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From Tormented Tides #3

Across Torn Tides

Find the pirate lord. Kill the kraken. Bring back Milo. And don’t tell your mom you’re a mermaid.

With Milo stuck in the past, Katrina and Bellamy must join forces to find the pirate lord Bastian Drake who may hold the key to turning back the clock—or at least a clue to the legendary sea goddess who can. But it won’t be easy when Katrina’s mother is slowly discovering her siren side and shows up in Constantine unexpectedly.

Meanwhile, Milo searches the seas relentlessly for a way to return to Katrina in the present as he faces an old enemy along the way. To survive, he must embrace his new life as a successful captain and the pirate he always swore he’d never be.

But as Bellamy questions whether he might’ve been brought back for a greater purpose, old desires and wounds begin to resurface. As he, Katrina, and Milo cross oceans to reunite, legends and lore become reality in a final battle for the fate of both the sea and their hearts.

***
Perfect for fans of Pirates of the Caribbean, Percy Jackson, The Little Mermaid, and Outer Banks. Where ancient magic and modernity meet in this final installment of the From Tormented Tides series, readers will love this series that combines pirate adventure, enchantment, ancient lore, and romance.

357 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 20, 2024

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About the author

Val E. Lane

6 books210 followers
Val is a fantasy romance author who loves looking for magic beneath the surface. Her favorite things to write about include star-crossed love stories and about finding magic within the world we think we know.
While Val writes more than just ocean fantasy, the sea is very special to her and more often than not finds its way into her stories (yes, there are even some nautical settings in Queen of the Shadow Woods).
FTT is the cherished first book in her TORMENTED TIDES series, a modern take on pirate fantasy and a story loosely inspired by an imaginative tall tale her father told her as a child.
When she's not writing, Val loves spending time outdoors in the Appalachian mountains or dreaming of the beaches of St. Augustine or Puerto Rico, both of which inspired the settings for her pirate series.

Keep up with Val and her upcoming works and live book events on social media @authorvalelane and her website authorvalelane.com.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
Profile Image for Dijana Čop Nešić.
597 reviews15 followers
August 14, 2026
The final book in the From Tormented Tides trilogy

I closed Across Torn Tides and for a while now I’ve been sitting with that strange silence that comes when something ends before you are ready to return from it. It feels as though I have spent the last few days somewhere between salt and wind, standing on a deck swaying beneath my feet, the horizon stretched endlessly before me, surrounded by people I became far more attached to than I ever intended—only for someone to suddenly put me ashore and say: that was all.

But it isn’t all for me.

I still want to sail.

From Tormented Tides has officially become the best completed series I have read this year, and certainly one of the most beautiful literary memories of this summer. I am also leaving this here as a heartfelt recommendation to Serbian publishers: please consider bringing this trilogy to our market, because I would genuinely love to see this adventure find its way into the hands of more readers here.

Especially because these books are incredibly fast reads. The story is packed so tightly that there is almost no dead space: summer, pirates, ocean, lost legends, curses, secrets, sirens, ghosts, magical objects, and a quest where every new clue carries you farther and farther from the safety of shore.

The ocean here is not scenery arranged prettily behind the characters. It has a temper. It remembers. It keeps its debts.

Sometimes it gives you something only so it can return later to collect the price, and the deeper I went into this trilogy, the less I felt that these characters were travelling across the ocean and the more I felt that the ocean itself was carrying them exactly where it had decided long ago they were meant to go.

And somewhere among all of this beats a love story that I may have adored precisely because it never needs to shout in order to be heard.

I would place the romantic element mostly within YA territory: there are no explicit scenes, making it perfectly suitable for older teenagers as well as adults, but that does not mean it lacks emotion.

Quite the opposite.

There is the kind of longing here that needs very little touch in order to hurt, the slow conquest of a heart that takes longer than the conquest of the sea, glances carrying half a lifetime of things left unsaid and, naturally, mysterious pirates who make it remarkably easy to forget that we supposedly opened these books for the adventure.

And then came the ending of the second book.

And it broke my heart.

I knew-or perhaps I simply desperately needed to believe-that the story could not possibly end where On Twisting Tides left us. Some losses we accept because we can feel that the story has spoken its final word. This one never tasted like a final word. It felt more like a door slammed shut in your face while you could still hear footsteps moving somewhere behind it.

