Dark Tides
Publication Date: November 24, 2020
Dark Tides is book two in the Fairmile Series created by Philippa Gregory. Once again Philippa has created an amazing story with an unforgettable cast of characters and a series that is intriguing and heart breaking. Even with this being book two in this series it can indeed be read as a stand alone, as the author does an excellent job in filling in gaps the reader will need to aid in understanding.
Our story begins twenty-one years after the first book, Tidelands, ended. Alinor is now living in London with her daughter, Alys. She is still selling her herbal remedies while Alys busies herself running a receiving warehouse for ship freight out of their warehouse/home. We find out that Rob is now living in Venice practicing his doctoring skills and Alys and Alinor are raising two children between them. The women are still hardworking as ever, but are not having to scrape from one day to the next as they previously were. The two children raised between them are at the completion of apprenticeships, hopefully creating a better life for their future families than the ones their mother and grandmother have had. Ned, Alinor's brother, is now living in the New World, because he could not stomach living in England with the king on the throne again after fighting against the king to be a free man. The horrible circumstances at the ending of book one seem to be a distant memory and the family seems to be pulling themselves up out of their previous shames. Unfortunately, as the title hints, dark tides are coming to wash over the family in London as well as the New World.
A visitor arrives at the warehouse one day with a baby and a maid in tow and claims to be Rob's widow. Alys immediately arises to trying to help the woman out being a diligent sister to Rob and trying to honor his memory. Alinor, however, is very skeptical about her newly introduced daughter-in-law, Livia. Rob's proclaimed widow, is Italian, beautiful, and plays deeply on the family's heart strings. She quickly has Alys wrapped around her finger doing anything and everything she asks. Personally, I found this to be a shadowing of Alys's character from Tidelands she again lets her heart blind her, this time almost bankrupting what her and her mother built over the last two decades.
Ned in the meantime is facing his own troubles in the New World. He is enjoying living on his plot of land as a free man, but questions his freedom and the actions of his fellow colonist. Ned finds that he can relate more to the local Indians than his fellow country men and has a very hard time understanding the ideals of the colonist wanting to encroach and rule over the Indians that so graciously helped them when they begin their settlement. The colony quickly starts to feel like the monarchy he left and he questions his loyalty to the colonist versus the Indians.
Dark Tides is a very inspirational installment to the Fairmile series. It brings the reader news of hope from Tidelands. Alinor, Alys, and Rob came from nothing but are moving up in the world on their honesty and dependability. I found myself glad to see characters deserving justice getting theirs in Dark Tides, were as in Tidelands the good honest people seemed to be the ones constantly being held back. Dark Tides left me feeling that honesty and hard work will always pay off well in the end, while as lies and deception will always get their justices eventually.
Thanks so much to Netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy for an honest review!
For Purchase: Dark Tides
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