Wow. This book was wonderful. If I could try and describe this book in as few words as possible I would say it's like a sapphic murder-mystery fantastic beasts and where to find them! If the plot isnt enthralling enough to completely grasp you then you will be enamored by @allisonhsaft and her ability to create the most magical sounding creatures! I truly envy writers ability to create such mystical and magical creatures out of thin air!
You follow the story of Lorelei and Sylvia (as well as a band of entitled, rich, misfits) as they try and discover the location of a magical well-spring that may have the ability to help the king secure a safe and peaceful land for all. There are so many hidden themes of colonialism as well as bigotry as it relates to religious differences, there truly is something for everyone in this book. Not to mention, it has one of the best golden retriever/black cat romances I've read in quite some time.

Absolutely bravo! I would love for Allison to write more stories that dive into these magical beings ::hint::hint::

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

And on the sixth day, I read the very last page of A Dark and Drowning Tide. I'll admit that I tried my very best to take my time devouring this book. In this, you will meet Lorelei and Sylvia. Since the very beginning, of this book, we've known that they have an ongoing competition between each other to get a particular job.

Little did they know that this new adventure would bring them closer together. Closer than they ever imagined (or maybe they did, and it just took me (the reader) a while to get there). Either way, I quite enjoyed everything about this little mystery adventure.

The entire journey was entertaining from start to finish. I also liked getting to meet different creatures and learn more about the crew for this mission. When betrayal and murder came into the mix, I was quite surprised. Maybe even a little naive too, but I don't want to spoil anything.

In the end, I am really happy with how everything was revealed and carried out. The romance was a little cherry on top and something that left a smile on my face. I came for the fantasy and drama, and I was disappointed a bit. I look forward to my next book written by Allison.

Rivals to lovers will always be a million times better than enemies to lovers.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is a dark fantasy story that borders on dark academia and romance, but it's full of whimsical magic and plenty of rivalries. I think a lot of the actual "lore" and histories for some of the folklore were lost on me, but if you like what I think is German folklore, you'll probably be less confused than I was.
I think the main issue I had with the book was the pacing. Given that this was described as a murder mystery-type adventure expedition, I was expecting a little more action. However, most of the book just seemed to be the characters insulting and accusing each other. The actual "mystery" aspect was very minimal, as was the adventure. While the plot picked up in the second half, there were only three scenes I genuinely enjoyed. That being said, the "big reveal" in this book was amazing, and I really enjoyed the tension following it. I sort of called the plot twist, but the reason I accused my guess was completely unrelated to actual reasons, and I still kind of got it wrong?
Besides the reveal, the character dynamics are the reason this book got a rating as high as it did. I'm a big fan of rivalries between all of the characters, and this book delivered on the tensions. However, I think it would have been more effective if I could actually tell the difference between half the characters because it took me nearly 50% of the book to know who was who. I didn't know much about Heike or Adelheid, so I don't have many comments. I thought Johann was kind of neat for no reason at all, and I started to appreciate Ludwig at the halfway point as well (and he ended up being my favorite, I guess?) As far as Lorelei and Sylvia go, I thought they were interesting, but I didn't love them. Their romance made sense; it just wasn't all that enticing to me, despite the rivals to lovers. I liked their backstories, but I was more intrigued by everyone except Lorelei and their combined histories.
For fans of academic rivals to lovers, gothic sapphics, and academic tensions, A Dark and Drowning Tide is an interesting read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!

3.5/5

I loved everything about this. The book is told entirely from Lorelai's perspective, and Lorelai's head is a wonderful vantage point for this story (and I feel like single POV books are becoming rarer). Lorelai feels real and is relatable. Her decisions are sometimes (often) frustrating, but her rationale is understandable. The slow-burn romance was also incredibly satisfying to read against the backdrop if a perfectly paced and plotted journey with many twists and turns. The worldbuilding was done well (both the folklore and tensions between factions aspects). This story has plenty of magic, tension, betrayal, intrigue, hauntingly, and tenderness. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys folklore, the rivals to lovers trope, and stories about naturalist expeditions.

allison saft’s A DARK & DROWNING TIDE is a marvel with rich folklore & worldbuilding along with a compelling romance, this story was one that swept me under its tide & didn’t let me go. i adored it’s exploration of the prejudice in fairytales & the healing power of love. ♡

I read A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft this year and what I adore about it is even more elevated in her adult debut A Dark and Drowning Tide: a unique magic system, addressing issues of class and identity, beautiful prose, and an enemies/rivals to lovers romance. A Fragile Enchantment was the light and hopeful book I was craving at the time, but A Dark and Drowning Tide is the dark celebration of haunted women that I so badly needed.

