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bree_h_reads 's review for:
A Dark and Drowning Tide
by Allison Saft
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think one of the many worst things a piece of media can do, is make you feel stupid for caring and getting invested. I’m sure from that statement alone, you’ll never be able to guess what this book did.
I really wanted to like the characters. I spent so much of the book waiting for them to grow or clues of who they really were to show. I poked at every thread the book gave me for who the murderer was and what the motivation was and what they got out of it. I was having fun! Unfortunately, all those things I was waiting for never came. It felt like so many arcs were set up and none of them ended up resolved, I would argue that the MC’s arc was barely resolved. It just led to a book of extremely flat, one-note characters that I couldn’t get invested in. I could barely even tell them apart. Then there was Lorelei and Sylvia. To be honest, I thought Lorelei was a really interesting lead. Her struggles with how her people are viewed by society and how that impacts her, her struggles with trying to gain influence to help her people, and her own blind spots and flaws were VERY interesting at the start. Even if she was rude, I didn’t mind it too much because I could understand where she was coming from. Unfortunately she got creepy VERY abruptly. Sylvia is begging Lorelei to investigate the murder and Lorelei wonders to herself what exactly she could make Sylvia do for her, if Sylvia thought it would convince Lorelei to investigate. The implication in the scene was clear, especially with how she was thinking about Sylvia and her looks. I also didn’t really think Sylvia and Loreli had any chemistry. It felt more like Sylvia was this beautiful, mythical creature that Lorelei was mesmerised by than a real person. I really just think we had too little time with the two of them together to get invested.
I think the world building was interesting, if a little clunky delivered at times. I actually think my issues with it tie in with that aspect of the writing. While most world building details were delivered in an efficient way when relevant. I thought things shared were really interesting and said a lot about the world. I think the only place I really struggled were some of the stories Lorelei told. Every now and then she would stop and tell a whole folktale and then explain how it related to the member of the cast she was talking about. It really just slowed things down and was a really clunky way to tell us about the characters and the stories of the world.
I think the book’s themes on grief were pretty sold. The themes on stories, not so much. Lorelei had a really interesting and I think pretty solidly exploration of grief and trauma. She’s experienced a lot of loss in her life and the ghosts of that haunt her. I think her learning to cope and start to move on was a really well done story, if one that needed more time. On the other hand, Lorelei (local folklorist) had a really odd take on stories and folklore. She said stories were only used to influence politics and to keep certain groups on the outs. I expected the book to contradict this, but it never did. It even pushed the message near the end, which felt odd to me. Certainly some stories have that sort of messaging and all stories have themes, but I think to flatten every historical and modern story in this way is…I don’t know it felt off for the book.
Overall? I don’t really think this is a book I would recommend and has almost entirely put me off of Saft’s work. I’m thinking about trying her Wings of Starlight book, but I don’t have high hopes for it.
I really wanted to like the characters. I spent so much of the book waiting for them to grow or clues of who they really were to show. I poked at every thread the book gave me for who the murderer was and what the motivation was and what they got out of it. I was having fun! Unfortunately, all those things I was waiting for never came. It felt like so many arcs were set up and none of them ended up resolved, I would argue that the MC’s arc was barely resolved. It just led to a book of extremely flat, one-note characters that I couldn’t get invested in. I could barely even tell them apart. Then there was Lorelei and Sylvia. To be honest, I thought Lorelei was a really interesting lead. Her struggles with how her people are viewed by society and how that impacts her, her struggles with trying to gain influence to help her people, and her own blind spots and flaws were VERY interesting at the start. Even if she was rude, I didn’t mind it too much because I could understand where she was coming from. Unfortunately she got creepy VERY abruptly. Sylvia is begging Lorelei to investigate the murder and Lorelei wonders to herself what exactly she could make Sylvia do for her, if Sylvia thought it would convince Lorelei to investigate. The implication in the scene was clear, especially with how she was thinking about Sylvia and her looks. I also didn’t really think Sylvia and Loreli had any chemistry. It felt more like Sylvia was this beautiful, mythical creature that Lorelei was mesmerised by than a real person. I really just think we had too little time with the two of them together to get invested.
I think the world building was interesting, if a little clunky delivered at times. I actually think my issues with it tie in with that aspect of the writing. While most world building details were delivered in an efficient way when relevant. I thought things shared were really interesting and said a lot about the world. I think the only place I really struggled were some of the stories Lorelei told. Every now and then she would stop and tell a whole folktale and then explain how it related to the member of the cast she was talking about. It really just slowed things down and was a really clunky way to tell us about the characters and the stories of the world.
I think the book’s themes on grief were pretty sold. The themes on stories, not so much. Lorelei had a really interesting and I think pretty solidly exploration of grief and trauma. She’s experienced a lot of loss in her life and the ghosts of that haunt her. I think her learning to cope and start to move on was a really well done story, if one that needed more time. On the other hand, Lorelei (local folklorist) had a really odd take on stories and folklore. She said stories were only used to influence politics and to keep certain groups on the outs. I expected the book to contradict this, but it never did. It even pushed the message near the end, which felt odd to me. Certainly some stories have that sort of messaging and all stories have themes, but I think to flatten every historical and modern story in this way is…I don’t know it felt off for the book.
Overall? I don’t really think this is a book I would recommend and has almost entirely put me off of Saft’s work. I’m thinking about trying her Wings of Starlight book, but I don’t have high hopes for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Hate crime, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Murder
Minor: Sexual content, War