So the third book had no choice but to venture into a place where reason no longer has any authority.

If you have watched Pirates of the Caribbean and remember Tia Dalma, especially the ending of the second movie and what follows in the third, when the characters realise that finding lost treasure or defeating an enemy is no longer enough—that they must travel somewhere people do not return from in order to bring back someone who cannot be brought back—then you already have some idea of what Across Torn Tides tastes like.

Except here, Katrina must find her own road to the impossible.

After Florida and the Bermuda Triangle, the sea carries us towards Cuba and Puerto Rico, and as the shores change, so do the legends. This time we have a bargain with something very close to the devil of the ocean himself, echoes of the legend of Davy Jones, and trials that increasingly resemble less an ordinary quest and more one of those ancient myths in which the hero may have what they desire only after proving that they are willing to descend deep enough to reach it.

And the depth here is not merely oceanic.

Katrina must descend into something far more frightening—herself.

Bellamy, Mackenzie and Noah remain beside her as the journey grows increasingly dangerous, until what began as a quest becomes a walk along an almost invisible line between life and death. I grew particularly fond of their little crew in this book because they no longer feel like people whom adventure simply happened to throw aboard the same ship. By now they know one another’s weaknesses, wounds, foolishness and fears. They know who will rush headfirst into danger, who will attempt to be reasonable, who will make a completely inappropriate remark in the middle of a catastrophe—and still, they stay.

Perhaps that is the loveliest definition of a crew.

Not people who happen to sail on the same ship, but people who refuse to abandon it when it begins to sink.

And here, naturally, everything that can sink eventually seems determined to do exactly that.

The farther Katrina goes, the murkier the waters become. Legends stop being stories sailors have used for centuries to fill long nights and begin to take shape. The things men once feared while staring into the black surface of the sea now rise from beneath it. Every new task demands something greater, every answer carries its own price, and the road towards what Katrina wants does not lead around her greatest fears.

It leads straight through them.

And this is where Across Torn Tides was at its most beautiful for me.

Because it is no longer simply a question of whether she can find what she is searching for.

It becomes a question of how far a heart can travel when it refuses to accept that fate has taken something from it forever.

And how many times a person can look the impossible directly in the face and still whisper:

I will try once more.

Val E. Lane managed to make this final instalment every bit as adventurous as the first two while giving it the heavier, quieter ache that comes from knowing the end is drawing closer.

There is still humour and banter, still those remarks that made me laugh in scenes where only a few pages earlier I had been on the verge of tears.

We are still running from one danger straight into another. The ocean still has absolutely no intention of making anyone’s life easier. We are still wondering whose heart will break next—and whose might, finally, find a way to heal.

But above everything hangs the feeling of a circle slowly closing.

And the closer I came to those final pages, the more slowly I turned them.

Not because the story had lost its rhythm.

Because I was trying to stop it.

One more chapter.

A few more pages.

A little more ocean storm.

A little more of them.

Because what is a reader supposed to do when an adventure reaches its final harbour, but they are still not ready to step off the ship?

Apparently, exactly what I am doing now—writing far too much about it, returning to favourite scenes, staring at the covers as though another chapter might somehow appear between them, and trying to find words beautiful enough for something that gave me so much pure, uncomplicated reading joy.

Five out of five stars, without a second of hesitation.

For the adventure. For the oceanic mystery. For legends brought to life. For the pirates. For friendship. For humour arriving exactly when we needed it most. For a love stubborn enough to argue even with death itself. And for that strange little miracle that sometimes happens when an imaginary world becomes, for a few days, more real than the room in which you are sitting while reading it.

And now I am left with that slightly ridiculous kind of reader’s grief: I know I can open the first book again. I know Katrina, Bellamy, Mackenzie, Noah, Milo, Cordelia and the others have not truly disappeared.

But I will never again set sail with them across those tides for the first time.

And there are some maiden voyages the heart simply does not know how to get over.

So I leave this trilogy enchanted like an incurable melancholic who has lost their most beautiful pearl and now wanders miserably along the shore, searching for another like it.
Profile Image for Miss Light ✨ headinthecloudsandbooks.
747 reviews59 followers
May 7, 2025
4'5✨

Gracias a esta novela tengo la necesidad de hacer un maratón de todas las pelis de Piratas del Caribe. He adorado las referencias a la famosa saga, a la vida de Anne Bonny y a La sirenita.

