Do you know how much I wanted to read Philippa Gregory’s new novel Tidelands? I requested it on NetGalley, but then I realized that I’m probably too small-time for an eARC, and used one of my precious library request slots for it. I can only have 10 ebooks on hold at once, which is a TERRIBLE system,  because it turns out that I’m not the only person in Boston who hears about a book on NPR and then requests it, and that ties up a slot forever, and then I have to be careful about what to request.

Anyway, I was thrilled when NetGalley sent me the eARC, and I read it in pretty much one sitting. Like the author’s historical novels, Tidelands has realistic  characters from different parts of society coming into conflict, largely because they have different backgrounds and expectations, in a way that really makes you feel for both (all) the combatants. There’s great historical detail here, too.  Like the Wideacre series (and the Jacquetta historical), there may be new and modern ways of thinking, but old ways are still happening the shadows.

But I don’t understand how characters can hide a pregnancy for months and months. This was kind of annoying in Wideacre, but I figured that a truly manipulative person, seen only by close family members who really wanted to believe her could pull it off.  But someone who’s out and about? Working physical jobs and trading all around town? No one noticed anything?

I was very unhappy with the ending. Without giving too much of a spoiler, the central conflict is not resolved at all, and about twenty new questions are raised in the last couple pages. The ending was so much of an unsatisfying setup for a sequel that I felt like I was watching a Marvel movie.

Would I recommend it? I don’t know, it’s not a story, only a random chunk of events.

Edit: Later, I read the sequel, like some kind of idiot masochist, and did not find any improvement in Dark Tides. Again, I slogged through 80% of the book, which was basically a shady character being shady, and then 10,000 things happened in about a hour of book-time at the end.