I was anticipating this book so highly. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. I am currently over 30% through the book, about 100 pages in, and I feel I have no connection to the characters. There also seems to be too many characters, it’s hard to keep track of who is who and who did what to who. It’s a murder mystery, but I don’t really care about who did it.

I wish so badly that this book worked for me. It had so many things I love, a sapphic relationship, a mystery, and dark academia. However, it just didn’t click with me.

Thank you so much for the ARC!

3.5 stars

Sapphic dark academia folklore with a murder mystery is something I would devour. While the writing is beautiful and the world seems really interesting, there are a lot of elements that I think needed some more polishing to bring together more cohesively. Once I started looking at Lorelei and Sylvia as a Wednesday x Enid reimagining, I was a lot more invested. I wish the investigation had more evidence searching earlier on. Why would you not search the compartments immediately after a murder?

There were lots of info dumping parts that were really offputting and random folklore bits that were lovely, but the way they were integrated was jarring, though that could be a result of the formatting. I wanted more interaction with the creatures like the mara and nixies. I wasn't blown away by this one, but I'd be willing to try another of the author's work.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This was my most highly anticipated read of the year and IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT! This was the first book by Allison Saft that I’ve ever read and it won’t be my last. As a queer Jewish woman this book hit me in the gut and had me so emotional. I resonated deeply with Lorelei and she easily has become my favorite character of all time. Lorelei slowly realizing how deeply in love with Sylvia she was felt organic and exciting to read.

The writing was lyrical but still easy to read and accessible. I loved all the different elements in this book such as the murder mystery, the Jewish folklore, the ROMANCE and the themes of antisemitism and survival guilt. Saft was able to weave all of that together to create such a beautiful book. I will be thinking about this book for a long time and it’s hands down my favorite book of the year!

I suspect I might have a better time will this if I tried it again later; I’m struggling to read anything right now, so I’m not convinced that my ambivalence is all the book’s fault.

On the other hand, I really hate the German-inspired setting. It’s completely petty, but all the German terms a) sound very ugly to me, and b) give me flashbacks to high school German lessons, which were hands-down the most awful of any classes I’ve ever had. (It’s possible a and b are related.) The magic system disappointed me – it seems really simple, and I don’t have any interest in water magic for its own sake. And the magical quest object…it all felt really basic and obvious – which isn’t very like Saft, so again, I’m wondering if the problem is more my headspace than the book. Maybe it wouldn’t feel as meh if I wasn’t feeling meh…?

I love that Saft has given us fantasy!Judaism again, but nothing else about our MC Lorelei interested me – her passion for natural history was told to us, but I wasn’t seeing it on the page, which is a shame because characters with passions are one of my favourite things. There’s also the problem of ‘wow, EVERYONE here is terrible!’ – and not in interesting ways, either. The ‘eccentric nobles’ are just privileged assholes, which is definitely realistic, but doesn’t get me invested in them.

I want to try this again sometime – maybe when it’s published – but right now I have no desire to keep reading, so I’m not going to.

I enjoyed the dark academia setting, the rivals-to-lovers romance, the suspense of the murder plot, and the commentary on antisemitism. The story was engaging and addictive.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is a fantasy/dark academia/murder mystery about an expedition trying to find a magical source. When the academic mentor and leader of the expedition is mysteriously murdered, academic rivals Lorelei and Sylvia come together to find the killer and continue the expedition. Listen, if you tell me there is going to be folklore in a book, I'm in!! After reading the book description, I immediately thought this sounded like a combination of Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries and A Study in Drowning, which were two of my favorite books of last year, so I had very high expectations coming into this book and was so excited to have an ARC!

I'm really sad to say that I was ultimately left disappointed by this book. Lorelei is the POV character and she was very unlikable to me. A lot of that came from self-sabotage, but she also seemed to hate people in general. Seeing the fantasy world through her lens made me not like any of the other characters as well (except for Sylvia. I liked Sylvia!) I really struggle when I don't like the main character of a book, and this book was no exception. Living in her head was a lot of angst, anger, grief, and frustration, which was not a fun place to be. Although Lorelei was a folklorist, I didn't see any love or enthusiasm for the genre. I liked that folklore was sprinkled within the book, but it often surprised me when they came up because it took me out of the story. This was really disappointing to me as I love when folklore is incorporated, but it just fell flat here.

Although this is a fantasy world, Lorelei is Jewish (although called by a different name, she's very clearly Jewish). Her people have a similar past to this world and she feels a lot of wariness and resentment towards people of dominant cultures, which I totally understood. I really liked that Jewish folklore was represented and considered alongside "traditional" German folklore. I also liked that Lorelei was a character from an urban culture, which I feel like we almost never get to see in books based off of Western folklore.

