This was pretty decent. I enjoyed it! A bit of a slow start, world-building was a bit confusing to me, but once I got the hang of it, it was pretty smooth sailing from there.

I also really like the premise of the story, LGBTQ fantasy mixed with a murder mystery🙌🫡 GOLD.

Overall, it was decent, I liked it.

I've enjoyed Allison Saft's past work and am glad to see her move into adult fantasy as well with A Dark and Drowning Tide, a sapphic fantasy laced with romance, a murder mystery, and dark academia. Folklorist Lorelei Kaskel is on an expedition when one of their small group, her mentor, is killed. The rest of the group all become suspects, except for Sylvia von Wolff, Lorelei's longtime rival who she reluctantly teams up with to solve the murder.

I inadvertently put off reading this for months, but it felt right to read it as fall began rather than as a summer read. Saft's writing is atmospheric and darker than her YA work, with great expanded worldbuilding. A Dark and Drowning Tide explores some ideas similar to her past books, such as belonging, division, and antisemitism, and feels well-suited to the adult level, as I sometimes felt her YA work was too light or unable to fully handle the themes. Overall, a strong adult debut.

Allison Saft has been one of my favorite authors since her debut Down Comes the Night. I will forever and always pick up every story she writes. A Dark and Drowning Tide was just as amazing as I expected it to be. From the beginning her writing absolutely encapsulated me. I was obsessed with these Lorelei and Sylvia immediately and the dynamic they shared.

Lorelei I just absolutely adore. Her cold demeanor is so understandable given all that she’s been through. I really loved her character and loved reading her thought process when it came to decision making as well as seeing how she reacted to everyone around her. Now Sylvia on the other hand has my heart. I love how carefree and full of wonder she is. The way she interacts with the world is magical. My favorite scenes were seeing how passionate she was about the creatures around her and how empathic she is to the world. It just always made me smile reading about her. Anyways I love these characters so much.

As for the plot. I loved it all. I loved the multiple mysteries that I felt were going on. Again I really enjoyed the world and experiencing the different creatures and cultures that they ran into. Everything about this was just a fun read for me. I definitely feel like this was one of her stronger books and I’m so thankful to have been given a chance to read this early. Can’t wait to own multiple editions of this.

I had such high hopes for this book. Unfortunately I’m giving it 2.5 stars, and I’m conflicted whether to round up or down.

Each element of the story was a very interesting concept--the mystery plot, the romance, the political landscape--but not one aspect was fleshed out well. The side characters especially kind of all run together, especially in the beginning. I think the choice to introduce everyone (except Sylvia) at once worked against the author here. The romance was fine, it was fun if I didn’t think about it too hard. The worldbuilding was enough to provide a backdrop, but not enough for me to feel immersed in the fantasy world being created.

It was the attempt at political fantasy elements that really pushed my rating down. I spent the entire book waiting for the characters to realize that maybe giving this nearly limitless power to a king who has conquered all of their nations might not be a good idea. I get that they all knew the king well, but it seemed like that would make them even more familiar with his plans to use said power to squash any potential rebellion and more likely to see that they should all be working together. I’m happy to see many other reviewers pointing out this misstep. It’s not often you see a fantasy protagonist explicitly opposing a rebellion against a conquering king with too much power.

Advanced copy provided by Netgalley, all opinions my own.

I’m a big fan of Allison Saft and I’m so glad I got to read her adult debut.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is full of complex characters and angsty yearning, wrapped in layers of mystery and folklore. We follow an academic expedition of seven people who are searching for the elusive, magical Urspring, which they believe will give the King great power. When Ziegler, the leader of the expedition, is murdered, it falls to her shunned protégé Lorelei to continue the expedition and solve the murder. To her dismay, Lorelei must work with her long time rival Sylvia von Wolff to figure out who did it.

