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A review by emmylux7
The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
this is a perfect example of an interesting concept that was fumbled from beginning to end.
let's begin with the characters...
our 2 leads/love interests Lina & Eva had as much chemistry as I do with avocados... i hate avocados. they barely interacted, and when they did it was in short bursts of dialog mixed with animosity and sarcasm. there were a few opportunities for them to bond presented, like when Lina attempts to research how to stop the curse plaguing her village. after learning Eva and a few other characters tried to the year prior. but this was quickly dropped within a couple pages. this book even had the "push up against the wall, one hand by her head, with one finger on their lips to quiet them" scene & I felt nothing. I had to skip back the audio book at least 3x before realizing what was happening. cause their had been 0 development for them, & it was past the midway mark. when they finally did kiss amongst falling stars I thought "damn, this is would've been hot if actually cared." YIKES!
i preferred Eva's character a bit more than Lina's, especially Eva's social anxiety. her comment about wanting to stab someone in the eyes with her hairpins if she had to be surrounded by people for one more moment was very relatable. i think Eva had the potential of being a more interesting character if she were given more chapters. or had been written by a more adept author. unfortunately, we are mainly hearing the story from Lina's pov and it was incredibly bland and as stated earlier cringe. beyond preferring dancing to reading, the only other "notable" thing about her is that her ankle was broken off page and it hurts really bad you guys! i didn't understand her motivations to save thomas & especially her brother. Even Eva pointed this out at some point; which was the only time I genuinely laughed.
the other 3 semi important characters were Finley, Thomas, and Yara. you're introduced to the two boys within a handful of pages so lets start with Finley. right off the bat he comes off as your typical YA older brother, whose a but of a player. my main concern with him was the number of times Lina talks about his anger. that he has tunnel vision, and even says that he has scared her. Later it's revealed that Finley pushed Lina down some stairs which led to her ankle being broken. i was very uncomfortable by this information, especially as someone who has trauma from similar situations. not once is Finley described as abusive or an abuser. it's said mostly in passing with a shrug and hope that maybe one day he'll get better. Lina even says she hopes one day her & Finley could laugh at this when they're older. BITCH WTF?!
Thomas on the other hand is very much a plot device. He's a bit of a pariah in this small town since escaping from being a sacrifice the previous year. I don't understand why Lina is so insistent upon saving him. beyond him being cute and carrying her after a different ankle injury that one time. also sidebar; the audiobook narrator took it upon herself to give him a scottish/irish accent. which wasn't bad, but made zero sense since EVERYBODY else had an american one. Lina, Finley, and Thomas are from the same isle, they should have a similar dialect.
finally there's Yara, one of the other witches and Eva's friend *shrugs*. She's mostly relegated to flirting with Finley, and doing your basic water bending moves. and commenting on how she's surprised Eva chose a girl since she hates everyone. honestly same.
now what about the antagonist? there barely is one. beyond the quickly approaching full moon tidal wave thing? theres an elderly male witch we'll call M (idk how to spell the name) who 1) wants to sacrifice thomas because reasons or 2) let the tidal wave consume the island because fuck it i guess. ALSO his magic is that he SPITS and things happen. i wish i was kidding.
and even more egregious of all, he hypnotizes Lina to throw herself off a balcony into the ocean. and instead of it being described as scary, it was a paragraph of flowery language. you are talking about a character being forced to commit suicide! this is not the time for purple prose. in what world is that ok?!
now since this is getting a bit long ill keep the rest hopefully short and sweet...
the setting/worldbuilding: possibly medieval? i mean cobblestones were described at one point. the multiple failed attempts at flowery language was dreadful. there was no whimsy, only confusion.
it's mentioned right at the beginning that Lina dyes her hair blond, which involves bleach? or maybe magic does it? i don't know cause this was never brought up again.
then there's the fact that every single character has a nicotine addiction. at one point Lina takes Eva's cigarette out of her hands. only to find that it tastes sweet... I had to pause the bk & say outloud; DOES THIS BITCH HAVE A VAPE?! i can't even. obviously she did it with magic but still!
magic system: i couldn't fucking tell ya... one of the older witches in charge FUCKING SPITS! whilst Eva pulls out her hair and also ribbons so she can do things. and Yara likes water. there is literally no rhyme or reason for how or why. The author should've just given them all the ability to change appearances like Eva and be done.
if i hadn't been listening to this on audiobook i would've dnf'd. if anything it made for good bg noise while i was at work. so unless you looking for a bland love story with no stakes then this is the story for you.
