Allison Saft's A Dark and Drowning Tide is a captivating tale of adventure and intrigue set in a richly imagined world. While the initial chapters proved a bit challenging for me to connect with, I found myself quickly drawn into the intricate world-building and captivating storytelling.

The inclusion of folktales and fables within the narrative adds depth and richness to the setting, bringing it to life in a way that few authors can achieve. The only minor drawback was the difficulty in pronouncing many of the names of people and places, which occasionally interrupted the flow of the reading experience.

The length of some chapters presented a minor challenge, as it was often difficult to read more than one in a single sitting. However, this did not detract from the overall enjoyment of the story. Saft's writing style is both evocative and engaging, and the characters are well-developed and relatable.

The central plot, revolving around a group's perilous journey, is genuinely thrilling. The inclusion of a romantic element adds a layer of complexity and emotional depth to the conflict, enhancing the overall reading experience. While the ending felt somewhat rushed and choppy in parts, it does not detract significantly from the overall quality of the novel.

In conclusion, A Dark and Drowning Tide is a beautifully crafted tale that will appeal to fans of fantasy and adventure. Despite a few minor flaws, Saft's imaginative world-building and engaging storytelling make this novel a truly memorable reading experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! This book is the perfect mix of adventurous fantasy quest, academic rivalry and murder mystery. The writing made this book so easy to read and it was hard to put down. The romance is perfectly mixed in with the rest of the story, an important component but the world building and quest could live on their own without it. I loved seeing all the characters interact and how their stories were intertwined. I’m giving it four stars because the pacing at the beginning was a little off and I got lost a few times with the world building and what role each character played. Overall, this is a great read and I highly recommend it!

A Dark and Drowning Tide is a haunting and disturbing exploration of the depths of the human psyche. With her signature atmospheric prose, Saft weaves a chilling tale of obsession, madness, and the destructive power of grief.

The story follows a young woman who becomes obsessed with a mysterious figure she encounters on a beach. As she delves deeper into his life, she becomes entangled in a web of secrets and lies that threatens to consume her. Saft's portrayal of the protagonist's descent into madness is both terrifying and compelling, capturing the insidious nature of obsession with chilling accuracy.

What sets A Dark and Drowning Tide apart is its exploration of the themes of grief, loss, and the destructive power of the mind. Saft delves into the emotional turmoil that her characters experience with sensitivity and understanding, offering a poignant and relatable portrayal of the human condition.

In addition to its emotional depth, the novel also boasts a compelling plot, engaging characters, and beautifully written prose. Saft's writing style is both lyrical and haunting, drawing readers into the world of her characters and making them feel as if they are experiencing their journey alongside them.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and dark fiction. Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC!

This book took me a little bit longer to get into initially, but once I did I really enjoyed the murder mystery aspect of it wrapped up in a grumpy/sunshine, rivals-to-lovers romance and this gorgeous, ethereal, folkloric fantasy world. It really was just a whole vibe. I really love the main character, Lorelei, was and all her bitter sadness, and how much she grows in the story but also stays the same, and watching her detective skills unfold. It was an enjoyable story—I love reading anything by Allison Saft.

A Dark and Drowning Tide was absolutely delightful from start to finish! Allison Saft has such a talent for beautiful prose, complex characters, exciting story, and beautiful romance. I loved all of the folklore in this book, it was so fun to read the stories and see how they helped me get a sense of the world. Lorelai was delightful as a main character too. Her prickly personality felt so understandable considering all of the prejudice she's been forced to live with, and I thought it was beautiful how her hardened exterior foiled so well against Sylvia's sunshine personality. Still though, the characters did not lack any depth despite their dynamics. Sylvia was beautifully written as well, and I wanted them to get together so badly!! When they finally did, it was so satisfying as a reader. The payoff was excellent.

I feel like I'm just kind of rambling, but I could truly list every part of this book as something I loved! The cast of characters was so fun to love (and hate, in some instances) and their complicated relationships and personalities kept me invested the whole way through. The adventure of the story added to its ambiance and stakes. I'm such an avid fan of Allison Saft, and this book of hers has only solidified that even more! Highly recommend!