This book has a lot of traits I like: beautiful and dark prose, academic rivals, rich worldbuilding, plenty of shady politics, and of course a sapphic subplot. I really liked both Lorelei and Sylvia as characters, and I was really intrigued as I watched their dynamic unfold. I also had fun learning about the history of our expedition group and how they grew up together and fought in the war together, but I feel that we only scratched the surface here. There’s a lot of potentially interesting character work, but a lot of it is just kind of told to us and we don’t have much to back it up. For example, there were a lot of inter-group romantic feelings that felt shallow without knowing the whole history. I really think this book could have benefited from being longer and finding a way to more deeply flesh out history of the expedition group. That being said, it was still a great cast of characters for a mystery, and I had a lot of fun with that. I also thought that Saft did a great job using folklore as a focal point to discuss the antisemitism that Lorelei faces. I had a few minor issues with pacing (I was much more into the second half than the first), but overall I enjoyed this a lot and would recommend for most fantasy fans.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, I’ve enjoyed Saft’s YA work, and her adult debut quickly became THE sapphic romantasy I didn’t know I needed! So much of this is a murder mystery and quest, but knotted up in that is sapphic pining buried under academic rivalry and DAMN! Combined with Saft’s atmospheric settings and lush prose, this swept me away. I was absolutely losing it over the tension between Silvia and Lorelei!

Dark academia should be atmospheric, a little creepy, and a little romantic, and A Dark and Drowning Tide hits that mark. Lorelei is a folklorist from an ethnic minority group in the kingdom. She's also sharp tongued with a temper and a big chip on her shoulder. Against the odds, she's been selected to go on an expedition to discover a Source of magic with her mentor Ziegler and her biggest rival Sylvia. When Ziegler is murdered, Lorelei not only must solve the case (while hiking in the mountains!) but also determine who in the group she can trust, and whether or not she can count the fairy tale princess (ok, daughter of a Duchess) Sylvia among them.

I ultimately loved the dark, ethereal nature of the book, but it had a little bit of a slow start for me. By the last quarter, as the stakes got higher, I was fully invested in the relationship between Lorelei and Sylvia and how they would hold the murderer responsible. Laced with Germanic folklore, but set in an alternate world, A Dark and Drowning Tide has all the features I love about a story of magic and mythical creatures who live in the forest and power that dwells within.

It's also a perfect read for #SapphicSeptember with its aching romantic arc.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for letting me receive an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

My experience reading this book was damp, chilly, and moist; all unsettling words but that’s what this book was: unsettling. Unsettling, tense, angsty and filled with lush descriptions of a German-inspired environment and folklore. This combined with a sapphic rivals-to-lovers and gothic academia made this the perfect read to start off autumn. I was pleasantly surprised by the influence of German folklore and culture in world-building and storytelling since I don’t see that very often.

4/5

I’ve been a huge fan of Allison Saft’s books and was super excited to hear about her adult debut! For whatever reason though, I put off reading my ARC for months and months because I was just not in a fantasy mood. This was a big mistake though; when I finally picked it up, I really enjoyed this! Thrilling and atmospheric, A Dark and Drowning Tide takes us on a magical quest that’s dangerous in more ways than one.

Lorelei Kaskel has been waiting for this moment for years: her mentor announcing her as co-lead to their upcoming epic quest will cement her position as the king’s advisor and keep her people safe. Unfortunately, coming with them are Sylvia, Lorelei’s rival who constantly lives in her dreams; Johann, a psychopath who constantly reminds her that she doesn’t belong there; Heike, who will do whatever it takes to get her way; Adelheid, the most stoic and moral out of all of them; and Ludwig, the only one of the group Lorelei gets along with. When her mentor dies almost as soon as the journey starts, she’ll have to take charge to deliver them to their destination, while also investigating who the murderer is, unfortunately with Sylvia’s help.

I really liked the characters! Lorelei is prickly and hard-headed but mostly out of survival. She’s a Yeva, a people who have been discriminated against for centuries. She needs to succeed in this quest so that the king will award her the chamberlain position in his court. This way, she can keep her people safe in a city that discriminates and kills them. The only issue is the quest is doomed from the start.

Meanwhile, Sylvia irritates her to no end with her whimsy and optimism. Sylvia being her only ally is frankly her worst nightmare, but they’ll have to deal if they want to get out of this alive. Although they have their differences, they start to discover that they get along a great deal more when they stop bickering with each other. The romance was really good in this regard. While I did love reading their bickering scenes, I also liked following Lorelei as she starts to realize her feelings for Sylvia, which of course also frustrates her. I just really loved their dynamic, and the ending had me smiling so hard.

