A review by magicalghoul
A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

So first of all, it's very amusing to me that I could sniff out almost immediately the danganronpa and ace attorney influence in this book. 

This was such a fun trip, I think the court intrigue worked really well with the whodunnit and we got to see and know the characters pretty well. The romance at its center is its best feature though: The yearning, the crazied devotion! I did have to stop and take a couple moments while reading because I felt crazy (positive). 

I did not care much for the magic system and it wasn't really fleshed out either— it felt more like a means to an end. Now, I was expecting something more on the vein of anti-stablishment/monarchy themes specially considering the narrator was from a marginalized people and the cast featured victims of imperialism but alas, the ending was very very underwhelming in that regard and did diminish my enjoyment of the rest of the book. 

Would recommend it for the characters and the romance, but if you're looking for intricate magic systems and revolutionary themes you could skip this one. 
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