Este final me ha parecido perfecto para la trilogía, aunque el principio se me hizo un poco lento, la autora sabe como remontar ofreciendo un buen balance entre acción, aventura, romance y misterio. La narración es muy ágil, los capítulos cortos y la pluma destaca por tener muchas metáforas y referencias relacionadas con el mar. Con respecto a los personajes, admito que me hubiera gustado que se explorara un poco más el lado oscuro de Milo y Bellamy. Me ha dado la sensación de que el mal de amores pone a ambos nostálgicos, hubiera estado bien ver un poco más de su faceta pirata. Sin embargo, la evolución de Katrina me ha gustado mucho por como logra lidiar con su sirena interior. Cabe añadir que los secundarios y el villano pasan un poco desapercibidos pero bueno, al final es un saga que se centra en como los protagonistas gestionan sus vivencias. Eso sí, qué hayan tres POVs sin duda alguna enriquece la trama.

En cuanto al romance, lo que empezó siendo un triángulo amoroso parecido al de Will Turner, Elisabeth Swann y Jack Sparrow, aquí deja de serlo ya que Katrina tiene claro quién es su alma gemela. Hay un giro de los acontecimientos que de primeras no he visto venir pero que después cobra sentido. El desenlace es previsible pero muy satisfactorio. Mención especial a la playlist que me ha acompañado durante toda la lectura.

En definitiva, "Mareas quebradas" ha sido todo un viaje que he disfrutado mucho. La trilogía en general me parece súper recomendable para los amantes de los relatos de piratas y sirenas que busquen algo ligero para leer en verano.
Profile Image for Holly F.
194 reviews2 followers
June 6, 2024
This series had so much potential, and truly wasn’t horrible, but also wasn’t as amazing as it could have been. I love me a good swashbuckling adventure, and I love the found family trope, but of all the progress book 2 made I felt like it all got thrown away in book 3.
So many things were just too ridiculous to be believable. Serena is back from the dead and actually a sea goddess? A sea goddess who is a reincarnation of a Greek myth? And Bellamy is also a reincarnation of a Greek myth? What??? But don’t worry, Serena remembers all their past lives. Bellamy? Nah he doesn’t remember a thing but he’s fine with that. If he’s a reincarnation how the hell did he get trapped in a damn mermaid curse for 300 years? Oh and speaking of Bellamy, he’s actually got this crazy tattoo link to a madman who somehow survived over 350 years in the modern world that allows the madman to track him and listen to his every single thought. Why has this never been an issue until the very last book? Not once in the 600+ pages of the other two books was the detail ever an issue. And Milo? He had a link to the madman too, but don’t worry, he somehow stumbled upon a magical island and finds a magical tribe who know just how to cover his tattoo. That madman? Well actually, he’s cursed by Davy Jones. Nope wait — he IS Davy Jones. But he dies. And so does Bellamy… again, again. But Nope! He’s alive! And now he’s the new Davy Jones!
Listen — fantasy doesn’t make sense. It’s fake, I get that. It’s “unbelievable” and magical. But this was just… too much.
I still felt sad putting the book down because I’m a sucker and I get way too attached to characters. I’ll miss them all, in their own messed up ways ❤️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kathleen Morgan.
102 reviews
March 17, 2025
Compared to the first two, this felt way too jumbled up. Like they tried to cram too many similarities with other stories in. The plot would've been better if they'd stuck to one storyline and trimmed it down a bit. The ending was really sweet though and I'm glad that the characters all got the closure they needed.
Profile Image for Roci_PlzP.
229 reviews7 followers
August 4, 2025
Una excelente historia de urban fantasy juvenil con ambientación pirata:

Milo se encuentra atrapado en el pasado, Katrina junto a Bellamy, unirán fuerzas encontrando al señor de la piratería Bastian Drake, que puede ayudarlos a volver en el tiempo, o darles una pista sobre la diosa del mar.

Mientras, Milo buscará una forma de volver al presente con Katrina. Para sobrevivir a un viejo enemigo, aceptará su nueva vida como capitán pirata.