I think that Niamh from A Fragile Enchantment and Sylvia are very similar and would probably be besties. I very much appreciate how earnestly and joyfully they express themselves, but I was also grateful to experience someone like Lorelei’s POV (unfortunately especially because I relate to her a lot). Lorelei is an incredibly compelling and well-written character. She is a folklorist who believes that she’s doomed to misery, like a fairy curse from a story. She is consumed by bitterness–whether this is innate or the result of a tragic and cruel life, she can’t tell–and has learned to embrace her unpleasantness, though she fears that she will ruin the lives of anyone she cares about. Thank you Allison Saft for so lovingly portraying an androgynous neurodivergent sapphic with a big ol’ guilt complex.

I’ll admit that I was a bit distracted while reading this book, so while I thought the murder-mystery plot was a bit slow this could have been all in my head. I thought the romance was paced wonderfully; Lorelei gradually realizing that she’s not obsessed with Sylvia in a academically fueled hate kind of way but a gay kind of way is totally believable, highly entertaining, and has a well-earned payoff. I’m very obsessed with Sylvia telling Lorelei “You’re like something out of a nightmare” in a romantic way. This is kind of the best pickup line I’ve ever heard (quote taken from an eARC and may change but hopefully not because I’m going to think about it forever).

I’m excited to read Saft’s other books, and anything else she writes in the future is absolutely an auto-read for me. I can’t decide whether I want a sequel to A Dark and Drowning Tide to read more about the consequences of the expedition, or if I’m perfectly happy with the lovely fairytale ending. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the eARC of one of my new favorite books!

If you're a fan of Allison Saft's writing then I'm sure you'll enjoy this one! It's such an interesting premise, and I think it's pretty well pulled off.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is the upcoming Adult debut for beloved author, Allison Saft. I have loved all three of Saft's previous YA Fantasy releases, with my favorite probably being, A Fragile Enchantment. Saft's writing is accessible and fluid. It's magical and enchanting, but without feeling overly-done. Her plots never get drowned out by flowery writing. It's easy to follow along and become emotionally attached to her characters, as well.

In this story we mainly follow Lorelei, who is a folklorist making her way through her academic career. At the start of the tale, she's getting ready to set out on a serious expedition with her mentor and some peers. Their goal is to find a fabled spring said to be a powerful source of magic. They're being commissioned by the King, who believes the powers of this spring will help him better secure his reign of their embattled country.

Shortly after the group boards the ship however, the unthinkable happens. Lorelei's mentor, their group leader, is murdered in the middle of the night. An ominous start. Since the ship was sailing at the time, the suspects are limited. It has to be one amongst them. To me, Lorelei's academic rival, Sylvia, is immediately suspicious. She keeps popping up at strange times and places. A bit of a midnight wanderer, if you will...But Lorelei feels she is innocent. Plus, the four others have equal amounts of motive. Honestly, it could be any of them.

It's too late to turn back though, so Lorelei takes charge and hopes that they'll be able to find the spring before the murderer strikes again. Unfortunately, dangers do not just lie aboard the ship, there's dangers all around them. The group knows they need to band together in order to survive, but that's easier said than done. Tensions are high and tempers flare on a regular basis. Is anyone going to make it through this expedition alive?

Saft's Adult Fantasy debut succeeded in transporting me to another time and place. I had a very good time reading this, although I will say, it definitely has a more serious tone than her YA stories. Nevertheless, it's still as powerful. This also had a slower build than her YA-stories, but I did like the introduction to the characters prior to them setting out on the expedition. Once they board the ship though, that's when things really pick up.

I enjoyed the combination of the academic side of this story mixed with the dangerous Fantasy world. I thought that was a lot of fun. The expedition provided plenty of setting changes and you were seeing unique circumstances in each one, different terrain, magical creatures, etc. The expedition group has a good mix of personalities and there's a lot of tension running among them, which provided solid drama throughout. Some of them were fairly insufferable, but I love having characters to hate.

There's also a light Romance element to this; an enemies-to-lovers trope that develops nicely over the course of the story. The Romance, IMO, isn't the focus of the story, but it does provide a means for developing the two characters involved more deeply. Saft's character work is always top notch and happily, that carried over into this Adult release. There's also a ton of action though, so Plot Lovers, you won't be disappointed.

Overall, I think this is a sensational Adult debut, and I feel like so many Readers are going to absolutely adore it, and I know I'll continue picking up Saft's work regardless of what age category it falls into. Thank you to the publisher, Del Rey, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is a lush, exciting, engaging and entertaining read!

I wasn't able to connect with the characters, I didn't feel like they were realistic for their age. I think the prose was a bit wordy for no reason, but that's just my opinion!

OH, THIS BOOK!!! I loved this book so much! Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this. I was intrigued when I saw rivals to lovers, COUNT ME IN! Allison Saft’s writing style is so captivating to me and I would definitely recommend this to friends!!

