Rona didn't ask to be brought back from the Underworld, and now that she is alive again, she's angry enough to raise hell. It's a good thing too, because hell is coming for her. As the realm braces for another round of wars between the Gods and the demigods, Rona's fate is entangled with the unlikely heroes responsible for bringing her back to a golem marked by the Gods and a man with the touch of destiny upon him. As this questionable duo heads out to face the unknown and stop the realm from destruction, Rona will be damned if they're going to stop her from coming with them. Together, they embark on a quest to stop the war before it begins. For if they can't stop the demigods, the entire middle realm of Terath will be torn apart, and everyone in their way destroyed. But the fate of the realm isn't the only thing Rona has to worry about, because the past she killed herself to escape is about to catch up to her again.
E. J. Wenstrom believes in complicated heroes, horrifyingmonsters, purple hair dye and standing to the right on escalators so the leftside can walk. Her award-winning fantasy series Chronicles of the Third RealmWar features a mashup of mythology, folklore, and a little chaos. It starts with Royal Palm Literary Award Book ofthe Year Mud (#1), Tides (#2), and Sparks (#3), as well as the prequel Rain(#0).
When she isn’t writing fiction, E. J. Wenstrom is a regular contributorto DIY MFA and BookRiot,and co-hosts the FANTASY+GIRL Podcast.
With each book, Wenstrom gives us more and more depth to her world and characters. Rona comes across realistic-- which is necessary when you deal with gods, demi gods, and different planes of existence. Read this one. Trust me. You'll love it.
Loved Rona, she was such a great character and provided a lot more background to the world. This was super easy to read and consume. It never felt dragged out or too info dumpy. I would definitely recommend the series.
I read the first novel in this series and was mesmerized by E.J.'s prose, character development and all-around story-telling skills. So, I couldn't wait to read Tides when I saw it was coming out. I was given a free ARC for an honest review on this novel. And I have to tell you, this is like giving candy to a child then asking them to tell you honestly if they liked it. I LOVED IT!
Something E.J. does Very well is write Strong Female Protagonists. Rona was one woman no one wanted to mess around with. Well, except for the hopelessly dense. She was rescued from the underworld, even though she didn't want to be saved. An angel who is madly obsessed with Rona, haunts her dreams to lure her back to him. All the while, she's trying to strengthen her formerly dead body for a battle against the dangerous army of the dead. She has many odds against her. I couldn't flip the pages fast enough. Every time I thought, "I'm only gonna read 2 chapters tonight..." 2 turned into 3 then 4 then 5.
Even if I knew how the story ended when I picked it up to read, even if I knew every action and reaction that takes place in Tides, I would still read it for the beauty in E.J.'s writing. I will read this book again and I'm buying the paperbacks for my son. This will be a great gift for many this Christmas.
I am new to the stories of E. J. Wenstrom, and I read Tides without having first read the other books in this series. So I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to fall into this world and its characters.
Tides is actually the second book in the Chronicles of the Third Realm War series. The narrator, Rona, is part of a small group of heroes, determined to save their world from destruction in a war of gods and demigods. While Rona is the main character, I found myself wanting to know more about her colleagues, especially Calipher, an angel. It would be interesting to have more stories in this series that focus on these characters.
This book is short, coming in at just 263 pages, and if I have any criticism of the work, it is that I wish for another 100 pages. At times, I found myself reading a chapter, hoping for more description of the battle, more details of the conversation, and more indication of the internal conflict. It’s not that the writing is terse; it’s that the story could be so much larger. This is an interesting world, with epic consequences in the balance; this world needs more attention.
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway, sponsored by the author. I appreciate the opportunity to be introduced to series.
I’m only on page 64 but already involved with the story. The first 20 or 30 pages were slow but picked up immediately afterwards. This is the 2nd book in The Chronicles of the Third Realm War. Having read Mud, the first book, I’m already up to speed on the backstory. I think you could read this without starting with book one but knowing what came before is helpful. So far I like it.
Update: I’m finished and, as with most second books in any series, this one didn’t impress me as much as the first. Mud (#1) was filled with Aden, the golem, discovering his emotions. It was a satisfying story and left me waiting for book 2. Tides brings us into the beginning of the Third Realm War and, although the story is good, I just didn’t feel as emotionally attached to lead character Rona. That said, I’m still planning to read the next book because, don’t get me wrong, Tides is good I just missed watching the golem grow into a thinking feeling “person”.
I'm not entirely sure how I felt about this book. It started slow, but around midway, it became a book I couldn't put down. I'm the end, it was certainly worth the read, and I look forward to future books in the series.
*I received a copy of this book for free. The review is my own, honest and unsolicited.
I had to skip a bit of this book. Rona and Aden are great characters I really liked their story line. I did not appreciate Jordon’s story line in this book at all. Will never let my grandkids read this. Nor will I ever read anymore books by this author.
Good book! Liked the change in perspective, moving to Rona, made for a fun change! The battle at the end (fighting in the reality and dream realm at the same time) was a great read and a novel way to write (and read) the battle. Can’t wait to read the next book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Rona didn’t ask to be brought back from the dead, now she’s upset. What an interesting book that wouldn’t let me put it down until I finished. Received a free book.
Very imaginative. I like not being able to predict what happens next. But I find myself reading faster and faster in order to find out. This one had lots more typos, though, on almost every page. Whoever the copy editor is , they need to do better.
This is the second in the Chronicles of the Third Realm War series and an excellent next book in the series following the opening book "Mud" which I thoroughly enjoyed. In this book Rona, Jordan and Adem leave the sanctuary of their home in Haven to confront a menace, a vast army of warriors created from the sands of the desert, which they are unsure if they will be able to defeat this threat to their lives and their homes. The story is very well told and the characters are very believable and I loved the world creation. Highly recommended
In 2017, I read over 70 books, this being one of them. Tides was in my top 8 favorites, 1st in its category, for the year. This puts her in literary company with powerhouses in the industry: Michael Connelly, James Patterson, Lawrence Block, John Sandford, CJ Box, Craig Johnson, and even John Steinbeck.