Tides of Torment (Immortal Realms, #2) by Elle Beaumont

Tides of Torment (Immortal Realms, #2) Reviews

• 
  Anastasia ｼ

  3.5 stars
  
  mixed feelings
  
  rtc
• 
  Jessica

  Travion, king of Midniva, was nearly killed in an attack against his kingdom. Rumours about enormous beasts in the sea, spreading death and destruction in other parts of the realm, makes him believe that this is only the beginning.
  
  Sereia, captain on the pirate ship Saorsa, abandoned her life of luxury in Midniva a long time ago. When Travion proposed she fled to the sea, seeking freedom and adventure. But when she hears about the attack on Midniva she has to see if Travion is alive.
  
  Together they decide to find the culprit responsable for creating these sea creatures - before it's too late.
  
  I enjoyed this story as much as the first book in the series, "Seeds of Sorrow"! Here we get to follow the middle brother Travion, a king who cares for and protects his people and kingdom. He has magical powers and can alter the weather and the earth. Sereia can affect the sea, and she's also able to breathe under water. Her real family is the crew on the Saorsa, who she will protect at all costs. During the years after Travion's marriage proposal she's been visiting him now and then, but the sea has always called her back.
  
  I'm very fond of pirates and here I get my fill! I love to follow Sereia and her crew as they fight against a giant octopus and enormous crabs and sharks. When Travion comes on-board I enjoy watching how their relationship develops as they get to spend more time together. Their hunt for the guilty party makes it more exciting and I'm really looking forward to reading the conclusion eventually!
  
  * I received an ARC from the authors via BookSirens and I'm giving my honest review. *
• 
  James McRay

  It was a hot minute before I figured out why I didn’t like this otherwise perfectly fine Fantasy Romance. The romance was swoony, so it wasn’t that. The action adventure was dynamite, so not that. The characters were fine, if a little down-the-line for the genre. No, the big problem I had with this book was the reveal, which was… ridiculous.
  
  The main plot of the book has our protagonists hunting down the evil villain who stole the magic book and has been creating monsters of all types to reek death and destruction across the kingdom on both sea and land. When our heroes do catch up to them, it’s…
  
  NON-SPOILER VERSION: I’m sorry what? Who? Really? R U Friggin’ kidding me? THAT’S the big baddie?!?
  SPOILER VERSION: the spurned lover--who we've never met in the series--of the central character in the NEXT book.
  
  I guess I can say I didn’t see that coming.
• 
  Eileen

  4.5 stars
  
  I loved this second book in the Immortal Realms series when they focus on the second of three brothers. The first one focused on the oldest brother Draven and Eden and was a nod to Hades and Persephone. This one focused on Travion, the middle brother, and Sereia, the captain of a pirate ship. She is a member of the royal court but has always been unconventional and her happy place is on the sea. She worked her way up to captain and she's the Robin Hood of the seas, attacking unscrupulous merchants and donating much of the proceeds to those who were wronged. A powerful book was stolen from the brothers at the end of the first book and this story tracks their efforts to fight the monsters that have been unleashed while at the same time trying to figure out who and where the villain is. I wasn't sure if I would like Travion and Sereia as much as Draven and Eden, but I really liked getting to know them. While Travion had some similarities with Draven, he did tend to be a lot more hotheaded, and he also carried a lot of baggage about things he did in the past. But I really liked him and felt bad for all he put up with over the years while Sereia was out finding her purpose. Sereia was a bit more complicated and I initially didn't like her as I didn't like how she treated him. But the authors did a good job helping us to understand and connect with her and I loved her relationship with her crew. She and Travion made a good pairing and I loved the ending, even if it ended on a cliffhanger. Yes, I will be anxiously waiting for February!
  
  I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from BookSirens. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
  
• 
  Sarah

  Well this was an interesting second instalment to this series! I have some mixed feelings about this one because I think it suffers from middle book syndrome.
  
