why. We have secret societies, mysteries and secrets needing to be unveiled and a FMC that needs to learn whom to trust in this school for the magically gifted.

It was honestly a fantastic read and I will be picking up the sequel, whenever it gets released, without a doubt! I'm really, truly hoping more people will read this because it's truly a gem in the YA fantasy genre.

This was beautifully written

Very original concept which is few and far between these days, as most things have already been done( that’s not a bad thing though)

Great characters, awesome plot, fantastic writing and decent world building. Would recommend

Absolutely loved the magical system in this book and the dark academia vibes. However, I feel the book was too long and pace very slow.

Curious Tides was a super interesting read. I would have loved to see a little bit more world building BUT there was enough to understand the book and the world. It was great and I can’t wait for more!

Emory is back at Aldryn College after 'the incident' where she lost her best friend and finds herself with more magic than she originally had.

Baz is also back with his grief of losing his sister, Romie, in the incident.

But all is not what it seems.

2 words - absolutely brilliant!

This was a dark academia read where the writing was rich and captivating. The magic system was so unique and I found myself so immersed in the storyline that I read this in 2 days (which is a feat for me!)

However I am left wondering if there is something amiss with me because, damn, I always fall for the wrong guy!!!!

'The story has only just begun.'

Couldn't find fault, so much to love about this story. Beautifully written, an original concept invoking the phases of the moon, intriguing characters and a detailed, well thought out new world. This book didn't miss a trick, it checked every box. I was completely captivated and spellbound, with no idea where the next scene would lead. A new unique magical world has been created, that felt authentic and consistent. There was even a story within a story (although unfortunately my kindle version was illegible.) And I suspect layers of symbolism if I had a chance to read this again. Excited to see if there will be a sequel.

I wasn't sure about this story, because 500 pages can often feel like a slog in young adult books if they're not paced properly, and unfortunately my instincts were right. Curious Tides delivers an interesting Dark Academia story set at a magic school, but needed to be a good 200 pages shorter.

There's two POVs in this, Emory and Baz, who are starting school after the loss of a group of students, one of which, Romie, was Emory's best friend and Baz's sister. The story is started after these events have happened, with Baz and Emory investigating if Romie is really gone, or if there's a way to bring her back.

Because we join the story late, I didn't feel the emotional connection to Romie that Baz and Emory did, and I really felt the story would have benefited from Romie's POV, bringing us back to before the events happened. I really think this would have driven the story forward and improved the pacing.

Overall, the story was really interesting, but moved at a snail's pace. I'm unsure if I'll read the sequel, because I don't wish to re-read this book, and will only pick it up if I can fully remember the plot of this once the sequel is released.

I am curious to see how things actually get resolved in the sequel.
I took a while to get into the rhythm of this novel, partly because I was not drawn in by the premise to begin with, and partly because life has a tendency to distract, but once I did I felt catapulted into this fantastical world every time I started a new chapter.
The characters feel fleshed out, decked in complex history and hopes and fears, the magic system is very well built and described, the setting of the novel is perfect for all those who feel nostalgic about HP-like boarding school.
The plot slowly built itself to become something to behold. Tragic events have taken place prior to the novel starting, and everyone who is left behind must cope in their new reality (some do so better than others, looking for answers wherever they might find them). I will say that the idea they're in school kind of falls apart as the novel unfolds, plot taking precedence over academic continuity. The adults are few and far between (although I'd class this as a late-YA novel as the characters are supposed to be almost in uni if I understood correctly?) and some characters easily fall into genre archetypes that made the "plot-twist" feel a bit predictable.

I was quickly swept away into a world of magic, lost gods and secret societies. This is everything I want when I think of the perfect dark academia book, in a time when dark academia is hot. Curious Tides should be at the top of any list.

Curious Tides is atmospheric tale that with a mystery that will hook you from the first page. The world building was exquisite, the magic system was genius and drew on the phrases of the moon and connected into the lore of the world brilliantly. Lyrically written, we follow our to main characters Emory and Baz both who have to work together to solve a mystery and how an old fairytale could possibly be connected.

