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The Dark Tide
Every year on St. Walpurga's Eve, Caldella’s Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full moon to keep the island city from sinking.
Convinced her handsome brother is going to be taken this year, Lina Kirk enlists the help of the mysterious Thomas Lin, her secret crush, and the only boy to ever escape from the palace after winning the love of a queen. Working together they protect her brother but draw the queen's attention.
Queen Eva cast away her heart when her sister died to save the boy she loved. Now as queen, she won't make the same mistake. With the tide rising higher than ever before and the islander's whispering that Eva's magic is failing, she's willing to sacrifice anyone if it means saving herself and her city.
When Thomas is chosen as sacrifice, Lina takes his place and the two girls are forced to spend time together as they wait for the full moon. But Lina is not at all what Eva expected, and the queen is nothing like Lina envisioned. Against their will, the two girls find themselves falling for each other. As water floods Caldella’s streets and the dark tide demands its sacrifice, they must choose who to save: themselves, each other, or the island city relying on them both.
Convinced her handsome brother is going to be taken this year, Lina Kirk enlists the help of the mysterious Thomas Lin, her secret crush, and the only boy to ever escape from the palace after winning the love of a queen. Working together they protect her brother but draw the queen's attention.
Queen Eva cast away her heart when her sister died to save the boy she loved. Now as queen, she won't make the same mistake. With the tide rising higher than ever before and the islander's whispering that Eva's magic is failing, she's willing to sacrifice anyone if it means saving herself and her city.
When Thomas is chosen as sacrifice, Lina takes his place and the two girls are forced to spend time together as they wait for the full moon. But Lina is not at all what Eva expected, and the queen is nothing like Lina envisioned. Against their will, the two girls find themselves falling for each other. As water floods Caldella’s streets and the dark tide demands its sacrifice, they must choose who to save: themselves, each other, or the island city relying on them both.
304 pages, Paperback
First published August 4, 2020
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39181 people want to read
About the author
Alicia Jasinska
4 books795 followersAlicia Jasinska hails from Sydney, Australia and is the author of acclaimed YA novels THE DARK TIDE, THE MIDNIGHT GIRLS, THIS FATAL KISS, and the forthcoming THIS LETHAL LOVE. A library technician by day, she spends her nights writing and hanging upside down from the aerial hoop.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,510 reviews
May 31, 2020
The amount of plot holes in this book will trigger your trypophobia.
October 27, 2020
(This was such a thoughtful birthday gift from Pamela!)
"Witches. Murderers. Queens who chained boys to stone pillars and drowned them on full-moon nights."
The Dark Tide centers on an island that relies on a yearly human sacrifice by the witch queen who must fall in love to protect them, except the last few sacrifices haven’t worked because the wrong hearts were broken and now the island cannot stay afloat. Once a year, the witches come and give magic to the island town mortals if they are able to impress them, and if they are brave enough to leave their homes while the witch queen seeks a new sacrifice. Yet, the boy who was the one to disrupt the spell that was saving them all gets picked again, but there is a girl who is unable to let his life be at risk again.
➽ Eva - The new witch queen, who can’t seem to feel anything since her sister passed away. Yet she must pick a new sacrifice for St. Walpurga’s Eve, and when she sees Thomas Lin, the only boy to ever escape his sacrifice, she knows that she must pick him.
➽ Lina - Left her home to search for her brother, Finley (who left their home to try to get a healing spell for her), but when she sees Thomas get picked, she and Finley go to try to retrieve him.
"There was a deep and ravenous hunger inside of her. Sometimes she wasn’t sure if she wanted to kiss him or eat him whole."
But when they get to the Water Palace (which is truly the coolest palace of all palaces), Lina realizes that a life must be sacrificed, she offers Eva her own life in exchange for Thomas’, which Eva accepts. And in the days leading up to the drowning, Lina does everything to think of another way, while her and Eva get closer and closer. And stakes get much higher because we know that Eva must fall in love with Lina for the protective magic of the sacrifice to work.
As for the sexual representation, I’m not sure if it is ever stated that Eva only likes women (or if the author has said something somewhere) but I’ve seen many reviewers say she is a lesbian! Lina is on page attracted to multiple genders, but a label (like pan or bi) is never used. Regardless, this is very, very beautifully sapphic and my gay heart was very, very full. As for other representations, there are PoC side characters, and I think Lina could also have OCD but it is never stated on page again.
This book very much talks about grief and loss and how those feelings can take over every aspect of your life when you lose someone you didn’t think you could live without. This book also talks about how you are allowed to feel everything, even anger, while grieving, because sometimes life will just never be fair. There is also a good discussion on how you can love someone so much that you would sacrifice everything for them, even if they have treated you badly in the past.
"Do not let anyone make you feel like you owe them forgiveness. Not even family."
Yet, this is ultimately why I gave this book four stars. I feel like Lina’s past with Finley was never addressed for more than that little talk of how his anger has scarred her for a lot of her life and how it even was the reason her ankle was hurt. There is a beautiful talk about how family members are not worthy of your forgiveness just because they are your family, but I feel like nothing came of this very important subplot about abuse. Especially since Lina and Eva both kind of bond over them both having someone taking advantage of them and their kindness, yet Eva’s gets a full narrative arc.
"You can have the city or the person you love, but you cannot have both."
Overall, I really enjoyed this so much. The atmosphere was truly decadent, from this sleepy little island, to the witches bonfires when they visit the town once a year, to the palace and all the hidden rooms and magic, I could never get enough of any of the settings in this book. The premise of a witch being forced to sacrifice a new love once a year to save their home was heartbreakingly beautiful. The talk of hard sibling relationships and what people are willing to do for the people they love had me completely hooked. The writing in general was so lyrical and beautiful and left me speechless (and with way less page tabs)! The romance (and first kiss, holy shit) between Lina and Eva was amazing, I only wish we could have gotten even more of it. This book just had so many keywords and themes that worked for me and I truly had an amazing time while turning every page. Oh, this book also has a really cute sea monster who loves dance, and it made my heart very happy, too.
Trigger and Content Warnings: loss of a loved one, human sacrifices, drowning, self-harm for blood for spells, blood depictions, violence, magical compulsion, grief depiction, brief mentions of abuse, and I felt like there was a lot of talk of drinking alcohol throughout this book, so please use caution if that could be a trigger for you.
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Buddy read with Landice, Maëlys, & Lea! ❤
March 7, 2021
I recently had an interview with Alicia Jasinska talking about The Dark Tide and a few other F/F-related things here!
*
There is nothing more exciting to me than the premise of a girl going to save a guy, except she falls in love with the 'villain' who is keeping that guy captive instead. And if that villian just happens to be a woman? Exquisite. Also throw in a sinking island city, magical worldbuilding and a stunning cover, and you've got me hook, line and sinker.
I've come out of THE DARK TIDE utterly obsessed with Eva, the Witch Queen. I relate to her a lot, especially in terms of how she views the world. I also want to be her, with her cool suits and cigarettes and cocky attitude when it comes to Lina. She also has a pet sea serpent! That's awesome. Eva is such a Slytherin, and Lina is such a Gryffindor, and I'm over here like ahhhh, melting into a puddle of feels. It's the 'brave girl meets cold and cynical girl and starts to pull her out of her shell' trope with these two. There's also a lot of banter between the two of them which doesn't happen with other characters, and I find it mildly hilarious how these two girls suddenly become sassy (Lina) or cocky (Eva) around each other in a way they aren't with others. It's cute.
Putting aside my love for Eva, Lina is a great heroine to follow. I am very much an Eva stan, but this book is dual-narrative and I equally enjoyed reading both perspectives. It's a nice change, given I usually prefer one over the other. I do believe Lina was developed further as a character and had more idiosyncrasies, but one could equally argue Eva's character is withdrawn and so maybe that's why we as readers don't find out as much about her.
For those who are thinking this is a villain x hero love story, I would say to carefully moderate your expectations. In the blurb Eva is framed as the villian, but to be fair she's not so much a villain as she is a girl completely helpless to stop the sea and dark tide, which is the real antagonist of the story. If you came in expecting an incredibly tumultuous morally grey relationship between Lina and Eva, there are flavours of it (if you squint hard at some dialogue), but the fact is that although Eva is definitely slightly cold and withdrawn, she's not downright evil. There are shades of enemies to lovers, but Lina hasn't really harboured a lifelong burning hatred for Eva and is only in conflict with her once Eva takes her crush, Thomas Lin, as the sacrifice.
Moving on, one thing I didn't expect before going into THE DARK TIDE was just how much presence the worldbuilding has in the story. There are books where the world is just as much as a character as the actual characters, and this is such a case. Arguably, the worldbuilding is perhaps the strongest aspect of THE DARK TIDE - not in that it is extremely detailed, but in that it's enchanting and fairytale-esque. It has a exquisite ghibli vibes, this sinking island city of Caldella, where there are ice cream shops and broom boats and flavoured cigarettes and pastel-coloured houses and witches that make charms out of pearls and hair. It's a little Venetian (?) and a little fairytale, and totally magical.
