Review by nouriareads - A Dark and Drowning Tide

nouriareads 's review for:

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

4.25

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