Soaring Tide: When two lost souls meet…

by Martina D.

SOARING TIDE
When two lost souls meet…

VISHA

Sitting alone on a sidewalk on Christmas Eve, freezing, he waits. No matter how cold the night gets and snow is, the man emanates with warmth and his smile is bright. For the boy, he’s a savior who came to take him away from his misery. His life begins when the man’s kindness melts the frost away.

AOI

He who has no place in the world, no one to love anymore, steps over the edge. He wishes for nothing in life and hoped to end it that night, but fate had it otherwise. If he couldn’t help himself, he’d at least help this little boy.

Will this found family last forever?

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Gay

374 pages, Paperback

Published December 11, 2024

About the author

Martina D. is a passionate writer of MM and FF books with dark themes and A LOT of yearning. Known for twisting her reader's hearts in knots with her heartbreaking stories, she doesn't shy away from touching on harsh subject and bringing awareness to them. When she's not plotting new books, she spends her time reading, crocheting, and pursuing her English degree.

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Reviews

[⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚Tiara (Alec’s Bestie)🏹 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow wow wow!!

You know these books when you finish them feel like a 5⭐️ book?? You instantly know “yes this is a 5⭐️”
This was such a book for me<33

I don’t know where to start?!
First of all how can this be her debut Novel?!
She’s so young and published such an amazing book

I’m so in love with all the characters especially Aoi( I mean sorry?! He’s the Best :()

I love visha too ofc, and his friends are so amazing and funny I loved the scenes with him and them

The writing is so fast paced I couldn’t put it down, every free minute I was reading this masterpiece

I wish I could meet all these characters especially Aoi and give him the biggest hug and never let him go ever again :(

The last 10 pages I had teary eyes omg autsch😭

The whole book was such a rollercoaster💞
Wich I always love <3

The book went into a complete different way than I thought it would
But I loved the way it turned!!

All in all an amazing book for a debut and for such a young author 😻

I’m so excited for the next book and for every book she’s gonna publish in the future<3 I can’t wait

So so ready for all the hype it’s going to get💞and I can proudly say that I read it before the big hype
I can definitely see myself re-reading this

Happy reading bbs<3

[douaeknowyou? · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

"They're my family. You can't lose your people. Even when you turn the light off, you can always find them by simply closing your eyes and letting that bond and the stars guide you."

You know those books that silently creep into your heart and then suddenly you're awake at dawn, clutching your chest, wondering how words on paper can hurt so good? Yeah, this is one of those.

Visha and Aoi's story is a masterclass in found family dynamics, wrapped in a tender age-gap romance that'll make your heart do somersaults. There's something magical about watching Visha's protective instincts kick in that winter night – one moment he's just living his life, the next he's bringing in a stranger from the cold, and somehow it feels like the most natural thing in the world. (Side note: my heart might have melted. Several times.)

The author paints their world with such vivid strokes that every scene feels like a photograph you could step into. The side characters aren't just fillers – they're the warm embrace around our main couple's story, adding layers of depth that had me invested in every single subplot.

But that cliffhanger? I'm currently organizing a support group for readers who need to know what happens next. Applications are open, bring snacks and theories.

P.S. This might be one of the first reviews for this hidden gem, and I'm calling it now – this book deserves all the hype it's about to get.

[kavya (warner’s version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book literally DROWNED me. I knew I was gonna be a sobbing wreck when I was done with this book but I didn’t know how connected I would get to the characters too. I hate everyone in this book besides the two main characters. The yearning was literally out of this world.

(Spoilers ahead)

Jason can literally go to hell I hate him and I’m like 100% sure it was his plan to send Visha to freaking across the world. And then to cut off all connections possible to Aoi and they can’t ever talk??? And he can’t even know that Visha didn’t truly want to go to France. I’ve got grudges against this book.

It was soo heavy and building up on that crazy angst with every subplot and by 50% in the book I was utterly done with my heart constricting and expanding with every action or word the main characters say or think. I decided I was only gonna finish this book for answers until I finally finished it after chapters and chapters of pain and love, but then realised I didn’t get answers to anything but got more insane questions instead. Wtf 😭😭. Even the acknowledgments made me cry.

All things aside Martina’s an amazing author and I hope she knows every sentence was actually heartbreakingly beautiful and I’m still thinking about everyone in that book weeks later. I need the rest of the series rn. I need another rollercoaster just as scary and entertaining but hopefully incredibly less Jason and fucking France asshole brother, but more Visha and Aoi living their best life.
A girl can hope..

[Sarah☀️ Somerville]

DNF @ 40% - too much; couldn’t do it.

