The Demon Tide (Laurie Forest) - ★★★★★

I didn't think I'd actually like this book, but I did. Forest has come such a long way as an author. The previous three books were about a spoiled, racist girl and her journey towards being a little less racist. This book is... amazing. It's an exploration of hatred and fear towards people who are different from us and how easy it is for pretty much anyone to succumb to that. One of its most powerful moments is when Forest draws parallels between the Gardnerians' (the original racists) hate speech and the Vu Trins' (the country that's supposed to be the good guys) racist behavior towards refugees who look Gardnerian. I love how Forest doesn't just say, here are the racist people and here are the non-racist people, but shows that people of all cultures and religions (even those who seem like the 'good guys' or 'bad guys) are capable of both hatred and kindness. 

Honestly, it feels like a breath of fresh air reading a book about race (and yes, it is a book that's fundamentally about race, even if Forest uses fantasy as her medium to get across her message) that doesn't just talk about racism like it's a one-way street. Hatred festers, and you get all kinds of hatred towards all kinds of people. Sometimes, I'm just so frustrated with how there's so much polarization and us-versus-them mentality when we're all human anyway. And that's exactly the kind of message Forest captures in this book.

That said, as much as I love The Demon Tide, I can't really recommend books 1-3. They're really cringe-worthy and problematic at times, and I definitely won't be re-reading them anytime soon. But I can say that this book is absolutely gorgeous and I'm looking forward to anything Laurie Forest writes in the future.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, YA (well, the previous books include some subjects that I wouldn't necessarily consider appropriate for YA, but that's what this book is being marketed as). 


Book blurb:

The realm war is near and the Prophecy is at hand. The Black Witch is back…and the demon tide is coming. Prepare to be spellbound by The Black Witch Chronicles.

Nothing can stop the demon tide…

Newly exposed as the Black Witch of Prophecy, Elloren Gardner Grey is on the run, not knowing if she’ll find friends or foes. With her fastmate, Lukas Grey, either dead or in the hands of High Mage Marcus Vogel, Elloren knows the only chance of turning the tide of the coming war is to seek allies who will listen long enough not to kill her on sight.

In the Eastern Realm, Water Fae Tierney Calix and Elloren’s brother Trystan have joined the Wyvernguard to prepare for Vogel’s attack. But Trystan is fighting on two fronts, as the most despised and least trusted member of the guard. And Tierney’s bond with Erthia’s most powerful river has exposed a danger even more terrifying than the looming war.

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