I feel like the pieces were here for such an amazing book, but it all just didn't come together in the end for me. I'm not even super sure what happened. I did think the epilogue was adorable, but that was pretty much the only happy part of the book. The vibes were so dark and there was not a lot of joy to offset it. This made it difficult for me to care about the characters, world, and plot. I found myself pushing through while hoping it would get better. This is the first book for me by the author and I'm wondering if her YA novels might be more of what I'm looking for. As it is, this was just too dark and not enough academia for me.

Overall, I recommend this book if it sounds up your alley and you like unlikable/morally gray main characters. 3.5 stars from me rounded down to 3. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC, my thoughts are my own!

I liked this better than Saft's third book but less than her first and second. As this was her adult debut I think I expected a bit *more*... more romance/spice, more complex worldbuilding/fantasy, even more violence and gore. There was a little of each thing but not enough for my expectations. It was still enjoyable though and I would recommend to Saft fans and fantasy fans alike!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early.

A Dark and Drowning Tide follows Lorelei, a folklorist on an expedition with her mentor and a few others to find a fabled spring when her mentor is murdered and the only innocent one is her rival, Sylvia.

I really enjoyed the structure of the book, with the heavy focus on finding the Unspring. I liked how the crew journeyed around on the ship and on land, stopping at inns and meeting the local people. The characters were also very vibrant and interesting and I was curious about all of their backgrounds.

I did wish the book was a bit longer or split into two parts and I felt like more could be explored in this world in greater detail and I just wanted so much more from it!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley again for the chance to read this early.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is a folklore heavy, atmospheric, sapphic academic rivals to lovers romantasy.

What works really well here is the atmosphere, the setting, and the individual characters. The cover says pretty much all you need to know about the atmosphere. There is dark, unknowable nature magic plus a murder mystery. I also felt really grounded in the world and appreciated the deep dive into the cultures that were the subject of colonization in this story. One of the MCs is a folklorist and a Jewish woman and a main conflict in the book relates to the history of antisemitism, how it is passed through stories, and how it continues to affect her.

Because I found these parts of the book to be so well done, the potential was so high, so I was particularly disappointed with the issues. First there were multiple, major continuity errors that I am hoping are fixed before publication, but they really took me out of the story. Second, there was a lot of telling, not showing with the romance. So much so that I was not invested in it. I think there needed to be more of a foundation for their rivalry and their romance. Finally, I won’t spoil anything, but I don’t think any conflicts were resolved in the end except maybe the immediate threat of danger.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

This was a very interesting book but it infodump in some areas and left us wanting for info in others. They kept saying how this expedition was childhood friends and how they fought in a way together but its only ever told and not shown. I was kinda expecting it to come all out as a lie that they were never actually friends.

I did like the representation and real life depiction of being Jewish in a Medieval/Renaissance type land. I also liked the idea of exploring worlds to write books about magical creatures. Overall an interesting story I think many will like.

I am a huge fan of Allison Saft, so I was very excited to receive this ARC from Net Galley. I find her writing to be both easy to read and lyrical, and I was very excited for the "sapphic naturalists get involved in a murder mystery ala Agatha Christie" plotline.

While it took me a few tries to get into this book, I think it's mostly because I am a mood reader, and when I found the right mood, I flew through it.

The book follows a group of scientists (kinda), who are sent on a quest to find the "Ursprung," aka the source of magic and power in this world. But while aboard the riverboat that will take them there, someone is murdered (Death on the Nile, anyone?). Our protagonist must figure out whodunnit, or else be blamed for the murder herself, all while trying DESPERATELY to ignore the growing feelings she has for her rival scientist, and pushing on with the journey to find the magical spring. Oh boy.

There are so many interesting explorations of power, of identity and religion and sacrifice, and in the end, (in a mirror of real life) I almost felt like no justice was served. Not for the people of the Yvanverte, and not for Loralei. That change comes slowly, over time, is a terrible truth, but it felt even more terrible here. There is a scene <spoiler>where the exploration group is in Sylvia's homeland, and the people there both refuse to let Loralei stay at the inn and then burn an effigy of a Yeva in their festival the next day</spoiler>, and I had such a hard time reconciling that with the very public and reckless nature of Sylvia approaching their relationship. I think Saft did an excellent job painting all the ways the world can be unfair, and cruel, but with the hopefulness of change on the horizon. Still, it's a hard pill to swallow.

One of the things I loved most about A Far Wilder Magic was the dual POV between Wes and Margaret, and I wish this book employed the same, a dual POV between Sylvia and Loralei. I needed Sylvia's optimism to balance Loralei's cynicism. However, we stay in Loralei's head the entire time, which perhaps was better for the whodunnit element of the story, but didn't scratch my rivals to lovers itch in the same way.

All in all, a very good adult fantasy debut from Saft! I love that she writes standalone novels with so much depth, and characters to remember and love. There are so many trilogies and duologies and series, where it takes books and books to fall in love with characters and explore the world, but Saft continually manages it with a single book, and I find that extremely admirable and impressive!

I really enjoyed this!