[Érica´s chapters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of beta-reading this book and I know that this makes me quite biased regarding my opinion about the book but I am above all honest and critical, and I can say that it was a very easy job because the story is very good and promising. In addition to pointing out human and linguistic errors, I experienced feelings of anguish, pain and distress. I cried a lot while reading the book.

Soaring Tide is the first in a dark mm romance trilogy, where the romance will take place later. In this first one we start with Aoi on Christmas, the day he planned to kill himself. His plans are forgotten when he meets a boy on the bridge, wearing clothes not suitable for the cold. Aoi quickly realizes that he is the only solution to guarantee the boy a good life outside of a terrible foster family and they become a beautiful found family. Aoi, who was 22 years old at the beginning of the action, does everything to give this life to the young Visha, who is 12. Time passes and Visha is in love with Aoi, but for clear reasons and limits well worked out by the author, this is not reciprocated by Aoi (in the future, and in a legal and respectful way, this will be a possible reality - I am only concluding this on my own because the author did not tell me anything). However, the happy family that was created is about to end when information about Visha's past comes to light.

I would love to dedicate some of my strength to recommending this book to everyone, for the beauty of its writing and all the themes it addresses, from mental health to toxic relationships and real families, not those formed by blood but by love. Martina is not a native English speaker but she perfectly conveys her feelings in any language she can. I found so many things there that were as beautiful as possible and worthy of tears and underlining. I'm eagerly awaiting the second in the collection.

[alex]

truly so sweet aoi and visha’s bond is the purest ever and written so beautifully. aoi is the best book man ever my baby i need him happy forever and ever. all the dialogue was so realistic and done so well im yearning for more 😩

[Armita · Rating 5 out of 5]

my heart is shattered in pieces, can't wait for the second book

[saintvitiosisgf · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I love you too. Now and forever.”
“Now and forever,” I repeat after him.
Now and forever.”

[Anke · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️

Okay so I haven't finished this book yet, currently at the 80% mark but apparently it ends on a cliffhanger... so I'm going to wait until the next part comes out, and then I'll finish this book.

BUT I LOVED IT SO FAR 🗣🗣

[Lauren ♡︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/3.5 stars

I was so excited to start this book, but I think it just wasn't exactly what I was expecting.

I think this book could have been amazing but the writing fell short and confused tf out of me

for the first part Visha is a young child of 12 and we get to read chapters in his POV but the writing sounds nothing like a 12 year old, and it threw me off so much. He sounded older than his age but also just very odd and clunky at the same time.

I feel some parts of this book were unnecessary and just irritating really and the writing felt so juvenile.

The plot was captivating, and I want to find out what happens next

This wasn't a horrible book by any means with really intriguing plot and complicated situations. I think the writing of the characters' inner dialogue just lacked so much that it made me enjoy reading it less.

[Swathy Krishnan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly speaking this was just a roller coaster. It lacked in mnayyy places.. and it is my fault that I didn't check the summary of genre before reading. Initially I just thought oh maybe this is a feel good book where a 22 year old depressed boy finds a 12 year old orphan and raise him and they face struggles together. But no.. I was wrong. Soo soo wrong. It is a mm dark romance. My god... It was all jumbled.. too many unwanted details... This book could've been just 200 pages if all the unnecessary details were removed


2.5/5

[Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was simply so amazing that I finished it in one day...!!!
I simply couldn't wait to see what happened next.
Bot Aoi amd Visha have my heart, especially Aoi.
Because he is such a pure and gentle soul, tainted by circumstances...
I can't wait for the next book!! Please Authour release it as soon as possible
Thank you for this amazing book!!!

[Sarthak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished Soaring Tides and I have to say—it’s truly the best MM novel I’ve ever read. The story, the plot, and the chemistry between the characters were absolutely outstanding. I was completely drawn in from start to finish.

I’m eagerly waiting for Book 2 in the series, and I honestly feel this beautiful story deserves a movie adaptation one day.

[Aysha Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

starting this book on working days was a big mistake. because I wasn't able to put this book down when I started it. It was too good. and I instantly loved it. I literally can't wait for second book. I need it rightttt now.
also I couldn't hate Jason in this book. I don't know about upcoming one. yeah, He was an adult and Aoi was a minor when they got into relationship morally it was wrong, I get it. But he didn't force himself on Aoi. and Aoi himself said Jayson dots for him. so yeah. hating Jayson felt unnecessary.

and i felt Visha should have told Aoi about the threatening. but he didn't. which didn't felt right. and is this novel was based on manhwa or maybe any bl series? because It has some cliches n all. but was a good read. and yeah, there is room for improvement. I think. how Aoi managed to raise him? this topic was completely neglected only saying is was hard for him n all. sooo. yeah.