The critique I have is that I did feel this story lacked was development, and because of that, depth. THE DARK TIDE is a quick read, and I felt a few more scenes could have really helped flesh things out. Especially when developing the relationship between Lina and Eva, where the build-up felt brief. For instance, there was a time jump early on of four days before the regatta, and instead of a jump, a few scenes of Lina engaging with Eva over those 4 days would've been quite nice to establish more contact between the two. They don't kiss until late in the novel and they do have scenes together before then, but not quite enough for the kiss to feel completely credible. (Also, look, I just really like these two and I want to see more of them together.) Given the premise of this story, I could have easily read 100 or so more pages if it allowed for more development. But on the flip side, this story is very quickly-paced because of the brevity of some scenes, so I did devour it in under 24 hours!
Furthermore, I am pretty sure this story started off as a Tam Lin retelling (I mean, the guy Lina originally likes is called Thomas Lin, it's kinda obvious) and morphed into a queer f/f story where the girl falls in love with the hot queen keeping the guy captive, and if that isn't a glow-up, I don't know what is.Someone should rewrite Tam Lin and make the girl saving Tam Lin fall in love with the faerie queen instead, but that's a completely different topic so I digress. So technically that makes THE DARK TIDE a fairytale retelling of sorts, if that floats your boat.
TL;DR: Absolutely a debut worth a read (especially if you're searching for f/f content) that gives me light fairytale vibes. I can't wait to see with Alicia Jasinska does next.
> 4 stars
*
There is nothing more exciting to me than the premise of a girl going to save a guy, except she falls in love with the 'villain' who is keeping that guy captive instead. And if that villian just happens to be a woman? Exquisite. Also throw in a sinking island city, magical worldbuilding and a stunning cover, and you've got me hook, line and sinker.
I've come out of THE DARK TIDE utterly obsessed with Eva, the Witch Queen. I relate to her a lot, especially in terms of how she views the world. I also want to be her, with her cool suits and cigarettes and cocky attitude when it comes to Lina. She also has a pet sea serpent! That's awesome. Eva is such a Slytherin, and Lina is such a Gryffindor, and I'm over here like ahhhh, melting into a puddle of feels. It's the 'brave girl meets cold and cynical girl and starts to pull her out of her shell' trope with these two. There's also a lot of banter between the two of them which doesn't happen with other characters, and I find it mildly hilarious how these two girls suddenly become sassy (Lina) or cocky (Eva) around each other in a way they aren't with others. It's cute.
Putting aside my love for Eva, Lina is a great heroine to follow. I am very much an Eva stan, but this book is dual-narrative and I equally enjoyed reading both perspectives. It's a nice change, given I usually prefer one over the other. I do believe Lina was developed further as a character and had more idiosyncrasies, but one could equally argue Eva's character is withdrawn and so maybe that's why we as readers don't find out as much about her.
For those who are thinking this is a villain x hero love story, I would say to carefully moderate your expectations. In the blurb Eva is framed as the villian, but to be fair she's not so much a villain as she is a girl completely helpless to stop the sea and dark tide, which is the real antagonist of the story. If you came in expecting an incredibly tumultuous morally grey relationship between Lina and Eva, there are flavours of it (if you squint hard at some dialogue), but the fact is that although Eva is definitely slightly cold and withdrawn, she's not downright evil. There are shades of enemies to lovers, but Lina hasn't really harboured a lifelong burning hatred for Eva and is only in conflict with her once Eva takes her crush, Thomas Lin, as the sacrifice.
Moving on, one thing I didn't expect before going into THE DARK TIDE was just how much presence the worldbuilding has in the story. There are books where the world is just as much as a character as the actual characters, and this is such a case. Arguably, the worldbuilding is perhaps the strongest aspect of THE DARK TIDE - not in that it is extremely detailed, but in that it's enchanting and fairytale-esque. It has a exquisite ghibli vibes, this sinking island city of Caldella, where there are ice cream shops and broom boats and flavoured cigarettes and pastel-coloured houses and witches that make charms out of pearls and hair. It's a little Venetian (?) and a little fairytale, and totally magical.
The critique I have is that I did feel this story lacked was development, and because of that, depth. THE DARK TIDE is a quick read, and I felt a few more scenes could have really helped flesh things out. Especially when developing the relationship between Lina and Eva, where the build-up felt brief. For instance, there was a time jump early on of four days before the regatta, and instead of a jump, a few scenes of Lina engaging with Eva over those 4 days would've been quite nice to establish more contact between the two. They don't kiss until late in the novel and they do have scenes together before then, but not quite enough for the kiss to feel completely credible. (Also, look, I just really like these two and I want to see more of them together.) Given the premise of this story, I could have easily read 100 or so more pages if it allowed for more development. But on the flip side, this story is very quickly-paced because of the brevity of some scenes, so I did devour it in under 24 hours!
Furthermore, I am pretty sure this story started off as a Tam Lin retelling (I mean, the guy Lina originally likes is called Thomas Lin, it's kinda obvious) and morphed into a queer f/f story where the girl falls in love with the hot queen keeping the guy captive, and if that isn't a glow-up, I don't know what is.
TL;DR: Absolutely a debut worth a read (especially if you're searching for f/f content) that gives me light fairytale vibes. I can't wait to see with Alicia Jasinska does next.
> 4 stars
August 9, 2020
And I thought Crier’s War was slow burn 😭
December 13, 2019
not to be nsfw on main but i want to r*st my head on eva’s should*r
rep: bi mc, lesbian mc(?)
rep: bi mc, lesbian mc(?)
April 29, 2020
rep: bi mc, poc sapphic mc, sapphic parents, side poc characters
rtc but like, the romance sneaks up on u & then just swallows u whole at one point and it's amazing
rtc but like, the romance sneaks up on u & then just swallows u whole at one point and it's amazing
July 9, 2021
Rating: 3.5
I had such high hopes for this because uh hello, sapphic witches , and don't get me wrong I did really enjoy it! It's super fast-paced, I enjoyed the world, I enjoyed the characters and thought they were really well developed, and it was a fun read. Where the book fell flat to me was the romance, and believe me, I'm more disappointed than anyone because I love sapphic witches.
For a book whose plot is centered around romance and the importance of love between the two protagonists it just felt rushed and fell flat. I think this was definitely made worse with how real the characters and other relationships felt in comparison.
I think it would definitely have benefited from another 100 pages just to flesh out the relationship between our protagonists, but even with that said, it was a fun read and I do recommend it!
I had such high hopes for this because uh hello, sapphic witches , and don't get me wrong I did really enjoy it! It's super fast-paced, I enjoyed the world, I enjoyed the characters and thought they were really well developed, and it was a fun read. Where the book fell flat to me was the romance, and believe me, I'm more disappointed than anyone because I love sapphic witches.
For a book whose plot is centered around romance and the importance of love between the two protagonists it just felt rushed and fell flat. I think this was definitely made worse with how real the characters and other relationships felt in comparison.
I think it would definitely have benefited from another 100 pages just to flesh out the relationship between our protagonists, but even with that said, it was a fun read and I do recommend it!
October 3, 2020
☆ 4 / 5 ☆
“She stole courage from the memory often, for small things, like the moment before she stepped out onstage, and big things, like the hours spent waiting while her mothers raced home through a shipwrecking storm. She stole some now as she sailed down the water roads alone in the dark.”
I loved this book a lot and I had such an amazing reading experience with it. I loved the writing and the setting was so atmospheric, it was easy to get lost into this world and this book.
Lina is certain her brother will be the Witch Queen’s pick for this year’s sacrifice to the dark tide as she only ever picks the island’s most handsome boy. She follows him into this year’s revel to get him back to safety and enlists the help of Thomas Lin, the only boy to have ever escaped the Water Palace. She feels immense guilt as he is once again chosen as a sacrifice and does everything that is in her power to save him. After finding her way into the witches’ palace Lina slowly learns more about their world and the heartless Witch Queen, Eva.
“It’s not a sacrifice if she doesn’t care. No magic in sacrificing someone you cared nothing about. No sacrifice if it didn’t hurt you to give that person up. No power without a price.”
I really loved the setting of this book, this closed-off island where everyone knows of each other and has to let one of theirs drown to save the rest of them. I could really feel like I was walking through the streets of this island town and I could practically taste the magic that they use at every corner. I found it very interesting that in this world the townspeople don’t use electricity and such because they have such proximity to witches and their magic. I also really loved the Water Palace with all its mischievous doors and seeing how witches had settled there. The magic itself and the consequences of it is intriguing and lends a lot to the atmosphere of the story. There is this constant thread of the tide and its hunger for the townspeople’s lives and how the act of sacrifice has been turned into a revel and festival.
