[Review] Whisper of the Tide by Sarah Tolcser

ABOUT

Title: Whisper of the Tide

Author: Sarah Tolcser 

Series: Song of the Current #2

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release Date: June 5 2018 

Goodreads Page

Synopsis:

Caro Oresteia spent her life waiting to be called by the river god, as those in her family had been for generations. But when she’s swept away on an adventure to save the Akhaian royal prince, Markos, her destiny is sealed by the sea god instead.

For now, Caro is landlocked, helping Markos reclaim his throne after nearly his entire family was assassinated in a political coup. Without any financial or military support, Markos is desperate for allies, and Caro has fought off more than one attempt on his life. When a powerful Archon offers his army in exchange for Markos’s marriage to his daughter, Caro must choose: Her love for Markos, or the fate of Akhaia? And more importantly: How much is she willing to risk to defy the sea god’s wishes and chart her own course?

With shipwrecks, lost treasure, old and new enemies, dark magic, and breathtaking romance, Sarah Tolcser weaves another epic story about chasing your fate.

I received an advance copy from the distributor in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion whatsoever.

Whisper of the Tide picks up several months after the point at which Song of the Current finishes. Caro and Markos are super cute and they are making sense of their place in each others' lives. Markos is trying to puzzle out his role in Akhaia's future and his duty to his people. Meanwhile, Caro is doing her best to keep her promise in aiding Markos and figuring out her own place in his life when her soul belongs to the sea. Enter the Archon's proposal to Markos -- marry his daughter and he will provide the necessary troops to back Markos' rightful claim to the throne. With this offer quickly expiring, Markos and Caro must figure out their priorities -- their love or the fate of a country.

Song of the Current was such a fantastic read. It touches on fate and being meant for something more and the gods that guide their paths. It is such a book that characterizes all the things that I love -- tricky gods and their lore, pirates and revolutionaries and royalty, some magic, some political intrigue and some really great characters. Whisper of the Tide takes that and ups the ante. The stakes are so much higher in this book with Markos' life constantly hanging in the balance and Caro continuing to grapple with her own fate. So much more seems to happen in this book as well. There's a lot of sailing and a lot of journeying back and forth to the various places that the story happens in.

Really, one of the standout aspects of this book is all the strong female characters, whether they be good, bad or morally ambiguous. While the strong female characters were prevalent in Song of the Current, they truly shine in Whisper of the Tide. We meet so many truly interesting female characters who are strong in their own way, like Long Dido -- the six foot something, enigmatic, not quite human, pirate Queen. She is such a fascinating character in the brief moments we get to meet her and I hope that Tolscer has something planned for her since she does have that sort of perennial, ageless quality to her. Another one of the more interesting female characters, is Lord Peregrine's wife who we only get to meet briefly in the beginning, but what she does reveal is so telling as to who she is -- an intelligent, cunning woman who would like to know all the paths that lay before her to make the best decision. Truly a Slytherin.

Fate is such a strong running theme throughout this duology. Where Song of the Current touches on accepting one's fate when it comes for you, Whisper of the Tide is about challenging the fate handed to you. Caro is never without a fight in her when things don't go the way she'd like them to and it is no different with the fate that is handed to her by the Sea Goddess. Markos grapples with his own fate that he has been pushed into by the people around him simply because the empire is seen as his birthright. He doesn't really want to be emparch at all, but as he was born into the Andela family, it is seen as his duty to fight for the throne.

There are definitely some tidbits that are sprinkled into the book that leave room for a companion series or something of the like, and I would really be more than happy for something like that to happen. Whisper of the Tide really wraps up the story nicely, despite my desire to read more of Caro and Markos. However, there is so much more of this world that I want to see, like Long Dido and little Daria and maybe more of the shadowmen. This duology is such a strong fantasy series and one of my favourites now. I look forward to whatever Tolcser puts out in the future.

Happy Reading!