Me encantó lo grandioso que se sintió este último libro, fue una gran aventura con mucha tradición marina. Hace referencias a la cultura pop con las vibras de la peli “Piratas del Caribe” y esa valentía que viene con el espíritu de la juventud.
Es una montaña rusa de emociones, con un enfrentamiento entre Davy Jones, la Diosa del Mar, y los personajes principales.  

Es ameno e interesante, avanza con rapidez y esto hace que se devoren a buen ritmo sus páginas.
Val E. Lane consigue dar un giro a las crónicas tradicionales y las moderniza al integrar los piratas en la actualidad.
Posee los típicos ingredientes corsarios: sirenas, secretos, barcos con tripulaciones peculiares... que lo harán simplemente perfecto.

En esta entrega, todos los protagonistas luchan con sus propios demonios personales:
Katrina se siente dividida entre su lado humano y su parte sirena, teme que un día se vuelva despiadada y lastime a quienes le importan.
Bellamy desconoce su lugar en el mundo ni por qué lo trajeron de vuelta, pues lo único que desea es su amor con Serena.
El viaje de Milo es desgarrador, recela de haberse convertido en lo que juró no ser jamás y tiene miedo de no merecer a Katrina cuando se reencuentren. Así, a lo largo de los capítulos, ambos recorrerán su camino hasta que logren superar las dificultades. 

Está lleno de acción y engancha hasta que te sientes parte de este mundo. El final estuvo perfectamente planeado, cuenta con giros inesperados, ¡tan espectaculares que te dejarán la boca abierta!.
La autora lo conecta con los volúmenes anteriores de esta serie, toda la trama cobra sentido y no deja ningún cabo suelto, dándole así un final digno y épico.

Si te apasionan los relatos de piratas junto a grandes dosis de misterio, aventuras, maldiciones y amores prohibidos, esta es tu novela.
Profile Image for Mae Polzine.
48 reviews7 followers
March 4, 2024
This book picks up right where On Twisting Tides ended: Katrina is in the modern world with a newly alive Bellamy, and Milo is trapped in the past after losing his eye and becoming captain of the Falcon. So, the two sides are trying to figure out ways to find each other. With Katrina and Bellamy going after a Sea Goddess crown in hopes that it can bring Milo back to the present, and Milo trying to find the Fountain in hopes of gaining eternal youth so he can stay alive long enough to be reunited with Katrina.

Of course, all our main characters are struggling with their own personal demons. Katrina feels torn between her human and siren sides, and fears that one day she'll become heartless and hurt the ones she cares about. Bellamy doesn't know his place in the world or why he was brought back as all he wants is Serena, who he had watched his father kill decades ago. And Milo fears he became the thing he swore never to become and won't be something Katrina wants or deserves when they are reunited. So, throughout the book we get to see them go through their journey of how they overcome those struggles. I'm not going to say how each of them figure it out since that's major spoilers for the ending of the series. But I love how each of their stories ended, since they do get their own versions of happily ever afters.

Across Torn Tides was a rollercoaster of emotions at the end as we had a face off between Davy Jones, the Sea Goddess, and our main characters. I will not lie, I cried a little during one portion of the ending but everything turns out the best way possible for the characters. The ending also was perfectly planned with tons of twists and tied in all the world building and lore that we had sprinkled throughout the series. So, there weren't any loose threads hanging out there.

I'm a little sad that this series is over, but I seriously enjoyed reading it. If you love pirate adventures, enchantment, ancient lore, found family and romance, then I would highly recommend this series.

*Disclaimer: I did receive this book as an ARC in exchange for a review*
Profile Image for Sarah Tee.
42 reviews1 follower
March 9, 2024
I have been fortunate to be an arc reader for all of Val’s books in this series and it still remains my favourite pirate series. This is the third book in the series

Modern day pirates with old fashioned pirate ways, magic, curses, mermaids, gods. What more could you want? There’s an aspect to romance too. Especially with love motivating the characters actions. But certainly didn’t find it overpowering. Just right
First off: different POVs reflecting different eras. I loved it. Such a mix of times. I loved it. And easily formatted so you knew which character you were reading
Pirates of the Caribbean: I am a massive fan of it, and there were so many nods to the movies, but the ideas were also different. So just felt like reading a modern day potc but with originality
Plot twists: I’m normally one that can pick out twists and there was one that I really didn’t see coming, so hats off to you Val. You got me
Piratey: again very well written where there wasn’t excessive use of gore/ bloodshed for the sake of it. But enough like potc where you knew some of them were the morally grey pirates we all love.
Romance: while this book was driven with characters wanting to reunite, I didnt find it over baring, and the characters development was well balanced out
The ending: all loose ends wrapped up! I loved it.

