Huge thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the E-arc. After reading the first book I had eagerly waited for the sequel and while my review is late due to personal issues I will absolutely recommend this book series over and over.
My only nitpick would be Id have loved more description especially on the different races as I often found myself struggling to picture them clearly.

3.5 rounded to 4.

A high-stakes, underwater political drama where dragons, sirens, and scheming radicals collide, Tideborn is equal parts thrilling and chaotic—though not without its rough currents.

✨ A siren activist caught in a deadly conspiracy 🌊 A dragon princess on a mission to save her city 🐉 A vengeful god with destruction on the horizon

Chan’s world-building is bold and ambitious, throwing readers into fathomfolk rebellions, uneasy alliances, and mythological showdowns. While the political intrigue is gripping, some pacing issues make certain sections feel more like treading water than riding the waves.

If you love morally grey heroines, underwater cities, and dragons with attitude, this one is a wild, unpredictable ride—just be prepared for a few whirlpools along the way!

In the sequel to Eliza Chan’s Fathomfolk, the story picks up from the tragic events of the first book. Tideborn sees Mira and Nami grieving the loss of a loved one as they prepare for the arrival of Nami’s mother, the dragon queen Jiang-Li. The last thing Mira needs is to meet her deceased fiancé’s mother, as the people of Tiankawi come to terms with the physiological changes that Kai’s pearl wrought. The pearl’s magic interpreted Mira’s wish to save everyone from the tsunami by giving humans gills, enabling them to breathe when the water hit.

Some people accepted the changes forced upon them, delighting in new possibilities and a newfound shared connection. But of course, no community is a monolith, and dissenters on both sides are voicing their opinions aggressively. While contending with the intimidating dragon monarch, Mira is trying to help humans embrace their new life as she manages her grief. Meanwhile, she sends Nami on a desperate mission to prevent another catastrophe. Both women have their work cut out for them as tensions rise and loyalties are tested.

After the end of Fathomfolk, I had no idea how Eliza Chan was going to continue the story. Killing off a main character is a bold move to make in a debut novel, and in Tideborn, Chan shows that she has the writing chops to pull it off. One of my criticisms of the first book was that others drowned out Mira’s voice, and it was great to see Mira’s narrative stand out more in this sequel. That is not at a detriment to Nami and Cordelia, who have their own interesting subplots.

I liked how Chan split the three women’s stories, showing how the end of Fathomfolk affected them in different and yet similar ways. Each of them is forced to stand on their own, isolated in their grief. While Cordelia mourns the loss of her family rather than Kai, she also has to pick her life back up and make new alliances. Their individual subplots provided Chan with an opportunity to shine the spotlight on her secondary characters, and it was great getting to know some of them better.

In Tideborn, Chan highlights the extremes that bigots will go to for their cause. As difficult as these scenes were to read, they are important, and I appreciated that Chan did not dance around the hate and bile being spewed. There are also a couple of coercive and emotionally abusive relationships, and Chan challenges the actions and gaslighting of the abusers fantastically.

Like it’s predecessor, Tideborn is queer normative with a sapphic relationship at its core. One subplot is about the search for a cure for the fictional illness of gill rot. It was a relief to see an author treat the subject of cures with dignity and thought, without skipping straight to magic just because they’re writing fantasy.

Overall, I liked Tideborn much better than Fathomfolk, and while I am sad to depart from Chan’s incredible sea fantasy universe, I was content with how it ended. I hope that this is not the last we see of Tiankawi, and I eagerly await the adventure Chan takes us on next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tideborn is the conclusion to the Drowned Worlds duology by Eliza Chan. This was solid conclusion after the set up in book one. The political and social commentary is still front and centre and the sequel pushes the ideas further. I really like Chan’s work and the complex worlds she creates.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for this early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I went into Tideborn really hoping it would grab me, especially after struggling with the first book but still wanting to give it another shot. The world-building is clearly rich and imaginative, and as a visual reader, I usually love being immersed in that kind of detail. But even so, I found it surprisingly hard to visualise much of the world—there’s a certain disconnect between the setting and the characters that made it difficult for me to fully engage.

Unfortunately, I just couldn’t connect with the characters either. I wasn’t rooting for anyone, and without that emotional anchor, the story never quite pulled me in. I kept hoping it would click at some point, but it never did. I honestly feel a little bad, I absolutely love the aesthetic—the artwork, the special editions, everything surrounding the book is beautiful. I really wanted to love the story just as much, but in the end, it just didn’t work for me.

