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Tideborn #1
Lunatide
She thought she was starting her life.
Instead, something older has already claimed it.
Alaura Hayes has spent her life building stability from nothing—moving forward without family, without answers, without anything to fall back on but herself. After years of discipline and sacrifice, she’s finally on the edge of everything she worked for.
But when reality begins to shift in ways she can’t explain, she’s pulled into a world operating just beneath the surface of her own.
A world where power is watched, controlled—and where some people were never meant to exist at all.
Drawn toward something vast and unrelenting, Alaura is forced to confront a truth that reshapes everything she thought she knew about herself: the absence she grew up with may not have been abandonment.
It may have been concealment.
Because some things aren’t discovered.
They return.
Instead, something older has already claimed it.
Alaura Hayes has spent her life building stability from nothing—moving forward without family, without answers, without anything to fall back on but herself. After years of discipline and sacrifice, she’s finally on the edge of everything she worked for.
But when reality begins to shift in ways she can’t explain, she’s pulled into a world operating just beneath the surface of her own.
A world where power is watched, controlled—and where some people were never meant to exist at all.
Drawn toward something vast and unrelenting, Alaura is forced to confront a truth that reshapes everything she thought she knew about herself: the absence she grew up with may not have been abandonment.
It may have been concealment.
Because some things aren’t discovered.
They return.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 28, 2026
About the author
Micka Hill
4 books7 followersMicka Hill is the author of dark and mythic fantasy featuring Black women at the center of worlds that were always meant to belong to them. Her stories live at the intersection of ancient power and modern identity — where inheritance isn't just what's left behind, but what refuses to stay buried.
Her debut novel Lunatide — Book One of the Tideborn Series — follows Alaura Hayes, a law school graduate who spent her whole life believing she was no one's. She wasn't abandoned. She was hidden. And the ocean has been waiting.
Micka Hill writes for the readers who needed to see a Black girl chosen. Not rescued. Not explained. Just chosen — by power, by destiny, by the tide that was always hers.
She was never unclaimed. She was chosen.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 2, 2026
Makes you actually hug your book.
Im not sure that I have ever read a book that fully described the yearning for a home, a place where you belong, the feeling of being wanted, a part of.... in such a vivid way that you feel encapsulated by that longing all throughout the story. It truly evokes emotion and attachment to the character in such a unique way. This book takes you on Alaura's quest to capture that feeling. Her journey is woven through a wonderful water filled plotline that is unique and engaging. Friendship, loyalty, love and what you're willing to do for others is shown in multiple characters. Alaura has so many questions that can make her seemingly vulnerable while her tenacity propels her forward. There are so many things I would love to talk about more thoroughly but I don't want to spoil one second of this special journey for any reader. I enjoy water based stories and this book has that part that is so intriguing but layered with so much more than the overarching plot. I am so attached to Alaura and as a mom, there is one specific scene in the book that just squeezed my mom sized heart & filled it right up. Read this book.
Im not sure that I have ever read a book that fully described the yearning for a home, a place where you belong, the feeling of being wanted, a part of.... in such a vivid way that you feel encapsulated by that longing all throughout the story. It truly evokes emotion and attachment to the character in such a unique way. This book takes you on Alaura's quest to capture that feeling. Her journey is woven through a wonderful water filled plotline that is unique and engaging. Friendship, loyalty, love and what you're willing to do for others is shown in multiple characters. Alaura has so many questions that can make her seemingly vulnerable while her tenacity propels her forward. There are so many things I would love to talk about more thoroughly but I don't want to spoil one second of this special journey for any reader. I enjoy water based stories and this book has that part that is so intriguing but layered with so much more than the overarching plot. I am so attached to Alaura and as a mom, there is one specific scene in the book that just squeezed my mom sized heart & filled it right up. Read this book.
August 9, 2026
I wanted to love this book, but I really disliked the writing style. It kept taking me out of the story. If the writing would have been straight forward it would have been a 5 ⭐️ for me. The writing on the FMC’s part was repetitive and I had to reread several run on sentences to figure out what was being said.
I don’t mind poetic writing but it was overdone and became ridiculous and it made it hard to enjoy the story.
An example “ I ached for him. That was the word for it and I hated the word and it was the word.” Like why?! Another one: “I hated that part of me. I have always hated that part of me. It has never once cared what I hated it for”.
There are paragraphs of this throughout the book. It became annoying after a while. Overall the story was good.
I don’t mind poetic writing but it was overdone and became ridiculous and it made it hard to enjoy the story.
An example “ I ached for him. That was the word for it and I hated the word and it was the word.” Like why?! Another one: “I hated that part of me. I have always hated that part of me. It has never once cared what I hated it for”.
There are paragraphs of this throughout the book. It became annoying after a while. Overall the story was good.
