The Tide and The Stars

by Dylan Roche

All Marin has ever been—and ever will be, as far as he knows—is a servant. He’s grown up working for an evil witch called Ilth, never having any idea who his parents were or where he came from. But then comes the day he and another servant, Aster, find the courage to run away to seek their fortunes in the great wide world...The only problem is that the world holds much more danger than Marin and Aster ever expected—tyrannical kings, vengeful demigods, goblin armies, and legendary monsters. And Ilth is tracking them down with wicked schemes of her own. The greatest challenge comes when Marin learns he must seek out a long-lost magic sword he’ll need if he’s going to save the life of Princess Elspeth and the entire kingdom of Blunia. It’s a dangerous quest to expect of anyone—least of all someone who is nothing more than a runaway servant.

420 pages, Paperback

Published June 11, 2024

About the author

Dylan Roche is a journalist, editor, actor, director, playwright, teacher, and marathon runner based in Annapolis, Maryland, where he's a proud dog day to Tyrion the corgi. "The Purple Bird" is his first novel.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Tide and the Stars. Dylan Roche created a world I would love to come back to. He did a great job of weaving in elements of self-esteem into a world of adventure. I also liked the idea that we create our own destiny. Yes our stories may be written in the stars, but the tides are always changing, and so does our stories. I think this would be the perfect story for a young teen just entering high school and having to navigate these same experiences while also being in fantasy and adventure.

This is a review of an advance reader copy through NetGalley.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was an entertaining read and I believe that especially young readers will enjoy it a lot. The world building is fairytale like and beautiful. It's easy to empathize with the characters and the writing style is great.
As an adult, I might not be the right audience as I seek some more complexity, more character development and less predictability but I can see that older children or younger teenagers would enjoy it a lot. Very magical and compelling.
I really loved the symbolism of the tide and the stars within the story.

[Lisa Tristram · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really looking to read this. The blur was amazing ....I think I got to about halfway through, and then I started to get bored... there were things written that didn't really make sense, and it kept jumping around.

It came across as a YA book, then felt like it dropped down to a child's book. It seemed to be promoting several issues like anxiety and self-confidence, which is fantastic, but then it seems to keep bringing these issues up every two minutes. There was also an attempt at girl power and then resulted back to the whining girl needs a man to save her....both becoming annoying.

At times, characters involved from the beginning seemed to be forgotten about and then just jumped back into the story again.....

This could have been such a great book, but didn't really hot the spot for me

[Natasha Gatti · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books was written pretty decently. It gives found family vibes and tackles issues that young adults can have when coming of age. I feel like the tone of the characters were too juvenile for their age though and it caused lagging interest. This would be more suited to younger readers.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Le Cy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I enjoyed reading this book! It was a classic adventure fantasy story, so to be honest, it was quite predictable at times. Although it did hinder my enjoyment a bit, some of the characters definitely make up for it.
The blurb was really intriguing to me. Tyrannical kings? Demigods? And goblin armies??? It definitely seemed to be right up my alley. And although the story did include all of the elements mentioned above, the execution felt somewhat subdued. Don’t get me wrong, the writing was fantastic. I just thought that the encounters weren’t as… epic(?) as I thought they were going to be. The worldbuilding was also quite generic, and I thought that the romance was not very developed. (Seemed much like an instalove which, ironically, I didn’t love.)
The book also left a lot of questions unanswered, and that’s a bit frustrating sometimes. The convenient plot progression also it made it seem like the main characters were just breezing through all the obstacles they face in the book.
I will say though, since it reads a lot like a middle-grade book, it can definitely be a good book to recommend to children who are trying to get into fantasy adventure books! The plot was really easy to follow, and the main character faces a lot of trouble with self-esteem, which can be quite relatable.
I also really love the message that the story was trying to tell. Yes, sometimes, things happen that are out of our control, but ultimately your fate is in your hands, you just have to seize every opportunity you get. As the book puts it, ‘I guess there are some things in life we’ll never have control over. And those things might as well be ruled by the stars in the heavens. But there are many things we do control, that are up to us, and we’re merely sailors trying to navigate a vast ocean, hoping for the tide to move in our favor.’
Another element I really like about this book were the girl characters, Elspeth and Carys. It was really refreshing seeing the girls trying to take their fates into their own hands, rather than relying all the time on their ‘knight in shining armor’ to come and save them.
I loved the conclusion to the book as well! It just felt satisfying, and I was content knowing that things turned out how they did by the end.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read for me. Although the book didn’t end up reaching my expectations, I still have a huge soft spot for fantasy adventure stories, so I still had a lot of fun reading this.
Thank you Indigo River Publishing and Dylan Roche for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Roche's Purple Bird ... and am not disappointed with The Tide and The Stars!!!

"I don't think our future is written out in the stars ... I'd say it's more like a vast ocean and we have to set sail when the tide is in our favor."

Just like Roche's previous book, there is a beautiful theme that catches you up and has you taking a deep, refreshing breath. The theme of this book is of living one's best life ... Specifically, discovering one's self-worth and choosing one's own destiny rather than let destiny choose you (and isn't THAT an inspiration for living?!).

From the start, we are caught up in a world of magic and of wonder as we watch Marin long for a better life while arguing with a two-headed cow whose udders produced tea rather than expected coffee. Soon, he and his friend, Aster, as close as brothers, set out for fortune and glory. But when Marin finds what he sought after -- and love besides -- the book really starts! Is he worthy enough to be a hero?