Allison Saft is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors for exquisitely written romantasy. With A Dark and Drowning Tide, Saft ventures into more adult romance and this time a sapphic rivals to lovers romance takes center stage in this beautifully written and atmospheric fantasy standalone that I practically inhaled. No one is giving as much as she is in terms of fantastic worldbuilding, propulsive conflict and romances that will have you on the edge of your seat. Lorelai is a tortured character shaped by her lived experiences and the way that her Jewish-coded identity is treated in this fantasy world. When her mentor chooses her to help lead a group of spoiled but powerful aristocrats to find a magic spring, the source of power in this world, she must step up to the challenge while also dealing with her academic rival, the beautiful and irritating Sylvia. Within the first two chapters, Lorelai's mentor is murdered--by one of the very people she is leading and she must continue her mentor's work while also finding out who killed her.

The main mystery makes you keep turning the pages while also wanting to know the results of their quest. Lorelai is a folklorist which leads to wonderful passages of her pausing to tell you fairytales of this world and I would read an entire book just centered on the different factions and empires in this world. The point of this quest is to help the king but is he even worth helping? The conflict was delicious and oh my goodness...the pull that Lorelai feels for Sylvia was so intense. I absolutely adored them and this world.

No one is doing it like Saft and I will officially be reading everything and anything she chooses to bless us with.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sapphic academic rivals to lovers? Folklore?! YEARNING???

A Dark and Drowning Tide follows folklorist Lorelei and her academic rival, the ethereal Sylvia Von Wolff. They hate each other, obviously, totally insufferable to each other. Nothing else. Unless.

When the King sends Lorelei, Sylvia, and a cohort of nobles on an expedition to secure his reign, things quickly start veering off plan and of course the pair of academic rivals must work together to solve the mystery, chart the course, while still hating each other, of course. Like I said, nothing else!

This was a well-fleshed out folklore-esque fantasy that drew me in with its vivid character development (primary and secondary characters) as well as the slow-burn-yearning-filled romance element. I appreciate that this, in my opinion, is truthfully a slow-burn romance that did not dominate the entire plot, especially because the folklore in this is just incredibly cool. The creatures, magic system…it’s dark, gothic, and gritty, while whimsical and soft at times.

“You’re like something out of a nightmare. And you, Lorelei thought despairingly, are resplendent.” Let’s go lesbians.

Also could not stop picturing Hunter Schafer as Sylvia that’s all I have to say. 4 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the advance copy, this was such a fun read!

The vibes were immaculate and the dark, swirly folklorist tale of my dreams. A slow start, but once we got going it was GOING. Unputdownable, the mystery and dreamy atmosphere, the yearning beneath the rivalry. I'm so used to rivals-to-lovers being stiff and unbelievable, but I felt the ache between Lorelei and Sylvia. It was palpable and added a much needed layer to the story. This felt like the mature older sister of Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies, for the expedition and ethereal vibes, but obviously Saft stands alone. I'll be thinking about that ending for the foreseeable future...

3.5
Lorelei was given an opportunity that she is fighting to maintain. Seen as an enemy by most of the people in her country, she is in an expedition in order to find the source of the magic to deliver it to the king. That way she thinks she'll be able to secure safety for her and her people. But she is accompanied by five noble that may make everything harder for her. Especially Sylvia von Wolff. When someone is murdered and Lorelei suspects everyone aside from her rival, Sylvia, they must team together to save themselves and the expedition.

I really liked Lorelei as a character. She really feels as a real person. She is not exactly likeable; she does a lot for her survival and she is single-minded in this task, she grows a lot throughout the book even if I felt by the end that her development was a little rushed. She changes slowly through most of the story but in the end I felt the author rushed to get Lorelei how she needed to be. Sylvia was an interesting character in how she interacted with the magic in the world; everybody else feared them, she was the only that seemed interested in understanding them. I wish we had her PoV, not for the romance, but for her views of the world. The romance is not a big portion of the book for most of it; I could see the yearning from both of them (I liked how the author showed slowly the change in and understanding of Lorelei's feelings). The other characters weren't really explored but they did what they had to do and it was easy to differentiate them.

