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adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Murder
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Colonisation, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
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A Dark and Drowning Tide landed on my bookshelf courtesy of the publisher (thanks Del Rey!). I hadn’t heard much about it, but a sapphic romantasy novel set on a ship sounded like exactly what I needed at the moment, so I picked it up.
Overall I’d call it okay to good. Bonus points for the very well-done inclusion of Jewish persecution in the worldbuilding and Lorelai’s arc. But the spice level was very low (which might be a plus for you!), and I found Lorelai to be frustrating. She was honestly just plain mean, which is not a problem in itself (especially for someone who has lived their whole life persecuted and has major trauma), but it took far too long, IMO, for her to grow out of it.
If you want something quick and fun and sapphic, this might be a good next book for you! But I think that’s where it ended for me.
A Dark and Drowning Tide landed on my bookshelf courtesy of the publisher (thanks Del Rey!). I hadn’t heard much about it, but a sapphic romantasy novel set on a ship sounded like exactly what I needed at the moment, so I picked it up.
Overall I’d call it okay to good. Bonus points for the very well-done inclusion of Jewish persecution in the worldbuilding and Lorelai’s arc. But the spice level was very low (which might be a plus for you!), and I found Lorelai to be frustrating. She was honestly just plain mean, which is not a problem in itself (especially for someone who has lived their whole life persecuted and has major trauma), but it took far too long, IMO, for her to grow out of it.
If you want something quick and fun and sapphic, this might be a good next book for you! But I think that’s where it ended for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Colonisation
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I had such a good time reading this, it was exactly what I was in the mood for
The bonus Illumicrate chapter did make me think maybe I could have enjoyed this more from Sylvia's POV, since I feel like it would be more interesting to get to know Lorelei rather than know everything about her almost immediately.
Lorelei's perspective as an outsider and her different views on each of the characters does make the development of the story very interesting to follow though.
And the setting!! The atmosphere!! What a fun time :D
The bonus Illumicrate chapter did make me think maybe I could have enjoyed this more from Sylvia's POV, since I feel like it would be more interesting to get to know Lorelei rather than know everything about her almost immediately.
Lorelei's perspective as an outsider and her different views on each of the characters does make the development of the story very interesting to follow though.
And the setting!! The atmosphere!! What a fun time :D
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Antisemitism, Murder
Moderate: Hate crime, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, War
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Colonisation
Minor: Sexual content, War
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Animal death, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Medical content, Alcohol, War, Deportation
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3 stars for lesbians. I found this kind of hard to track and pay attention to. The world building was lacking - a whole magic system with almost no use of magic? I also found the supporting characters confusing and lacking a true and distinct motivation. Overall okay I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Colonisation, War
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, War
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved Allison Saft’s prose; it felt like floating on rippling water or walking on a foggy morning. I just clicked with it, and it worked well with the water-based magic system.
I found the fantasy and the romance equally compelling. I loved how the author wove in the folktales to draw parallels and contextualize what was happening in the story. It worked not only to show Lorelei’s passion and knowledge, but also to give the book itself a fairy tale feel. The murder mystery investigation wasn’t as tense as I’d expected, but what I liked about it was the feelings it unearthed in the group’s dynamics: distrust, resentment, and jealousy. It’s not quite a Dark Academia, which might bother some people. The academic aspect is there, but the story takes place away from the academic institution, which I was fine with!!
Lorelei can be a frustrating MC to follow, but I loved her growth into opening up to Sylvia. She can be standoffish, cruel, and selfish, but her marginalization shaped the way she views the world. She had complex feelings about her attraction to Sylvia, and struggled to differentiate between what Sylvia represents, the nobility and part of the power that persecutes her people, and who she is as an individual.
You have to buckle up because the beginning is hard to follow with the amount of information given in a few pages, but it gets better. With such a slow pace, I found the ending rather rushed. A few plot points would have benefited from being tied up a little more neatly, especially the political ones. And I would’ve loved a map!!
It would work well if you’re looking for a character-driven, slow-paced story with grade A yearning and beautiful prose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Antisemitism
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Colonisation, War
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is like Ava Reid-lite. The writing styles are similar, but this book is less dark than Reid’s work.
This book had a promising premise, but it lost me due to its shoddy character work and meandering pace.
This book had a promising premise, but it lost me due to its shoddy character work and meandering pace.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Sexual content