  The strongest aspect of this book is the plot. We follow what’s basically a wild goose chase for a magical book (you’ll remember from book one, which if you didn’t read go back and do that now - this will make zero sense of you don’t. Might even want to have your copy of book one on hand when you start this). But the wild goose chase is on the seas with pirates so it’s fun. I liked the absolute mania that was the plot of this book. It followed almost no logical line but somehow that worked for me. Things come out of left field but then they just continue coming out of left field until you start looking left and suddenly left field is normal field and you’re 60% through the book. Home run!
  
  One of the things that didn’t quite land for me was the romance (which makes me sad because it was honestly my favourite thing about the first book!). I think because we’re introduced to Sereia and Travion after they’ve already fallen in love (we’re told in the prologue that this happens but we never actually experience it happening), it was hard for me to get a sense of why these two people even liked each other. However I’m also just not a big of fan of second chance romance, so maybe this is a me problem.
  
  The writing is easy to read and makes for a pretty quick page turner, which I always enjoy. Could have used my copy of book one (too lazy to pull it up) instead of a dictionary, though.
  
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you BookSirens for the ARC!
• 
  Whitney Spradling

  My favorite of the Immortal Realms so far. I really enjoyed the relationship between Travion and Sereia. I really felt Sereia's personal battle was well done. The angst was on point, and the spicy scenes were pefect! So much action and adventure. Highly recommend!
• 
  Debbie Eyre

  Book two of this incredible series and it is soooo good. We join brother number two, Travion in this second book along with Sereia, captain of a pirate ship and their adventure is exciting and thrilling, not to mention hot with off the charts chemistry. Incredible world building that pulls you in and a storyline full of action, danger, twists and turns galore. Suspense, magic, this had me on the edge of my seat and eager for more!
• 
  Tanja Glavnik

  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
  
  I started this journey with Seeds of Sorrow, and actually loved Travion in it, which is why I was excited to pick up the second book that covers his story, and of course his romance. Given that Draven is supposed to represent Hades, Zryan Zeus, that leaves Travion as Poseidon in this re-telling of the myths ... and Sereia, his chosen one, as Amphitrite I suppose.
  
  A handful of pages in, I realized that I am DECIDEDLY wrong as far as target audience for the book goes, because Sereia managed to make me roll my eyes, facepalm, and then absolutely loathe her all in the span of pages. I mean come on, she jumps off a cliff, probably destroys her lover's ship, then acts like she has any say about him whatsoever and insults an actual queen.
  
  Still, this is a story I was interested in, so I pushed that aside. And in fairness, Sereia as a character, when she's a pirate captain, when she's doing things that help direct or control the action and narrative, and when she drops the holier-than-thou attitude, is reasonably likeable and I could have gotten to enjoy her presence on the page. Unfortunately, however, she's allowed for some reason that makes no sense to me to insult the royal family, turn her nose up at them, or get incensed/insulted when someone points out the truth which she happens to dislike.
  
  So she's a hit-and-miss for me. I'm also confused as to why SHE gets the powers she does, instead of Travion, who seems to have gotten an amalgamation of some of Poseidon's surface powers as well as Zeus' weather manipulation. I understand that the point is these two have to rule together but, I'm not sure why such a huge deviation had to happen.
  
  Overall, Travion is a likeable guy, as he was back in the first book, and we do expand a little bit on the past here in this one which helps explain some things that will lead to the trilogy's conclusion next February (and, yes, I WILL be there for it).
  
  The story itself continues the vein of constant attacks, leading Travion and Sereia to the seas and squaring off against anything and everything big the ocean gets to throw at them. I'm pretty sure even Jason Statham would have wanted to tag along for the Meg references, but I will say that the action sequences are done very well, I loved the battle descriptions and in particular all the nautical situations our characters find themselves in.
  
  The bones of the story were good. The characters, however, were confusing at times. Because not only did the heroine for some reason not communicate right from the start, but she seems to actually be surprised that the king courting her will lead to a proposal to be his queen? That's ... usually how it works? On the flip side, Travion suddenly wakes up one day and theorizes how Sereia probably wouldn't look at him the same if he shared his deepest, darkest self with her.
  
  This one in particular seems to come from nowhere on a pretty disconnected point. I'm not sure WHERE it originates, because it's also inserted in between two action packed sea adventures, and no real build up to it. A lot of what I'd call character motivation is like this, however, kind of plopped in rather roughly, like the pieces FIT, but just not smoothly.
  
  I'm intrigued in Phaedora, who I'd guess is a sort of combination of Phaedra and Pandora, maybe? I'm also intrigued by the infernal book and how Zryian is going to fix the mess that's now here, and the war that's on the royal family's doorstep. I'm DEFINITELY here for that. And whoever said no harm could ever come from reading a book ... HA HA! Think again lol.
  
  So overall, this was a good read for me, but unfortunately the heroine and some of the decisions didn't cut it. It's very quick though, non complicated, and sucks you into the action before you can snap your fingers. If you've read Draven and Eden's book, I'd suggest picking this one up as well before Wages of War's upon us.
• 
  Karen

  This is a second-chance romance with pirates, royalty, fae, and mythology. After reading the previous book in the series I was excited to read this second installment of the Immortal Realms series. While the first book was a retelling of Hades and Persephone, this second installment looks at the character who "takes after" Posiden. This instalment doesn't follow a particular myth yet it carries elements of many. For those who enjoyed the last book and retellings then they will like this book so long as they aren't expecting as close to a retelling as Seads of Sorrows was. Tides of Torment deviates from a retelling genre and instead inserts little elements that fans of Greek mythology will notice and appreciate.
  
  As for the characters I very much enjoyed the relationship dynamic between Travion and Sereia. How they didn't have this disdain between them as many second-chance romances do. Instead, there was mutual respect and connection that was always present but couldn't be grown because they needed to develop who they were as individuals first. The other characters in the book were also amazing and I fell in love with the crew of the Saorsa. The relationships between these secondary characters and the primary characters were written well.
  
  I am looking forward to the third instalment of the series and seeing how the story continues. I hope that we get to see some of the characters in this book in the next instalment.
  
  *I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
• 
  Merissa (Archaeolibrarian)

  TIDES OF TORMENT is the second book in the Immortal Realms series and it is Travion's time to tell his story.
  
  He is the King of Midniva and nearly died at the end of Draven and Eden's book. In this one, he's fit and healthy, albeit still recovering. Recovering is good though as trouble is headed his way. Not only that, but his on-again-off-again lover, Sereia, is also on the horizon.
  
  First things first. Sereia. I didn't like her and can't say I changed my mind much as the story progressed. Her attitude sucked, especially towards Travion. She did have some redeeming qualities but not many. Also, it seemed a little disjointed in parts, with monologues suddenly revealing things that had had no build-up or previous mention.
  
  This book is full of action with pretty constant attacks by horrible beasts. All of this was very well written and perfectly described. Adrick and the rest of the crew kept me turning the pages. And my eyes may have leaked at certain points too.
  
  Draven and Eden remain my favourites. I can't wait to see what happens in Wages of War which is Zryan's story. If I did half stars then this would get 3.5. Instead, I'll round it up to 4, simply because Draven and Eden make an appearance.
  
  ** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
  
  * A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
  
  Merissa
  Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  Jun 12, 2023
• 
  Cassie The Ghost

  First, I would like to thank the authors and BookSirens for allowing me to review this ARC with honesty.
  
  Reading this in the beginning, I'll admit, took me a few chapters to refresh the players in the story and who had done what. Names like Draven, Eden and Naya I remembered but others took a bit. (In no way, is that towards the authors, just that it caused me some confusion in the beginning and middle parts of the book.) That being said, even when I didn't remember, I still found the book intriguing with talk of pirates and big bad creatures in the dangerous waters. I found the story of Travion and Sereia's past and present making turn the pages as fast as I could to get to the next development. It was gut wrenching on some scenes that I will not mention to avoid spoiling. There may have been repetitve sayings or moments that made it feel like echoes but nothing that irritated me or made it hard for me to read like other books I've experienced. Overall, I definitely enjoyed this book and will be happy to read the conclusion to this trilogy.
  
  My Rating: 4 Stars
• 
  Donna (BookDragonGirl)

  By the sea, this was so good!! It is bursting with so many adventures and so many obstacles to overcome in order to retrieve the creaturae, a dangerous book, especially in the wrong hands.
  