The politics of the book, which play a huge part in the book, were interesting but I didn't feel the world building was that way done. For how important it was for the story, it was really surface level. For the scope of the narrative, I felt that the politics should have been better interwoven within the story; there were a lot of different cultures and lands but they weren't really explained. There was mention of a war and how the king was governing the conquered lands and there was dissent regarding his government but it all felt really far away. It should have been better laid out considering that the main thread was linked to it.

By the end, I liked the book.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

Dark and deeply enchanting, A Dark and Drowning Tide took me in a journey of adventure and slow burn romance. I loved this book so much because of the world and characters. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book

I had high expectations for this book. I absolutely 💕 the cover art but that didn’t extend to the rest of the book. This book dragged so bad I was falling asleep 😴… plus, I didn’t get pulled into the world or the relationship between the characters very well. There is also the constant info dumping that I just skip.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful genre blend of dark academia and dark fantasy fairy tales, I was once again blown away by Allison Saft's gorgeous characters and flawed, but relatable characters.

This was an incredible read! The characters were so well thought out the story was beautifully written. The dialogue and the whimsy, haunting prose was to-die-for!! Will absolutely be reading everything else from this author in the future.

If you're a fan of fae stories where the fae are far from human in all the senses, then this is for you!!! After reading the Emily Wilde and Folk of the Air trilogies, I love stories that lean into the horrific aspects of fae-dom, and am so glad to have A Dark and Drowning Tide join the ranks. Even better is that this is sapphic, has academic rivals who are on equal footing, and a compelling mystery anchoring the plot. Perfect for colder/sharper parts of the fall season! This is my first Allison Saft and I will be reading more of her work!!

I didn't know what to expect going into reading this book but found myself increasingly drawn to the story as it unfolded. A Dark and Drowning Tide follows our main character, Lorelai Kaskel, a folklorist, who sets out on an expedition with her academic peers (most of whom hate her) to find a mystical spring containing a powerful ancient magic to bring back to the King who claims to use the power to unite their war-torn region. At the very beginning of the expedition, Lorelai's mentor and leader of the cause is murdered, and Lorelai is bestowed the position of expedition captain. Amidst solving her mentor's murder, Lorelai must navigate the crew towards their cause while not knowing who to really trust, grapple with her so-not-obvious crush on our other main character Sylvia von Wolff, and learn that sometimes, the weight of the world doesn't have to fall only on her shoulders.

The journey is fast-paced with just the right amount of world-building to keep the wonder alive without too many bogging derails. It is lighthearted when it needs to be with tasteful romantic tension that keeps you hooked. The story covers serious themes such as anti-semitism and politics impressively well too through the discovery of Lorelai's past and learning about the motives of each character. I also found the normalization of queer relationships in the book profoundly refreshing.

Overall this was was so fun to read! The dialogue was poetic and snappy and the characters so morally gray yet realistic, I couldn't bring myself to hate any of them. I kept thinking as I was reading that I would definitely enjoy an on-screen adaptation of this.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC and privilege of writing this review!

A Dark and Drowning Tide was a fun read with dark academia, rivals to lovers, sapphic main characters, and magic. I'd recommend it to people who like magical, dark academia, and fae who are scarier and more otherworldly.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is many things at once, and it does all of them very well. It's dark academia vibes. We have a. professor and her two rival students competing for the same position, while fighting their mutual attraction. We have an ensemble cast as our main character (who is different and doesn't quite belong) becomes part of an important expedition to find a fountain said to be the source of magic. And we have a closed room murder mystery, where someone in the party comes to an untimely death upon their departure. If this combination sounds fun to you, you will likely enjoy Allison Saft's new book. It's dark, it's sapphic, it has some pretty interesting twists, and it kept me guessing through much of the story.

I went into this book with the highest of expectations. I am, unfortunately, in the minority of people who didn’t like this book as much as I’d hoped. The tropes I love are there though!

✅ Sapphic Enemies-to-Lovers
✅Dark Academia
✅Whodunit Type of Mystery
✅Fairytales and Fae (but the scary dangerous kind, not the attractive kind…)

Lorelei and Sylvia are two students of the same mentor who have fight tooth-and-nail to earn the praise and attention of their mentor, Zeigler. Then their mentor is murdered (likely by one of their friends) at the start of the most ambitious expedition that could make, or break, all of their careers. The following chapters are filled with reluctant partnership, sexual tensions, and dangerous moments.