August 18, 2026
Too Repetitive
The premise sounds good but every chapter felt like the same thing on repeat. I know that the author wanted to keep an air of mystery surrounding the storyline but she didn’t give us enough to want to continue. I really tried to get into the book but it wasn’t enough there. So, this is where I will abandon the mission. I will not voluntarily torture myself for book 2.
The premise sounds good but every chapter felt like the same thing on repeat. I know that the author wanted to keep an air of mystery surrounding the storyline but she didn’t give us enough to want to continue. I really tried to get into the book but it wasn’t enough there. So, this is where I will abandon the mission. I will not voluntarily torture myself for book 2.
August 1, 2026
Well well well, not only is the art work fantastic, so vibrant and dream inducing, but the writing is like room temperature butter on expensive bread, smooth and flows. My adhd brain is having a field day, this is what you call Black excellence in literature, and im so happy to see more Black women authors, keep going Queen!
August 30, 2026
liked the idea of this more than I liked some of the execution. Alaura finding out that she wasn’t actually abandoned and that there was this whole history behind who she was had me interested, and I really liked the connection to the ocean and her slowly realizing something was different about her. The biggest issue for me was the pacing. This is definitely a slow build and sometimes it felt a little too slow because I kept waiting for the story to really get moving. There were also moments where I wanted more explanation about the world and everything surrounding Alaura instead of having more questions added. I did like the friendships and the whole idea of her finally finding where she belongs though.
September 8, 2026
Great.
This book was just the right amount of information for the beginning of a story. Kept me guessing and then looking for more. Excited for book 2. I enjoyed reading
This book was just the right amount of information for the beginning of a story. Kept me guessing and then looking for more. Excited for book 2. I enjoyed reading
September 27, 2026
I’m trying to get through this, but God is it wordy! I wish the author would just say what she was trying to say without dancing around everything and trying to make it sound so deep and introspective. It’s just like what is the story!? I’ve skipped so many paragraphs cause it’s just way overdone. Every once in a while is fine, but every sentence? Girl. I don’t know if I’ll finish. I’ll update if I do.
August 26, 2026
Hate the way it's written, feels like she used a bunch of AI slop to pull it together. The cover is bad enough but the run on sentences, the way you have to re-read to understand.. the story itself is okay but other than that I hate it. Don't write anything else you need AI help for. Please.
August 15, 2026
Beautiful start to an interesting story
The author does a beautiful job of exploring the sense of longing and searching for a place to call home when you have nothing left to remember about where you came from. I am intrigued by the story and can’t wait to see why she is so important. When the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and you learn the connections. Is it punishment or purpose?
The author does a beautiful job of exploring the sense of longing and searching for a place to call home when you have nothing left to remember about where you came from. I am intrigued by the story and can’t wait to see why she is so important. When the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and you learn the connections. Is it punishment or purpose?
September 4, 2026
The writing style is a bit too poetic for my taste. The story itself is good, but I honestly skipped paragraphs of abstract descriptions.
September 8, 2026
3.75 ⭐️ I could’ve done without the romance with Caius. I wish fantasies didn’t always include a love story. I do enjoy reading about black woman belonging to the sea. Overall a good book, and would continue on in the series
September 5, 2026
I really love the concept of the story. However, I am not a fan of the author's writing style.
October 31, 2026
Beautifully written …
(Spoilers included) However, the way the author writes is almost poetic. Which I would love in a romance novel or a sad drama but it doesn’t quite fit here in fantasy. The way things are described are poetic in a way that can be interpreted differently and at times I just want something described in plain English. Every other sentence doesn’t have to be a beautiful puzzle to decipher. Every characters perspective is written in this style so in a sense everyone has the exact same voice. It would have made more sense to be in 3rd person. Because of this we truly don’t know each character everyone just feels like Alaura speaking for everyone else when it is Jordan’s chapter or someone else’s. Although the main character interacts with other characters it almost feels like I didn’t get to know any of them and have no reason to like any of them. Even the love interest is kind of thrown in the last few chapters (we meet him before but nothing about prior interactions leads you to believe he would be a love interest in fact the one person who seems like they could be she only interacts with a few times at a hotel and we don’t see him again) and with his fate of the failed contract I didn’t get to know him enough to care what is about to happen to him. Although her focus was a sense of belonging and to make it “home” and she does at the end of the book it still feel that wasn’t enough to not DNF. I wanted to love this but even with the few unanswered questions the book posed it doesn’t feel like enough to read the rest of the series at least for me. But because I enjoyed aspects of how the author writes I would be interested to read her other works especially if they are a different genre.