“The stories were over, the books closed, and she was stuck living in somebody else’s happily ever after. A boring background character. She wanted more. She wanted to be something more. She wanted to change someone or save someone. She wanted a love people told stories about.”
Lina is a romantic at heart and she desperately wants to live her own story, to live a fairytale. She mostly loves Thomas Lin because he is a story and fits the type of romantic scenario she yearns for. He is, as she calls him, her favourite daydream. It’s not that she doesn’t actually feel attraction and love for him but rather that she is in love with an idea of him that might not be entirely real. We see her come to that realisation and come to terms with the fact that the people she loves aren’t necessarily how she pictures them to be. Her want for stories does not stop with the type of boy she wants to kiss but extends to being her own hero and her own saviour. She has a lot of arguments with her brother about who will save who but at the end of the day, Lina will always choose a path that saves others before herself.
“The day her sister died, Eva sealed her heart inside a bottle and cast it out to sea.”
Eva finds herself at the opposite end of this spectrum. She is still grieving her sister who sacrificed herself for the boy she loved and still can’t forgive her for that. The loss has taken a huge toll on her and she sees the world in a much grimmer light than Lina. To her, these stories of sacrifice are not romantic but tragic. She has been putting herself first and thrown her heart away. The sacrifices haven’t been working because she does not love them and can’t bring herself to care about new people. But maybe a certain someone will catch her interest and worm her way into her mind and the space where her heart should be.
“And something inside of her broke free, the lock wrenched off a door she hadn’t known existed, endless possibilities spilling out. Why hadn’t she ever thought of this? She was the rain—transformed. Floating and burning and falling, falling, falling.”
These two definitely set out as enemies as Eva was very much ready to kill Lina’s brother and use the boy she loves as a sacrifice. But the yearning is very present since the get-go, from dancing on a boat to vulnerable moments in a water-filled cave, and you can definitely feel their attraction for each other throughout the whole book. I really loved the conversations they had and how different their perspectives on things were and their banter had me smiling. I do wish that we’d had more of the two of them together on page and see more of their relationship and especially after their first kiss, I was craving more! There was just so much wanting and hunger in both of them. I also enjoyed how Lina was left pondering on what love should be like, how what she felt was nothing like what she thought it would be.
“Do not let anyone make you feel like you owe them forgiveness. Not even family.”
Both Lina and Eva have family around them who are hurting them in some shape of form. Lina’s brother is known to have a temper and he has even injured her when they’ve argued before. This is brought up often in this book as Lina’s ankle still suffers from that incident but she now also dreads every time her brother gets angry. His temper and anger have had both physical and psychological effects on Lina and she feels guilty for wanting her brother to feel the repercussions of his acts. I thought this would go into a further discussion but it ended up being a little too downplayed for my taste. Eva, while passing on advice to Lina, doesn’t seem to really apply it to her own life. Marcin might be undermining her authority, liking having her a little helpless and needing him, and putting them all in danger, but she has a hard time not glossing over it because he helped raise her and she loves him very deeply. There were definitely complex dynamics at play within both Lina’s and Eva’s families and I really enjoyed that.
“You value yourself more than you think. No boy was worth my sister’s life. No boy is worth your life.”
This story was such a delight to read and I loved seeing both Lina’s and Eva’s journeys throughout this book. They’re both very fierce in their own ways and are pretty relentless once they’ve set their minds on something. I thought this was such a strong debut and I’d highly recommend it if you’re looking for an entrancing and atmospheric read.
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Buddy read with Melanie, Lea and Landice ♡
“She stole courage from the memory often, for small things, like the moment before she stepped out onstage, and big things, like the hours spent waiting while her mothers raced home through a shipwrecking storm. She stole some now as she sailed down the water roads alone in the dark.”
I loved this book a lot and I had such an amazing reading experience with it. I loved the writing and the setting was so atmospheric, it was easy to get lost into this world and this book.
Lina is certain her brother will be the Witch Queen’s pick for this year’s sacrifice to the dark tide as she only ever picks the island’s most handsome boy. She follows him into this year’s revel to get him back to safety and enlists the help of Thomas Lin, the only boy to have ever escaped the Water Palace. She feels immense guilt as he is once again chosen as a sacrifice and does everything that is in her power to save him. After finding her way into the witches’ palace Lina slowly learns more about their world and the heartless Witch Queen, Eva.
“It’s not a sacrifice if she doesn’t care. No magic in sacrificing someone you cared nothing about. No sacrifice if it didn’t hurt you to give that person up. No power without a price.”
I really loved the setting of this book, this closed-off island where everyone knows of each other and has to let one of theirs drown to save the rest of them. I could really feel like I was walking through the streets of this island town and I could practically taste the magic that they use at every corner. I found it very interesting that in this world the townspeople don’t use electricity and such because they have such proximity to witches and their magic. I also really loved the Water Palace with all its mischievous doors and seeing how witches had settled there. The magic itself and the consequences of it is intriguing and lends a lot to the atmosphere of the story. There is this constant thread of the tide and its hunger for the townspeople’s lives and how the act of sacrifice has been turned into a revel and festival.
“The stories were over, the books closed, and she was stuck living in somebody else’s happily ever after. A boring background character. She wanted more. She wanted to be something more. She wanted to change someone or save someone. She wanted a love people told stories about.”
Lina is a romantic at heart and she desperately wants to live her own story, to live a fairytale. She mostly loves Thomas Lin because he is a story and fits the type of romantic scenario she yearns for. He is, as she calls him, her favourite daydream. It’s not that she doesn’t actually feel attraction and love for him but rather that she is in love with an idea of him that might not be entirely real. We see her come to that realisation and come to terms with the fact that the people she loves aren’t necessarily how she pictures them to be. Her want for stories does not stop with the type of boy she wants to kiss but extends to being her own hero and her own saviour. She has a lot of arguments with her brother about who will save who but at the end of the day, Lina will always choose a path that saves others before herself.
“The day her sister died, Eva sealed her heart inside a bottle and cast it out to sea.”
Eva finds herself at the opposite end of this spectrum. She is still grieving her sister who sacrificed herself for the boy she loved and still can’t forgive her for that. The loss has taken a huge toll on her and she sees the world in a much grimmer light than Lina. To her, these stories of sacrifice are not romantic but tragic. She has been putting herself first and thrown her heart away. The sacrifices haven’t been working because she does not love them and can’t bring herself to care about new people. But maybe a certain someone will catch her interest and worm her way into her mind and the space where her heart should be.
“And something inside of her broke free, the lock wrenched off a door she hadn’t known existed, endless possibilities spilling out. Why hadn’t she ever thought of this? She was the rain—transformed. Floating and burning and falling, falling, falling.”
These two definitely set out as enemies as Eva was very much ready to kill Lina’s brother and use the boy she loves as a sacrifice. But the yearning is very present since the get-go, from dancing on a boat to vulnerable moments in a water-filled cave, and you can definitely feel their attraction for each other throughout the whole book. I really loved the conversations they had and how different their perspectives on things were and their banter had me smiling. I do wish that we’d had more of the two of them together on page and see more of their relationship and especially after their first kiss, I was craving more! There was just so much wanting and hunger in both of them. I also enjoyed how Lina was left pondering on what love should be like, how what she felt was nothing like what she thought it would be.
“Do not let anyone make you feel like you owe them forgiveness. Not even family.”
Both Lina and Eva have family around them who are hurting them in some shape of form. Lina’s brother is known to have a temper and he has even injured her when they’ve argued before. This is brought up often in this book as Lina’s ankle still suffers from that incident but she now also dreads every time her brother gets angry. His temper and anger have had both physical and psychological effects on Lina and she feels guilty for wanting her brother to feel the repercussions of his acts. I thought this would go into a further discussion but it ended up being a little too downplayed for my taste. Eva, while passing on advice to Lina, doesn’t seem to really apply it to her own life. Marcin might be undermining her authority, liking having her a little helpless and needing him, and putting them all in danger, but she has a hard time not glossing over it because he helped raise her and she loves him very deeply. There were definitely complex dynamics at play within both Lina’s and Eva’s families and I really enjoyed that.
“You value yourself more than you think. No boy was worth my sister’s life. No boy is worth your life.”
This story was such a delight to read and I loved seeing both Lina’s and Eva’s journeys throughout this book. They’re both very fierce in their own ways and are pretty relentless once they’ve set their minds on something. I thought this was such a strong debut and I’d highly recommend it if you’re looking for an entrancing and atmospheric read.
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Buddy read with Melanie, Lea and Landice ♡
December 31, 2020
This is a good book. Absolutely, it is. But this could've been a great book, and therein lies my disappointment.
I'm wary of getting too hyped about a book before release. I've been burned one to many times by bad books with amazing premises, and so I try to go into most books - especially YA, now that I'm no longer the target audience - with a healthy amount of skepticism. However, I was undeniably excited for The Dark Tide. I loved the cover, the premise sounded amazing, and an enemies to lovers wlw romance? It had all of the elements of a 4 star book, if not 5.