I’m not sure what didn’t do it for me in this book. I know a lot of people have loved, and will love, this book! It has all of the ingredients that should normally be a win for me. But I felt the love story side of this story wasn’t believable. I adored Sylvia, but Lorelei was not someone I enjoyed reading about. And the story is from her POV. There is a difference between someone who is grumpy (think grumpy/sunshine trope), and someone who is just pessimistic and negative all the time. Lorelei is the latter, and I just didn’t enjoy it.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks for the arc : if your enjoy slow-burn sapphic romance, magical creatures, and mysteries you will devour A Dark and Drowning Tide. The CW: death, murder, antisemitism, eugenics, colonization, grief, loss of sibling, blood & gore, violence, dead body, injury detail, drowning, drugging, fire, emesis, alcohol consumption . The elements of a sapphic Jewish story with the perfect blend of fantasy, folklore, dark academia, and romance are all captured and will suck you in . Where I was expecting a bit more magic and folklore , we got alot of murder mystery that checked so many boxes and investigated so many people that were just random that I just got semi bored. One thing I think was handled really well was Lorelai's heritage (fantasy Jewish) to discuss antisemitism and hatred that is still incredibly rampant.The cover is absolutely stunning and what drew me in as well .
3.8-4 stars for me .

I really enjoyed this!! Honestly I got this arc so long ago I couldn’t remember anything about it other than it was sapphic academic rivals and I really enjoyed going into this book with that little information.

While yes, this book does have sapphic academic rivals, there’s a lot going on here!! Lorelei, our main character, is chosen to be the lead for an expedition to find this magic source call the Ursprung. The other members of this expedition have known each other their entire lives so as you could imagine the dynamics are a little bit complicated.

Shortly after the expedition takes off, things immediately go wrong and someone dies, oopsies! It’s now up to Lorelei to figure out who killed this person, and why, on top of completing the initial goal of the expedition. What’s the catch you might ask? Oh you know, if she doesn’t figure out who actually did it, she will be killed in their place 😀

I really enjoyed getting to know Lorelei and while she does fall into some of the common tropes we’ve seen become very popular recently with the grouchy academic FMC, she still felt refreshing and not quite the same as other characters I’ve read with similar traits. I especially loved seeing her dynamics and relationships with the other members of the group.

I’m always a sucker for complicated group dynamics and boy does this book have them!! Since Lorelei doesn’t know the majority of these people very well, we get to uncover their pasts and the small twists and turns and betrayals that unfolded between members of the group and I was LOCKED IN I live for this kind of drama in books.

I will say, though, when you’re dealing with a small group of characters for the entirety of a book I always think it’s more interesting when it’s multi POV. Even if it doesn’t cover every POV possible, I think it adds a lot of layers and perspective to see the plot from different members of the group and I think that this book could’ve been even better had we gotten another POV. I think at the very least we should’ve had Sylvia POV chapters but I think this easily could’ve had 4 POV chapters and been strong. That’s probably my biggest complaint about the book but that’s really more of a personal preference and thinking about what could’ve been. I could also be biased in that Sylvia was easily my favorite character and I wanted so much more of her, Sylvia supremacy for real that’s my daughter and no one better speak badly about her!!!!

I really enjoyed the romance in this book and that it was a slow build up. I think some could complain that it took too long for something to actually happen between them but I think it was realistic and made the relationship much more believable and authentic. I think the progression of their relationship made so much sense and I loved seeing how both of their characters grew independently through the trials and tribulations they were put through but also how they were able to grow together and learn how to be vulnerable with the other in ways that they couldn’t before.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this book as well. The writing was so beautiful and once the plot got going after a few chapters I was completely pulled into the world and I could so clearly picture everything that was going on. I also love how folklore was so thoroughly woven into the fabric of this book but it was done in a way that was interesting and made sense. It was a mixture of tales old and new and it was presented in a way that wasn’t boring.

The pacing was a little slow in the beginning and I think that the “villains” of the story could’ve been fleshed out a little more, but other than that I really enjoyed this book and think that this is a fantastic adult debut.

Thank you so much to Del Rey and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC!