Crashing Tides: An M/M Shifter Romance

by Reyna Roan

340 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 28, 2026

Reviews

[Sandy Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting new PNR fated-mates romantic suspense from a new author. I’m glad to have read this one, despite my issues with the story. This one involves part fae, part other beings characters, and a magical university!

What I loved:

The situation. 22 year old Dominic’s mother has passed away, leaving him with an “I should have told you…” message and a disastrously messy house. The sense of secrets and possible dangers was strong and intriguing, and I was sucked right into the narrative.

The other MC, Duncan. His earnest kindness, his strength, his mysterious jumpiness around Dominic… I wondered what was going on with him and loved the realistic slow-burn development of their relationship (on one level, but not on another). His inability to talk around Dominic at first is adorable and poignant, and when we find out the (obvious) reason why, I felt for him. He couldn’t explain certain things to Dominic… but so clearly wanted to… he had to hold himself back… and struggled so hard to do that… he supported and appreciated Dominic even when Dominic gave no indication of interest, and I loved this guy. He was all-in, head-over-tail for Dominic, and I loved their eventual sex scenes, the tentative intimacy that explodes into hot passion, the slow connection, and the communication. They have a loveliness to them I really enjoyed.

I loved that their dynamic isn’t insta-love, but rather a wary, step-by-step stumble into attraction and are-we-or-aren’t-we dating that was charming. Both are guarded, both have very different reasons for being so. The realistic growth of it was authentic in a good way.

The fated-mates element is strong and appealing. I loved Duncan's tentative, fragile hope, his wariness about it, his knowledge that it will freak out Dominic, and how it all comes out in a dramatic fashion. (see below for what I didn't love)

The university. The classes on learning to use magic, prophecy, calling ghosts, history… I ate this up and just wish it had been clearer what Dominic’s actual affinities and power were and meant. This is I believe book 1 of a same-heroes series, but, a lot of the world-building details were a bit nebulous and I wanted more.

Jane! Dominic’s meeting and growing friendship with this awesome fellow part-fae student was strong and rewarding. And his roommate Aleo is also a strong character, if more of a comic relief than a developed friend character.

Dominic’s secrets! So intriguing to learn more about his heritage, who his father might be (could have used more info on that, more of Dominic caring about it, looking into the man he suspects might be his father, but… I think there’s more tk, so.. 🤷‍♀️). His heritage sounds very cool, fascinating, and I hope to learn more next book (yes, I will read on despite…)

What needed work:

Dominic. His character comes across as shallow, with a side of low self-esteem. He’s attracted to men who are good-looking and rich, and that never changes. I'm not sure where that came from, either--his mother seems the type to have instilled better values in him, and there's no info on how not knowing who his father is impacted him. He has little self-respect and seems to let anyone handsome and rich treat him like crap, so long as they’re paying the bills. His cheating ex-boyfriend is a piece of work, but rather than gaining some self-respect and truly moving on, Dominic continues to feel hurt about him, think about him out of the blue, and even after meeting and starting to get to know Duncan, Dominic is STILL thinking, I know if Jeremy wanted me back, I’d go running back. 🫩 Dominic is also an undiagnosed functioning alcoholic who becomes less functioning as he grieves for his mother and drinks a lot on campus, leading to some truly TSTL decisions that got frustrating, and I lost respect for him.

It was also off that it seems Dominic has been dating/hooking up with a LOT of older, established men for years, including his most-recently ended two-year relationship with cheater Jeremy, but Dominic is only 22. So… was he dating older men as a teen? In high school? What gives? I found that backstory oddly unspecific and… well, kind of unbelievable, given his age? Unless he’s a gold-digger who’s been seeking out handsome older rich men for years?

Dominic is also… not very interesting. His heritage is fascinating! But he, himself, is… not. I had no sense of him having interests he was passionate about. He was all about how good-looking he was, working out to stay attractive, and how he attracted good-looking rich men (who he then let walk all over him), as if that was all that was important in life. And that never changed. He’s a good person, but, not deep. Which was too bad as the secrets that start to swirl and be revealed about him are complex and layered. I don’t have a sense that he’ll be able to handle whatever is to come, because he continues to drink a lot (though at the end he says he knows he should stop, but, I don’t know that he can without help/support), not ask for help unless completely desperate, and not think logically.

Guess who is a good-looking rich guy? Yup. Duncan. And that is what attracts Dominic to him more than anything else. He mentions it a couple times. It gets better as they get more involved and he gets to know Duncan as a person and friend, but, the superficiality of Dominic’s view of why he is attracted to Duncan is, ironically, not a good look for him or for them. Duncan is far more invested in this relationship; Dominic is characterized as needing someone, anyone, and Duncan is conveniently into him, so Dominic goes with it. That put me off. Dominic is more rebounding from the awful Jeremy than really into DUNCAN as a person, and that was hard to read.

