A Curse Upon Tides
A Curse Upon Tides (The Empyreal Guardian Saga #2)
By: A.M. Daylin
[Fulfills one of the two for prompt: ‘Two books by the same author’ for the Shelf Reflection 2026 Reading Challenge]
“‘While the future we see when we choose to hope can never be guaranteed, it gives us the strength we need to endure today— to help us draw closer to that potential outcome.’”
This book makes me want to throw the elbow. Which means nothing to you unless you went to college with me, but I assure you, it is a good and exciting thing.
Our great adventure from These Hallowed Binds continues in A Curse Upon Tides! This was a roller coaster of ups and downs as our beloved characters continue their quest to save their world from the curse. I hope I don’t have to wait too long for the next book!
I just love the characters of this book and their mission. Daylin does a fantastic job of continuing and developing all the character arcs. I don’t always love when books change POV from chapter to chapter, but I love all her characters and enjoy each piece.
Each one of them is struggling with real and relatable things. Daylin doesn’t shy away from hard questions, but provides natural and truthful guidance that speaks to readers’ hearts as well.
This series reminds me of why I loved Ted Dekker’s Circle Series so much. There is a real battle for our souls and books like these help us see it more tangibly, to recognize that the quest for truth and salvation is all that matters. Following Christ is hard, but the best thing we’ll ever do.
A Curse Upon Tides sounds like a Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and thus is well-titled because they do find themselves on a ship— complete with first and second-mates and a crow’s nest and even some swashbuckling (depending on if my definition of this word in my head is correct or not)— on a cursed sea as they set out to find Toaph— the Guardian they believe is their only hope for their world’s restoration in defeating Ta’Nathel.
In short, These Hallowed Binds left off with the exciting news that Toaph is alive! Calden, Nori, Alani, and Elias have reached the Citadel. Nori is to begin her ward training. And Calden now suspects his ‘curse’ is actually Toaph trying to communicate with him. He is trying to figure out how to access that information without triggering the violent outbursts that usually come with the visions. It must be the key to finding Toaph!
In long, see below.
If you haven’t read the first one, this review might feel confusing to you. Do yourself a ginormous and fun favor and start there first!
[I’m just going to use the same organization I used from my review of the first book because that makes the most sense in updating what we know about each thing.]
Summary/ Plot Points
A Curse Upon Tides begins just days after These Hallowed Binds. Nori’s induction ceremony is at hand. And while she doesn’t quite achieve all the marks, the council decides (with the persuasion from Calden) that she is ready enough. She can finish learning on the ship. They need to begin their journey to Raevre.
Why?
Elias shares some important information with Calden. This war that King Arlo and the Raevreans are fighting is because of a vortex that was discovered in Raevre in The Valley of the Four Winds. The superstitious people of Raevre are interested in hidden magic, but King Arlo is afraid of magic and would like to prevent anyone from obtaining it.
The winds from all directions have converged, creating an unrelenting vortex. Of dust. Dust like what Calden sees in his visions. The winds are too strong for anyone to explore it: could this be Toaph? Could he be calling Calden to come to him?
Perhaps we will also learn more about Nori’s father and his death as we continue on— he was one of the first spies to investigate Raevre. Maybe he found something out he wasn’t supposed to know. Did he somehow share that information with Nori and she hasn’t realized it yet?
As I suspected, we do meet our other Bind members. First is Odessa, Calden’s sister. Her personality is a bit standoffish and ‘I’m above you’ kind of thing. Somewhat similar to Zuko’s sister, Azula, in Avatar (yes, I’m still referencing Avatar…), but without the evilness. At least that we know of. Part of me wonders if she is actually going to be the one to betray them.
Odessa’s Master Talent is to take vitality from other living things to strengthen her vitality wards and make them last longer. Technically she could draw vitality from other people to their own demise which is partly why I think Odessa might be more dangerous to the Bind than we first suspect. How pure of heart is she?
Big news in this book (it happens early on so I don’t feel like it’s a big spoiler): Calden’s father is alive. And he is the Oracle! That was shocking news for him that shook everything he knew about his father and his mother and his sister. How could they keep this information from him?
Turns out his father turned to corrupt magic because he was trying to help Calden with his search.
“It wasn’t for evil that he forsook us. It was for love.”
