Thank you Penguin Teen for this book in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis:

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

Review:

The Dark Tide, which I realllly really reallllllllyyyy wanted to love, just didn’t hit the mark for me. I mean there were some beautiful parts of this book but there were less appealing. Don’t get me wrong there was just moments that were meh for me. I needed more details about the world and the characters, because I just couldn’t connect to them at all. And without the connection to the characters I didn’t care if they lived or died. I needed more.

I know. I say that all the time but it is sooo important to ensure that your characters and world building is something that sparks joy with the reader.

Okay while the characters and world building were on the naughty list but that plot though. Damnnnn that shone through. And I am here for Jasinska’s writing, it was eerie, gorgeous and captivating and I loved it. There is darkness in this book that honestly sooths my soul and I am here for the bitterness of it! Let’s throw in sacrifices, sinking lands, heart ache and witches. Yes witches. And you can see why I was torn in two by this book. It would be worth keeping an eye on Jasinska, I don’t think she has done blowing our minds just yet.

Rating: 3.5/5

Publisher: Penguin Random House

ISBN: 9781760894726