This story has everything you'd expect in a fantasy novel: danger and moments of courage, prophesies and magical relics, all while meeting fun characters, including trolls and sand gremlins, a witch and a prophetess, princesses and heroes, and so many more (oh, and don't forget the two-headed talking cow!!), The Tide and the Stars is a thrilling ride -- and will have you considering your next adventure!

[Moontale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Overall it was a good book. The strong points of this book include the use of language. It makes great use of adjectives and creates very beautiful visualisations. "Mist hung in the air, shrouding the thorny trees like a spider’s prey trapped in a web."

It's very descriptive and is successful in capturing the characters' tension.

It had a gripping and unique start. But at some places it gets cliché and takes convenient turns. I was expecting both boys to be given equal importance, especially that the narration was in third person but one of them got more of a spotlight than the other. And I also wish the women and their abilities thing was shown rather than told. Chapter 32 was kind of random. I'm not going to complain about the incident but I wish it happened for a stronger reason. I think it would be better if characters like the prophetess were given more personality.

I'm not going to say the story changing topics is bad because I think this book was an Arabian Night style adventure and magical realism. And if that was the intention, it does it well.

However, surprisingly, I seemed to have enjoyed the third section more despite it starting abruptly.

[Acantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this with high hopes.

And it was fine, an entertaining enough story in its own right but there were a couple of issues that held it back from being a great book.

I found myself getting confused as things seemed to shift wildly around, they stopped making sense and stuff jumped here and there without any rhyme or reason. Characters would be introduced and then dropped again for huge stretches of the book, only to randomly pop up after you'd forgotten about them. This feels like its aimed at younger than YA. There was an attempt at some inspiring messaging, some encouragement but it came across as confused as the rest of it.

However, there was a lot to like. There was a wonderful found family plot, which is one of my all time favourite tropes ever, because who doesn't love the warmth that it brings? The characters care about each other, they fight for each other. The plot, when it made sense, was great, it was very heroic and read like a an entertaining uplifting tale.

This would be great for younger readers as an introduction to fantasy.

~Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review~

[Jimmy Cearlock-Gibot · Rating 3 out of 5]

i purchased a signed copy of this book and was so excited to dive in. The descriptions and voice are great. Marin and Aster make for a great coming-of-age duo. But this story felt...off. Like it hadn't reached its full potential, leaving the story stunted. There were also things that seemed thrown in for the sake of having them when they could have easily been foreshadowed in Marin's books. A pond that reveals the truth? Blood Mountain? All things that could have been alluded to before we see them. And what made the Sword of Gryffin-- er -- *checks notes* Grythium magical? Where did the demigod and giant snake go? The initial conflict with the goblins was neat but the solution made me go "Are you serious right now?" And the final battle should have been against Torro, not the snake. That would have made was was promised on the back of the book much more palatable. This is like...diet fantasy. Fantasy for those who don't like much grit. It's not bad, but I guess the blurb had me expecting more.

[Anne Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the tale of two orphans, Marin and Aster, who were servants in the household of a retired witch until they discover each other, and run away. They meet many mystical creatures along their journey, and face many obstacles. They meet a mystical lady who tells them that they are to fulfill a prophecy regarding feuding kingdoms of the land, but first, they must rescue the princesses of Blunia, who are being held captive by the Goblins.

This book was an interesting premise, but I thought there were too many "gimmicks" added. (For example, did the two headed talking cow that gives tea or coffee instead of milk really need to be in the book at all?) The tale was interesting, but could have been just as good by leaving the superfluous stuff out altogether!

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advance reader copy of this book.

[carey ella smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

thank you to netgalley and indigo river publishing for giving me this eARC!

i unfortunately had to dnf this book. i tried really really hard to read this book, but i got a quarter of the way through and noticed myself doing anything i could to avoid reading it. i just didn’t really care about the characters i had been introduced to and i wasn’t very attached to the plot. i think the multiple plots happening simultaneously made it so that it took a while
to develop the characters and the world and it just took too long for me to feel like it was worth it to keep reading. i’m stilling giving it 3 stars because what i read was well written and it wasn’t unpleasant to read, i just wasn��t invested in what was going to happen.

[Paul Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written with great enthusiasm and love of storytelling, “The Tide & The Stars” is a fun ride.

I kept hearing Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” in my head as the story unfolded. Fans of T. Kingfisher and J. A. Zarifian will likely enjoy the fairy tale vibe of this adventure.

Solidly a middle grade read, might be great for young readers/writers who are interested in learning how to structure a story. The bones of this story may be too apparent for older readers, though I still found myself getting swept away from time to time despite being way older than the target demographic!

Thank you to Indigo River Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.

[Annie Sauder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet adventure story in which the question is asked if fate is in our own hands or written in the stars. It's a big theme in a young voice that isn't shy about reiteration, and the story itself is well-balanced between an earnest plot and it's self-aware tropiness. It reads like a nostalgic fairytale and has the vivid side characters of an 80s Henson film. It's a delightful (and almost... cozy?) fantasy read!

[E.M. McConnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely story: fairytale in quality, with two different POVs. It's detailed, strong worldbuilding, with a real hint of Narnia to it. If you like stories of young princes lost and princesses, this might be the one for you.

[Jeff Beesler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tide and the Stars is a wonderfully woven tale!

Author Dylan Roche has penned a great YA fantasy, full of adventure, magic, and intrigue. I enjoyed this book greatly, and look forward to reading more from Mr. Roche.