Does The Tides of Xanthia by Evelyn Briar deserve a place on your bookshelf? I was lucky enough to be given an ARC (Advanced reader copy) of this book prior to it’s release on the 16th April. This was in exchange for an honest review, so although I did receive this copy for free all my thoughts are 100% genuine. No spoilers – I promise.
What is The Tides of Xanthia about?
Things you may expect to see when walking your dog on the beach… Shells, seaweed, rocks, a hot man dressed up in a shirt and trousers washed up on the sand? No? Alianna wasn’t expecting that either. When she finds this handsome stranger she completes her good deed for the day and helps him. She goes with this stranger, Rionan, to the hospital to ensure he is ok. Following that they keep bumping into each other. Coincidence or fate? This sparks an undeniable attraction that is hard to ignore. The only issue with this is that Rionan isn’t actually from this World. He is an immortal lord of Western Xanthia, his people and his realm are locked in a deadly battle. The solution must be somewhere in Ali’s world, but what is it, and who can help him find it?
Why is it different to other romantasy books?
If you are a romantasy fan like me then you know the formula by now, girl meets boy. Girl is quite often poor, boy is quite often a prince. They have an undeniable attraction and find out they are bonded soul mates. Girl moves to boy’s world, there’s a war. They win and live happily ever after. Well The Tides of Xanthia is different, a little bit anyway.
Quite often romantasy books are set in a time that is difficult to place, but it definitely doesn’t seem relatable to modern day. That’s where this book is different. Alianna’s world is modern day, there are things we all know and recognise such as coffee shops and mobile phones. It was so refreshing to read a fantasy that was set in a world I recognised. It meant the usual extensive world building wasn’t required, I know many can struggle with this. Whereas Evelyn Briar just jumps straight into the story.
The majority of the book is set in Alianna’s world, I know this will change as the series goes on – hopefully! It again is something different to other romantasy books and avoids it feeling samey.
The characters in The Tides of Xanthia
There are lots of likeable characters in this book. Let’s start with Rionan. Most of the time we are used to brooding males with one word answers, but he is the exact opposite. He’s friendly, funny and adorable. I have seen other reviews liken the character to a golden retriever, and I totally get that. I like that he seems kind, caring and emotionally mature, as you would if you were hundreds of years old!
Alianna is just like any of us, which is what makes this book so great. It could be us that finds a lord from another realm washed up on the beach. I love how practical she is, when she realises that Rionan’s world needs saving, she’s like ‘How we doing this?’ One of the parts of the book that stands out to me is when Alianna and Rionan are getting ready for a date and she decides to wear a red dress. We’ve all been there where we wear an outfit that makes us feel really confident. ‘Be the girl in the red dress’, is definitely something I will say to myself when I need a confidence boost.
I hope her dog Shadow plays more of a role in the next books because I feel like she just kept leaving him with her friend Natasha. At one point I think she says that he’s with her so much they have shared ownership 😂.
An escape from reality
Although this book is set in a modern day world, there are still enough elements to give you an escape from reality. The relationship between Rionan and Alianna feels natural and develops at a good pace. The bedroom scenes give off perfect spicy vibes, there’s a scene where Alianna is sat in an armchair, I won’t say any more!
When we travel to Rionan’s world I personally felt there could have been more world building, but by that point we were building up to the big battle. Speaking of the battle, I felt the battle in the story felt rushed. As did the last part of the book to be fair. However, the cliff hanger ending has left me wanting more.
Final thoughts
If you are new to romantasy then The Tides of Xanthia by Evelyn Briar is the perfect book for you. It doesn’t have chapters and chapters of world building, and the characters are fun and relatable. Even if you are already a romantasy fan, this is different to other romantasy books and honestly makes a refreshing change. Overall, definitely worth a read, so look out for it on April 16th.
If you would like more information about the book and author you can find it here:
Preorder: Amazon
Evelyn’s social media: Instagram