And it was a 5 star book, at least at first.
The Dark Tide has one of the strongest openings I've seen in a YA fantasy novel. Not a strong opening line, or paragraph, or chapter, but a solid 50-ish pages of me just going "omg omg omgomgomg" because it was just so good from page 1. The entire St. Walpurga's Eve sequence is incredible. There's such darkness and mystery and uncertainty surrounding the whole event, and Alicia Jasinska's lush prose made me feel lost in the savagery and magic of the revel. St. Walpurga's Eve just had this gravity to it that the novel immediately had its claws in me and I was hooked. I thought, with no uncertainty, that this would be a 5 star read.
But that's the problem with The Dark Tide: the beginning is just too good, and the rest of the book isn't as engaging in comparison. I still liked the story, and the characters were okay, but the magic of those first 50 pages were lost in the rest of the text. I can't quite put my finger on why. Jasinska's writing was consistently gorgeous throughout the novel, but just not as good as at the beginning. Eva was still an engaging character and love interest, just not quite as arresting as at the beginning. The world was still interesting and built well-enough, just a bit less mysterious than at the beginning.
If I had to guess why the rest of the novel suffers when the beginning excels, it would be that the book is too short. St. Walpurga's Eve had the space to be as delightfully dramatic and dark as it needed to be, whereas the rest of the novel didn't have that same level of development. Clocking in at 317 pages, this is a short fantasy novel. There are a lot of characters, several dramatic events, and a slow burn enemies to lovers romance that needs pages to flourish. I think if The Dark Tide had been 400ish pages, I would've had a much more satisfying reading experience.
Despite my disappointment, however, I still think this is a book worth reading. Alicia Jasinska's writing is beautiful, and I will definitely be picking up any other books she writes based on that alone. The romance is a little bit darker than some other wlw content I've seen recently, which tends to be more "wholesome" - it felt unique, which I appreciated. And, undeniably, those first 5o-ish pages of the novel are something to behold. I outright bought this book - rather than borrowing it from the library first, as I usually do - because I was so highly anticipating it, and I'm glad to have it on my shelves if only to reread the opening again. So even though I gave this book 3 stars, I still recommend giving it a try.
Pre-release Review:
Witch queen? A f/f romance? A cover that gives me Shadow and Bone ARC cover vibes? SIGN!!! ME!!! UP!!!
I'm wary of getting too hyped about a book before release. I've been burned one to many times by bad books with amazing premises, and so I try to go into most books - especially YA, now that I'm no longer the target audience - with a healthy amount of skepticism. However, I was undeniably excited for The Dark Tide. I loved the cover, the premise sounded amazing, and an enemies to lovers wlw romance? It had all of the elements of a 4 star book, if not 5.
And it was a 5 star book, at least at first.
The Dark Tide has one of the strongest openings I've seen in a YA fantasy novel. Not a strong opening line, or paragraph, or chapter, but a solid 50-ish pages of me just going "omg omg omgomgomg" because it was just so good from page 1. The entire St. Walpurga's Eve sequence is incredible. There's such darkness and mystery and uncertainty surrounding the whole event, and Alicia Jasinska's lush prose made me feel lost in the savagery and magic of the revel. St. Walpurga's Eve just had this gravity to it that the novel immediately had its claws in me and I was hooked. I thought, with no uncertainty, that this would be a 5 star read.
But that's the problem with The Dark Tide: the beginning is just too good, and the rest of the book isn't as engaging in comparison. I still liked the story, and the characters were okay, but the magic of those first 50 pages were lost in the rest of the text. I can't quite put my finger on why. Jasinska's writing was consistently gorgeous throughout the novel, but just not as good as at the beginning. Eva was still an engaging character and love interest, just not quite as arresting as at the beginning. The world was still interesting and built well-enough, just a bit less mysterious than at the beginning.
If I had to guess why the rest of the novel suffers when the beginning excels, it would be that the book is too short. St. Walpurga's Eve had the space to be as delightfully dramatic and dark as it needed to be, whereas the rest of the novel didn't have that same level of development. Clocking in at 317 pages, this is a short fantasy novel. There are a lot of characters, several dramatic events, and a slow burn enemies to lovers romance that needs pages to flourish. I think if The Dark Tide had been 400ish pages, I would've had a much more satisfying reading experience.
Despite my disappointment, however, I still think this is a book worth reading. Alicia Jasinska's writing is beautiful, and I will definitely be picking up any other books she writes based on that alone. The romance is a little bit darker than some other wlw content I've seen recently, which tends to be more "wholesome" - it felt unique, which I appreciated. And, undeniably, those first 5o-ish pages of the novel are something to behold. I outright bought this book - rather than borrowing it from the library first, as I usually do - because I was so highly anticipating it, and I'm glad to have it on my shelves if only to reread the opening again. So even though I gave this book 3 stars, I still recommend giving it a try.
Pre-release Review:
Witch queen? A f/f romance? A cover that gives me Shadow and Bone ARC cover vibes? SIGN!!! ME!!! UP!!!
December 31, 2021
gorgeous writing!!
Want to read
March 25, 2020Gay girls and witch queens, sign me up forever
Want to read
December 15, 2019UPDATE!!
Wow, why didn't anybody tell me this got a cover??? It's so pretty!!
sapphic 👀
witches 👀 👀
enemies to lovers 👀 👀 👀 👀
author with Polish-sounding name 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀
Wow, why didn't anybody tell me this got a cover??? It's so pretty!!
__________________________
sapphic 👀
witches 👀 👀
enemies to lovers 👀 👀 👀 👀
author with Polish-sounding name 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀
__________________________
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September 7, 2020
Okay, this has WON my heart
I stumbled upon this by chance at a bookstore where it was laying in all its glory on a random table outside the YA section and its cover beckoned me.
This book piqued my interest with its gorgeous cover and grabbed my heart with its enticing synopsis.
I absolutely adore how atmospheric this book was, the writing style only enhanced this as the story continued.
I absolutely loved our cast of characters and I love the topics that Jasinska explores in this book.
Please do yourself a favor and pick this up immediately 💕
I stumbled upon this by chance at a bookstore where it was laying in all its glory on a random table outside the YA section and its cover beckoned me.
This book piqued my interest with its gorgeous cover and grabbed my heart with its enticing synopsis.
I absolutely adore how atmospheric this book was, the writing style only enhanced this as the story continued.
I absolutely loved our cast of characters and I love the topics that Jasinska explores in this book.
Please do yourself a favor and pick this up immediately 💕
July 1, 2020
caitlin reads: 2020 releases with f/f romances
maybe 2 stars is too harsh, but in the interest of my "3 stars is a good rating" agenda, i can't rate this higher. 😔
maybe i just pressured myself to finish this book too quickly, but i... was not invested at all. the worldbuilding and magic system could've been interesting if they were explored more. i don't even need to know everything about the worldbuilding to enjoy a book, but in this case, where i didn't care for the characters, it could've upped my enjoyment.
lina is your run-of-the-mill innocent, self-sacrificing protagonist, and eva could've been interesting, but, like the worldbuilding, her character wasn't explored more. lina and eva's romance was kind of spicy (that one kiss scene... i am looking 👁), but there was no transition. they were irritated with each other one second, and then had feelings for each other the next??
i just can't think of anything special about this book sorry 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ maybe i ruined my reading experience by rushing myself through it, but this was just forgettable. if you were to ask me for recommendations (specifically f/f), it would be a long time before i mentioned this. 😭
maybe 2 stars is too harsh, but in the interest of my "3 stars is a good rating" agenda, i can't rate this higher. 😔
maybe i just pressured myself to finish this book too quickly, but i... was not invested at all. the worldbuilding and magic system could've been interesting if they were explored more. i don't even need to know everything about the worldbuilding to enjoy a book, but in this case, where i didn't care for the characters, it could've upped my enjoyment.
lina is your run-of-the-mill innocent, self-sacrificing protagonist, and eva could've been interesting, but, like the worldbuilding, her character wasn't explored more. lina and eva's romance was kind of spicy (that one kiss scene... i am looking 👁), but there was no transition. they were irritated with each other one second, and then had feelings for each other the next??
i just can't think of anything special about this book sorry 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ maybe i ruined my reading experience by rushing myself through it, but this was just forgettable. if you were to ask me for recommendations (specifically f/f), it would be a long time before i mentioned this. 😭
June 5, 2020
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Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
...it often felt like everything exciting, everything that meant anything,
had happened before she was old enough to take part.
The stories were over, the books closed, and she was stuck
living in somebody else's happily ever after.
Every once in a while I read a novel that has all the promise in the world, and yet I can't connect with it for no other reason than the fact that the chemistry is just not there. I really like the concept of The Dark Tide; it's fascinating, and there were things about the book that I enjoyed. But overall, it did not win me over.
