Fantasy

The Dark Tide

The Dark Tide

  • Downloads：6838
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-17 08:51:39
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Alicia Jasinska
  • ISBN：1728231922
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

A gripping， dark LGBT 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 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 LonelyWitchcraft booksDark fantasy fictionLGBTQ booksPraise 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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Reviews

mercedes ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 okay i love lesbians anyways i loved the “i’m not meant to have a heart trope” so i really liked that part of the book because she literally did not have a heart it she still loved。 i could not have cared less about lina’s fuckin ankle or her and thomas’ storyline i just want the gays。 and i wish they would’ve shown more of the sacrifice and what all happened after that。 the end was rushed and some parts just weren’t very memorable

Kristhianbooks ，

El libro seria perfecto si hubiera más interacción entre Lina y Eva 🧍‍♀️

Lanie ，

This is a good， mystical and sort of creepy book but I love it。 It has just enough darkness in it but is also filled with fantastical things。

Alice ，

Disappointed at the romance wasn't fleshed out enough。 This book could benefit from being longer to make me care more in general Disappointed at the romance wasn't fleshed out enough。 This book could benefit from being longer to make me care more in general 。。。more

Alexis ，

I held off on writing a review until I'd slept on this， because I usually just drop my rating and go （there's only so many ways to say "I really enjoyed this" before it gets old）。 But sometimes I gotta write myself a note at least to explain to future me why I was so harsh。 By all accounts this book had so much potential。 Magical realism？ Queer witches？ You love to see it。 But it all fell flat and I think it was the pacing that did it。 It's enemies to lovers and I think that's a trope that needs I held off on writing a review until I'd slept on this， because I usually just drop my rating and go （there's only so many ways to say "I really enjoyed this" before it gets old）。 But sometimes I gotta write myself a note at least to explain to future me why I was so harsh。 By all accounts this book had so much potential。 Magical realism？ Queer witches？ You love to see it。 But it all fell flat and I think it was the pacing that did it。 It's enemies to lovers and I think that's a trope that needs time and space to build properly。 This is a relatively short book and to fit in that kind of arc ended up feeling very rushed。 I almost think a different trope like insta-love might have worked better， if only so the characters could get that part out of the way and they （and the reader） can focus on the tension that comes from the ocean wanting to literally drown them all if it doesn't get the sacrifice it wants。 I'd recommend it to someone trying to branch out into LGBTQ+ fantasy as a quick read， because it might resonate for them。 But I'd just as quickly follow that up with a recommendation for Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand， which I read a few years back and loved。 It has many of the same "ingredients" as it were and I feel it pulled them off just a bit better。 。。。more

saheefa ，

*3。5 stars*

mon ，

4。5⭐️

Sarah ，

Pros: - Sapphic and fantasy？ Sounded promising - Eva is really cool- The premise is interesting - The beginning is good， like the festival - The end is goodCons: - For the first 250 pages， the only things that happened was what’s in the inside cover- Lina is annoying - The enemies-to-lovers trope was executed poorly。 Just all of a sudden， they’re in love？ There was no chemistry before that- Bad writing， hard to visualize because nothing is ever described well- The middle was confusing and unreal Pros: - Sapphic and fantasy？ Sounded promising - Eva is really cool- The premise is interesting - The beginning is good， like the festival - The end is goodCons: - For the first 250 pages， the only things that happened was what’s in the inside cover- Lina is annoying - The enemies-to-lovers trope was executed poorly。 Just all of a sudden， they’re in love？ There was no chemistry before that- Bad writing， hard to visualize because nothing is ever described well- The middle was confusing and unrealistic This book will probably be a waste of your time， but parts of it were definitely really good。 。。。more