(Spoilers included) However, the way the author writes is almost poetic. Which I would love in a romance novel or a sad drama but it doesn’t quite fit here in fantasy. The way things are described are poetic in a way that can be interpreted differently and at times I just want something described in plain English. Every other sentence doesn’t have to be a beautiful puzzle to decipher. Every characters perspective is written in this style so in a sense everyone has the exact same voice. It would have made more sense to be in 3rd person. Because of this we truly don’t know each character everyone just feels like Alaura speaking for everyone else when it is Jordan’s chapter or someone else’s. Although the main character interacts with other characters it almost feels like I didn’t get to know any of them and have no reason to like any of them. Even the love interest is kind of thrown in the last few chapters (we meet him before but nothing about prior interactions leads you to believe he would be a love interest in fact the one person who seems like they could be she only interacts with a few times at a hotel and we don’t see him again) and with his fate of the failed contract I didn’t get to know him enough to care what is about to happen to him. Although her focus was a sense of belonging and to make it “home” and she does at the end of the book it still feel that wasn’t enough to not DNF. I wanted to love this but even with the few unanswered questions the book posed it doesn’t feel like enough to read the rest of the series at least for me. But because I enjoyed aspects of how the author writes I would be interested to read her other works especially if they are a different genre.
October 23, 2026
Interesting Read!!!!
Honestly it took me a while to read this book. It reads as a lawyer (which are part of what the characters are) but it was a little hard to follow. But over all it is a very interesting to read. Absolutely loved the storyline of the people that were thrown off the ships created their own home under the sea. It was messed up that even there people still hunted them to own and it harm them. As in life the people that are discarded are the same people others come back to find to harm or use until they are no longer useful to them. But discarded people most times than not are the people who learn how to survive regardless of the circumstances given them. Now that I’m invested I will live to read how everything worked out with all characters involved.
Honestly it took me a while to read this book. It reads as a lawyer (which are part of what the characters are) but it was a little hard to follow. But over all it is a very interesting to read. Absolutely loved the storyline of the people that were thrown off the ships created their own home under the sea. It was messed up that even there people still hunted them to own and it harm them. As in life the people that are discarded are the same people others come back to find to harm or use until they are no longer useful to them. But discarded people most times than not are the people who learn how to survive regardless of the circumstances given them. Now that I’m invested I will live to read how everything worked out with all characters involved.
November 2, 2026
The cover is what grabbed me! I love all things mermaid and when the representation looks like me even better! The writing style of this book is not for everyone! This is a book that you would have to take your time with. The story is written like your deep in the FMC's mind. You read how she processes her experiences as the story unfolds in an intimate way. It's quite poetic and beautifully written. Ultimately this is a story of self-discovery, family secrets, forbidden love, and a system that is designed to capture and keep you from gaining your full potential (sounds familiar 🤔) Book 2 coming in Feb 2027!
October 31, 2026
Not only is the physical book STUNNING but it was a journey I am so happy I decided to take!!!!! The world building was enchanting and constantly kept me wanting more and more! It was a slow burn but so worth it! Love the way the story unfolded and I cannot wait to get my hands on book 2!!! The characters were complex and interesting and everything…all the pieces of the puzzle just fit! Seriously loved this book!
September 25, 2026
good read
It took me a while to get into this book. I love poetry, but it’s not always the easiest to read and get into. This author definitely has a way with words, so if you looking for something simple, this is not it, but it’s deep. This story makes you feel an unexpected connection.
It took me a while to get into this book. I love poetry, but it’s not always the easiest to read and get into. This author definitely has a way with words, so if you looking for something simple, this is not it, but it’s deep. This story makes you feel an unexpected connection.
October 5, 2026
Just What I’ve Been Waiting For
This book was a thing that held me captive. The language, the way the phrases were turned somehow, initially put me off. However, once I was able to find the cadence and get comfortable in the stance/voice of the narrator, BABY!!!!! Un-PUT-DOWNABLE!!! I cannot wait for the next book. Let’s Go Sis!
This book was a thing that held me captive. The language, the way the phrases were turned somehow, initially put me off. However, once I was able to find the cadence and get comfortable in the stance/voice of the narrator, BABY!!!!! Un-PUT-DOWNABLE!!! I cannot wait for the next book. Let’s Go Sis!
October 17, 2026
If you like AI writing and imagery, I’d recommend this book to you. To everyone else, find something else to read. Which sucks because the idea behind the story was really good. But if you’re going to use AI to help you write, you’re not a real author. And having ChatGPT make your cover instead of using a real artist or even Canva is shameful.
October 28, 2026
A fascinating story about belonging and discovering one's self in this immersive sea setting. The romantic subplot was not necessary, but Alaura's personal journey on searching for a home felt so relatable. The reveal at the end intrigued me to read the next book.
November 1, 2026
Amazing
This book right here. This the one. From the beginning to the end. I love me a good story with african lure that can explain our lineage or attempt to retell it in something beautiful. Can't wait for part 2
This book right here. This the one. From the beginning to the end. I love me a good story with african lure that can explain our lineage or attempt to retell it in something beautiful. Can't wait for part 2
August 7, 2026
The writing was not my taste, which caused me not at enjoy the story as much but, I'm definitely open to reading more from Micka.
Did Not Finish
October 6, 2026This was just far too clunky for my liking. Tried getting into the story but it was trying so hard to be deep/poetic, it was distracting
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews