A gripping, dark enemies to lovers LGBTQ+ YA fantasy about two girls who must choose between saving themselves, each other, or their sinking island home.Every year on St. Walpurga’s Eve, Caldella’s Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full moon to keep the island city from sinking.Lina Kirk is convinced her brother is going to be taken this year. To … To save him, she enlists the help of Thomas Lin, the boy she secretly loves, and the only person to ever escape from the palace. But they draw the queen’s attention, and Thomas is chosen as the sacrifice.Queen Eva watched her sister die to save the boy she loved. Now as queen, she won’t make the same mistake. She’s willing to sacrifice anyone if it means saving herself and her city.When Lina offers herself to the queen in exchange for Thomas’s freedom, the two girls await the full moon together. But Lina is not at all what Eva expected, and the queen is nothing like Lina envisioned. Against their will, they find themselves falling for each other as water floods Caldella’s streets and the dark tide demands its sacrifice.Perfect for fans of:The Wicked Deep and A Curse So Dark and LonelyWitchy talesDark fantasy fictionLGBTQ booksEnemies to lovers romancePraise for The Dark Tide:”Striking the perfect balance, The Dark Tide demands to be read in one held breath as its tide bears down on all.”—Foreword, Starred Review”A dark scenic adventure, sensitively written for romantics, Jasinska’s debut novel is a fantasy of promises, betrayal, unrequited love, and black magic.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review”The Dark Tide is the dark, queer fantasy of your dreams that’s part beauty and the beast, part something entirely new and original… a lush world that begs to be lived in… It’s beautiful, and fast paced, and everything I ever want from a fairy tale.”—Cat VanOrder, Bookmarks (Winston-Salem, NC)”Fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope will be ecstatic with this book…The Dark Tide offers an exciting and immersive story with a strong feminist slant that subverts common YA tropes and forges its own original path.”—The Nerd Daily
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I’ve read The Dark Tide a few months ago but I struggled so much to rate and review it that I decided to reread it again after a while. Finally, I’ve reread it and I’m still struggling to organize my thoughts about it.
I was really liking the story during the first half of the book but then I felt disconnected. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment that my interest in the story started to fade but I’ll try to sum up what I liked and disliked.
What I liked:
• Rep (POC; LGBT);
• Captivating premise;
• The dark setting of the palace and the island;
• Witches;
• Lina and Finley’s relationship was great, really loved their banter;
• The pet sea serpent was amazing;
• Eva was the most complex character in my opinion and I really liked her POV;
What I didn’t like:
• The magic system was underdeveloped;
• The pacing felt off;
• There was no build up in the romance (Lina’s transition from being so in love with Thomas to having feelings for Eva came out of nowhere);
• Other than Eva and Lina, the other characters felt flat.
Overall, I liked it but I feel like the story didn’t quite fulfill its potential and couldn’t keep me invested until the very end. I’m still curious about the next book though.
*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.*
It took me a bit to get into this one, and originally it was supposed to be published in June, but I had trouble reading it with how my brain has been fighting to read anything other than mostly contemporary during this quarantine/pandemic time. It was definitely an original story in my opinion. The magic was very interesting, and the fact that the main characters weren’t quite set in who they were attracted to, but fell in love with each other anyway was a very different way of telling the story. Although I did kind of figure out early on who might be sabotaging or causing things to not go as planned, that’s okay, because in the end it turned out to be an interesting enough ending.
While this isn’t one I necessarily would recommend to people, it isn’t bad, and some people might enjoy it more than I did.
An excellent dark fantasy. Honestly, this was such a good novel, and the LGBTQ representation was excellent. The fact that it just exists in the story, so naturally, makes the novel astounding. It also adds to the world-building and the depth of the characterization since the main character has two moms. It is invigorating to see it just bleed into the confines of the societal structure in the novel. It makes the novel more realistic in an impactful way.
As for the story, the world-building is exceptional. There are snippets of where these people came from and why they live in a world that is both beautiful and tragic. It gives off this wonderful feeling as it lures the reader into the story and the history of the world without overwhelming the reader. It has a breathtaking edge to it as it is something rather unique. It also steps away from classic fantasy tropes and cliches revolving dark fantasy, witches, and romance, making the novel even more engaging for the reader.
Jasinska did a fantastic job in constructing this novel, giving the reader a look at the characters, a look at their pain, guilt, remorse, and desires. She creates complex characters in a complex narrative to keep the story engaging. Lina is the unsuspecting heroine of the novel and works hard to keep those she cares about safe. Lina is not, admittedly, the most engaging character in the beginning. Lina is relatable, there is no doubt about that, but it is not until Lina meets Eva that she becomes engaging, and that has to do with the character dynamics. Eva is a brilliant character because of her complex nature. In the beginning, it does not seem that way, but as the story continues, it peels away layers of her past to reveal why she has so much anger, so much grief, and her connection with Lina, it is empowering to both of them. Together they make such an incredible duo.
The Dark Tide is a fantastic novel. The perfect pacing allows all aspects of the novel to grow and develop into a beautiful breath of fresh air.