Air and Ash

TIDES, Book 1

De: Alex Lidell

Narrado por: Kaitlin Bellamy

Master and Commander meets Sarah J Maas in a seafaring adventure of duty, love, magic, and a princess's quest to protect her kingdom on her own terms.

After a lifetime of training, 17-year-old Princess Nile Greysik, a lieutenant on the prestigious Ashing navy flagship, sails into battle with one vital mission - and fails.

Barred from the sea and facing a political marriage, Nile masquerades as a common sailor on the first ship she can find. With a cowardly captain, incompetent crew, and a cruel, too-handsome first officer intent on making her life a living hell, Nile must hide her identity while trying to turn the sorry frigate battle worthy. Worse, a terrifying and forbidden magic now tingles in Nile's blood. If anyone catches wind of who Nile is or what she can do, her life is over.

But when disaster threatens the ship, Nile may have no choice but to unleash the truth that will curse her future.

Air and Ash is the thrilling first installment of the TIDES series. Recommended for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Tamora Pierce, and David Weber.

©2017 Alex Lidell (P)2017 Alex Lidell

Fantastic!!

Loved this story! Very immersive, I could easily picture what was going on and was drawn into the story. I loved the characters. Fantastic narrator she really brought the story to life with various accents and emotions. Great YA listen that I highly recommend. Can’t wait to hear the next book! I received a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

A Fun and Exciting Listen

If you haven’t heard of this book yet, I have no idea why – it’s amazing, it’s fun, and it features a kick ass heroine (and seafaring adventures, guys) that you will instantly fall in love with the book, the characters, and if you listen to the audiobook, you’ll also fall in love with the narrator because she does such a fantastic time bringing the story to life.

The whole plot of this book is so much fun – I’m always on the lookout for something new, and fantasy is my absolute favorite, so I was super stoked to check this book out, and I was definitely not disappointed. There are both magic and curses tangled within a complicated sea adventure that you really can’t put down.

The characters, especially the main character, Nile. She was fierce, she was determined to protect her people the best way she could, and she was so full of courage that I couldn’t help but find myself drawn into her. The way she is written and how the narrator voiced her was incredibly well done. She did such a great job on the other characters in the book too – some of them really made me smile, too. I would love to listen to other audiobooks by this narrator.

This is one of those books that really takes you out of the real world and along for an adventure. While I never really listened to that many audiobooks until recently, this is one that I really loved and was able to get into with no problem. I usually find my mind wandering and drifting when I listen to audiobooks, so when I find one that really captures my attention, it makes me so happy!

I also loved how detailed this story was – the author put a lot of time and creativity into this book, and it made it such a good read (or listen, in this case!).

The world building is amazing – there is so much detail and it paints such a beautiful picture of everything – the ocean, the ships – everything.

Definitely check this one out if you’re a fan of fantasy. This is probably one of the most interesting ones that I’ve picked up!

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Alex Lidell. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Air and Ash

Would you choose a free life with magic or an imprisoned life in a loveless royal marriage? For Nile Greysik, princess and lieutenant of the Ashing Navy flagship, the sea calls to her. Being one with the seaman is such a better life than to be cooped up in a castle with royalty commanding her every move. Where is her freedom? Where is her passion? After a mission aboard the navy flagship fails very badly, Niles wakes up two weeks later in the safety of her own bed…not aboard a ship.That isn’t even the worst part…she discovers that she has failed her captain, his death and many others who died weigh heavily on her. But, then her twin brother drops the biggest bombshell of all. She is to be in an arranged marriage…per her mother’s wishes as a way to keep her away from the sea. What could be any worse than giving up your freedom for the rest of your life? Lidell spins an invigorating story, filled with adventure and magic.

Niles and her twin brother were close, but then he was “diagnosed” with a magical ailment. The magic is not so much the burden…but what comes as a side effect of being able to possess such power is mind crippling. She is surprised that he even still has the capacity to keep himself alive. Through rigorous testing and countless evaluations, it was finally determined that she did not possess the magical gene…which tends to run in families. Being that the sea calls to her, she knows that she just can’t be tied down forever. After her brother has a near death experience, she meets a man who seems nice enough but later finds that nothing is ever as it seems. To run away from everything on the nearest ship seems to be the only escape from the life that she is sure to dread. What adventure or challenges will be in store for her next, being that she will have to hide her identity? As if that wasn’t enough…strange headaches and magical sensations begin spiraling through her blood, threatening to end her life if she doesn’t let it out.

Lidell has a terrific story-line with exceptional character development. All of her characters are entertaining, fierce, and determined. The pace is fantastic; fast-paced and the narrator was highly entertaining. Bellamy’s accent is absolutely beautiful and perfect for this story. She changes pitch and vocalization for every character and adds sounds for special effect. Bellmay’s representation of each character seemed to be spot-on! This review is complimenting the audiobook. If you are a reader of science fiction and young adult fantasy, you may want to pick this one up.

A copy of this audiobook was provided to Turning Another Page by Audiobookworm Promotions, but this in no way affects our honest opinion of the book or the review that has been written. We provide a five-star rating for Air and Ash by Alex Lidell, narrated by Kaitlin Bellamy.

Can't wait for more!

I found the Tides series when I was originally looking to see if Audible has versions of Kaitlin Bellamy's Mapweaver Chronicles. Although they don't seem to have those yet, I found out that Kaitlin Bellamy did the narration on this series, so I gave them a listen and loved them immediately! My only issue now is that I raced through them and now I have to wait for the next book to come out!

The Tides characters are believable in both their talents and flaws. The magic system is well-formed with a unique take on the classic idea that "all magic comes with a price," and the characters' magic causes issues just as often as it solves them. I also love the spectrum of opinions among Lidell's characters on everything from magic to gender roles.

Bellamy's narration is a delight as always, propelling the story forward with an energy that doesn't sacrifice nuance. Her use of accents helps bring the characters and world to life, making it feel for the reader that they are truly on these ships meeting people from so many different lands and cultures.

I can't wait for the next book to come out!

Simply Outstanding

This book was one of my favorites this year. From a completely unknown author (at least to me) came a story that I thought would be interesting, but ended up being fantastic.

The book centers around a young, female main character who is a princess and the youngest royal child of a seafaring nation. Locked in a decades-long war with a stronger foe, she has spent the last several years on the flagship of her nation's navy.
When she learns that her family intends to marry her off to a neighboring ally (meaning she will never see the ocean again), she fakes her identity and joins the allied naval alliance as an enlisted seaman. While serving amongst a crew of rejects beneath the notice of her previous assignment, she begins to discover and experiment with her ability for wind magic. However, her new superior knows more than he should about her background and potential abilities, and she is growing far too close to him...

One thing I liked about the magical aspect of the book specifically was that magic is limited. There is no free lunch, and the main character is not invincible with power. In the world of the book, all magic comes with a price. For example, the main character can control the wind but is plagued by fainting spells and dizziness. Another example, as it is explained, is that those who control water have blood that won't clot. This made for an interesting twist on magical powers, both good and bad. It anchors the concept of magic much more than some other books where you don't quite know how far magic goes or what it can do.

I thought the narrator also did an amazing job. I got lost in her narration of such a great story. Looking forward to hearing her in the future books in this series.

I like both fantasy books and sailing adventures, so this book seemed to almost be written for me. However, I think that any fans of fantasy and YA novels will like this book.

I requested and received a free copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for an unbiased review. I was NOT required to write a positive review and this reflects my honest opinion of the work.