The start was a little slow—there was a lot of information about the world, the various characters, their backstories and connections. I would have benefited from a map, I think. But once the main plot started, I found it gripping. I loved the moody and atmospheric writing, the unlikable characters that you actually can’t help but start to understand and even like, and the slow burn sapphic romance subplot. This was darker and more violent than I thought it would be, but it absolutely kept me guessing until the very end. I think my favorite part was the weaving in of jewish folklore inspired stories!

This had me at academic rivals with a beautiful gothic folklore and its sapphic! The MC Lorelei is so focused on her rivalry with the Sylvia that she is mad at herself when she notices that what she feels might be more of longing. She struggles with the fact that she is not a good person and does not deserve a beautiful story. The two come together when they are both faced with trying to figure our the murder of their leader and their expedition to help their king unite all. The romance is light and it is very enemies to lovers and grumpy/sunshine.

Thanks to Netgalley and Allison Saft for the eArc!

I really enjoyed the writing style and the characters in this book. However, I got bored of all the info dumping which made the book feel really slow. Still, I will definitely be picking up Allison Saft’s other books.

gothic vibes and slow burn academic rivals to lovers, jewish influence, folklore, and lots of pinnnniinnggg

plot: 4/5
really compelling plot with great pacing and some mystery to keep you hooked. the magic and world are absolutely fascinating. its got the whimsy of folklore but with a dark edge.
the political was a little shaky, the dynamics and world structure just didnt feel solid enough to quite believe. but the geopolitics of the world arent critical to the majority of the book so i didnt think it would matter much. but for the last 20% it definitely matters so i felt a little empty with some of the climax since there wasnt that established understanding of how the politics worked.

characters: 4/5
the main characters are absolutely brutal and delicious and broken. i adore them and want them to be happy but alas they are bloody and damaged and gruesome…
the side characters left me wanting a little more. there were quite a few of them and i had a hard time keeping track. i think with lorelai as the narrator, she didnt care about those people very much so of course she wouldnt think too much about them. but as the reader i needed some more to understand them and the parts the played.

writing: 5/5
i really love saft’s writing, she is a master of pining and pain and whimsy and darkness. she writes in a way that is so engaging and evokes so much emotion. the use of folklore and the tales added so much depth and color.

overall: 4/5

im really picky about my fantasy romance but this hit all the right notes for me so i would absolutely recommend it despite the minor things i didnt love.

Beautiful written dark academic romance that had me intrigued for about 60% of the story. I love reading Saft’s writing. It is always just so lyrical and lovely. I was so intrigued with this and the fact that I was getting a romance + a little mystery. Unfortunately this felt a little to slow for me and the author lost me at around 70%. I just felt like I got excited about something just to be let down. The main characters where definitely interesting but I started getting bored with their interactions. I wish I could have seen the characters develop their relationship a little faster.

Feeling a little disappointed but I can see lots of people enjoying this.

Unfortunately this was a DNF😭

This was a huge info dump in the beginning and i found it lacking in keeping my attention.

The murder came and went so quickly i was just bored and uninterested.

This is definitely a slower dark folklore fantasy it may be fore you but wasnt for me

Thank you netgalley and daphne press

I will rate what i read about 3 stars

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine/Del Rey; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

Dark, gothic, grim, and glorious, A Dark and Drowning Tide is a sapphic fantasy murder mystery with a semi-historical fiction slant that I absolutely devoured. This one is an easy recommendation for adults/young adults interested in any of the categories above!

For sensitive readers, this book contains depictions of racism, sexuality, violence, death of loved ones, drowning, and magical loss of autonomy.

3.5 rounded up for netgalley. This was everything I expected out of An Education in Malice and more. I loved the build up of the rivals to lovers between Sylvia and Lorelai and felt their relationship was done incredibly well. That being said, I struggled to care for or connect with the side characters that Lorelai is stuck in the expedition with. This definitely stems from being in Lorelais head for this story and she essentially hates everyone. It’s hard to care for a character when the POV you’re reading from couldn’t care less about them and actually felt they were disingenuous. I found Lorelais POV also to get a bit boring at times so it took me awhile to get through this one. I think if this was at least dual POV with Sylvia because their two personalities would’ve probably balanced it out.

Pick up A DARK AND DROWNING TIDE for:

Dark academia
Rivals to lovers
A touch of magic
Murder mystery
Fantasy quest

The vibes were giving if The Atlas Six had a magical Hobbit adventure, but with murder. Dun dun dunnnn.

A team of intellectuals and soldiers journey to find an enchanted pool that would grant unlimited power to whomever is worthy. Power meant for a king attempting to unite all peoples under a single kingdom.

So naturally, someone gets killed along the way.

Regrettably, I had a difficult time with the pace and progression of quest. The entire book is dialogue heavy spelling out history and personal connections between characters. This was broken up by a few high action challenges, but then it was a swift return to talking.

My recommendation is to prepare for the highlights of the book to be about the characters and the intrigue rather than the quest or the magic.

Thank you Netgalley & Ballantine | Del Rey for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.