(This review contains spoilers for “Broken Flames” and “Warring Tides.”)
After fleeing the kingdom of Abelon, Koraine and Bellamy must seek allies from other kingdoms in the book “Warring Tides,” the sequel to “Broken Flames.” The series follows Bellamy, the prince of the fire kingdom called Abelon, Koraine, the daughter of an esteemed general of the water kingdom called Morwen, and Nyla, Bellamy’s sister and princess of Abelon.
Bellamy and Koraine were originally forced into an arranged marriage where, despite all odds, they fell deeply in love. With the king threatening Koraine’s life, the pair now must leave Abelon. During their preparations, Bellamy ran out of time to convince Nyla to flee with them, so now the couple must convince the other kingdoms to aid them in a war against Abelon while avoiding capture by an enraged Nyla.
Truthfully, “Warring Tides” is disappointing because it does not live up to the expectations set by the first book for the most part.
To start off, there are many instances of grammatical errors. A few errors here and there are completely understandable, but the errors occurred far more regularly than they should have for a published book. At one point a character’s name is even spelled wrong, but the grammatical errors aren’t the main issues with this book.
Nyla’s character in this book is completely intolerable for the most part. She constantly blames the abuse she receives from her father on Koriane and Bellamy for leaving her behind.
However, Bellamy tried to get Nyla to flee Abelon with them, but Nyla refused. Bellamy didn’t have any more time to convince her, because Koraine’s life was in danger. If Nyla had gone with them when she was asked, she wouldn’t have suffered as much.
Instead, she blames mainly Koraine for everything that happens once they leave. Nyla is convinced that, once Koraine is out of the picture and Bellamy returns home, things will just go back to normal.
It is extremely irritating how she hardly blames herself or her father for what happened until the end of the book. Speaking of which, Nyla only realizes her actions and feelings are wrong only after Koraine uses her water balities to knock her out.
It doesn’t seem reasonable that, after she wakes up from being knocked out and finds out her father’s dead, she realizes the error in her ways. It begs the question: Why didn’t Nyla realize she was wrong earlier?
Overall, Nyla’s character wasn’t the best, but that doesn’t mean the book doesn’t have great aspects.
Bellamy and Koraine’s relationship is simply adorable in “Warring Tides,” especially how Bellamy talks about Koraine both out loud and in his inner monologue.
For example, when the couple is dancing at a party, his only focus is on Koraine and in his inner monologue he says, “My stunning wife, who gave me a reason to push on and a reason to fight. She was worth fighting for.”
This quote is just one of many swoon-worthy quotes from Bellamy that are simply incredibly charming and sweet. This is just one aspect of their precious relationship.
There is also the fact that Koraine was willing to go against her own kingdom in order to protect Bellamy. The contrast of this particular part and how she valued her kingdom above all else in “Broken Flames” showed just how far she has come from that scared girl being forced to marry the enemy prince.
In summary, “Warring Tides” doesn’t live up to “Broken Flames,” but the book still has amazing characteristics.