Mandalyn ，

I adore these characters so much， I love Eva and Linas dynamic， and while what Thomas did was scummy I can still sympathize with him and why he did it and still enjoy his character

anne ，

"When she thought of Eva， there were no butterflies; only this heated swoop in her stomach， like a thrill， like adrenaline。 This violent uneven rhythm of her heart。"This story is told from two different perspectives: from Lina， a girl who is trying to save her brother and the boy she loves， and Eva， a recently-anointed queen who has cast her heart into the sea。 Their paths align when Eva takes Thomas， the boy Lina loves， as a sacrifice to hold back the cursed tide that threatens to overtake thei "When she thought of Eva， there were no butterflies; only this heated swoop in her stomach， like a thrill， like adrenaline。 This violent uneven rhythm of her heart。"This story is told from two different perspectives: from Lina， a girl who is trying to save her brother and the boy she loves， and Eva， a recently-anointed queen who has cast her heart into the sea。 Their paths align when Eva takes Thomas， the boy Lina loves， as a sacrifice to hold back the cursed tide that threatens to overtake their city。 Lina begs Eva to take her life rather than Thomas'， and Eva agrees。 As they spend more time together， they feel drawn together， and as the tide rises higher， they must find a way to stop it together。I was super intrigued by this book because I'm very much looking forward to Jasinska's upcoming release The Midnight Girls， and people who know me know that witchy sapphics are about as far up my alley as you can get。 Unfortunately， though， this book didn't do much for me。 I enjoyed it， but there was nothing below the surface that allured or captivated me。 I really enjoyed Eva's character， but none of the others were particularly compelling to me。 With that being said， though， this book definitely has its strengths。 The worldbuilding was detailed and beautiful， and Jasinska paints a crystal clear image with her words。 There were elements of this book I enjoyed， and I overall liked it， but it wasn't entirely memorable。 。。。more

Audrey Elwood ，

2。75 but rounding up to 3。 This book way pure blah。 it had a good plot。 but the premise could have been developed so much better。 The characters were a let down to say the lease， i didn't even really enjoy the romance。 Overall this book was ok but it could have been great which is disappointing。 2。75 but rounding up to 3。 This book way pure blah。 it had a good plot。 but the premise could have been developed so much better。 The characters were a let down to say the lease， i didn't even really enjoy the romance。 Overall this book was ok but it could have been great which is disappointing。 。。。more