My only one down side is, I feel a few of the early chapters could have been condensed slightly. For me, it did feel like it took a while for everything to kick in. But I was also reading this during a busy work week so it could have been that

Thank you Val for letting me be an arc reader for your journey! Loved it so much and for anyone that loved pirates of the Caribbean, this series is for you
Profile Image for Deena VanCura.
24 reviews5 followers
June 20, 2024
This is an ARC review, which means it’s honest.

Ok! Let’s go!

Wow, the plot and chain of events was jump packed in the final book in the trilogy. Amazing! So many see myths, gods, and goddesses are incorporated into this story. I enjoyed all of them; especially Kraken.

Experiencing Katrina, Milo, and Bellamy’s POV was well paced, but at times I was I had even more detail and understood physically how things were unfolding; could be writing style though! No matter, I appreciate the details I was given.

This story is unexpected, which is fantastic, because my guess for what came next was wrong almost every time. Books 1 and 2 were almost like that too. It’s a wonderful feeling when a pirate fantasy book with mermaids, curses, and battles are unpredictable. I also didn’t expect the struggles these characters went through.

The side characters were less in this story, and with how this stonily unfolded, that was a good thing. But… I still wasn’t entirely sure about how the mom got involved and was kept involved. It was a good thing she was there, but something wasn’t totally naturally about it for the story.

What else? Hmm…. Oh! I love the little things: poetry, song, sea foam, and cutlasses. The details worked well together. It made the conflict and adventure believable. I connected to most of the story. Definitely give this one a read if you’re into pirates, mermaids, Dave Jones curses, and krakens.
Profile Image for brii | brii (four months behind...).
1,150 reviews1 follower
October 1, 2024
Well. This was hands down the best of the series.

I didn't love the first two, and I didn't love the first half of this one. It started off so slowly, and I was really, quite bored. I didn't care for the huge build-up of Katrina's mom coming along and the several, seeeveral conversations everyone needed to have over and over again to talk about it. Then, just to knock her out, send her beneath deck or whatever, and have the same conversations over again. I think a lot of the first half of this book I could have done without.

Except for Milo's parts. Maybe because I just want a pirate story, and he was actually a Pirate in this one, I was more interested in his parts.

Once we met with Bastian and started to go after the Kraken, the story really picked up, and, for the first time in this series, I really started to enjoy myself. I really just wanted more of that half in the rest of the series. The characters are all so immature (considering half of them are over 300 years old, c'mon), and I found a lot of the dialogue to be very unrealistic and cringey.

There are a lot of loose ends and plot points that really didn't make much sense and seemed to appear out of nowhere. But really, if you don't focus too hard on those things, it's a pretty okay read. The second half, at least.

I really wanted to love this series, I've been really looking forward to it coming up on my spinning wheel, but it just didn't work for me.
Profile Image for Brooke.
510 reviews2 followers
March 1, 2024
Would like to start off with saying thank you SO much to Val for once again allowing me to be an ARC reader for Across Torn Tides, and I am so glad I have been on this journey with her for all three books.

When I started this series way back in 2022, I had no idea where it would lead me as it was vastly different from my normal reads. That said, I have absolutely loved following Katrina, Milo, and Bellamy along as they worked with friends to fight evil and right centuries old wrongs. Across Torn Tides was a beautiful way to end the trilogy and I loved that everyone got their happy endings. Bellamy was hands down my favorite throughout the entire series, I could have read a whole book solely based off of him and Serena's love stories. The chapter art was gorgeous, I especially loved Katrina's siren. I also enjoyed McKenzie and Noah more in this book as well. One thing that I noticed though while reading was that in some instances the sentence structure was a little weird, and there were a lot of moments where one word would be used two or three times in a sentence when it didn't need to be. It detracted from reading a bit, but once I reworked the sentence in my head eliminating one of the repeat words it was fine. I am sad to see the end of these characters but what a ride it has been!
Profile Image for Abe Francis.
332 reviews28 followers
March 25, 2024
"Turns out dead men tell tales after all.
And what a tale you have to tell, brother."

