A Dark and Drowning Tide

A lyrical, dark and sapphic fantasy novel which started out extremely promising, only to lose its special brand of wonder and 'dark whimsy' about half way through. *warning: spoiler* This could have been so much better had it remained a murder mystery – but the plot went in a direction that I personally couldn’t fully enjoy. The whole issue and main plot point got too grand too quickly; I wish it had been kept on a smaller scale. The protagonist, Lorelei is especially callous and stereotypical. I.e. cold, unable to be vulnerable and stubbornly romance-averse, which was exhausting to read, to say the least. I enjoyed Sylvias character, though. To top it off, there were just too few magical creatures for my taste. Even while reading I just couldn’t shake the thought that this could have been so much more.