lauren ，

*3。5 but pretty yum overall :3

Alyssa ，

Oh。 Wow。 Yikes。The Dark Tide is in serious competition with The Shadows Between Us for the worst book I’ve read in 2021。 TSBU， as terrible as it was， was at least somewhat entertaining and hilarious in how bad it was， and I expected it to be somewhat trashy from the get-go。 But I was hoping for something good from The Dark Tide， and it was bad in a way that isn’t entertaining， just frustrating。 In this book， the Witch Queen sacrifices a villager each year to the Dark Tide， a magical hurricane th Oh。 Wow。 Yikes。The Dark Tide is in serious competition with The Shadows Between Us for the worst book I’ve read in 2021。 TSBU， as terrible as it was， was at least somewhat entertaining and hilarious in how bad it was， and I expected it to be somewhat trashy from the get-go。 But I was hoping for something good from The Dark Tide， and it was bad in a way that isn’t entertaining， just frustrating。 In this book， the Witch Queen sacrifices a villager each year to the Dark Tide， a magical hurricane that will swallow her island whole unless it’s sated。 Normally the sacrifices are male， but， desperate to save the boy she has a crush on， a girl named Lina offers herself up to Eva， the Witch Queen。 Eva is fascinated by this strange， spirited girl。 She might even be falling a little bit in love 。 。 。 I picked this up mostly because of the promise of a dark sapphic romance， and to be fair， that was the strongest point of the book。 I didn’t pull for them the way I wanted to， because their relationship development was a little weird and also because I had a hard time with Lina’s character （more on that later）。 That being said， the way Jasinska’s prose describes their dynamic is legitimately fantastic。 I keep thinking about it， even though I finished this book over a month ago。 Especially this passage， it’s so up my alley: She didn’t want to hold Eva’s hand。 She wanted to shove her up against a wall and scream， “What have you done to me？” She’d wanted to bruise her hips when she’d kissed her。 Why the one-star， then？ Because while parts of the dark sapphic romance were good， pretty much everything else was terrible。 One of the major issues is Lina。 I never felt like I knew her character， and that’s because her characterization is inconsistent as hell。 Is she supposed to be fiery and determined？ Is she supposed to have a dark side？ Is she a naive romantic who believes she’s living a fairy tale？ I never knew。 All of those traits were thrown into Lina’s character like mismatched ingredients in a boiling pot。 Characters can have conflicting character traits — most of my favorite characters do！ But the trick is to marry those conflicting character traits effectively。 That didn’t happen here。 Eva was a solid， consistent character， but I could never get a grasp on the main thing driving Lina。It also doesn’t help that for such a juicy premise， there’s shockingly little internal conflict。 This is a book where a dark， morally gray Witch Queen must sacrifice the village girl she’s falling for in order to save an entire island！ The village girl needs to deal with the fact that the woman she’s falling for has to kill her！ But those inner turmoils went， like， entirely unexplored。 Lina never seemed super concerned about the fact that she might get sacrificed， and Eva didn’t seem to be thinking too hard about this， either。 It felt like they were by and large reacting to plot happenings， more like set pieces than people exercising agency。 There were a lot of minor details that bugged me， too。 A lot of the side characters felt stale， there was too much telling rather than showing。 The villain was incredibly obvious in his machinations， and the pacing felt all over the place。 A bunch happened in the beginning， then the middle draaaaaagged， then suddenly everything else happened all at once at the end。 It took me three weeks to finish a 300 page YA fantasy。 It should not have taken me three weeks to finish a 300 page YA fantasy。 But what got on my nerves the absolute most — and what really cinched the one star rating — is the ending。 （view spoiler）[The entire book’s premise is for Lina and Eva to find a way to stop the Dark Tide for good。 And then they just 。 。 。 don’t。 As much as I thought it was clever for Eva to sacrifice Marcin， it doesn’t stop the Dark Tide permanently。 She’s just continuing the yearly cycle。 If Jasinska was leaving it open for a sequel， that’d be one thing， but this is a standalone， so the ending pisses me off。 Sure， the narrative implies Lina and Eva will figure out a solution for the Dark Tide in the future， but that doesn’t make the ending more palatable。 It’s like if Star Wars: Return of the Jedi ended with， “okay so I know we didn’t actually stop the Empire but we promise we will eventually， lol peace out！” That’s exactly what Jasinska did here。 There’s a difference between an open， ambiguous ending， and the author being unable to find a solution to her own conflict。 （hide spoiler）]I’m so confused。 All of the reviewers I follow give this either five or four stars， and I’m like 。 。 。 how？ Did we read the same book？ I wish I could have liked this as much as they did。 I’ll still keep an eye out for The Midnight Girls once it releases， because that also sounds up my alley。 But if I ever read it， I’m going in with much more trepidation than I did with this one。 。。。more

Tabby Schaub ，

I loved this book！ It was one the first times i read about a bisexual character。 I loved how the magic works in this story as well。

Kay ，

I tried to get into it but just couldn’t。 I wanted a seafaring novel about some witchcraft but I have no idea what this is instead。

marina ✨ ，

okay so objectively this book deserves three （three and a half？） stars because there are some plot holes， the ending was kind of rushed and some parts feel kind of flat， but the sapphic witches make up for it。 - slow burn sapphic romance， like catradora levels of slow burn - this book kind of reminded me of crier's war by nina varela （which is utterly incredible）， but it's not as good so i'd say read this because it's good， but then go read crier's war and get blown away。 （okay imma stop， this i okay so objectively this book deserves three （three and a half？） stars because there are some plot holes， the ending was kind of rushed and some parts feel kind of flat， but the sapphic witches make up for it。 - slow burn sapphic romance， like catradora levels of slow burn - this book kind of reminded me of crier's war by nina varela （which is utterly incredible）， but it's not as good so i'd say read this because it's good， but then go read crier's war and get blown away。 （okay imma stop， this is turning into a nina varela stan page） - there's also enemies to lovers - and comphet （i think？） - the end was really fast paced， which if you like， is a bonus point - anyways， go read it and tell me what you thought about it！ 。。。more

