ARC Review | The Dark Tide

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Dark Tide

Author: Alicia Jasinska

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: August 4, 2020

Categories: Dark Fantasy, Young Adult

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

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, they must choose who to save: themselves, each other, or the island city relying on them both.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

My Reactions:

My Attention: wavered

World Building: dark fantasy world with witches

Writing Style: atmospheric

Bringing the Heat: 🔥 – not much heat, there is a slow burn romance

Crazy in Love: Lina has a major crush on Thomas and basically sets off to rescue him so is she crazy about him? YES…but…things change when Eva comes into the picture.

Creativity: love the dark witchy vibe

Mood: gave me a little but of The Hazel Wood vibes

Triggers: violence

My Takeaway: the Witch Queen is not all she seems

• I like when a book about witches goes into the dark side. When Lina and her brother Finley make it to the Witch Queen’s palace is where things get fantastical, and dark! The world building is great – we learn about the cursed island and the witches that have to sacrifice a boy to keep the curse away. It’s a very dark story.
• The Witch Queen Eva at first comes off evil…but…we learn she’s more than a witch queen needing a sacrifice to the sea serpent. She’s complicated. I liked learning about her past and her motivations, she has a lot riding on her shoulders to do the right thing.
• Lina and her brother’s relationship made me a laugh a few times because they bicker like siblings do. They do not hold back with one another!

• Lina was so in love with Thomas (the boy who escaped being sacrificed), that went to the witch’s castle to free him…like whoa…but at the end of the story, she starts having feelings for Eva. Like where did that crazy crush on Thomas go?! Haha…
• I think Eva was the most interesting character in this story. At times the other characters felt flat and the story lacked depth.
• Triggers: violence

I definitely would have been more in the mood to read this in the fall. I enjoyed the dark and witchy vibe. The world building with cursed island and the witch’s castle intrigued me and kept me reading until the end. At times I thought the story fell flat but I think if you like stories about witches, you may enjoy this one.