The island town of Caldella is beautiful. Like other readers pointed out, I was reminded of Venice the second we began to weave though the streets while led by one of our leads, Lina. It's a picturesque place full of lively people. The history of the land, with its Witch Queens of past, and the sacrifices that are forced upon the island, was an intriguing idea. And while I like it when stories begin with a bang, I think that there was far too much happening in The Dark Tide from the get-go for me to easily get my bearings. By the time that I finally did, there was a huge lull that lasted until the last few chapters, when things exploded into action once more.
This is listed as the first in more books to come, but as this novel stands on its own, the characters were flat save for the leads, Eva and Lina. Eva was great, she's smart and sharp with a wicked sense of humor and a soft side that she tries to hide from others. That last is a bit stereotypical, because of course she doesn't want others to see that she cares being the big bag Witch Queen that she needs to be, but she pulls it off. Lina, on the other hand, comes cross as naive and impulsive, doesn't really think about the consequences of her actions until she's smack in the middle of a bad one, and she's overall infuriating. I didn't fall for the romance between these two until the very last two chapters, and while not wholly convinced, the ending was rather sweet between them. There's a nice build up there for the next book.
The rest of the cast of characters are one-dimensional, with barely anything happening among them unless they're needed to step in so that they can advance the plot along. The exception to this is the trio of Thomas, Marcin and Finley. These three hold the role of “bad guy” in one way or another throughout the story: Thomas is selfish and reportedly doesn't care about much other than to save his own skin 'til the end, when he seems to grow a conscience; Marcin so obviously wants to be king of the witches of Caldella that I have no idea how it takes Eva so long to notice; and Finley is the big bad brother who has a quick temper and apparently that means that he likely can be prone to make others suffer physical violence. And then to make things worse, Jun—yet another lad—tries to murder Lina. Yes, they do nice things here and there, but they're still cast in this mostly negative light. I don't know why it was just the guys that always hold the bad lot in this novel, or if this was unintentional, but it still grated on me.
There were still noteworthy moments not to be ignored, however. Eva's pet sea serpent is magnificent, as is the mythology of her love for dancing. The water palace itself is magnificent, and I wish that more time would have been spent exploring it other than its incessantly mischievous and spell-bound doors. I wanted to see more of the island town of Caldella itself, as well as the ruins of the old city. I enjoyed the loophole that Eva thought of and the way that she had of saving the year's sacrifice, even if I saw it coming halfway through to the event.
This tale has its charms, if only they'd been exploited to their limits. I have my fingers crossed that we'll see more of what I enjoyed in the next book, as well as what's still to be explored. The potential is there for this world to grow and flourish.
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
...it often felt like everything exciting, everything that meant anything,
had happened before she was old enough to take part.
The stories were over, the books closed, and she was stuck
living in somebody else's happily ever after.
Every once in a while I read a novel that has all the promise in the world, and yet I can't connect with it for no other reason than the fact that the chemistry is just not there. I really like the concept of The Dark Tide; it's fascinating, and there were things about the book that I enjoyed. But overall, it did not win me over.
The island town of Caldella is beautiful. Like other readers pointed out, I was reminded of Venice the second we began to weave though the streets while led by one of our leads, Lina. It's a picturesque place full of lively people. The history of the land, with its Witch Queens of past, and the sacrifices that are forced upon the island, was an intriguing idea. And while I like it when stories begin with a bang, I think that there was far too much happening in The Dark Tide from the get-go for me to easily get my bearings. By the time that I finally did, there was a huge lull that lasted until the last few chapters, when things exploded into action once more.
This is listed as the first in more books to come, but as this novel stands on its own, the characters were flat save for the leads, Eva and Lina. Eva was great, she's smart and sharp with a wicked sense of humor and a soft side that she tries to hide from others. That last is a bit stereotypical, because of course she doesn't want others to see that she cares being the big bag Witch Queen that she needs to be, but she pulls it off. Lina, on the other hand, comes cross as naive and impulsive, doesn't really think about the consequences of her actions until she's smack in the middle of a bad one, and she's overall infuriating. I didn't fall for the romance between these two until the very last two chapters, and while not wholly convinced, the ending was rather sweet between them. There's a nice build up there for the next book.
The rest of the cast of characters are one-dimensional, with barely anything happening among them unless they're needed to step in so that they can advance the plot along. The exception to this is the trio of Thomas, Marcin and Finley. These three hold the role of “bad guy” in one way or another throughout the story: Thomas is selfish and reportedly doesn't care about much other than to save his own skin 'til the end, when he seems to grow a conscience; Marcin so obviously wants to be king of the witches of Caldella that I have no idea how it takes Eva so long to notice; and Finley is the big bad brother who has a quick temper and apparently that means that he likely can be prone to make others suffer physical violence. And then to make things worse, Jun—yet another lad—tries to murder Lina. Yes, they do nice things here and there, but they're still cast in this mostly negative light. I don't know why it was just the guys that always hold the bad lot in this novel, or if this was unintentional, but it still grated on me.
There were still noteworthy moments not to be ignored, however. Eva's pet sea serpent is magnificent, as is the mythology of her love for dancing. The water palace itself is magnificent, and I wish that more time would have been spent exploring it other than its incessantly mischievous and spell-bound doors. I wanted to see more of the island town of Caldella itself, as well as the ruins of the old city. I enjoyed the loophole that Eva thought of and the way that she had of saving the year's sacrifice, even if I saw it coming halfway through to the event.
This tale has its charms, if only they'd been exploited to their limits. I have my fingers crossed that we'll see more of what I enjoyed in the next book, as well as what's still to be explored. The potential is there for this world to grow and flourish.
June 6, 2020
*arc provided by the publisher through net galley, all thoughts are my own*
WHEW, I knew I was gonna like this and I was NOT disappointed.
let me first preface this review by saying that I definitely don’t think this book is perfect nor do I think it will jive with everyone.
it does have inconsistencies with pacing and structure. there were a lot of times where I didn’t really know where the story was going. I think certain elements should have been introduced better and explained better.
BUT.
this book is SO beautifully written and SO gay. both things that will make me forget about your book’s shortcomings.
if you are an aesthetic driven reader, a atmosphere driven reader: THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! I cannot tell you how many highlights I had for this book (in fact I’ll share them here!) I even had to tweet the author to see if she had a Pinterest board for this book. I was so captivated by the masterpiece the author painted with her words. It was INCREDIBLE.
AND HELLO SAPPHICS, WE WON AGAIN!!!! I think if you’re not queer in any capacity (or even if you are!) you may also have some issues with the romance. it is definitely “irritation to lovers” and the transition isn’t really there. BUT I DIDNT GIVE A SHIIIIITTTTTTTT. their tension?? IMMACULATE. their first kiss??? HARD AS FUCK. their growth?? POETRY. I stan (1) cancer x capricorn pairing.
overall, if you love an atmospheric sapphic read, you’ll really enjoy this. if you’re a plot driven reader? proceed with caution.
WHEW, I knew I was gonna like this and I was NOT disappointed.
let me first preface this review by saying that I definitely don’t think this book is perfect nor do I think it will jive with everyone.
it does have inconsistencies with pacing and structure. there were a lot of times where I didn’t really know where the story was going. I think certain elements should have been introduced better and explained better.
BUT.
this book is SO beautifully written and SO gay. both things that will make me forget about your book’s shortcomings.
if you are an aesthetic driven reader, a atmosphere driven reader: THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! I cannot tell you how many highlights I had for this book (in fact I’ll share them here!) I even had to tweet the author to see if she had a Pinterest board for this book. I was so captivated by the masterpiece the author painted with her words. It was INCREDIBLE.
AND HELLO SAPPHICS, WE WON AGAIN!!!! I think if you’re not queer in any capacity (or even if you are!) you may also have some issues with the romance. it is definitely “irritation to lovers” and the transition isn’t really there. BUT I DIDNT GIVE A SHIIIIITTTTTTTT. their tension?? IMMACULATE. their first kiss??? HARD AS FUCK. their growth?? POETRY. I stan (1) cancer x capricorn pairing.
overall, if you love an atmospheric sapphic read, you’ll really enjoy this. if you’re a plot driven reader? proceed with caution.
October 7, 2020
“A queen should answer to no one. Not the heavens, not the earth, not the sea. Especially not to something so temperamental as the tide.”
The Dark Tide is a novel that drew me in with its incredible world building and intriguing magic system but ultimately lost me when it comes to the plot.
This novel is about Lina, who fears that her brother will be the boy chosen to be the witch queen's sacrifice to save the island this year. In order to protect him, she gets help from the boy she loves, Thomas, but then he ends up being chosen as the sacrifice.
Lina feels like it is her fault that Thomas got chosen and offers herself as a sacrifice in exchange for Thomas's freedom, thinking she can find another way to appease the island.
And so we follow Lina on her journey of finding out more about the sacrifices and we also get to see the point of view of Eva, the current witch queen, mourning her sister, the witch queen before her, who sacrificed herself in the year prior in order to save the boy she loved.
“I’m not going to be made to feel bad for saving someone’s life. No matter how afraid I am now, I would still make the same choice. I’d rather die knowing I saved the person I loved than live knowing I abandoned them to save myself. But that doesn’t mean that I want to die.”
The atmosphere of this book is so amazing. I truly feel like it has been a really long time since I have last read a book with an atmosphere that I truly felt so captivated by. I very much found myself being able to envision all the places that I read about so very well and constantly wanting to know more about the history of the island and sacrifices.
The magic system was something that I was very much fascinated by, especially the fact that there is magic that the islanders can buy in the form of potions from the witches. Because this was an aspect that I enjoyed so much, I really wish this would've been explored even more because I truly couldn't get enough of the possibilities of the magic that both the witches themselves were able to cast, but also the islanders through them.
“People claimed witches were nightmares, dreams, but Eva felt they were closer to plants; wild magic grew inside of each of them, waiting to be harvested in the strands of their hair, their salt tears, their spit and blood.”
I thought that the relationship between the witches and the islanders in general was a really intriguing and unique aspect. The Witch Queen is obviously not immensely popular with the islanders because she sacrifices a boy every year but they are grateful too cause they know they share the same interest too, which is to protect the island. While the main focus of this story is the conflict of the sacrifice, it was interesting to see that the witches and islanders actually live in peace, having a common enemy in the mainlanders.
“A witch’s house reflected those who dwelled within it. It was a mirror held up to their souls. Eva decided her soul must be a very black and twisted thing, because she missed the cold silence, the dark and its merciful shadows.
I also loved reading about Lina being a dancer, especially with her being injured and how that affects her. I have read a couple of Contemporary books focused on dance but it was really special to read about a dancer in a Fantasy setting and I don't think I've ever had that experience before.
I very much related to Lina's experience and could recognize myself in her thoughts and feelings about dance itself and about how it is so hard to recover from an injury when you have learned for years and years to constantly push yourself and you barely know what it is like to take a break. This was an aspect of this book that stood out to me specifically and that I feel very fond of.
“How strangely good it had felt, though. To leap. To spin. To sway. To dance as death stared her down. How alive she had felt in that moment. She’d held a monster captive with the turn of her body, the stamp of her heel on deck. A different kind of magic than the one Eva wielded, maybe, but magic all the same.”
I enjoyed reading from both the characters perspectives very much and I thought that it was very smart to include both POVs.
But I wanted so much more from the relationship between the two, especially as they had some really, really strong scenes. Their chemistry was through the roof and I loved the banter between them but ultimately I still didn't really find myself invested in their relationship whatsoever, which was honestly the aspect that let me down the most.
And maybe I could blame this on my expectations too. I think I just went into this novel, thinking it would focus much more on the romantic relationship, when it actually more so focused on both main character's family relationships. And that is an aspect that I do really love reading about but I just feel like the romantic storyline fell a little bit flat in comparison to that.
Now, I am not sure if there is going to be a sequel to this book but I read it thinking it was going to be a standalone and with that in mind, I just wanted more of Lina and Eva's relationship.
I did love the casual queerness of this book, with obviously both of the main characters being queer (with Lina stating multiple gender attraction), but also Lina having two mums and there being a trans side-character.
“And something inside of her broke free, the lock wrenched off a door she hadn’t known existed, endless possibilities spilling over. Why hadn’t she ever thought of this? She was the rain—transformed. Floating and burning and falling, falling, falling.”
But in general I felt that, especially because I had been so intrigued by so many of the aspects in this story, I was extra disappointed by the overall plot of the book but especially the last 30% of it, as the ending felt quite rushed too.
As we were finally getting to a point in the last third that I felt like the plot was truly picking up, the scene was very abruptly cut off and we basically hit the epilogue section of this book. It just all felt almost anticlimactic to me.
And then there is Lina's relationship with her brother, which needed so much more exploration on page. This is truly an aspect that I do not even know where to start unpacking because it is really complex but I just feel like this was not talked about enough at the end of this book. Lina has several conflicts with her brother and he is always described as someone with a temper, to the point where him getting mad was the reason that Lina's ankle got injured. And Lina often describes being scared of her brother or how he might react to certain things.
“Every muscle in her body had braced instinctively at the first sign of his temper rising. She wondered if it would always be this way between them now. As if it wasn’t just her ankle that had broken, but something else, something irreparable.”
This relationship very much reads like an abusive one and I do not think that this aspect was explored enough in detail. It is one thing for Lina, as a character, to think that her brother's behaviour is okay, because she knows that he loves her and she loves him and that he means no harm and it's "just the way he is". That is definitely behaviour that would be absolutely normal to obverse in a victim of abuse.
But it is never made clear to the reader, that this is very much not okay behaviour. And while many readers will still be able to see those aspects, I do not think abuse like this (especially in YA) should be something to be left so openly and to be interpreted by the reader.
I just really wish there had been some repercussions for the way Lina's brother behaves.
“Lina liked to imagine she would be like that: fearless when it mattered most, unbreakable when it came to protecting the person she loved.”
Overall, I just wanted so much more from this novel. There are lots of aspects that I enjoyed and appreciated but ultimately I felt more so disappointed by this book because I felt like it couldn't live up to its potential and tried to unpack too many aspects at once.
Trigger and Content Warnings for self-harm (for magical purposes), blood, violence, loss of a loved one and grief, and mentions of domestic abuse.
Buddy read with Melanie, Maëlys and Landice ♥
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I received an ARC through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review!
March 11, 2020
The atmospheric feel of this book was like a mix between Caraval and Three Dark Crowns and the world was so interesting. But the characters felt a little two dimensional to me and I didn’t connect with any of them even tho I truly wanted to. Such a cool concept!
September 1, 2020
ADORABLEEEE!!!
July 11, 2022
i wish i had enjoyed this more but i instantly didn't gel with the writing style or how it was more plot-driven than character-driven. if you love caraval or three dark crown but are looking for something sapphic, i'd highly recommend though. just not my cup of tea
Blog • Trigger Warning Database • StoryGraph
Blog • Trigger Warning Database • StoryGraph
July 4, 2020
Thank you Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for the ARC.
not to be nsfw but this is everything i've ever needed.
And I was right. RTC
not to be nsfw but this is everything i've ever needed.
And I was right. RTC
July 31, 2020
YES
Rep: bi mc, lesbian mc
CWs: magic involving self harm, drowning
Rep: bi mc, lesbian mc
CWs: magic involving self harm, drowning
August 10, 2022
3.5 stars
Well this is really sweet and sapphic, but admittedly pretty low on plot development. It was a fun read for me, so I have to still give it a decent rating, but it's certainly missing some things.
The concept definitely intrigued me: needing a human sacrifice every year in order to protect an island from physically collapsing is a pretty big obstacle to overcome. I do think this held it back a little though, because I honestly wasn't that satisfied with how it was resolved (or, not resolved).
Having the main villain be a vague natural force makes it pretty difficult to have compelling stakes. I know "man vs. nature" is a whole thing, but it's never really been for me, and I don't think it works that well in a YA fantasy setting. Although there are other villain moments here and there, the main threat remains largely the same through the whole book without much justification for its existence or why different methods of getting around it just randomly don't work.
It feels like the entire plot, if summarized, could have been squished into one novella or even a short story, honestly. I wish there was more complexity and time taken to work in different ways the plot could have thickened or the world could have grown more complex and engaging.
I would have particularly loved more development of the history and culture of this island. The variety of mostly real-world names, the undefined level of technological development, and even the random presence of the phrase "I swear to God" (Do these people believe in God? How do they relate that to the presence of witches? We'll never know...) They're just never really explained.
I also got annoyed by Finley pretty quickly. I get that he's supposed to be this overprotective brother character, but he never really got developed beyond that, and I felt like the book was too forgiving of his actions. I was never clear on whether he was meant to be interpreted as abusive or not, so I ended up feeling weird about how it was resolved. The exploration of his conflict with Lina was certainly interesting, but it felt like too important a conversation to be relegated to a subplot that felt somewhat disconnected from the rest of the book's themes. I think there was meant to be a connection, but I honestly didn't get it.
The best part is definitely the romance. Enemies-to-lovers is a trope I will ever get tired of. This was a somewhat new take on the trope, I suppose, and I loved the grumpily affectionate dynamic between the two.
There's also a pretty interesting plotline about compulsory heterosexuality here — by which I don't necessarily mean the pop culture understanding of comphet as lesbians realizing they're lesbian (which for Lina is left open), but just women trying to understand how social expectations have influenced how they experience attraction — with Lina questioning her sexuality while her relationship develops with Eva and with Eva's magic being directly affected by her sexuality and her inability to be attracted to men.