I also found it strange that 22-year-old Dominic, who has been to/graduated from college, is going back to college/university. Is he doing a master’s in magic, a subject he’s never studied? Is he repeating his college years at Halea so he can learn all new magic skills? When the college contact comes to his house, this is never even brought up, and it was weird/threw me out of the story. Doesn’t he have a job, a career? No? Not clear. He’s been caring for his very ill mother, so maybe he is a recent graduate and hasn’t yet found work.

It is also odd that, when the strange symbol connected to Dominic surfaces, neither he nor Jane thinks, hey, let’s ask one of our professors about it. That’s not even on their radar. 🧐🤷‍♀️ It turns out that it might have been dangerous to ask about it, but, they had no way of knowing that, and the lack of even discussing doing that was frustrating.

Then, there's a weird wolf-shaming element to the way Dominic sees Duncan/thinks about him. He keeps talking about "weird wolf stuff," and fated mates being weird, and I didn't get it… that is normal for wolf shifters. It's weird only to Dominic. Why was Duncan constantly apologetic for being himself? Why did Dominic keep thinking of it as "weird wolf shit" in a derogatory way?

I also was concerned about Dominic and the fated mate element. I loved the reveal and his reaction, but, I always struggle when one mate feels the pull and his intended doesn't. There's a place where we're told Dominic feels it, but, I didn't See him feeling it so didn't buy it. It was hard to see Duncan so hopeful, so all in, and Dominic having a foot out of the relationship all the time, needing to know he didn't have to be in it, having kind of a "we'll see, let's not get too comfortable with this" attitude and not seeming to see Duncan as particularly special, apart from… being handsome and rich. I really didn't get a sense that Dominic is falling for Duncan as a person yet, and that disturbed me. Dominic does value the friendship, and the sex is hot, but, Duncan doesn't seem particularly special to Dominic romantically. Not yet.

Also, for those who know me and my obsession with changing sheets… I had an opposite What? moment here, in that Dominic is shocked Duncan didn't change his sheets after they both slept in his bed. But. I don't think they got cum on the sheets, they just slept in the bed, so… why would he need to change his sheets? (Just laugh with me, those who know how hung up I am on needing at least clean sheets if you are with a new person in bed! 😂) Does Dominic change his sheets every day or something?

Overall though, I was immersed in the world and intrigued by the secrets revealed, drawn into the story and riveted by the situation and the potential in the romance. I look forward to learning more. And hopefully seeing Dominic develop more of the spine he finally started showing toward the end.

HFN. Secret paranormal/shifters world, revealed to the narrator hero after his mother’s death. Magical university. Classmates to lovers. No OM action. OM drama from the cheater ex, but, that is eventually shut down. Safe for me. TW for alcoholic hero/a lot of irresponsible on-page drinking that directly impacts Dominic and endangers him. Recommended, and I’m hoping the series gets stronger book over book.

My thanks to BookSirens for the ARC; this is my free and impartial opinion.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Book Sirens for the ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🔥🔥

I was sucked into this storyline immediately! MM romance, shifters, a magical university, secrets and lies. Yes to all of it.

When Duncan’s mom passes he is obviously devastated. What’s worse is that she uses her last breath to leave a very cryptic and unfinished message. In the midst of grieving and processing a lifetime of trauma, he then finds out he’s part fae and is invited to attend Halea University, a school for students with fae ancestry. Upon arrival he learns that shifters have been banned which makes him nervous because he doesn’t know much about who or what he is and his mother’s obsession with keeping him away from water his whole life leads him to believe it may have been for a reason.

I absolutely LOVED the storyline! It was interesting, dark and had me hooked the whole way through the book. I loved that Duncan’s grief was portrayed so realistically. Dude was a MESS which makes sense given that his whole world fell apart and then got flipped upside down. I loved that when Duncan meets Dominic it’s not love at first sight. There’s a pull of some sort but it doesn’t feel romantic until later on. Not usually a fan of a slow burn but this one worked. I loved that Duncan is terrible at magic and not some fae prodigy from the get. It’s all super realistic. Well minus all the fantasy elements 😂

Now what I don’t like. ALL of the characters, including the MCs feel non existent. It’s as if their only purpose is the get the story told. Every single one of them could be killed off and replaced and it would be ok as long as there were others to continue the storyline. I couldn’t tell you anything about them. They had virtually no personality. I loved not a single one. Thankfully with fantasy I am very much in it for the plot and this one was amazing in my opinion. You can have the best characters but if the story is dumb I will hate it. If you are not the same this book is not for you. I also wish there was more detail of when Duncan first got to Halea. He’s never been a part of the fae world and it very much felt like he just showed up at any old university. It should have felt grand. The magic system could have been explained more or just a general history of the fae/shifter conflict. Also, the main characters name isn’t mentioned until chapter 8. I thought I was crazy but I double checked. I’m sure that was likely an oversight.