- So full of action!! Never got boring or felt like I had to push on. I was enthralled by how fast everything moved
- a bounty mission for the KRAKEN?! Could this book get any more perfect?
- Ok little mermaid, asking her to pay with her voice!
- ATARGATIS THE SEA QUEEN SERENA!! That’s the perfect redemption for her and Bellamy’s love story! Bellamy, vowed to only love the sea, and Serena“Because I am the sea, and you’ve been seeking me your whole life without realizing it” FATED MATES
- Val told me there’d be Leave Her Johnny but WOW the scene it’s in was so satisfying! Ah it’s my favorite shanty to sing so it was a dream to have it in this book.
- The way I audibly gasped at the Bastian Davy Jones reveal! THAT is good writing!
- I’m not one to cry at books, but Bellamy’s ending had me SOBBING. Truly. I’m a Bellamy guy through and through. Then when he took up as Davy Jones my heart was so happy.
- One thing I love about this series is that each chapter has a title and an image for the character. A lot of books have abandoned chapter titles and images but I think it makes it so much more fun!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
65 reviews
March 1, 2024
ARC Review:

If you haven’t read this series yet, you better dive in ASAP because you are seriously missing out! SO GOOD.

I once again feel so honored and lucky to have gotten an ARC of this book! This was the PERFECT ending to such a beautiful story.

If you didn’t think you could love Milo and Bellamy more after book one, Val just went ahead and outdid herself with this one!

We started right where book 2 left off and we’re on the journey to follow the legends to find a lost love. The empowerment I felt dripping from Katrina was so touching and real! While the first two books really focused on Katrina and her journey of self-discovery, I really felt Val gave us more of Bellamy and Milo that readers probably wanted but didn’t quite KNOW how much they wanted it.

This was a perfect blend of thrill, love, found and true families, healing, and icing on the cake to finish a series. I’ve been in awe of Val’s writing since I first discovered her on TikTok in 2022, and that sense of awe continued and grew with each post I “liked,” each page I read, and each book I devoured.

This series was so original and creative! I can’t wait to see more from Val! ❤️
Profile Image for Meg.
259 reviews5 followers
February 28, 2024
Wow, what an ending. I’m so glad that I’ve gotten to read these books and experience this journey with the characters. This book was such a good ending to this story and the action and romance was well written. I was so captivated by this book that I never wanted to put it down. I love a good mermaid/pirate book and reading these books really brings me back to my childhood. I loved reading Katrina and Milo’s story and I’m glad that it ending with happily ever after. These books were so great and the story was so unique that I wish I could experience it for the first time all over again. I love the way that Val writes and how the world building and lore all tied in at the end. This book was a good fast paced pirate romance with a little siren song sprinkled in there. I loved this book so much and I never wanted it to end!!!
Profile Image for Ashley Hawkins.
334 reviews2 followers
March 19, 2024
I want to thank Ms. Lane for allowing me yet again to receive an ARC for Across Torn Tides. It has been a wonderful journey.

I personally read this a slow as possible just to soak in all that was happening and holding on to the characters for as long as I could without missing the release date.

ATT picks up where On Twisting Tides left off. With Milo stuck in the past and in charge of a crew on the Falcon, Katrina and Bellamy are in search for a way to bring him back to the modern time. Each one of them are fighting their own inner demons while trying to outsmart and defeat the tyrannical Bastian.

It's sad to say goodbye to these characters, but Ms. Lane brought this trilogy to a happy conclusion and with closure. I look forward to reading more of her work.

Profile Image for Kandi Little.
3 reviews
April 8, 2024
Ugh, Val did it again! First off thank you so much for allowing me to be an ARC reader for all 3 of your books in this series!

The many, many trips you took me on throughout this series was wild and so much fun. The way you seemed to entangle most of the sea legends into 3 books was fantastic. Pirates, mermaids, sea beasts, enchanted items, and time travel. This series had a touch of it all.

The beginning of this particular part of the story was a little slow for me, but once things started happening. They were happening. I was honestly scared you were going to leave my heart torn out at the end of this final book, but you stitched it back in! Once again thank you for allowing me to be an ARC reader for this series. My review is entirely my own. I recommend it highly and look forward to any new adventures in the future!
Profile Image for Chelsea.
64 reviews1 follower
March 16, 2024
Katrina is back and on another adventure. When an object can save the one she loves, nothing can stop her from setting sail. I loved stepping back into the world of adventure, pirates, sirens, and magic.