So sure, this book is maybe not the highest quality, but I did have an enjoyable reading experience. It was a really quick read, and I love me a little enemies-to-lovers sapphic romance in a fantasy world. If you're looking for more of that kind of thing, this could still be a good option!
Content Warnings: fight that can be construed as sibling abuse, internalized homophobia, self harm for magical purposes, drowning
Well this is really sweet and sapphic, but admittedly pretty low on plot development. It was a fun read for me, so I have to still give it a decent rating, but it's certainly missing some things.
The concept definitely intrigued me: needing a human sacrifice every year in order to protect an island from physically collapsing is a pretty big obstacle to overcome. I do think this held it back a little though, because I honestly wasn't that satisfied with how it was resolved (or, not resolved).
Having the main villain be a vague natural force makes it pretty difficult to have compelling stakes. I know "man vs. nature" is a whole thing, but it's never really been for me, and I don't think it works that well in a YA fantasy setting. Although there are other villain moments here and there, the main threat remains largely the same through the whole book without much justification for its existence or why different methods of getting around it just randomly don't work.
It feels like the entire plot, if summarized, could have been squished into one novella or even a short story, honestly. I wish there was more complexity and time taken to work in different ways the plot could have thickened or the world could have grown more complex and engaging.
I would have particularly loved more development of the history and culture of this island. The variety of mostly real-world names, the undefined level of technological development, and even the random presence of the phrase "I swear to God" (Do these people believe in God? How do they relate that to the presence of witches? We'll never know...) They're just never really explained.
I also got annoyed by Finley pretty quickly. I get that he's supposed to be this overprotective brother character, but he never really got developed beyond that, and I felt like the book was too forgiving of his actions. I was never clear on whether he was meant to be interpreted as abusive or not, so I ended up feeling weird about how it was resolved. The exploration of his conflict with Lina was certainly interesting, but it felt like too important a conversation to be relegated to a subplot that felt somewhat disconnected from the rest of the book's themes. I think there was meant to be a connection, but I honestly didn't get it.
The best part is definitely the romance. Enemies-to-lovers is a trope I will ever get tired of. This was a somewhat new take on the trope, I suppose, and I loved the grumpily affectionate dynamic between the two.
There's also a pretty interesting plotline about compulsory heterosexuality here — by which I don't necessarily mean the pop culture understanding of comphet as lesbians realizing they're lesbian (which for Lina is left open), but just women trying to understand how social expectations have influenced how they experience attraction — with Lina questioning her sexuality while her relationship develops with Eva and with Eva's magic being directly affected by her sexuality and her inability to be attracted to men.
So sure, this book is maybe not the highest quality, but I did have an enjoyable reading experience. It was a really quick read, and I love me a little enemies-to-lovers sapphic romance in a fantasy world. If you're looking for more of that kind of thing, this could still be a good option!
Content Warnings: fight that can be construed as sibling abuse, internalized homophobia, self harm for magical purposes, drowning
January 28, 2023
“Betrayal cut so much deeper when you loved the hand that held the knife.”
TW: blood, body horror (minor), confinement, death, death of a loved one, fatphobia, suicide, violence, vomit.
I think I would have preferred to read a 330 page novel about the Teletubbies and their daily lives. At least then, I would've had a more compelling cast of characters and more consistent world-building.
To put it bluntly, this book was just bad. Despite not hearing much about this before going in, I was excited because it sounded like a witchy The Wrath and the Dawn. Instead I just got a rushed, yet meandering plotline with a rushed romance between two MORONIC characters that had the chemistry of two dead snails and so many plot-holes that I could have started a very large garden.
And a writing style that was trying so hard to be poetic that it described mist as wet kisses. Which is just... nauseating.
I literally can't think of one thing I liked about this book, other than the cover and the fact it was super easy to read. This definitely isn't one I'd recommend, especially if you're already struggling with YA.
TW: blood, body horror (minor), confinement, death, death of a loved one, fatphobia, suicide, violence, vomit.
I think I would have preferred to read a 330 page novel about the Teletubbies and their daily lives. At least then, I would've had a more compelling cast of characters and more consistent world-building.
To put it bluntly, this book was just bad. Despite not hearing much about this before going in, I was excited because it sounded like a witchy The Wrath and the Dawn. Instead I just got a rushed, yet meandering plotline with a rushed romance between two MORONIC characters that had the chemistry of two dead snails and so many plot-holes that I could have started a very large garden.
And a writing style that was trying so hard to be poetic that it described mist as wet kisses. Which is just... nauseating.
I literally can't think of one thing I liked about this book, other than the cover and the fact it was super easy to read. This definitely isn't one I'd recommend, especially if you're already struggling with YA.
September 13, 2021
El libro seria perfecto si hubiera más interacción entre Lina y Eva 🧍♀️
May 8, 2020
Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Annie Deo
The Dark Tide is a stunning fantasy YA debut from Australian author Alicia Jasinska and first in the self-titled series set on the moody atmospheric island city of Caldella.
The Dark Tide offers an exciting and immersive story with a strong feminist slant that subverts common YA tropes and forges its own original path. The two heroines are well-rounded and each demonstrate believable strengths while grappling with their individual fears and pain, both sharing values like unwavering loyalty and strong familial bonds that make it easy to understand why they would be drawn to one another. Although there is a sequel to come, this is a self-contained story that will leave readers satisfied at the end instead of agitated by a painful cliff-hanger! I can’t wait to read more about Lina and Eva in future, and will be certain to re-read this beautiful story again to tide me over before the next release!
Read the FULL REVIEW on The Nerd Daily
The Dark Tide is a stunning fantasy YA debut from Australian author Alicia Jasinska and first in the self-titled series set on the moody atmospheric island city of Caldella.
The Dark Tide offers an exciting and immersive story with a strong feminist slant that subverts common YA tropes and forges its own original path. The two heroines are well-rounded and each demonstrate believable strengths while grappling with their individual fears and pain, both sharing values like unwavering loyalty and strong familial bonds that make it easy to understand why they would be drawn to one another. Although there is a sequel to come, this is a self-contained story that will leave readers satisfied at the end instead of agitated by a painful cliff-hanger! I can’t wait to read more about Lina and Eva in future, and will be certain to re-read this beautiful story again to tide me over before the next release!
Read the FULL REVIEW on The Nerd Daily
June 6, 2022
somewhat interesting and simple concept, fun imagery and world building for a YA fantasy, our main characters were kind of insufferable though
will do a comparative, side by side, patreon exclusive video review of this sapphic YA fantasy with the one I read right before this one, In The Ravenous Dark, to look at the similarities and differences and my feelings towards them. https://www.patreon.com/asunnybooknook
will do a comparative, side by side, patreon exclusive video review of this sapphic YA fantasy with the one I read right before this one, In The Ravenous Dark, to look at the similarities and differences and my feelings towards them. https://www.patreon.com/asunnybooknook
maybe
May 27, 2019"sacrifices herself to her sinking island-city's Witch Queen in order to save the boy she likes, but ends up falling in love with the witch herself"
hell yeah babey
hell yeah babey
June 11, 2020
You can find this review on my blog Shades of Paper.
I cannot even express how excited I was to pick up this book, because I feel I’m always on the hunt for some sapphic books, and this was supposed to be one but with WITCHES, so I went into it with pretty high expectations, and overall I think it was a great book and I adored the characters.
I think that the plot of this novel was so interesting that I was hooked since page one. I’d say it took a little bit for the story to start, but there was quite a lot of information given us at the very beginning so we could understand what was going on in this town and how the witches were involved in it, so I didn’t have an issue with that.
It’s true that one of the main problems I had with The Dark Tide was how little information we got about the magic system. It played a very important part in the plot and the characters, but the reader didn’t know much about how it worked or its limitations, which I think it would have been helpful for us to further understand certain characters and how this town was different from everyone else.
However, I think the author did a great job at creating the cast of characters and their arcs and evolutions. I think that the characters were the strongest part of the book to me, or at least the ones that resonated with me the most.
Our protagonist was such a complex character, and I ended up really admiring her bravery and intelligence. I really enjoyed her arc and her development throughout the story, and basically how much was she willing to do to save her brother and Thomas, even though they didn’t really get along, which was pretty surprising.
Another thing I absolutely adored was the Eva’s perspective, more than I was expecting. She was such a great character and quite the opposite from Lina, but I think that they complemented each other pretty well since their personalities and stories were so different, and because it was told in two POVs, we got to see a little bit more of this world from the eyes of a witch.
And don’t let me get started with the romance. I absolutely adore a good enemies to lovers, and I think that the dynamics between Eva and Lina were just perfection. I absolutely adored how each of them evolved and changed, and how slowly that relationship progressed, because I love me a good slow burning romance.
Honestly, I think that they had a very interesting chemistry and I was rooting for them.