Kaylee' Phillips ，

Such a good read-quick， I finished it in less than a day。 The world building was fantastic， the characters believable， overall enjoyed。 The only things I found to be lacking was the pacing， things often felt too rushed or too slow。 The main reason I give it a 4 was just that something felt like it was missing， like it could have been improved upon。 Highly recommend if you want a quick read that's engaging and exciting。 Side note: Eva's an awesome character。 Such a good read-quick， I finished it in less than a day。 The world building was fantastic， the characters believable， overall enjoyed。 The only things I found to be lacking was the pacing， things often felt too rushed or too slow。 The main reason I give it a 4 was just that something felt like it was missing， like it could have been improved upon。 Highly recommend if you want a quick read that's engaging and exciting。 Side note: Eva's an awesome character。 。。。more

Sophie ，

It was very tough to get through， I found it difficult to form good connections with the main characters and the interactions felt a bit all over the place

Hazel Bello ，

i had such high expectations for this book and i was so disappointed。

Candace ，

Good part: sapphic with magic。 Mediocre part: most of the book。Bad part: somehow the pacing was too slow and too fast。 Made it feel boring and then all of the sudden I don’t know how we got here。

Jade Saw ，

Enjoyable read， Bit slow moving in the romance departmentThe book has a cool concept and is LGBTQ which is what drew me to it initially。 I like the plot there are a few plot holes but nothing i cant live with。 I like the character development and the interactions。 Overall i found the book to be well paced， engaging and interesting。 Good characters and a good story。

Dolores Grant ，

In a mix between The Wicked Deep and Strange Grace， every year one boy must be sacrificed to the sea。 Except that this year， Lina decides to save the boy she barely knows and yet claims to love。 I won't pretend that her determination makes any sense。 But I also don't care， because once she gets into the Water Palace， she meets Eva and a very Beauty and the Beast-esque romance ensues。 On a side note， why is no one talking about how the moon with the chapter numbers goes getting fuller and fuller In a mix between The Wicked Deep and Strange Grace， every year one boy must be sacrificed to the sea。 Except that this year， Lina decides to save the boy she barely knows and yet claims to love。 I won't pretend that her determination makes any sense。 But I also don't care， because once she gets into the Water Palace， she meets Eva and a very Beauty and the Beast-esque romance ensues。 On a side note， why is no one talking about how the moon with the chapter numbers goes getting fuller and fuller as the book advances？ It's such a small but cool detail！ 。。。more

aspen d ，

GORGEOUSLY WRITTEN AND GAY IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE！！Lina and Eva are both wonderful characters who are even better together。 Literal soulmates。 The story had a good flow to it but could've delved into like their relationship more and fix up some plot holes but I read for character and it was everything！！ Lina is so relatable and Eva is too， just in a different way。 I've been wanting a sapphic read like this one with the angsty gothic-ish fairytale vibe and I GOT IT！！ I live for this shit <3 GORGEOUSLY WRITTEN AND GAY IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE！！Lina and Eva are both wonderful characters who are even better together。 Literal soulmates。 The story had a good flow to it but could've delved into like their relationship more and fix up some plot holes but I read for character and it was everything！！ Lina is so relatable and Eva is too， just in a different way。 I've been wanting a sapphic read like this one with the angsty gothic-ish fairytale vibe and I GOT IT！！ I live for this shit <3 。。。more

Sabrina ，

I think it had so much potential but I was generally disappointed with this book。 My biggest problem was that I didn’t believe any of the characters。 No relationship in this book was buyable and they were kind of built up out of thin air。 I didn’t really like the main character either。 The only reason it’s a 3 star and not a 2 star is because I at least wanted to finish the story and the writing style was nice and digestible。 The plot was good too， it just wasn’t executed as best as I think it c I think it had so much potential but I was generally disappointed with this book。 My biggest problem was that I didn’t believe any of the characters。 No relationship in this book was buyable and they were kind of built up out of thin air。 I didn’t really like the main character either。 The only reason it’s a 3 star and not a 2 star is because I at least wanted to finish the story and the writing style was nice and digestible。 The plot was good too， it just wasn’t executed as best as I think it could have been。 If the book was longer and we were taken on a journey of the development of the relationship between Eva and Lina， and same for Lina and Thomas the reader would probably be way more attached to the characters and have an emotional reaction when plot twists or turning points came up。 I read the entire book with a 😐 straight face。 So it wasn’t really the best。 Thanks for adding to my book count though！ 。。。more

