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A review by robotnik
Dark Tide by Jennifer Donnelly
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I AM ORFEO FEAR ME
Does that sound threatening? No? Well, that about sums up the villain of this series. But, don't worry. He pulls off a Voldemort and mixes it up to give himself aliases. I know. That makes it totally better.
I have to start by saying I liked Deep Blue and Rogue Wave. Neither were amazing, but they were entertaining. I found Dark Tide to be a step down from the two of them.
This is first time in the series I felt like I actually had to force myself to pay attention and make myself read it. Sometimes, it was boring. I had lamented before that we introduced six girls and only gave any focus on half of them. Lo behold, I only really cared about maybe two of their storylines and only made myself read the others (particularly Becca) so I had all the information. Strangely enough, I found Lucia, who's on the villains' side, to have the most interesting perspective. She's not a good person, but reading her entitlement and obsession with Mahdi (which I don't understand; he's not that interesting at all) was more interesting than some of the other subplots. In a way, the progression of the story was a hit or miss, and the chapters changed so rapidly they sometimes give me whiplash. Not good, but not bad either.
The worldbuilding is still kooky and sometimes doesn't make sense. And as much as I was previously amused by the sea puns, they're starting to wear thin on even me, considering the same ones are used over and over again.
I have this weird gripe with this series. It might be because the entire thing reads like a Disney Channel Original Movie, but I don't understand the entire friendship is magic bond going on with these girls. With the exception of Serafina and Neela who were friends to begin with, these girls had initially spent maybe ten minutes in each other's company in book one but they're acting like they're the best of friends. Friends, sisters, the whole she-bang. It's mentioned soooo many times. And yet there's nothing showing why these girls are so bonded with each other. It makes the entire sisterhood plot point seem superficial.
My second gripe involves all the forced romance going on. It's unnecessary and literally only one of these pairings seem to have any chemistry to me. It took away from the story overall rather than enhance it like it should have.
This book was the worst of the three so far. I'm hoping the last one is an improvement.
Does that sound threatening? No? Well, that about sums up the villain of this series. But, don't worry. He pulls off a Voldemort and mixes it up to give himself aliases. I know. That makes it totally better.
I have to start by saying I liked Deep Blue and Rogue Wave. Neither were amazing, but they were entertaining. I found Dark Tide to be a step down from the two of them.
This is first time in the series I felt like I actually had to force myself to pay attention and make myself read it. Sometimes, it was boring. I had lamented before that we introduced six girls and only gave any focus on half of them. Lo behold, I only really cared about maybe two of their storylines and only made myself read the others (particularly Becca) so I had all the information. Strangely enough, I found Lucia, who's on the villains' side, to have the most interesting perspective. She's not a good person, but reading her entitlement and obsession with Mahdi (which I don't understand; he's not that interesting at all) was more interesting than some of the other subplots. In a way, the progression of the story was a hit or miss, and the chapters changed so rapidly they sometimes give me whiplash. Not good, but not bad either.
The worldbuilding is still kooky and sometimes doesn't make sense. And as much as I was previously amused by the sea puns, they're starting to wear thin on even me, considering the same ones are used over and over again.
I have this weird gripe with this series. It might be because the entire thing reads like a Disney Channel Original Movie, but I don't understand the entire friendship is magic bond going on with these girls. With the exception of Serafina and Neela who were friends to begin with, these girls had initially spent maybe ten minutes in each other's company in book one but they're acting like they're the best of friends. Friends, sisters, the whole she-bang. It's mentioned soooo many times. And yet there's nothing showing why these girls are so bonded with each other. It makes the entire sisterhood plot point seem superficial.
My second gripe involves all the forced romance going on. It's unnecessary and literally only one of these pairings seem to have any chemistry to me. It took away from the story overall rather than enhance it like it should have.
This book was the worst of the three so far. I'm hoping the last one is an improvement.