  Sereia and King Travion were quite the force to be reckoned with. Not to mention their hot and passionate chemistry. I loved how tenacious they both were, no matter how exhausted they were they both kept fighting for those they loved.
  
  The main characters and the side characters were all extremely interesting characters. I really got caught up in what was happening to them. I laughed, I cried, I swooned and I got angry.
  
  There were some really cool creatures that they had to come up against! I loved the authors’ imagination and the detail of these creatures! I can’t wait for the last book, and how they will stop all that is going on!!!
  
  I you like romantic fantasy with spice, wit, lots of unusual creatures, adventure and sword and sorcery kind of stuff, then you will LOVE this book!!!
• 
  Heather

  Loved book 2
  
  This was the retelling of Poseidon and Amphitrite. The middle brother in this series, Travion, handles the human realm (Midnivia), and he has been in love with Sereia for years but she spurred his offer of marriage. When she disappeared wanting to have some freedom over her life, she became a pirate over a ship. When creatures in the seas start showing up and killing humans, she returns to Travion to give him help.
  
  They thought that the issue against the brothers had been handled previously, but after a near death experience that Travion had, someone stole a really important book. Travion and Sereia have to take to the seas to see if they can take down the massive creatures that are trying to take down the human realm, and discover that their love truly is worth it.
  
  I received a free copy of this book via the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.
• 
  Geff Ratcheson

  This one started slow for me, but picked up & was enjoyable.
  
  I'm getting old. I finished book 1 last month & had no memory of the plot, so that's probably why it started slow.
  
  Good plotting, characters & concepts. Big cliffhanger for book 3, which I would like to read.
  
  Both of our magical protagonists have an "affinity" with water. One is a pirate & one is a king. This is NOT an "enemies to lovers", though there is a large romantic element.
  
  Book 3 isn't scheduled until February of next year; waaah!!
  
  This has 2 authors. I'm often curious as to which author wrote what.
  
  Age alert: This is what they call "steamy" these days.
  
  Definitely worth a read!
  
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
• 
  C. Lewis

  Okay, so who has seen The Pirate Movie? It is a cheesy movie from the 80's and it's the first thing I think of when I read/see anything having to do with stories featuring the sea. I FREAKING LOVED THAT MOVIE. But, this is about Tides so let's get to it. I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK! And no, it's not cheesy, it just takes me to that happy place when i watched The Pirate Movie way too many times. LOL! This is a story about sexy King Travion and his voracious pirate lady love, Sereia whose chemistry is off the bloody chain. You will need a fan while reading this one. As the other reviews have mentioned, these two go on a quest filled with blood and mayhem. I can't recommend this book enough. Now, go make this your favorite Pirate Book you read over and over again!
• 
  Marcia

  Tides of Torment is the sequel we've been waiting for and it's well worth the wait.
  I absolutely loved this novel, the adventure we go on is fantastic and the twists and turns throughout just made this a page turner.
  Iust admit I loved it from the first page - what a way to say no!!
  This novel is so richly described and the characters have an excellent creativity to them that you instantly connect and like them.
  There's so much going on in this novel it keeps you on your toes.
  I love Travion and Sereia, they're the perfect fit, actually I loved all the characters.
  I thoroughly enjoyed Tides Of Torment and I can't wait for book 3
• 
  thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books)

  I loved this story just as much as I did Seeds of Sorrow, I really do love a book about pirates and this didn’t disappoint one bit, then we get giant octopus, sharks and other fantastic sea creatures, so fabulous 🥰 I loved watching the developing relationship between Travion and Serbia, I can’t wait for the next
  
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
  
• 
  Elle Beaumont

  This was a beast of a novel to write and pushed Tiss and I to our limits! A labor of love, indeeeed. But it was a blast to write... sea-faring fae, second chance at love, conquering monsters... What isn't to enjoy?
  
  Coming to you June 7th!
• 
  Alyssa Korsmo

  Not as good as the first one but still enjoyable. I love how the story stays the same but with the different brothers as the main characters. Definitely something different but I enjoy! Now to see how it ends.
• 
  Candess

  By the sea!!!
  
  Good story, but "by the sea" is said 61 times. It was super excessive when there was plenty of opportunity to make up more sea courses