3.5
Dark Tides
By Philippa GregoryPublisher Description
#1 New York Times bestselling author of Tidelands—the “searing portrait of a woman that resonates across the ages” (People)—returns with an evocative historical novel tracking the rise of the Tidelands family in London, Venice, and New England.
Midsummer Eve 1670. Two unexpected visitors arrive at a shabby warehouse on the south side of the River Thames. The first is a wealthy nobleman seeking the lover he deserted twenty-one years earlier. Now James Avery has everything to offer: a fortune, a title, and the favor of the newly restored King Charles II. He believes that the warehouse’s poor owner Alinor has the one thing he cannot buy—his son and heir.
The second visitor is a beautiful widow from Venice in deepest mourning. She claims Alinor as her mother-in-law and tells her of the death of Rob—Alinor’s son—drowned in the dark tides of the Venice lagoon.
Meanwhile, Alinor’s brother Ned, in faraway New England, is making a life for himself between in the narrowing space between the jarring worlds of the English newcomers and the American Indians as they move towards inevitable war. Alinor writes to him that she knows—without doubt—that her son is alive and the widow is an imposter. But how can she prove it?
Set in the poverty and glamour of Restoration London, in the golden streets of Venice, and on the tensely contested frontier of early America, this is a novel of greed and desire: for love, for wealth, for a child, and for home.
Midsummer Eve 1670. Two unexpected visitors arrive at a shabby warehouse on the south side of the River Thames. The first is a wealthy nobleman seeking the lover he deserted twenty-one years earlier. Now James Avery has everything to offer: a fortune, a title, and the favor of the newly restored King Charles II. He believes that the warehouse’s poor owner Alinor has the one thing he cannot buy—his son and heir.
The second visitor is a beautiful widow from Venice in deepest mourning. She claims Alinor as her mother-in-law and tells her of the death of Rob—Alinor’s son—drowned in the dark tides of the Venice lagoon.
Meanwhile, Alinor’s brother Ned, in faraway New England, is making a life for himself between in the narrowing space between the jarring worlds of the English newcomers and the American Indians as they move towards inevitable war. Alinor writes to him that she knows—without doubt—that her son is alive and the widow is an imposter. But how can she prove it?
Set in the poverty and glamour of Restoration London, in the golden streets of Venice, and on the tensely contested frontier of early America, this is a novel of greed and desire: for love, for wealth, for a child, and for home.
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities253 Reviews
3.5
McSusanj
Created 9 days agoShare
Report
Grace
Created 21 days agoShare
Report
“A gave this series a second chance, though I’m not sure it deserves it. . . Again, this story has SUCH potential but the writing is just not it.™️ It’s hard to hear characters make poor decision after poor decision knowing what the consequences will be and just not truly thinking through their actions.
If you read these, I would NOT recommend the audiobooks because the daughter-in-law’s voice is whiny and grating, and I almost DNF’ed but realized that was a bad reason to not finish a book.
Anywhos, save your time and read great historical fiction by Kristin Hannah or Stacey Halls instead”
Elle
Created about 1 month agoShare
Report
“Like the first in the series, this novel is quite different from what I am used to reading from Philippa Gregory. The good news is that I still very much enjoyed my reading experience! The story continues from where we left off in The Tidelands, but a couple of decades later. This does leave a bit of gap in the story and Gregory could have easily taken advantage of this to build another book in between, but I didn't really find myself missing the extra years. It does create an effect that nearly makes the two books act as standalones, though there is some background necessary to fully understand this installment.
The story is broken into two separate pieces, with one following Alinor and her family in England, while the other follows Alinor's brother, Ned, who has moved to colonial America. I don't mind dual narratives, in fact I enjoy them most of the time as they tend to give a better overall view of the plot and the characters. In fact, I liked both of these story lines, but I think they may have been better served to have been divided into separate books. They don't really interweave, but rather run parallel to one another. Keeping them together did result in a little bit of a lack of cohesion for the overall novel, but not in a way that made the stories murky.
I loved Gregory's writing as usual. She is great at setting a scene and creating complex characters. There is a good mix of good, morally gray, naive, and devious. Alys continues to be a bit of an annoyance character for me and I certainly hope that the actions in this novel prove to show some change in her if this series continues. I like Alinor. She's a bit of a subtle genius and it seems that no one really likes to listen to her, though she really does know more than everyone else seems to comprehend. Livia proves to be an interesting character. She is a bit heavy-handed for a Gregory novel, but it becomes very clear who she is without readers having to work that hard. I guess in a way that can be nice. I didn't like her, but I appreciated her as a character...if that makes sense. I can't really say more without spoiling some things.
The plot moves at a nice speed in both parallel stories, but feels a bit more natural on the Ned side. The narrative for Alinor's family does admittedly get a bit convenient in a few spots. It feels a little lazy for Gregory, but did make the read fun. Without being spoilery, I will say that Sarah's character arc in particular requires a bit of suspension of belief. I will admit that I rolled my eyes a couple of times.
Despite the flaws that may be present in the construction of the novel, this was still a very fun read for me. I just enjoy everything that Philippa Gregory writes. Some more than others, but I was in the right headspace for this one to read quite well and provide ample entertainment. It's not the best book for an introduction to Philippa Gregory, but it will prove a good read for those familiar with the breadth of her works.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *”
hthrevr
Created about 2 months agoShare
Report
Wendy Floss
Created 2 months agoShare
Report
About Philippa Gregory
Philippa Gregory is the author of many New York Times bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl, and is a recognized authority on women’s history. Many of her works have been adapted for the screen including The Other Boleyn Girl. She graduated from the University of Sussex and received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where she is a Regent. She holds honorary degrees from Teesside University and the University of Sussex. She is a fellow of the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff and was awarded the 2016 Harrogate Festival Award for Contribution to Historical Fiction. She is an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck, University of London. She was awarded a CBE title for services to literature and charity in 2022. She welcomes visitors to her website PhilippaGregory.com.
Other books by Philippa Gregory
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Similar Books
Save to a list
0
/30
0
/100
Private List