Olivia Valinsky ，

surprisingly good。 i enjoyed the plot and the overall idea

gem ，

this book was entertaining and fun to read， though it wasn’t particularly incredible。 i really liked the way the author intertwined the queer romance with the plot and the magical themes， but there were times when i felt the author skipped a bit。 overall， it was a nice， light， queer book。

jayro ，

slow burn and sapphics rlly seem to make a way into my book wishlist and this DID NOT DISAPPOINT ！！ kinda thought there were some parts that could've been stretched out more but overall i'm happy i read this slow burn and sapphics rlly seem to make a way into my book wishlist and this DID NOT DISAPPOINT ！！ kinda thought there were some parts that could've been stretched out more but overall i'm happy i read this 。。。more

DeJa ，

Today has been a long day or alternating between reading and writing stories， clearly。 This is literally the second book I have started and finished today。 And I quite enjoyed it， enough to give it three stars。This fantasy-romance novel was fast paced enough to keep readers， especially me， interested in continuing the story as the last non-Bardugo fantasy I read was slow paced。 I enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers trope that gets explored throughout the book， and how it is essentially about a lesbian Today has been a long day or alternating between reading and writing stories， clearly。 This is literally the second book I have started and finished today。 And I quite enjoyed it， enough to give it three stars。This fantasy-romance novel was fast paced enough to keep readers， especially me， interested in continuing the story as the last non-Bardugo fantasy I read was slow paced。 I enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers trope that gets explored throughout the book， and how it is essentially about a lesbian couple that fight and fall for each other as their political agendas align against their own heart。 I enjoyed rolling my eyes at Lina's hero complex and her desire to save the world simply because she thought it her duty。 She seemed naïve but incredibly brave for falling in love with Eva as she was the sacrifice for the witch she did not like。 Both characters gradually grew to learn more about the other and themselves， which overshadowed the men in the novel， which was interesting to experience as the women are often made one-dimensional but this time the men seemed that way。This book earned itself three stars for the passionate romance between the antagonist and protagonist。 It could have earned more if there were less plot holes throughout the book。 。。。more

Nina ，

I am starving for wlw fantasy content and was really excited to read this book。 Although it was a good read it wasn’t quite what I hoped for。 There are A LOT of plot holes and the characters don’t have the tension the description teasered （it also sums up the first 100 pages of the book）。There’s a build up （like I said good read） tho u don’t get to explore the relationship between the two characters that much， rather their relationship with themselves。You have to read half the book to go from “I I am starving for wlw fantasy content and was really excited to read this book。 Although it was a good read it wasn’t quite what I hoped for。 There are A LOT of plot holes and the characters don’t have the tension the description teasered （it also sums up the first 100 pages of the book）。There’s a build up （like I said good read） tho u don’t get to explore the relationship between the two characters that much， rather their relationship with themselves。You have to read half the book to go from “I am in love with this man I am gonna die for him” to “I am intrigued by this other girl” and than everything happens a little too fast （for me but I might add that I love tragic slow burns）。Honestly I expected the characters to sit in a castle together and talk a lot about having to die/kill the other person and them falling in love during the process but that’s not quite what the book offered。I loved the created atmosphere and folklore influence in the book tho！ It’s a good story， especially for a debut author。So in summary: if you want wlw fantasy content with witches， dark atmosphere and a bit of self journey， go read it！ Tho if you are looking for a tragic slowburn in which the characters explore their relationship and the witchy drama going on， don’t expect too much。 。。。more

Elizabeth Simpkins ，

I read untill page 200 untill i couldn’t take it anymore。 In my opinion the writing was bad and repetitive （repetitive with the word choice）。 Overall the storyline wasn’t too good either。 If your looking for a good wlw book like me try out Cries War instead if anything。 Keep in mind this is all just my opinion and you may end up liking it， just my take on it。 :）

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Dark Tide

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Dark Tide&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Dark Tide&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0