The ending was pretty action packed. I really liked how everything got together and how engaging that ending was. I found I couldn’t stop reading because there were a lot of things happening and I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it.
It’s true that there were a few twists and revelations that I found a bit predictable, but for the most part I really enjoyed how things wrapped up.
Overall, I think The Dark Tide was such a unique and interesting story, and I adored the characters arcs and the relationships and the romance between Lina and Eva. It’s true I had some issues with the magic system and certain parts of the story, but I think it was a solid book.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This doesn’t change my opinion whatsoever. All thoughts are my own.
Actual rating: 3.5 ★
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | BlogLovin’
“The Witch Queen comes o wings of night. The Witch Queen has your heart’s delight. Hold him, hold him, hold on tight. Hide him, hide him, out of sight.”
I cannot even express how excited I was to pick up this book, because I feel I’m always on the hunt for some sapphic books, and this was supposed to be one but with WITCHES, so I went into it with pretty high expectations, and overall I think it was a great book and I adored the characters.
I think that the plot of this novel was so interesting that I was hooked since page one. I’d say it took a little bit for the story to start, but there was quite a lot of information given us at the very beginning so we could understand what was going on in this town and how the witches were involved in it, so I didn’t have an issue with that.
It’s true that one of the main problems I had with The Dark Tide was how little information we got about the magic system. It played a very important part in the plot and the characters, but the reader didn’t know much about how it worked or its limitations, which I think it would have been helpful for us to further understand certain characters and how this town was different from everyone else.
However, I think the author did a great job at creating the cast of characters and their arcs and evolutions. I think that the characters were the strongest part of the book to me, or at least the ones that resonated with me the most.
“She wanted more. She wanted to be something more. She wanted to change someone or save someone. She wanted a love people told stories about.”
Our protagonist was such a complex character, and I ended up really admiring her bravery and intelligence. I really enjoyed her arc and her development throughout the story, and basically how much was she willing to do to save her brother and Thomas, even though they didn’t really get along, which was pretty surprising.
Another thing I absolutely adored was the Eva’s perspective, more than I was expecting. She was such a great character and quite the opposite from Lina, but I think that they complemented each other pretty well since their personalities and stories were so different, and because it was told in two POVs, we got to see a little bit more of this world from the eyes of a witch.
And don’t let me get started with the romance. I absolutely adore a good enemies to lovers, and I think that the dynamics between Eva and Lina were just perfection. I absolutely adored how each of them evolved and changed, and how slowly that relationship progressed, because I love me a good slow burning romance.
Honestly, I think that they had a very interesting chemistry and I was rooting for them.
“Eva decided her soul must be a very black and twisted thing, because she missed the cold silence, the dark and its merciful shadows.”
The ending was pretty action packed. I really liked how everything got together and how engaging that ending was. I found I couldn’t stop reading because there were a lot of things happening and I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it.
It’s true that there were a few twists and revelations that I found a bit predictable, but for the most part I really enjoyed how things wrapped up.
Overall, I think The Dark Tide was such a unique and interesting story, and I adored the characters arcs and the relationships and the romance between Lina and Eva. It’s true I had some issues with the magic system and certain parts of the story, but I think it was a solid book.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This doesn’t change my opinion whatsoever. All thoughts are my own.
Actual rating: 3.5 ★
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | BlogLovin’
September 2, 2020
The Dark Tide was an absolutely phenomenal, dark and complex enemies to lovers f/f fantasy that quickly became a new favourite. Once a year, the Witch Queen who rules over the island of Caldella must choose a boy to sacrifice on the full moon. A life to appease the sea that would consume the whole island.
Led by two fierce girls who find themselves falling for each other, with a distinctive magic system and intricate world building, fierce witches, wonderful sibling dynamics and a pet sea monster, The Dark Tide is an unmissable debut that I cannot recommend enough.
I can’t put into words how much I absolutely adore Lina and Eva and their dynamic. It was perfection, genuinely.
Lina is brave, stubborn and caring. She’s smart, has a deep passion for dance and would do anything for those she loves. Lina is a complex character with great development throughout the book as she learns what - and who - she wants, and I loved her pretty much immediately. She’s at once compassionate and considerate and sharp and bold.
Eva was her opposite, cocky, brash and cold, unflinching ice where Lina was passionate fire. I was absolutely smitten by Eva - I mean she’s a morally grey witch queen who struts around her castle in suits, smoking magical cigarettes and taking care of her pet sea monster.
These two were perfect for each other and I loved their dynamic - their banter was perfect, and it’s a trope I really want to see more - girl who believes love is the most important thing meets girl who doesn’t believe in love and convinces her it’s real. I loved how they became more of themselves around each other, Lina not worrying about being likeable or putting Eva’s needs before her own, and Eva able to be more caring and soft. I love these two SO MUCH I am absolutely obsessed with them.
I adored the world of The Dark Tide! It was SO atmospheric, vividly described, and almost spooky. The concepts Alicia Jasinska explored were unique, intriguing and wonderful. Witches who must give up parts of themselves for magic? An island who must give over once of its own every year to save itself from the sea? A Witch Queen who must choose and fall in love with someone every year just to sacrifice them for the greater good? *chef’s kiss* all around! I was so awed by the idea of the tide as a force within its own mind, the wild sea personified. As Eva became less of the central villain and more love-interest-who-is-still-evil, it was the tide that was the antagonist, that our characters had to fight to save their world. This was just such an interesting and amazing concept to me and it was executed magnificently.
Alicia Jasinka’s gorgeous writing just contributed further to the mystical and haunted atmosphere the world created. Her prose was lyrical, stunning and deeply evocative but without being overwhelming.
I found myself speeding through this book almost too fast - I wanted to savour it but I couldn’t help but read on! The plot was complex, tension building up to the incredible finale! My only complaint with this book is that I wish it was longer - I’d love to see more interactions between Eva and Lina as they fell for each other, a little more back story for Lina and Finley’s relationship and more of Yara!
The Dark Tide quickly won my heart and I cannot recommend this book enough. If you’re looking sapphic A Court of Thorns and Roses but with witches instead of faeries and the atmospheric and unique world building of a Ghibli movie, The Dark Tide is for you.
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I AM IN COMPLETE AWE!!!!!! rtc
Led by two fierce girls who find themselves falling for each other, with a distinctive magic system and intricate world building, fierce witches, wonderful sibling dynamics and a pet sea monster, The Dark Tide is an unmissable debut that I cannot recommend enough.
I can’t put into words how much I absolutely adore Lina and Eva and their dynamic. It was perfection, genuinely.
Lina is brave, stubborn and caring. She’s smart, has a deep passion for dance and would do anything for those she loves. Lina is a complex character with great development throughout the book as she learns what - and who - she wants, and I loved her pretty much immediately. She’s at once compassionate and considerate and sharp and bold.
Eva was her opposite, cocky, brash and cold, unflinching ice where Lina was passionate fire. I was absolutely smitten by Eva - I mean she’s a morally grey witch queen who struts around her castle in suits, smoking magical cigarettes and taking care of her pet sea monster.
These two were perfect for each other and I loved their dynamic - their banter was perfect, and it’s a trope I really want to see more - girl who believes love is the most important thing meets girl who doesn’t believe in love and convinces her it’s real. I loved how they became more of themselves around each other, Lina not worrying about being likeable or putting Eva’s needs before her own, and Eva able to be more caring and soft. I love these two SO MUCH I am absolutely obsessed with them.
I adored the world of The Dark Tide! It was SO atmospheric, vividly described, and almost spooky. The concepts Alicia Jasinska explored were unique, intriguing and wonderful. Witches who must give up parts of themselves for magic? An island who must give over once of its own every year to save itself from the sea? A Witch Queen who must choose and fall in love with someone every year just to sacrifice them for the greater good? *chef’s kiss* all around! I was so awed by the idea of the tide as a force within its own mind, the wild sea personified. As Eva became less of the central villain and more love-interest-who-is-still-evil, it was the tide that was the antagonist, that our characters had to fight to save their world. This was just such an interesting and amazing concept to me and it was executed magnificently.
Alicia Jasinka’s gorgeous writing just contributed further to the mystical and haunted atmosphere the world created. Her prose was lyrical, stunning and deeply evocative but without being overwhelming.
I found myself speeding through this book almost too fast - I wanted to savour it but I couldn’t help but read on! The plot was complex, tension building up to the incredible finale! My only complaint with this book is that I wish it was longer - I’d love to see more interactions between Eva and Lina as they fell for each other, a little more back story for Lina and Finley’s relationship and more of Yara!
The Dark Tide quickly won my heart and I cannot recommend this book enough. If you’re looking sapphic A Court of Thorns and Roses but with witches instead of faeries and the atmospheric and unique world building of a Ghibli movie, The Dark Tide is for you.
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I AM IN COMPLETE AWE!!!!!! rtc
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