let's begin with the characters...
our 2 leads/love interests Lina & Eva had as much chemistry as I do with avocados... i hate avocados. they barely interacted, and when they did it was in short bursts of dialog mixed with animosity and sarcasm. there were a few opportunities for them to bond presented, like when Lina attempts to research how to stop the curse plaguing her village. after learning Eva and a few other characters tried to the year prior. but this was quickly dropped within a couple pages. this book even had the "push up against the wall, one hand by her head, with one finger on their lips to quiet them" scene & I felt nothing. I had to skip back the audio book at least 3x before realizing what was happening. cause their had been 0 development for them, & it was past the midway mark. when they finally did kiss amongst falling stars I thought "damn, this is would've been hot if actually cared." YIKES!
i preferred Eva's character a bit more than Lina's, especially Eva's social anxiety. her comment about wanting to stab someone in the eyes with her hairpins if she had to be surrounded by people for one more moment was very relatable. i think Eva had the potential of being a more interesting character if she were given more chapters. or had been written by a more adept author. unfortunately, we are mainly hearing the story from Lina's pov and it was incredibly bland and as stated earlier cringe. beyond preferring dancing to reading, the only other "notable" thing about her is that her ankle was broken off page and it hurts really bad you guys! i didn't understand her motivations to save thomas & especially her brother. Even Eva pointed this out at some point; which was the only time I genuinely laughed.
the other 3 semi important characters were Finley, Thomas, and Yara. you're introduced to the two boys within a handful of pages so lets start with Finley. right off the bat he comes off as your typical YA older brother, whose a but of a player. my main concern with him was the number of times Lina talks about his anger. that he has tunnel vision, and even says that he has scared her. Later it's revealed that Finley pushed Lina down some stairs which led to her ankle being broken. i was very uncomfortable by this information, especially as someone who has trauma from similar situations. not once is Finley described as abusive or an abuser. it's said mostly in passing with a shrug and hope that maybe one day he'll get better. Lina even says she hopes one day her & Finley could laugh at this when they're older. BITCH WTF?!
Thomas on the other hand is very much a plot device. He's a bit of a pariah in this small town since escaping from being a sacrifice the previous year. I don't understand why Lina is so insistent upon saving him. beyond him being cute and carrying her after a different ankle injury that one time. also sidebar; the audiobook narrator took it upon herself to give him a scottish/irish accent. which wasn't bad, but made zero sense since EVERYBODY else had an american one. Lina, Finley, and Thomas are from the same isle, they should have a similar dialect.
finally there's Yara, one of the other witches and Eva's friend *shrugs*. She's mostly relegated to flirting with Finley, and doing your basic water bending moves. and commenting on how she's surprised Eva chose a girl since she hates everyone. honestly same.
now what about the antagonist? there barely is one. beyond the quickly approaching full moon tidal wave thing? theres an elderly male witch we'll call M (idk how to spell the name) who 1) wants to sacrifice thomas because reasons or 2) let the tidal wave consume the island because fuck it i guess. ALSO his magic is that he SPITS and things happen. i wish i was kidding.
and even more egregious of all, he hypnotizes Lina to throw herself off a balcony into the ocean. and instead of it being described as scary, it was a paragraph of flowery language. you are talking about a character being forced to commit suicide! this is not the time for purple prose. in what world is that ok?!
now since this is getting a bit long ill keep the rest hopefully short and sweet...
the setting/worldbuilding: possibly medieval? i mean cobblestones were described at one point. the multiple failed attempts at flowery language was dreadful. there was no whimsy, only confusion.
it's mentioned right at the beginning that Lina dyes her hair blond, which involves bleach? or maybe magic does it? i don't know cause this was never brought up again.
then there's the fact that every single character has a nicotine addiction. at one point Lina takes Eva's cigarette out of her hands. only to find that it tastes sweet... I had to pause the bk & say outloud; DOES THIS BITCH HAVE A VAPE?! i can't even. obviously she did it with magic but still!
magic system: i couldn't fucking tell ya... one of the older witches in charge FUCKING SPITS! whilst Eva pulls out her hair and also ribbons so she can do things. and Yara likes water. there is literally no rhyme or reason for how or why. The author should've just given them all the ability to change appearances like Eva and be done.
if i hadn't been listening to this on audiobook i would've dnf'd. if anything it made for good bg noise while i was at work. so unless you looking for a bland love story with no stakes then this is the story for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide
the main character is forced to commit suicide.