The quest itself was…well I don’t want to say fun because they ran into obstacles everywhere they went. Even amidst all the chaos, there’s also the underlying tension of a group of people who all suspect each other of murdering someone. Lorelei can’t trust anyone, except for Sylvia, and that becomes apparent more and more as the story goes on.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! Allison Saft has done it again; I loved the characters and the writing. Once I started reading, I absolutely couldn’t put it down. If you’re in the market for a fantasy with a mystery twist, you should definitely pick up A Dark and Drowning Tide!

While it’s true that “academic politics are so vicious because the stakes are so small”, that insight is merely the start of this epic sapphic romantasy. Lorelei Kaskel and Sylvia von Wolff have been rival proteges of Professor Ingrid Ziegler for years, vying for their mentor’s time, attention and praise even as they follow slightly different academic paths to the same goal.

A goal that is about to be realized, only for that realization to fall into another familiar saying, that “having a thing is not so pleasurable as wanting”. Both women should have been careful what they wished for, because this particular “ring” comes with a very large and deadly curse.

The kingdom of Brunnestaad has just, seriously just, extremely recently and still somewhat resentfully, been united under its young ruler into a slightly shaky and somewhat fractious union of formerly independent kingdoms that, for the most part, would much rather go back to being independent and all too frequently at war with one another.

King Wilhelm needs a project that will rally all those factions under his banner. Alternatively, he needs a common enemy to accomplish the same thing. A royally sponsored, scientific/magical expedition to find a legendary source of magic and power SHOULD do the trick – and make him unstoppable after all that power is, naturally and of course, delivered to him on a silver platter by the members of the expedition.

All of whom are his best friends, the aristocratic children he grew up with, who all banded together against their feuding, warring parents. He trusts them and he is counting on their personal loyalty even more than their oaths to his unsteady crown.

“Back in the days when wishes still held power”, this story’s lyrical equivalent of “once upon a time”, all of his friends would have been utterly loyal, all of the members of the expedition would have been completely trustworthy, and the fabled Ursprung would have been found easily and without delay and its power would have been granted to him immediately and its presence alone would have been more than enough to solve all of his kingdom’s problems without need for war or bloodshed.

But wishes no longer have such power – not even a king’s.

Howsomever, two members of the expedition are not even among the king’s trusted intimates. The expedition leader Ziegler, who Wilhelm has pretty much held hostage in the capital for years of planning – and her protegee Lorelei Kaskel, a prodigious and prickly scholar who Ziegler plucked from the ghetto her people have been forced to live in for centuries. Kaskel herself is is the ultimate outsider, her people are hated, feared and reviled at every turn, their status is the backbone of nearly every bit of the folklore that she studies, and no one ever lets Kaskel forget it.

In other words, Kaskel is a Jew – although her people are never quite called by that name – this world is in the equivalent of the Middle Ages in its pervasive anti-Semitism, and Kaskel is never allowed to forget that she is at the university on sufferance and is a ready scapegoat for anything that might go wrong.

Only it won’t just be Kaskel who will pay for her mistakes. Her friends, her family, her entire community can be put to the torch if she fails or falls. It’s happened before, and it will inevitably happen again.

When Ziegler is murdered on the very first evening of travel, all the responsibility and all the consequences fall hard on Kaskel’s shoulders. She knows the murderer was one of their company. She knows she’ll be executed if the expedition fails, and she knows that every single person has multiple motives for the crime and that they will all seek to undermine her authority and her decisions at every turn.

She has one hope – and it comes from a source that she isn’t sure she can trust with anything except the sure and certain knowledge that neither of them killed their mentor. Her only ally is her academic rival, Sylvia von Wolff. Together they will find both the source of magic AND the murderer.

All they have to do is stick together – a task that is both much easier and much, much harder than even their long-standing and bitter rivalry would ever have led them to expect.

Escape Rating A-: This book is a lot – and a lot of it is very, very good. Like staying up half the night to finish good. But there were just enough things that drove me crazy to keep it from tripping over the line from A- to A.

Which is going to require more than a bit of explanation.