Things I love about the book:
-Multi-POV
-Non-stop adventure
-Found family
-Consistent love interests
-Character depth
-Wrapped up plots from the other books
-Pirates of the Caribbean vibes
-The Little Mermaid vibes
- Percy Jackson vibes

Katrina, Milo, and Bellamy will have a special place in my heart. Each book made me love them more. This was the perfect ending. It was so beautiful that I cried again (which is hard to get me to do).

Thank you to Val E. Lane for allowing me to be an ARC reader on all three of these books. It’s been an honor.
Profile Image for Brianne Johnson.
26 reviews
April 12, 2024
I love this book!! I loved the whole series! A wonderful take on swashbuckling pirates and mermaids. I also loved that a spotify playlist was creates for this last book.

This one starts where the last left off with Katrina and Bellamy trying to find a way to get Milo back from the past. Making deals with the enemy, sailing all over the Atlantic, fighting monsters all the while trying to keep not only her siren but her mothers as well, under control. In the end all was well. The ending us happy but a little bittersweet. 10/10 recommend reading the whole series. You will not be disappointed!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ashlee.
16 reviews
July 24, 2026
I really wanted to love Across Torn Tides more because I absolutely loved the first two books in this series. Unfortunately, this one just felt like it had too much plot crammed into one book. There were so many things happening that, at times, the story felt a little rushed and overwhelming.

That being said, I still enjoyed returning to this world and these characters, and the series as a whole has continued to give me major Pirates of the Caribbean vibes—with adventure, romance, danger, and plenty of twists. 🏴‍☠️🌊

While this wasn’t my favorite of the series, I’m still glad I continued the journey. ⚓️✨
Profile Image for Megan.
183 reviews4 followers
March 26, 2024
I have eagerly been waiting for this book, and it did NOT disappoint at all. I absolutely loved it! So much was packed into this one. So many emotions and events happening!! Katrina + Milo forever. I loved getting to learn more about Bellamy. He is definitely a favorite character. Sacrificing himself for his long, lost love Serena. I will admit I didn’t see that little twist coming the way it did. It’s definitely like the 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean. This is such an amazing series! I can’t wait to see what else Lane writes!💕
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Profile Image for Thebookcrackingremlin .
169 reviews13 followers
March 13, 2024
This was the perfect ending to the series.

This whole series really was Little mermaid meets Pirates of the Caribbean

This book was filled with action and adventure, even a little mystery

I so happy with the way things wrapped up for everyone
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Profile Image for Tori.
300 reviews22 followers
March 21, 2024
I don't have enough words to accurately describe every emotion that I felt while reading the final book in this trilogy.

Buckle up, because this one is a roller coaster. The plot has continued to thicken, and the character development is *chef's kiss*. And the freaking plot twist?! JFC!

This is a trilogy that will live rent free in my head for years to come. I can't imagine a better ending for it.
Profile Image for Alex Besic.
58 reviews
January 17, 2025
The beginning took waaaaaay too long to get into. I had to force myself to read the first 100 pages and then all of a sudden it got really interesting. There was so many different pieces of this story that had to come together and at times it was confusing but every chapter you discovered something new and it made sense. Everytime you think you have it figured out there’s either something you forgot about or something new.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kara Fairchild.
390 reviews2 followers
June 4, 2025
My rating system:
5 stars - Absolutely loved it! I would definitely read again anytime!
4 stars - Really liked it! Will most likely read again sometime.
3 stars - Liked it. Glad I read it but probably won't read again.
2 stars - Didn't like it. Glad I'm done with the book and I'll never read it again.
1 star - Very rare rating. Absolutely hated the book. Will never read again and I'll probably burn any copies I come across.
Profile Image for Clara Eugenia.
58 reviews
September 16, 2025
(2.5/10⭐️) Es el peor libro de la trilogía. Hasta entonces había intentado ignorar la construcción de personajes. Pero es que en este libro ya no puedo ignorarlo más, la autora no los separa bien, no los hace bien, desde fuera todos tienen su personalidad y su forma de ser (aunque ciertamente poco marcada), pero en cada capítulo desde el punto de vista de uno u otro, te das cuenta que podría ser cualquiera! Solo sabes quién es por lo que se le pasa por la cabeza.

