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Dark Tides review: Doesn’t quite hit the potential it holds

By Alexandria Ingham

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 15: Philippa Gregory attends the Edinburgh International Book Festival on August 15, 2016 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Edinburgh International Book Festival is one of the most important annual literary events, and takes place in the city which became a UNESCO City of Literature in 2004. (Photo by Awakening/Getty Images)
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 15: Philippa Gregory attends the Edinburgh International Book Festival on August 15, 2016 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Edinburgh International Book Festival is one of the most important annual literary events, and takes place in the city which became a UNESCO City of Literature in 2004. (Photo by Awakening/Getty Images) /
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Dark Tides by Philippa Gregory doesn’t quite hit the mark

Philippa Gregory’s upcoming Dark Tides is a sequel to Tidewaves. Set in 1670 London, New England, and Venice, the story takes us through a mystery involving deceased relatives and new in-laws.

I got an advance copy of Dark Tides from NetGalley in return for an honest review. It hasn’t affected my thoughts on the story in any way.

You don’t need the first book

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One thing with sequels is finding a balance to make it accessible to those who are just getting into the series and not repeating too much for those who have read the previous book. I do feel like Philippa Gregory gets things right with Dark Tides.

You don’t need to read the first book to understand the second. It takes a while to understand some of the details and figure out the secrets, but that isn’t necessarily a problem. The secrets take time to come out if you haven’t read the first book, but it’s like learning it from Sir James’s view.

There’s also absolutely no need to read the first book to understand Ned’s story in New England. Whether the New England story is necessary or not is another thing. I did enjoy learning a little more about life in the colonies just a century after the Mayflower or so, but it didn’t add much value to the story.

In fact, this is where the initial wasted potential lies. It could have been used to add a second thriller to the story. Part of me hopes there’s a third book in the series that will go into Ned’s story a little more, giving the inclusion in Dark Tides more of a purpose.

Only just scratching the surface

Without giving spoilers away, one thing I will say is that Gregory doesn’t quite go deep enough into the characters. Alinor is mostly viewed through her daughter’s eyes, but that leaves a lot of pain and emotion for the reader to guess. Alys doesn’t exactly open up to anyone, leaving her feeling like just a spectator in the story. It’s hard to feel anything for her when she doesn’t share much with the reader.

Then there’s Livia, who is one of the main characters of the story. And yet, we don’t really get to know her. We’re told about her instead of being shown who she is and what she wants. This is supposed to be a smart woman, and instead, she just seems like a moody little girl who doesn’t really know how to get what she want.

In fact, none of the characters really get much development. They all remain strangers to the reader. The most development is with Ned, and that’s the part of the story that isn’t completely necessary.

It takes about 40% of the story just to pick up a little and have some purpose. Then it’s not until about 70% of the way in that it feels the stakes are high. I like a good slow burn, but this just seems to spend too much time with the initial buildup and then realizes there’s not much time left to wrap up the story.

There is potential there. It needs more time with better-developed characters.

Next. The Forgotten Kingdom review: Excellent historical fiction. dark

Dark Tides is out on Nov. 24, 2020. Pre-order it from Amazon with two-day free shipping with Amazon Prime.

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