Overall, I think this series has the potential to be insanely popular if all of the characters were actually developed. The writing was great. It kept me hooked, there was suspense and mystery. I loved the story. But I don’t think most people would even finish because of how flat the characters and dialogue feel. I personally plan to read the rest of the series as it’s released.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I’d been in survival mode for so long that I sometimes feel like I didn’t know who I was, what I was meant to do, where I was meant to go.”

This book covered Dominic's ongoing self-discovery.

One thing I especially enjoyed in this book was realizing about halfway through that Dominic and Duncan aren't made to be perfect protagonists. They aren't the typical “knight in shining armor” and “damsel in distress” pairing. They made questionable decisions and don't always get things right that brings more life to their characters.

It has more of a high-school-ey vibe than postgrad, which is cute and charming. It gives a youthful, coming-of-age feel.

I found myself wanting a little more tension between Dominic and Duncan during their first interaction. A few more stolen glances could have added even more mystery around Duncan and made their dynamic even more intriguing. The foundation is already there, and I could see how much potential their relationship has.

With some additional editing, this book could be even greater.

This ends with an HFN, and I look forward to reading the next book of the series!

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

[Holly Deacon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crashing Tides is the start of the series Half-Fae University. It starts with Dominic, losing his mother to cancer and being newly single after his ex boyfriend cheated on him.
Shortly after the funeral, he finds out his mother is half fae and attended Halea University. After doing more digging he gets a visit Orea, who works at the University. She offers him a spot at the University, to which he accepts. During the first week, he is told that shifters are no longer welcome at the University.
He later meets Duncan during one of his classes however their conversations are minimal until a point in the book where Dom shifts into a merman and finds out Duncan is a wolf. They both have to keep their secrets to themselves. After this night they begin a romantic relationship. I really enjoyed the large plot twist in this book, it kept me on my toes and my jaw DROPPED when the 'villian' was unveiled.
Im very excited to see where this series goes after the slight cliff hanger at the end. However it does end with a happy ending.

[Lotta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is written only from Dominic’s perspective, so we learn things as he learns things, which feels frustrating at times, but works since this is going to be a series.

I actually liked some parts of it, like when he figured out stuff about himself, but other times I wished someone else had explained more to him about things, as he quite literally knows basically nothing of fae and shifters.

I liked how realistic Dominic was written as he learned and struggled.

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

It leaves a problem to solve for the next book, but it didn’t feel like a cliffhanger. Also, I wish the shifter ban thing was explored more, as it came up in the blurb and was briefly touched upon, but I guess that’s also for the next books.

One thing that felt weird was that the professor of prophecy wasn’t concerned at all about the things that Dominic saw?/conjured? during class.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Respectfully, I felt this read as YA when the characters were early 20s and exploring master degree programs at a college for fae. The world building was lacking. And honestly, there is a plethora of orphan (or close enough) discovers they are "other" books, so I was hoping this would really stand out.

The relationship takes more than half the book but it felt pretty instant once it happened because there were few scenes between the two. One of the scenes felt super close to Twilight. I feel like this should be longer in order to develop the characters and plot. There were some unanswered questions but it sounds like this is a first book so maybe those get answered at a later time. For all that, it was a cute, quick read, and I would recommend it to people looking for just that.

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

[antonia🫧 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the author via BookSirens & this review only contains my honest thoughts and feelings about this book.💐

First of all, even after learning a little why Dom's mother was the way she was, I still think she was paranoid and downright abusive and nobody will ever make me like her.

That being said, I'm so so glad Dom found Jane on his first day (or rather Jane found him), even though I was a bit hesitant to like her at first, but she's a good friend!

Duncan could have handled the whole mate thing a lot better but he's a cuuuutie.

I loved the world building (if you can call it that) and the premise was really really interesting, a different take on fae.

The author left us on an open ending and we definitely NEED book 2 ASAP, I have so many questions unanswered!!

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This sounded so good, but the writing is just not for me.
Missed words, so much apathy and disdain being spoken. Literally every character seems to be disapproving of Dominic.
It's very irksome.
I tried. Really tried. Once I got to chapter 4 though, it just went downhill for me.

I received an ARC from Book Sirens for my honest review.

[Kaitlyn Isaacs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sometimes have trouble getting into single POV books, but Crashing Tides is definitely an exception. I loved learning more about Dominic’s mother, and watching Dominic and Duncan’s relationship blossom was really cute. I’m already eagerly awaiting the next book in the series!

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