DNF'd at 51%

I REALLY wanted to like this one, especially after seeing all the good reviews and everyone else loving it. But it just could not hold my attention and this is my third time attempting to pick it up and read it so I think it is safe to say that I should DNF while I am ahead. I did listen to about 50% of the book but I could not tell you a single thing that was going on or an ounce of the plot.

This is has nothing to do with the writing, author, or anything else! It just was not the fit for me right now. Who knows, maybe I will come back to this and try again? But for right now it will regrettably have to be put on my DNF shelf : (

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC!

Lorelei and her academic rival Sylvia must work together to figure out who is behind the murder of their expedition leader. The more they uncover about the history of the kingdom and the fabled spring they're looking for, the more they wonder whether they've been lied to the entire time, Overall, this had potential but the pacing was a bit slow and may have benefitted from a dual POV. Readers interested in folklore and lyrical writing may like this one.

Overall I really enjoyed this. As Emmaskies wrote in her review "yearning is so back, baby." And boy is it. The only thing I didn't love about this book is that at times it felt as though the pacing was a little too slow and I found myself bored, not enough to not keep reading, but it definitely felt like a drag at parts. But overall, I did really enjoy it

“How would you like to be extraordinary?”

This book feels like a breathing, living thing. The writing is brilliant and atmospheric and the characters are vibrant, and realistic and serve as a beautiful character study of humanity.

Right when i read the description, I knew this book would check all of my boxes. How can you go wrong with a sapphic, dark academia novel stemmed in magic? This book features elements of found family and a murder mystery. The characters are far from perfect and honestly at times they made choices that made me want to scream but who am I to fault them for being human- or something adjacent. They are all very different, coming from severely contrasting backgrounds but tragedy brought them together and even as adults, it doesn’t relent.

Sylvia is my favorite character, and more than just a love interest, she is a complex individual who will do anything for those she cares about. Loreli hates Sylvia. She sees her as competition, as the one barrier between her and her dreams and yet she can’t stop thinking about her. She yearns for her. This book does enemies to lovers perfectly. There are twists you won’t see coming and the violence, the bloodshed, the pure lust will make it impossible to put this one down.

I DNFed this book at 40%. I haven't read any other Allison Saft books, but a good friend loved "A Far Wilder Magic", and the premise of this sounded promising, so I was excited and ready for a new 5 star authors. Alas, the writing in this was beautiful and very enjoyable, and the premise should have been fun. But I just ended up so bored reading this that I didn't want to keep picking it up. Maybe this was not the best book of hers to start on, and I'll probably try another in the future, but this was a miss for me.

This book is the way to a folklore enthusiast’s heart and perfect for those who can’t get enough of yearning romances. Every chapter had me hooked and I hope I get to see more of Lorelei and Sylvia. Thank you to Del Rey publishing for the arc and one of my best reads this year.

This had a lot of things I love in a book. An epic journey, enemies to lovers, magic, and mythology. The reason I rated it a 4 instead of a 5 was I felt like we needed more passion in Sylvia and Lorelei’s relationship once they got together. There was a lot of angst and longing from a distance with no pay out of their time together.

I really enjoyed the magical system and the idea of a physical source of where the magic comes from and all the mythical creatures we meet along the journey! I felt like it was a mesh of treasure planet and stardust and I really enjoyed this read all together!

DNF @13% - I was super hyped for this book so it pains me to say I DNF’d it. However, there is just something about the writing that keeps me from actually registering what is happening. My brain just glosses over everything. This hurts me so much!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the e-book copy!

I have enjoyed this author's releases as each new one feels more unique and intriguing than the previous one. I also was excited to see this was Saft's adult debut as I felt the shift would suit her themes well. A Dark and Drowning Tide is about academic rivals Lorelei and Sylvia on an expedition when their mentor is suddenly murdered. The pair reluctantly team up to solve the murder and uncover secrets not only about themselves but the world around them. The first half of this book had me, I was into the banter between the main two and was curious to see how they would get along to complete their journey. However, I felt once the mystery aspect kicked in, the book felt boring. I expected since this book was juggling mystery with fantasy and romance that one would falter among the rest. However, I think since this book has been leaning into romance marketing it felt like that at least should have been strong. Lorelai and Sylvia were great characters on their own but romantically involved they felt stilted. This book would have been better if the development of the relationship had more time. Outside of that, I think this book delivers on atmosphere and lyrical writing so if that's what you like you won't be disappointed.

Magic. Monsters. Murder. If you're looking for a sapphic murder mystery with a quest for a magical spring, this might be a good fit for you. I like this author's writing a lot and typically feel immersed in her books but I feel like this one would have benefitted from being a bit longer with more detail or the same length with a little less going on. I also think if it was in Sylvia's POV or a dual POV I might have liked it more, because I found it hard to like Lorelei. This is a slow burn romance between academic rivals and it gives gothic, dark fantasy vibes perfect for the chilly spooky autumn season. The folklore is interesting and it's overall a pretty quick read. I'd recommend if you like sapphic romance, murder mystery, and folklore!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a digital ARC of this title from Del Rey via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Beautiful prose. Enjoyed the unique setting, characters, and gothic vibe given in the book. Will be purchasing for library.

4 stars! That was a good read. It was captivated in this mix of gothic elements, romance, and mystery really pulled me in. The writing is atmospheric with some tension built throughout the story. The main characters which is the protagonist, are complex and well-developed. The book is a beautiful blend of romance and dark fantasy! This a late review as I forgotten I also have physical copy as well!