Tideborn is a perfect conclusion to the Drowned World series. The novel expands the world created by the author beyond Tiankawi, while at the same time bringing more depth to the setting created in the first novel.

The dramatic ending of Fathomfolk changes Tiankawi. Instead of uniting all the citizens, Kai’s sacrifice stressed their differences. While the ability to breathe underwater saved humans, their reactions to living with gills varied from acceptance and utilisation to disgust and rejection. The changed Tiankawi was fascinating to see. My favourite point of view in this view has to be Cordelia’s. The narrative focuses on her softer side as a mother separated from her children. I was captivated by her daughter’s story, who is trapped in the middle of the conflict between humans and fathomfolk.

To sum up, I really enjoyed this book. The Drowned World novels seem positive and hopeful at the core, which is refreshing among the darker or more cynical reads.

After the rich world building and sharp political commentary in Fathomfolk, I had high hopes for Tideborn to deliver a strong and satisfying conclusion to the duology. Unfortunately, it fell short in many ways and left me feeling more frustrated than fulfilled.

Picking up after the emotional conclusion of the first book, Tideborn finds Tiankawi in turmoil. Though Kai’s sacrifice may have delayed catastrophe, a new and potentially unstoppable threat looms on the horizon. Water dragon Nami embarks on a desperate ocean voyage across the open sea in a last-ditch attempt to intercept it, while half-siren Mira is left behind to hold together a city cracking under the weight of intensifying tensions between humans and fathomfolk. Cordelia, the sea-witch, shifts erratically between support and sabotage—her motivations muddled rather than nuanced.

Chan’s world continues to mirror our own, tackling racism, political division, and identity in ways that feel timely and necessary. From the outset, the stakes are high, and the story attempts to balance sweeping social commentary with deeply personal character arcs (I liked how she wrote grief). I also appreciated that the story doesn’t pretend prejudice can be erased overnight with one heroic act. Unfortunately, while the ambition behind Tideborn is clear, the execution falters. The ending in particular was a huge disappointment, as the book rushes towards a sudden and overly convenient resolution in the final chapters with what boils down to the ✨ power of friendship ✨.

Characters with promising arcs, like Gede, are sidelined. We're told he's undergone significant growth, but we never get to see it firsthand. His perspective is absent, while Cordelia’s subplot takes centre stage in a way that doesn’t really serve the main narrative—which is a shame, as she was one of my favourite characters in Fathomfolk. Her storyline feels more like a detour than a contribution to the story’s core.

While I admire the world building and applaud the author’s attempt to mirror real-world political climates (probably the story's greatest redeeming quality), the narrative ultimately buckles under its own ambition. There were powerful moments, and I still believe Tiankawi is a world worth exploring—but the lack of narrative cohesion, underdeveloped subplots, and a conclusion that ties things up too neatly made Tideborn a disappointing conclusion to what had been a promising start.

Special thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest rev

This was a brilliant sequel to fathomfolk.
I enjoyed fathomfolk but this definitely hit it out the park and reached new levels.
The reader is able to connect with the characters more and I loved seeing how these characters developed

𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Drowned World, book 2: Tideborn
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Eliza Chan
𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁 + 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: Ebook, 384 pages by Orbit

💌 First of all, I would like to thank @NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ebook in exchange for a honest review. I requested this ebook because I wanted to read the last instalment in the Drowned World duology, and let's admit it, the cover is gorgeous.

📖 Tideborn is the second instalment in the Drowned World series, in which we follow Mira and Nami as the two young women must persuade everyone to do the right thing for their underwater city.

This… was a miss for me.
I have to admit that this series would have worked better as a standalone for me, as this book's plot was very poor. There were a lot of plot twists and revelations in book one, so this one felt bland in comparison and like it did not really go anywhere.
None of the ARCs really stood out to me, and I cannot say that I enjoyed reading this book. BUT! Something about this book resonates with our real world, with racism, for example, and credits to the author for bringing such a heavy subject that is politics into this duology.
Also, I loved the few pages at the beginning that remind the reader of what happened in the previous book, that was really clever and useful.

