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A review by s_holdthebus
A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Overall I enjoyed the fairytale esque book that this was! I had some issues with some things and think they could’ve been more developed!
Things I liked:
- Sapphic romance (although the romance took up a little space, it was more hating and pining).
- Jewish representation. I think it’s great to see a strong sapphic Jewish woman be in the spotlight!
- Saft’s prose and writing when it comes to atmosphere and describing characters is really beautiful and one of my favorite parts!
- I loved the different creatures, but wished we could’ve see them being interacted with more or what their lore was? It seemed like the only person who knew about them was Sylvia.
Things I didn’t like:
-While having a Jewish FMC was really cool, I think we could’ve had a more in depth discussion about imperialism and how horrible the Yevani people were treated. There wasn’t really any resolution when it came to the antiseptic values the rest of the world held? I’m totally not expected rainbows and butterflies but at least a conversation with Wilheim? Especially since his whole goal was “unity” under sacrifice.
- I don’t think this should’ve been marketed as an academic rivals to lovers? There wasn’t really much academia or rivalry (it was solved within the first couple chapters).
- and the murder!! I wanted more mystery and more getting to know the characters outside their superficial archetypes.
Overall, I did enjoy it, but I do think we could’ve gone more in depth in a seemingly really cool and interesting world. More discussions on antisemitism, more murder mystery, more world building and magic system explanation, and more rivalry! But yay for sapphics!
Things I liked:
- Sapphic romance (although the romance took up a little space, it was more hating and pining).
- Jewish representation. I think it’s great to see a strong sapphic Jewish woman be in the spotlight!
- Saft’s prose and writing when it comes to atmosphere and describing characters is really beautiful and one of my favorite parts!
- I loved the different creatures, but wished we could’ve see them being interacted with more or what their lore was? It seemed like the only person who knew about them was Sylvia.
Things I didn’t like:
-While having a Jewish FMC was really cool, I think we could’ve had a more in depth discussion about imperialism and how horrible the Yevani people were treated. There wasn’t really any resolution when it came to the antiseptic values the rest of the world held? I’m totally not expected rainbows and butterflies but at least a conversation with Wilheim? Especially since his whole goal was “unity” under sacrifice.
- I don’t think this should’ve been marketed as an academic rivals to lovers? There wasn’t really much academia or rivalry (it was solved within the first couple chapters).
- and the murder!! I wanted more mystery and more getting to know the characters outside their superficial archetypes.
Overall, I did enjoy it, but I do think we could’ve gone more in depth in a seemingly really cool and interesting world. More discussions on antisemitism, more murder mystery, more world building and magic system explanation, and more rivalry! But yay for sapphics!