His mother and sister kept this information from him (and everyone else) because they feared Calden might try to follow his father— you know, because of his rebellious nature and tendency to push boundaries and question traditions that don’t make sense.
Calden finds out this information by running into his father in the tunnels (with Elias). And his father plants seeds of doubt in his mind. The Oracle claims that Toaph is actually the one who cursed the world. Ta’Nathel came to help but Toaph caged him. They need to free Ta’Nathel because he’s the only one that can defeat the corrupted Toaph. Calden has it backwards, he says. He lures him in with the promise of freedom from his curse (from Toaph) and accuses Toaph of wanting to limit and control the people.
Dangerous lies. Or are they?
These lies play into Calden’s internal struggle. Wrestling with his lot in life, the burden of bearing his ‘curse.’ He expresses this to Zamirah:
“‘I’m just thinking how much simpler life would be if El-Alam made me a scout rather than a prince. And a cursed one at that.’”
He feels like his life has never been his own.
And now he has to wonder if he’s gotten everything wrong this whole time.
I won’t give details, but a main event in this book stems from the fact that they are all vulnerable to be on the sea with Calden and his unpredictable curse. If he blasts a hole in the ship, they are at the mercy of the sea and all the creatures it contains.
Can they arrive in Raevre unharmed?
Let me just say, that no, they cannot. We lose a most valuable and loved member of the team and it is the worst.
New Characters:
Rhys and Rhiana are siblings and serve the royal family in the Citadel
Odessa- Calden’s sister and fellow bind member
Echo- the canyx (wolf-dog-fox-thing) they rescue in the tunnels that was supposed to be accursed but seemed to be kind; Is Calden blinded by his compassion and needs Elias to save him from Echo’s deception with his wisdom and scrutiny? Or is Echo the real deal and Elias needs to learn about trust and vulnerability?
Zamirah- crew member who can send messages across the sea
Willian- crew member who can control the wind
Sidenote: I noticed that with the alternating POV chapters, each character has their own symbol with their name. Zamirah has a bird (obviously), Elias has a lyre, and Nori and Calden have their bind mark arrows pointing in different directions. I was hoping that the arrows would move to new directions depending on where their ‘interal compass’ was pointing, but that would probably be too crazy to actually accomplish. So each one always points in the same way.
Biblical Allegory?
The allegories continue in this book (see These Hallowed Binds for more):
Part of Nori’s induction is being endowed with the tears of El-Alam (the God-figure in this world). In order to access his power which is behind all of their ‘magic’ wards, they must accept his tears of both joy and sorrow. I really liked this aspect. It’s like saying how we, as Christians, must take up our cross and follow Christ. Our road is not promised to be easy. In fact, we are told to expect hardship and persecution, but the road is still good.
To follow El-Alam is to acknowledge and accept a road with both sorrow and joy.
We get a bit more information on my speculations regarding Calden and Toaph that I share in the ‘How it Ended’ section as it’s kind of spoilers. We still don’t have definitive answers but we’re learning more and more about how deliverance will come.
I just think what Calden is going through is a confusion that a lot of people can relate to. It’s not exactly parallel to Scripture— God cursed the world, not Satan, though Satan obviously played a big part in introducing sin to Adam and Eve. And God’s curse was not unjust.
So a little different, but the idea that we have to discern lies from truth in a world where a lot of the lies sound right at first blush is relatable. Calden is also undergoing a lot of pain and internal hardship which is when we are the most vulnerable and susceptible to believe lies. When we hurt we always question the love and purposes of God. We think because every good thing comes from God (which is true) that any bad thing we face cannot have come from or be ordained by God.
Our view of goodness is so limited by our finite minds and volatile feelings. I think Daylin did a good job writing about this struggle because even as a reader I feel like I’m second guessing whether Toaph is good or not. What if everything IS backwards? (in this story— I’m not actually questioning God)
Which is why one thing I really hope is that Toaph is actually good in the story. I think that’s going to be really confusing for readers who are parsing out the allegory. The wardens are presented as the true followers of El-Alam, endowed with his power. If they’ve been believing a lie this whole time, that would really ruin the allegory I believe Daylin is writing. This isn’t the place for a twist like that and I don’t think Daylin would do that. I think she will expose the father of lies and have her characters hold fast to what is true, even when it hurts.
But we have not seen it put to the test and we have not been given definitive answers on the identities and purposes of all the players. We shall see.