Let me start by saying I am far from being a young adult and that may have prevented me from enjoying this book more. However on paper, this should have been just my bag. It was *ok* although I found the pacing very slow. I didn’t get much sense of the characters and the magic seemed more complex than it needed to be or poorly described. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Curious Tides is the atmospheric YA dark academia book I’ve been looking for! I think this book most reminds me of Threadneedle (Cari Thomas) & The Magicians (Lev Grossman), although there are definitely other similar titles that would also share characteristics.

First let me start with the magic system, my absolute favourite part of this book! Moon magic in general obviously isn’t a new idea, but Lacelle has imagined such a unique magic system based on the lunar & tidal cycles, I genuinely don’t know how she came up with it. It’s just one of those perfect magic systems that you hardly ever come across, one that’s just so unique & works so well when applied within the story.

Curious Tides is told from a dual POV, alternating between Emory & Baz the 2 main characters. I enjoyed both POV’s but I think Baz was my favourite, something about Emory’s naïveté just made me want to give her a good shake after a while! The supporting characters were also great, some of them you could clearly tell had ulterior motives & the intrigue really kept me guessing. I think in book 2 we will see a bit more of a couple of them, which will be very interesting!

The plot & pacing generally was very good, a tad slow at the beginning but I was interested from the start, some classic tropes were featured however they felt carefully planned & thought out which prevented them from feeling stale. Some of the twists I definitely saw coming, but others were surprises & the complexity of the world definitely helped with that aspect. In general the world building was really good, the back story of the in world book & how that correlates to the events was very well integrated, I loved learning the intricacies with the characters.

The ending was perfect, yet so frustrating at the same time! I know this is going to be a duology & that ending definitely leaves you wanting more, can’t wait for the next book to be out!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster UK Children’s and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Dark Academia, magic, intrigue, secret societies and murder are beautifully blended as we join Emory at the start of her second year at Aldryn College, grief-stricken and traumatised after a treacherous night in the Dovermere sea caves leaves a group of her classmates dead and her as the only survivor and Emory plagued by strange, impossible powers that no healer should possess.
Enlisting her dead best friend's reclusive scholar brother Baz to help her, Emory is determined to get answers - answers that lead her answers back to Dovermere and a fate she should never have escaped.
@pascalelacelle has woven a gorgeous world with a comprehensive and clever magic system and I could see myself in the Aldryn's libraries and smell the sea and rock of the Dovermere Caves.

The ending has me hoping that we don't have to wait very long until book 2! In the meantime I shall content myself with the novella!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Actual rating: 4,5 stars

This book combines fantasy, dark academia and a murder mystery in such a flawless and cohesive way, I absolutely loved how these different elements came together.

The magic system was the thread tying everything together. I loved that it was determined by the natal moon phase, it's such a unique concept that perfectly fits with the world and also ties in beautifully with the tides and Drowned Gods.
The progression of the magnitude of the magic system was also very organic, at first it seemed to only be what determines your magic and what house at school you belong to, but then the scope of it all gets bigger and bigger.

The same goes for the story progression in general, the mystery starts off feeling like a classic murder mystery, and over time it turns out to be so much more.

There is a love triangle in here, which I personally thought was done very well, though I'm not someone who's opposed to love triangles in general.

It took me a bit to get into the book, and while you can clearly tell that the magic system and everything around it was very thoroughly created, it did feel a bit confusing at times.

Overall, I had a really good time with this and absolutely recommend it to any fan of dark academia novels, and I'm very much looking forward to the sequel.

This is the perfect dark and gloomy academia vibe! The dual pov and the romance are chefs kiss 💋 I really love the myths and the world building, this writer’s story flowed well and it helped pull me out my current reading slump, I’m obsessed!

‘Curious Tides’ by Pascale Lacelle is a beautifully written, haunting novel, set in a world of mystery and magic. When Romie dies trying to carry out a ritual to summon The Tides, her brother Baz and her friend Emory (the two narrators) are determined to bring her back to Dovermere. In their search to seek the truth about the secret society, linked to the deaths of other students, not everyone is who or what they seem. A novel of friendship, power, complex relationships and manipulation. Perfect for fans of YA fantasy/dark academia. Can’t wait for a sequel!