This was a strong sequel for me. Chan continues to delight me with her world-building and I enjoy the flow of her writing style a lot. I think there's just enough left on descriptions for us to fill in on our own which is nice with such a unique world as this one. I continued to love the characters and any time there's an ocean voyage you can basically assume I'm going to love it.

In all honesty there were a lot of parts of this book that I enjoyed more than the first. I felt this only grew stronger, and when I was absolutely certain nothing Chan could write could make me feel any sort of sympathy for Cordelia, she surprised me. There were other characters that were nuanced just enough that though I could see where they were coming from, I'm glad Chan didn't make excuses for them and I felt the way things ended was right for this set of characters it just felt good at the end. I'd been on this emotional journey with them all for two books and I don't know that I'm ready to say bye; but I know this is going on my favorite releases of 2025.

Thanks to the publisher for the chance to read this, my honest review has been given in exchange for the eARC!

This brilliant follow up once again shows why Eliza Chan's popularity continues to grow and grow with my students. A fantastic read.

Well written book which follows and builds on the story from the first book. The book is heartfelt and has a great moral. Jumping between characters can be a bit confusing at first but the different perspectives makes the story clearer and builds a great narrative

"Tideborn" was an okay conclusion to the series, but I definitely preferred the first part in the series. The way most conflicts resolved felt a little too neat and convenient for my taste, and the character development didn't really feel organic or realistic.

Steeped in the aquatic world constructed in Fathomfolk, this book continues the adventures of those still grappling to promote acceptance of the Folk - and deal with what has been left behind. While I loved the worldbuilding and the immersive descriptions of the setting of this story, the pacing of the plot and some of the characterisation just wasn't my vibe.

This book actually felt like it could be its own and not a sequel to Fathomfolk. It had a good story that didn't feel too rushed.

I was a little sad to see so little of Cordelia, she was such a badass girlboss. She was like Ursula from The Little Mermaid but then for a more grown-up audience.

Also, the different kinds of grief for Kai!? It was so cool to see those in different characters. It gave them a more realistic feeling.

I thoroughly enjoyed the direction this book went in. I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be after the first book but I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed seeing Nami finally get a little confidence in herself and finally realise firth was the worst possible option for her haha. The ending had me smiling to myself the whole time and I’m happy with where they all ended up

I struggled to get through this book. This is mainly because I just wasn’t very invested in the chapters set on the boat/voyage (which was a large part of the story). I wasn't that fussed about a lot of the characters and their plots either, but I enjoyed Cordelia’s storyline the most.
Thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Tideborn is the sequel to Fathomfolk, building on book one to form an ultimately satisfying conclusion. Fathomfolk was one of my favourite books of 2023, with the author building a brilliantly clever fantasy world that reflects the very real issues of our world. The ending of book 1 was bittersweet, heartbreaking and heartwarming equally.
The world EC has crafted continues to be interesting and complex reflecting the bigotry, racism, xenophobia and bureaucratic nightmare we struggle with in the real world, these roots makes the world build oh so much real to the reader.

The cast of characters are flawed but ultimately sympathetic to varying degrees, with the book going through varying POVs to tie a bigger story together. Mira is the heart of the book to me as she navigates the aftermath of book 1. We see the growth of Nami from the idealistic and naive freedom fighter she was in book 1. Cordelia's resolute character is hard to like but her strength must be admired in this book as she moves on from the events of book 1.

I loved this duology and was so thankful to Orbit books, and Eliza Chan for allowing me early access in exchange for an honest review.

Tideborn offered a solid conclusion to the Drowned World duology. Chan's world-building remains a strong point, and the integration of Chinese mythology is still engaging. I found the pacing to be somewhat uneven, with some sections dragging while others felt rushed. The political intrigue was well-crafted, though at times, it became a bit convoluted. I appreciated the resolution of the main conflict, but it lacked the emotional impact I anticipated. Overall, Tideborn is a decent read with strong world-building, but it falls short of being truly exceptional.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

The second book of Drowned Worlds duology delivers rich mythology and world-building, with some political intrigue sparkled on top. While I enjoyed the plot, there were big time jumps where important scenes were described instead of shown. And while some of the characters got impressive developing (Gede, I'm looking at you), both Mira and Nami lost part of it and degressed to their book one character flaws. Neverthaless I liked how the author tied loose ends and gave a satisfactory ending!