Both what made this work, and what didn’t, was in the characters. On that one famous hand, we have Lorelei Kaskel and her rival turned frenemy and eventual lover, Sylvia von Wolff. We see the story from inside Kaskel’s head, and we get to see what makes her tick – as well as what ticks her off – from the opening of the story.

But the more we learn from her and of her, the deeper both she, and the story, get. It was clear to this reader that Kaskel’s Yevani people were this fantasy world’s equivalent of the Jews. It’s in the in-world history, in the treatment of her people at this point in world time, it’s in the pervasiveness of anti-Yevani (read as anti-Semitic) folklore. And the language they speak in the ghetto is definitely Yiddish.

In other words, these are my people and it was easy for me to see Kaskel’s perspective and even share it.

That she sees the ease with which Sylvia von Wolff, not merely an aristocrat but the descendant of actual kings, moves through the world, the way that opportunities are handed to Sylvia on a platter and seemingly all her transgressions are swept away, and that it all makes her downright angry is totally understandable. That she believes that everyone looks down on her all the time and that it makes her encase herself in ice as the only defense mechanism she has feels all too real, because they all DO look down on her and her ability to fight back is very much limited by her circumstances.

Which is exactly what makes the romance between Lorelei and Sylvia so much of an opposites attract, wrong side of the tracks affair and makes it so hard for Lorelei to believe is even possible. It has that darkly delicious air of the forbidden and taboo with actually being either of those things in any moral sense.

On that infamous other hand, the thing that made this story not quite hit that “A” mark was the other characters. The story is so focused on Lorelei’s and Sylvia’s dance of romance and hate that the other characters don’t get enough “air time” to be anything more than archetypes – and generally hateful ones at that.

This story is, among its many other parts, a fantasy mystery, and we don’t get enough of any of the other characters to even care whodunnit and why as long as we get to watch Lorelei and Sylvia play “come here go away” games.

At the end, the solution to the mystery felt a bit anticlimactic, while the solution to the political shenanigans didn’t have quite as much depth as it might have because we just don’t have enough outside of the romance.

So if you’re here for the sapphic romantasy aspects of the story – this is one that will keep you up half the night just to see if they manage to get past the obstacles in their way. If you’re here for either the mystery or the epic fantasy, you’ll still be glad to know whodunnit and why, but the romance is definitely the more satisfying side of the story.

I love Allison Saft. She is one of my favorite authors of all time. However with this one I felt like giving up multiple times. I'm glad I stuck it out till the end because the second half of the book was far better than the first half. Maybe it was the world itself that really just didn't click with me. I felt so lost half the time and all the other secondary characters blended all together so sometimes I would get confused on who Loralai was even interacting with. The romance felt a little rushed as well so I just couldn't connect well. I do know some people will really like this one but this one was so flat too me. Super dissapointed.

A darker, atmospheric, moody, academia novel that was just what I needed going into fall.

I adore Saft’s stories, the plot, the characters are always well done and I am always fully immersed in the story. I loved both Lorelei and Sylvia so much.

There is a lot of love about this book;
𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘵,
𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨,
𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴,
𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴,
𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴,
𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘭
and in theory, this should have checked all the boxes for me.

And while I did enjoy the story (for the most part), the plot-driven narrative had so much going on that I found the character development to be diluted, and the pacing clunky.

𝘚𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴:
𝘼 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙥-𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙠𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙧𝙨𝙥𝙪𝙣𝙜, 𝙖 𝙛𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙪𝙥 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 (𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡) 𝙖𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙧’𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧.

A Dark and Drowning Tide feels a bit like Emily Wilde as written by Naomi Novik, all whimsical folklore mixed with heavier themes of anti-semitism and colonization.

The strength of the book lays in Saft’s beautiful writing and immersive folklorist atmosphere. I can imagine many people loving this whimsical adventure, but strong character (and romantic) development is a must for me, and in that department I found this book lacking.

4.5 stars rounded up.

I haven't been impressed with a fantasy novel in a while!

A Dark and Drowning Tide hit all the right spots for me: extensive worldbuilding, multi-faceted MC and love interest, engaging plotline.

My only complaint is that I want so much more out of this world and its characters now. Give me a book about Sylvia and Lorelei's childhoods and undergraduate years. Hell, give me another book about their ancestors and Brunestaad's history. Or even a book about Ziegler's adventures and political schemes.

