A girl with the power to command the tides has her life changed when she secures a job serving a wealthy noble family—only to learn upon arrival that the last person to fill her post mysteriously died, and her new employers are hiding dark secrets—in this haunting and lush debut fantasy.
Corith Fraine is a Floodmouth—her words can control water. Yet for those born with her rare elemental ability, paths forward are few, and Corith is one of the lucky ones. She has spent most of her life in a prestigious magic institution, training to one day achieve the highest possible honor for a member of her kind: the chance to serve one of the hundred noble houses.
When Corith learns she’s secured a post working for House Shearwater, a reclusive noble family living on a wave-battered island, she thinks her hard work has paid off. Until she discovers that their previous Floodmouth—Corith’s closest friend—mysteriously died in their service. And Corith is her replacement.
To learn the truth of her best friend’s accident, Corith must unravel the dark conspiracies at the heart of Bower Island. Yet doing so will require contending with the island’s deadly tides and her enigmatic new employers—including the family’s brooding youngest son, Llir, who she finds herself equally drawn to and repelled by. With her loyalties pushed to breaking point, these treacherous waters may well pull Corith under…
"A lush and atmospheric fantasy that readers will devour. Set on an isolated island with elemental magic and a tension-filled slow burn romance, TIDESPEAKER drew me into its current and refused to let go. A spectacular debut from an exciting new voice." - New York Times bestselling author Rachel Griffin
"Awash with intrigue and characters with morals as grey as its mist-shrouded isle, Turner’s masterful debut delivers evocative prose, explorations of injustice and violence, and an exquisite slow-burn romance. Corith is the deeply relatable autistic heroine I needed as a teen." - Leanne Schwartz, author of To a Darker Shore and A Prayer for Vengeance
Corith Fraine is a Floodmouth—her words can control water. Yet for those born with her rare elemental ability, paths forward are few, and Corith is one of the lucky ones. She has spent most of her life in a prestigious magic institution, training to one day achieve the highest possible honor for a member of her kind: the chance to serve one of the hundred noble houses.
When Corith learns she’s secured a post working for House Shearwater, a reclusive noble family living on a wave-battered island, she thinks her hard work has paid off. Until she discovers that their previous Floodmouth—Corith’s closest friend—mysteriously died in their service. And Corith is her replacement.
To learn the truth of her best friend’s accident, Corith must unravel the dark conspiracies at the heart of Bower Island. Yet doing so will require contending with the island’s deadly tides and her enigmatic new employers—including the family’s brooding youngest son, Llir, who she finds herself equally drawn to and repelled by. With her loyalties pushed to breaking point, these treacherous waters may well pull Corith under…
"A lush and atmospheric fantasy that readers will devour. Set on an isolated island with elemental magic and a tension-filled slow burn romance, TIDESPEAKER drew me into its current and refused to let go. A spectacular debut from an exciting new voice." - New York Times bestselling author Rachel Griffin
"Awash with intrigue and characters with morals as grey as its mist-shrouded isle, Turner’s masterful debut delivers evocative prose, explorations of injustice and violence, and an exquisite slow-burn romance. Corith is the deeply relatable autistic heroine I needed as a teen." - Leanne Schwartz, author of To a Darker Shore and A Prayer for Vengeance
Title: Tidespeaker
Author: Sophie Turner
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Expected Publication Date: January 6, 2026
Review:
Thank you to RandomHouse Children's Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Nothing pains me more than a book with a fabulous premise and high potential that does not hit the mark. Not only is the world in this book interesting, but there was so much room for fabulous character growth and development. Alas, this did not happen for me.
I was initially drawn to the book because of the gorgeous cover (yes, I do often choose books by their cover). And then the blurb was just so intriguing: a world where a girl has the power to command the tides? Sign me up! I had it on my list for potential request and then it popped up as read now, so I took my chance.
First I need to address the characters. While interesting, they just didn't spark anything for me. I didn't really care about them or who they where. In all honesty, I was often confused by who was who and had to keep flipping back pages to remind myself. The main character, Corith, was someone I initially figured I could grow to love. She had potential to become a badass heroine for me but she just fell short. She came across as more whiny than anything else and when I really needed her to step up and become the strong woman she could have been. I also would liked to see more about her relationship with her best friend, Zennia. The author tells you how close they were but you never really see it because she's out of the picture during the most important time in the book, the beginning. Flashbacks or something would have really been a great way to build this relationship for me so I was invested in it.
The world has such a great concept. But the way it's presented is slow, boring, and not explained clearly enough to be easily understood. I really struggled to understand it and the politics surrounding the world. And I don't get the sense of what it is truly like. Cold, maybe wet, but overall I needed more of the world building to get me invested in why the story was so important in the first place. I needed more of the magic, more of how it worked, more of why it was necessary in the world being presented.
The story started out strong for me but lost it's momentum by about 25% and I had to push to get through. I feel like the book could have used a bit more polishing and would have been a bit stronger had this been the case. I won't be moving on to the second book in this duology.
Author:
Sadie Turner grew up in the Welsh Borders and now lives in Hampshire, not far from the former home of one of her biggest inspirations: Jane Austen. She is a copywriter, mother of two, and author of gloomy, romantic, neurodiverse YA Fantasy. When she can find the time, she loves reading, cooking, and classic CRPGs, and is rarely seen without a cup of tea on hand.
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