Gorgeous! Allison Saft can do no wrong when it comes to her incredibly unique fantasy-romance novels. Saft is now an automatic buy author for me.

Deeply atmospheric book, full of longing and complex human emotion.
Saft's able to create whole world and complex worldbuilding in only a few sentences. You are immediatly thrown into a world of magic, and old cultural wars.
The love story'll make you swoon, with intense, charged moments between the two protagonists.
A beautiful read, that leave wanting for more, not because the ending is not to satisfaction, but because you don't want to leave the characters arìnd the world.

I lost my kindle and couldn't redownload it. Sorry!
I lost my kindle and couldn't redownload it. Sorry!
I lost my kindle and couldn't redownload it. Sorry!
I lost my kindle and couldn't redownload it. Sorry!

I wanted to love this book, because the cover is glorious and I was hooked by the premise, but my feelings are mixed. I adored the writing style, and the fairytales that intersperse the narrative are lovely excursions into the folklore of this world. In general, I enjoyed the world building, and I'm always a fan of fantasies centering academia and court intrigue. However, the romance between Lorelei and Sylvia disappointed me, largely because I didn't understand why they continued to go back and forth with each other. I understand they were rivals initially, but especially once they admitted their love for one another on the expedition, I didn't see why Lorelei felt compelled to disavow that love, or why Sylvia fled for Albe once they returned home. I think if the political landscape of the land had been given more page time, these uncertainties might have been laid to rest, but as it stands I wish we had had more time with Lorelei and Sylvia happily in love, because those moments were my favorites in the book. All this said, I still had a good enough time during my read, and I would read more by Allison Saft in the future, because as I said, I really enjoyed her prose.

Allison Saft is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors. Her writing is beautiful, and her worlds are always thought out and a joy to explore. This one might be my favorite of her books so far; the complicated relationships between the characters and the details about the fantasy creatures really drew me in.

3.25-3.5
It’s not that I didn’t like it, or that it wasn’t good. It just was hard for me to stay engaged and invested for some reason. Maybe pacing, not of the romance, but of the main plot itself? I think the sapphic grumpy/sunshine, from the pov of “grumpy” was a nice change for the trope, and enjoyable. The cover art is obviously stunning, and the writing was well done as expected from Allison Saft. It picked up for me around 60%, and the last 30% or so both the romance and plot were more satisfying. I had high expectations going into it, and still expect plenty of readers will connect with it more than I did overall, I’m bummed that I’m not one of them. I would still suggest it to someone if I thought it would be a good fit.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for a digital arc in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey Press for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a fun read! The world, based on Germanic folklore, was well fleshed out and the magic system was easy to understand yet still interesting. The plot was great, I love how well paced this was as both an adventure and a mystery. Most of all, though, I loved the characters. Any time Sylvia and Lorelei exchanged dialogue I felt as if I were there. They are seriously the best, and I won’t say more to spoil the journey. I am so excited for this to come out in September, I have a lot of friends I think will love this!

I really enjoyed this book, the premise was exciting, the characters interesting, the writing carefully crafted. I have read one other Allison Saft book, and enjoyed it. Overall, a good read and enjoyable novel.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the digital ARC and for answering my accessibility questions!

The protagonist, Lorelei, shares her name with a siren from German folklore. It fits the water magic, nymphs, and nixies in this book perfectly. I liked how Lorelei, a folklorist, incorporated German fairy tales and often subverted them. Lorelei's people, the Yeva, are strongly implied to be Jewish. The references to Judaism and to antisemitic persecution were obvious even to me, a non-Jewish reader. So many European folktales are antisemitic, so I'm always glad to see Jewish authors reclaiming and re-imagining them.

I liked the murder mystery and the adult, sapphic attraction. At times, the rivals (enemies?) to lovers aspect was a little overdone or drawn out. It was obvious from the beginning that Lorelei was attracted to Sylvia and never hated her. Still, both characters grew, so I liked their relationship.

A fun, atmospheric read!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this arc copy. All thoughts are my own.

This book was very hard for me to get into. The characters just weren’t that relatable or likeable to me. I couldn’t form any type of connection with them. I will say that it’s a good example of rivals to lovers and I did enjoy that part.

To me, nothing really happened in the first 100 or so pages and I just felt like this drug on for me. It took me a while to finish this book because I just had to keep putting it down. I’m not sure I would’ve finished it if it hadn’t been a NetGalley arc.

With that being said, I wouldn’t say the book was bad because it wasn’t but it just wasn’t for me. I’m not sure who I would recommend this too but I am sure others may enjoy this type of written style/ story.

Side note: the cover is absolutely stunning!

3 stars.