Like, honest to god, I would die for a Witcher level of historical, geographical, and political worldbuilding.

It's been a week since I finished this arc and I already miss the mythical creatures, the expedition to find the Ursprung, Sylvia's sword-wielding, the slow burn will they/won't they between Lorelei and Sylvia.

I won't lie, I didn't care much about the rest of the characters in the expedition (Ludwig, Heike, Adelheid, and Johann), but they did serve their purpose in the murder mystery plotline. At first, I found it hard to tell them apart, but as the Ursprung expedition went on, it was easy to tell who's who and what their motives might or might not entail.

Also, Ziegler's fate seemed like it came out of left field. I wish it hadn't been such a kneejerk reaction. (Even if it technically wasn't, Lorelei's decision seemed out of character.) ***SPOILER*** [The way that they just tossed Ziegler's body overboard was so weird??? Lorelei admired her so much, they couldn't have used their magic to make a morgue and kept her body for a proper burial?? Made NO sense.] ***END SPOILER***

Allison Saft wasn't on my radar before, but I'm definitely interested in her previous and future books now!

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the arc.

A Dark and Drowning Tide follows a folklorist leading an expedition of scholars to find the source of all magic in a northern European-inspired fantasy world where science, myth, and magic are all intertwined.

From the first page, the world building and narrative style of this novel drew me in. The voice is fresh and mystical with a layer of reverence that makes it feel romantic and academic all at once. I loved how the folktales of the world were woven into the story, creating a fully fleshed out fantasy world that is both unique and classic. The natural imagery is sparkling and bolsters the novel's themes of imperialism and power.

The characters' struggle for agency is mirrored in the romantic subplot, which is full of so much sapphic angst and yearning that my head almost exploded. Genuinely, Lorelei and Sylvia were so hot I was sweating. Lorelei makes me understand the phrase "book girlfriend." I appreciated the queer normative society existing alongside the themes of oppression and Jewish identity. In general, the characterization was stunning and effortless. I will definitely read more from Saft in the future.

Come get your whimsical, sapphic, academic rivals to lovers fantasy while it's hot!

Lorelei, a brooding folklorist, and Sylvia, a charming woman obsessed with befriending the wildeleute, are academic rivals who have been doomed to solve their mentor’s murder and uncover her secrets.

This sapphic romance gave me all the dark academia vibes I have been wanting for the oncoming fall. The characters were easy to love and hate and although the plot length threw me for a look, I genuinely enjoyed this book. I’ve read all of Allison Saft’s books and although this one wasn’t my favorite, I loved the reading experience. I would definitely recommend this one!

This stunning dark fairy tale immerses you into a world of political unrest, German and Jewish folklore and historical parallels, dark academia, and tense rivalry, with a dash of sapphic enemies to lovers romance.

We’re introduced immediately to a crew of characters that are about to set sail in search of the Ursrung, to study the source of all magic for the sake of the king. At the center of the story we have Sylvia, an Albisch princess in line for the throne, who’s also an acclaimed folklorist academic. And her rival Lorelai, a Yevani (which is a an ethnicity which faces prejudice and persecution parallel to what the Jewish people have faced historically). She is a folklorist who faces intense challenges of racism and microagressions, but has been able to climb the ranks and is respected as a great scholar with a fierce constitution. They're usually butting heads and constantly trying to best each other but now that they’re working towards the same goal, they’re stuck together, forced to hash out their frustrations in order to move forward. But how far from hate is love really? They’re obsessed with each other, and their rivalry and passions creates tension you could cut with a knife.

This story has a heartbeat, it flows between genres effortlessly, and creates a deep and dark atmosphere of dark folklore, mystery, and heady romance. With elements similar to the tone and academic feel of “Emily Wildes Encyclopedia of Faeries” while talking of the different magical creatures of this world as if from a textbook. At times the atmosphere is dark and moody, with a huge focus on racial prejudice and its effects, and plot twists left and right it’s also reminiscent of “A Study in Drowning”.

This is a perfect read for Autumn and a blend of the subgenres I love. I’ll definitely be giving this a re read at some point.

4 stars / This review will be posted on BookwormishMe.com and goodreads.com today.

Can we please make this a series? I absolutely loved this novel. The characters! The setting!