Love Triangle
Daylin squashed the love triangle pretty quickly and handedly in this book, and I’m not mad about it!
I shared in the last review that if we’re going to have to pick a team, I’d pick Elias. And the reasons why I thought that felt very confirmed here.
Elias and Nori finally share their true feelings with one another:
“I’m here anytime you want to pretend you’re home.”
Nori was confused because of what she felt when Calden healed her, but once that’s sorted out she realizes her affection was also misunderstood. Her romantic love is rightly placed with Elias. Her home. *me making my hands into a heart
Calden realizes that he was only in love with the idea of Nori, not necessarily Nori herself. She was someone who saw the person behind his curse. Someone who wasn’t afraid of him. He’d been longing for that.
I love his honor and loyalty to Elias.
“Even if Nori never chooses him, me attempting to win her over would be a death sentence for our friendship. A treason of the highest order.”
He tells Elias: “What I felt for her before discovering who she is to you was only an ember of what you feel. And I will not fan into flame a fire that will burn you, my friend.”
[group hug]
Thanks Daylin! We can love them both!
And Calden is not doomed to be alone. Enter Zamirah. Her Master Talent is sending messages across the sea (using melody). She has been privy to everything regarding Calden from sending Calden’s mother’s messages trying to find a cure for him. Yet she does not fear Calden either. She is a strong and compassionate confidante for him.
She tells him- “‘Even the greatest blessings can come with consequences. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t still blessings.’”
She is instrumental in helping Calden process his struggles and pointing him back to the truth of El-Alam and his purposes for his people.
I’m excited for both of these relationships and that Daylin chose not to maintain the conflict that strained the friendships.
Alani also gets to find a partner! She finds her match aboard the Celestella ship— Willian. Another sea-farer. Also a perfect match for her. They are epic ship-people because Alani’s Master Talent is controlling water (ahem, water-bending?) and Willian’s is controlling air (you get it).
We don’t get many details on their interactions. They just pop-up in the background with dancing, lovey-dovey eyes, sweet nothings, and the love of the sea binding them together. We see you, Alani!
[I just keep coming back to the fact that Odessa is not as bound to anyone as the others. If she doesn’t betray them, I will be shocked.]
The Magic
We get more information about how the wards work, and I love it!
“‘The power in the wards is alive as the God who grants it’… Her casual comment reminds me again that I’m not just drawing pictures, I’m stewarding a great and holy power that only a small percentage of humanity has ever been entrusted with.”
“Your mind commands the energy, your body conducts it, and your heart releases it. If your heart disagrees with the action, it will not release the energy.”
I like this idea of ‘stewarding power.’ It’s a more tangible representation of how we, as Christians, have access to the power of the Holy Spirit. Not to shoot vitality balls, hide doorways, or heal each other, but power to resist evil and to overcome the sin in our lives. Real, living power that we are entrusted with.
We were left with the question of how Calden was able to heal Nori and Elias couldn’t. We find out that it wasn’t because Calden loved Nori more deeply than Elias. But he was able to heal her by being a conduit for El-Alam’s love. The love Nori felt when she was being healed was El-Alam’s, not Calden. That’s why they were confused about their love for each other.
But this speaks more into Calden’s abilities as a warden. He has some sort of stronger access to El-Alam’s power than the other wardens. Probably tied to his ‘curse.’
Pronunciation Guide
I’m notorious for mispronouncing things so I had to find out how some of these things were said. She has a video for pronunciation for this book and the next on THIS Instagram post. I’ve added the ones for this book at the end of the previously compiled list:
Calden: Cal-den
Elias: ih-lie-us
Norielle: nor-E-elle
Alani: uh-lah-nee
Toaph Elbara: tow-off el-bar-uh
Ta’Nathel: tah-nah-thel
Behria (Nori’s hometown): buh-ree-uh
Lake Daleia: duh-lay-uh
Silvirdia (world): sil-ver-dee-uh
Alémor (kingdom): ah-lay-more
Raevre (enemy kingdom): Rave-ree
Rimrir: rim-rear
Zamirah: zuh-meer-uh
Willian: will-ee-an
Celestella: cell-es-tel-uh
Ashtera: ash-tair-uh
Critiques
My only critique is that I’m not holding book three in my hands right now.
How it Ended
Again, this section will have spoilers because I need these details later, especially since I have to wait awhile for the next book. Skip if you haven’t read this book yet.
