Had I known that this was about a woman facing accusations of witchcraft when I picked it off my bookshelf, I would have postponed reading it as I just finished Weyward, which had the same theme. But the power that be wanted me to read another story of one of her maligned daughters. 

The challenge with tackling this subject is creating enough of a captivating story to overcome the built-in predictability created by history. There’s always the strong, independent healer/midwife who is some level of outcast in her community, the jealous women who want to destroy, and the awful men who are equally enthralled and repelled by her and driven by their fears, insecurities, and thirst for power.

Philippa did a decent job with Tidelands. Although it was somewhat predictable, but there were enough potential twists to keep me interested. It helped a lot that she added to the intrigue by weaving in real historical events and people into the story. The drama surrounding King Charles, a Catholic king who caused a civil war by fighting against Parliament, was interesting.

Unfortunately the ending was super rushed. It felt like Philippa decided she was done so she wrapped it up as quickly as she could. This was totally different from the medium pace of the rest of the book. The details also felt forced and unrealistic given the previous development of one of the characters involved.

Although Philippa has a formula for her books, I do love that they are always centered around a strong woman and educate me about history. They are always good, solid reads and that applies to this one for sure.