Lorelai Kaskel is an outlier. Handpicked by Ziegler to learn how to manipulate aether and follow in her footsteps, she does not fit in with the popular crowd. She is Yevanisch. A culture of people who have no homeland, while her fellow classmates are all upper class, some royalty from the lands. Yet all of them have been chosen to search for the magical spring that their king is after.

Ziegler is the leader of the pack, Lorelei the assistant. Her nemesis, Sylvia von Wolff is the naturalist that will help them navigate the wildelute they will encounter along the way. When Lorelei finds Ziegler murdered aboard the boat, she is tasked with solving the murder and returning to Brunnestad with the location of the magical spring. Can Lorelei survive the trip with the others all vying for favor with the King? Or will there be yet another murder?

I really enjoyed this. It was slow to start, as all fantasy novels can be until you get the locations and lingo down. What a fabulous story of love, power, entitlement. In many ways it mirrors our world, with its divisiveness. Excellent and fun read that I wish would be a series. I want to know where our adventurers are off to next!

🎙️David Addison: “Could've fooled me.”
🎙️Maddie Hayes: “A gnat with a lobotomy could fool you.”

📺 “Moonlighting”, 1985

Hear that exasperation? That dry wit? The casual dismissal from one character and the livid come back from another? These are the dulcet tones of rivals-to-lovers.

Allison Saft lost me in A Fragile Enchantment, but she came back swingin’ with A Dark and Drowning Tide, slapping me upside the head with a heady, atmospheric, thoughtful, well-plotted, completely alchemical rivals-to-lovers folkloric quest fantasy.

One of the first things I thought when I started to read this book was it was so much more charming than I thought it would be. I know that may sound quaint, but when I say “charming”, I mean the experience was so pleasurable, right from the start. It was engaging and quick-witted, with interesting and vivid characters. The opening scene with Sylvia and Lorelei was vibrant and really set the rivals-to-lovers vibes right from the start.

Another thing this book establishes from the start and continues throughout the book wherever it can is a sense of whimsy, which is something I always treasure in the books I read and I wish more books had. The whimsy slants more dark than light in this book, but I’ll take it however I can get it.

If I had one complaint about this book it would be that I almost wish it were in dual-POV. I usually never complain about this with books, figuring the author chose the POV and it was for a reason. With Lorelei (our narrator and protagonist) being from a marginalized ethnicity compared to the other characters I’m assuming having the sole POV being from that marginalized POV was the entire point of writing the book that way, but there were times I felt this book would have really benefited from some of the story seen from Sylvia’s POV.

It’s a wonderful read, definitely great for fall and spooky season. Full of folktales, magic, adventure, chemistry, romance, treachery, and love it just hit the spot.

I was provided a copy of this title by the publisher and author via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Dark Fantasy/Romantasy/Folk Fantasy/LGBTQ Fantasy/Sapphic Romance/Standalone Novel

"A sharp-tongued folklorist must pair up with her academic rival to solve their mentor's murder in this lush and enthralling sapphic fantasy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic.

Lorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. The magical spring promises untold power, which the king wants to harness in order to secure his reign over the embattled country of Brunnestaad. Lorelei is determined to use this opportunity to prove herself and make her wildest, most impossible dream come true: to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to lands she's only read about.

The expedition gets off to a harrowing start when its leader - Lorelei's beloved mentor - is murdered in her quarters aboard their ship. The suspects are the five remaining expedition mates, each with their own motive. The only person Lorelei knows must be innocent is her longtime academic rival, the insufferably gallant and maddeningly beautiful Sylvia von Wolff. Now in charge of the expedition, Lorelei must find the spring before the murderer strikes again - and a coup begins in earnest.

But there are other dangers lurking in the dark: forests that rearrange themselves at night, rivers with slumbering dragons hiding beneath the water, and shapeshifting beasts out for blood.

As Lorelei and Sylvia grudgingly work together to uncover the truth - and resist their growing feelings for each other - they discover that their leader had secrets of her own. Secrets that make Lorelei question whether justice is worth pursuing, and if this kingdom is worth saving at all."

Yes, wonderful dark world, but you see there's also a locked room mystery at it's heart! Be still MY heart.