Okay, the first spoiler is HUGE. And terrible. But then hopeful!
After Calden’s episode blasts the ship apart and everyone escapes in boats, they’re attacked by the sea sentinels and they’re all fighting to try and save Calden from drowning. Elias jumps in after him but then gets grabbed by the sea monster. He’s dead.
For real. I was like— what the heck. This cannot be.
But wait! His bind mark is still there, just very very faint. They believe the sentinel took him to his lair under the island of Raevre. Elias might still be alive! PTL. In what shape? We don’t know. Was the sentinel somehow trying to save or rescue Elias? We also don’t know. They will have to go find him when they get there.
During Cal’s episode, Zamriah shockingly helps him by not restraining him or fighting him in that state but holding him and helping him feel safe.
This then allows Calden to finally see a clear vision. Of Ta’Nathel ‘slaying’ Toaph and Toaph disappearing into a blue wisp that travels across the land until he finds baby Calden with his parents. He tells his parents to put the baby down. He enters Calden and then Echo shows up, puts him in a basket and carries him away. We don’t find out anything else about his parents. (Which… I do need more information about this encounter because it didn’t feel like a loving situation, it felt like a desperate one)
I could have put this in the biblical allegory section, but that would have been a spoiler: I love when Calden realizes “I’m not cursed. I’m a vessel harboring the soul of an immortal being.”
I don’t think I fully grasp the gravity of the privilege we have as Christians that God no longer needs the Tabernacle to dwell in— his presence, his Spirit lives in us. We are now the temple. His presence stays with us. We don’t harbor his soul in the same way as Calden and Toaph, but we are his vessels that carry his Spirit and that changes everything!
Throughout the book we are wondering if Calden will be persuaded by his father to turn to the dark side— hello Luke Skywalker— or if he will hold fast to what he’d been taught about El-Alam and Toaph.
I believe we get an answer— and I love it! Calden sets his face toward Raevre and determines in his soul:
“Whatever Toaph’s alignments, El-Alam is where my loyalties lie, and an enemy of El-Alam is an enemy of mine. For it was by His hallowed hands that my life was given, and to Him my life belongs. Even if He has imprisoned me in this purpose of mine, taking from me the pleasantries of a common life, I will surrender to His far greater sovereignty. For I am foremost His vessel, whether the Guardian inside me is wicked or pure.”
Chills.
So they get to Raevre and we think Calden is going to go in there and get the ball rolling with the Raevre wardens and save the day. Except he walks right into a trap. It’s not the wardens he meets in the secret tunnels. It’s the Oracle. There hasn’t been wardens there for years. And now they’re all captured by the one set on freeing Ta’Nathel to destroy Toaph.
Calden’s only bargaining chip is that only a few people know that Toaph is inside him.
Dun. Dun. Dun.
I’m guessing Zamriah will be able to send a secret message back to Calden’s mother to send help and tell them what happened but it will take them weeks to traverse the sea. They might be on their own in the next book. But something tells me the Raevre wardens aren’t truly gone but were just forced to be even more hidden. I bet they’ll arrive at just the right time to help.
I also suspect that Nori and Elias will have to face some stuff from their fathers’ pasts in the war. But at least they’ll have each other! Perhaps whatever showdown happens will lead to Nori getting an epic Master Talent.
Recommendation
I echo my thoughts from These Hallowed Binds: I continue to whole-heartedly recommend this book and this series! It’s a meaningful and creative world that champions compassion and sacrifice and truth. The characters and the quest and the allegories are all so good!
I plowed through the first two books back-to-back and am sad I have to wait for the next one!
It looks like this is marketed to a young adult audience and I affirm that; readers as young as 13 would probably be fine reading this as well. And obviously also adults because that’s me and I love it!
If you are curious about her other books, A.M. Daylin has a new stand-alone romantasy book that is releasing this fall called Eventide that I am interested in. I decided to join her Kickstarter campaign for it. She is also an artist so one of the options for that is an illustrated copy with her one-of-kind artwork and I caved!
She also has started the Luminors trilogy (Where Darkness Cannot Follow) if you want to check that out.
You can be sure that I’ll be reading and reviewing some more of her books!
[Content Advisory: no swearing or sexual content; some death/violence but nothing gratuitous]
**Received a copy via the author in exchange for an honest review**
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