3.5 stars
Sapphic romantasy? Yes, please! I enjoyed the murder mystery aspect as well. The world building kind of thrust us into the middle of things so it took me a while to get situated. I had high hopes for all the romantic and sexy vibes but that was kind of the side quest of the story. Either way, Saskia Maarleveld knocked it out of the park and kept me listening!

I loved this dark academia- ish sapphic romantasy! This book was amazing the characters were well fleshed out and I really loved them right away. The beginning of the book took me a little bit to get my bearings but once I did I could not put down this beautifully written fantasy. This book is very atmospheric and it kind of gave me spellshop vibes. This was my first book by this author but won’t be my last. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Loved this book, loved the vibes, the vibes alone could carry it but i really enjoyed the story itself. I felt like at one point the characters kind of blended together a smidge but other than that would absolutely recommend for autumn time vibes!

I really enjoyed this one! I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it based off the synopsis alone, but it’s a great fall read!

The wonderful magic of this book was a treat to read!

A Dark and Drowning Tide is part cozy fantasy, part dark academia, and part murder mystery.

The slow burn grumpy/sunshine reads rather like a romance novel, but it’s thrown into a setting of unique magic and magical creatures. It was such a fun read, and I really suspected everyone at some point or another.

I didn’t mind the genre crossing, but some readers will wish for more or less romance vs murder mystery.

One think I wasn’t expecting but completely loved was all the folklore built into the science of the world. All the stories were so fun and reminiscent of fairy tales to teach children about right and wrong. I loved them, and I hope we eventually get a fairy tale book that contains all the stories from this book and more.

A great read! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

The sapphic dark academia mystery we all deserve.

Lorelei Kaskel has once chance to secure the only future that will give her the freedom she yearns for. Of course, that's if she can get through this expedition first... and survive Sylvia von Wolff's irritating presence. Their goal? The Ursprung. A fabled spring that can give the worthy ultimate power.

Backed by the King of Brunnestaad, who wants to use the spring to secure his reign, Lorelei and the other members of the expedition set out to find the spring. But when tragedy strikes and Lorelei's mentor is murdered, it's left to her to find out which member of the expedition is behind the murder and to stop them before someone else pays with their life. And of course, the only one she thinks is innocent, the only one who could help her discover the culprit, is her nemesis: Sylvia.

Can Lorelei bury her disdain for Sylvia long enough to save the expedition? Or will the secrets that come to light cause her to abandon everything she stands for?

This was an absolutely brilliant novel. I was completely enraptured from the moment I started reading. Saft creates such a rich, fantastical world full of diverse creatures. Despite it's heavily fantastical nature, Saft's real world inspirations are also evident. Germanic lore penetrates every inch of this tale like the names of the magical creatures and the various tales of folklore that are interspersed throughout the story. Lorelei and her people are also clearly inspired by the Jewish. The stereotypes the people of Brunnestaad believe about the Yeva are many of the awful, hateful stereotypes that have been believed about those Jewish descent through the years. And the attitude of people, most notably Johann, one of the members of the expedition, leaves little to the imagination. It's a very much Nazi like attitude. The treatment of her people is very much a major plot point for Lorelei, often influencing her interactions with others.

But this is not a society without hope. We see this easily in the counter attitudes of characters like Sylvia. Sylvia yearns for a better world and isn't afraid to work toward that goal. I really loved the way Lorelei's inherent darkness and her self prescribed villainy contrasted with Sylvia's pure light. Lorelei is cynical, sees the worst in people and the world at all times. Sylvia is a fairytale heroine to the core, full of whimsical wonder and hope for a better future. They are the ultimate grumpy-sunshine pairing.

I also loved the detail that every single folkloric tale began with the same phrase. It was a brilliant way to bring all the tales from the different countries that make up the newly unified Brunnestaad together. It was a great way to show that despite their differences, these people shared a common background, as evidenced by their similar stories.

This was my first introduction to the work of Allison Saft and I can promise you that it will not be the last. Brava and well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

A wonderfully atmospheric Sapphic fantasy romance! I liked Lorelei’s snarky narration, and the dynamic between her and Sylvia. I would have liked a little more clarity on the magic and political systems. Perhaps I missed some details, but I think I would have enjoyed the quest aspect more if I had a better understanding of the world and the magic system. Definitely had some interesting political commentary and power dynamics, and I liked seeing how Lorelei navigated her role in the system. The romance plot was really poignant and I enjoyed seeing them grow. I will definitely look for more from this author in the future!

5/5 Stars

A stunning and whimsical sapphic, dark academia, enemies-to-lover’s novel with a murder mystery and magic, Allison Saft's A Dark and Drowning Tide is a beautiful blend of fantasy, romance and political intrigue.

Saft's writing was stunning in this novel, intertwining various topics that all helped to progress the story. Once I picked this book up and the story got going, I couldn't put it down. It is filled with tension and banter that allows for the development of both Lorelei and Sylvia.

Speaking of: Lorelei and Sylvia had some of the best character development I have read in a standalone book like, ever. This is one of my first sapphic reads, and I am so glad I requested this book. Lorelei holds Sylvia in such high regard throughout the book, with their relationship slowly blooming into a beautiful flower.

The exploration into political power and influence within a world of magic led to a fascinating tale, built around the murder mystery narrative, adding suspense with fantastic world building. I cannot recommend this book enough!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!