Y lo de que Serena sea la diosa del mar y Bellamy Davy Jones? Venga ya! Y lo de Bellamy era tan previsible al final. Me parece tan absurdo lo de Serena. Cuando narra Bellamy su recuerdo de cuando la conoció me quedé alucinada de estar leyendo bien: en cuanto la ve una noche desde la orilla ella nadando en el agua, le sonríe, ella dice que espere, sale y proceden a besarse y hacer el amor. ¿Me vacilas? Y Bellamy como si fuese todo lo más normal del mundo! Claro claro que luego te cuentan la chorrada de haberse amado por los siglos de los siglos. Toda la primera mitad del libro te mete chorradas solo para prepararte para el final y se ve muy forzado, como cambiar la perspectiva a Bellamy solo para volver y volver y volver a pensar en Serena y eso de “ya no sé cuál es mi propósito, me siento perdido”. Venga hombre, todo porque al final “mi propósito es morir para que Serena recupere sus poderes, así ha sido siempre”

Y desde luego he ignorado todas las escenas spicy… me parecen tan forzadas. Que en el mismo barco al mismo tiempo estén las dos parejas manteniendo sexo?? Venga hombre.

El libro tiene potencial… si estuviese bien escrito. Veo la intención de la autora de giros de trama y cosas que se van destapando poco a poco… pero joder, pésima la redacción y demasiadas referencias a piratas del Caribe ¿dónde queda la originalidad?

Ya con el segundo me parecía que había perdido calidad, sobre todo al implementar el doble punto de vista, pero de todas formas no estaba tan mal, pero con este libro… ha sido pésimo. Antes de llegar a la mitad del libro ya estaba leyendo rápido y solo por encima para acabar ya con esta historia y no dejarla a medias. Lo alucinante de estas cosas es que aún así me entero de la historia! Odio el relleno. Sobre todo esos momentos en el que cada personaje que pierde en sus pensamientos y repite y repite una y otra vez lo mismo en su cabeza.

Lo más interesante ha sido la perspectiva de Milo, cómo se siente más ese mundo de piratas. Pero te cambia a la realidad es siempre lo mismo: Katrina y Bellamy peleando con sus pensamientos no sabiendo qué hacen con sus vidas y queriendo darlo todo… en fin.

Me pareció impactante el final del segundo libro (lo que claramente le subía la nota, después de todo un libro muy sin más), algo que me dejaba con muy buenas expectativas para el tercero… cosa que no ha cumplido.

En fin, si tienes 12-14 años y no estás acostumbrado a grandes autores como Brandon Sanderson, Sarah J. Maas o de ese estilo, esta trilogía te irá bien.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Dani.
11 reviews
March 21, 2024
I have been fortunate enough to be an ARC reader from the very beginning of the series and this final book in the series has been just as amazing as the first two! It did not disappoint in action or twists and I enjoyed the journey this series brought me on, no regrets. Pirates, mermaids and ghosts, oh my!
Profile Image for BookLuvr.
176 reviews5 followers
February 6, 2025
This was the last book of the On Twisting Tides series by Val E. Lane. I absolutely loved this book! The characters were amazing and it was a great wrap up of the story.

If you like mermaids, magic, or pirates then read this series. It feels like a it’ll take forever but they are actually very quick reads.

I’m excited to read more books by Val E. Lane.
11 reviews
January 13, 2026
DNF about halfway through. I loved the first two books and was so excited to read this one, it had so much potential! But personally I feel like it was forced and quickly thrown together. I get it’s fiction but at least make it make sense, make it believable. Like I said it had potential but for me personally I think it fell short. However read it for yourself, maybe you’ll love it.
Profile Image for Krista Marie Slocum.
10 reviews2 followers
March 31, 2024
I absolutely loved this book! My favorite of the three books by far, although this entire series is one of my favorite book series. While there were hints of the ending, how we got there was a continuous mystery ❤️ 10/10 recommend!
Profile Image for Georgia Vaughn.
108 reviews
December 21, 2024
The story was a little all over the place and I hated that Katrina had to give up a part of herself to be fully in control, I hate that she had to give up being a mermaid but I understand why and it worked out for her so... it wrapped up very nicely in the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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