Thank you NetGallery for the Earc!!

I guess I’ll start this review off by saying I feel underwhelmed/unsatisfied by the ending. I think that this book would have felt more complete and intriguing if it had been a series. The plot felt very rushed, and with the ending I was bummed that Lorelei didn’t really seem to have a compete arc.

I was also sad that the romance didn’t feel very developed. With the pair getting engaged in the end, I didn’t feel like they were actually in love? It felt like their romance was thrown into the plot about half way through the novel, which is not good. There needed to be more obvious pining in Lorelei’s interiority. I really thought she just hated Sylvia for a while, even though I knew they were going to have a romance. Not a super well executed enemies to lovers I fear.

Another point that I want to mention in my review deals with the political world this novel tries to build. I am confused why Lorelei stands by Wilhelm while he is clearly a colonizer/tyrant (I feel this is the best description of his rule). Like he is segregating Lorelei’s people and she still stands by him without trying to make change? To this point as well I feel that Adelheid was in the right, and yet she is the villain who must be killed. Very strange political stance…

Ok! On to some things I thought were good.

I find Saft’s writing style to be very beautiful. Each sentence I read added a good impact to the story, especially in the action sequences and within Lorelei and Sylvia’s romantic encounters. There were times I found myself rereading sentences because they were intriguing. Saft is definitely a writer, her words just flow excellently.

The world Saft starts to build in this novel is also so incredibly cool. I wanted to know so much more about the magic system and the creatures that inhabit the world. I was sad there wasn’t more to be said about these things in the novel, which brings me back to my point about this concept working better as a series.

Overall, I rated this about a 3.25 ⭐️
There are things to be improved, but given this is her debut adult novel it wasn’t horrible by any means. I will definitely pick up her YA books at some point, as I am interested in her writing.

A captivating read for fans of lush, immersive fantasy worlds, swoon-worthy romance, and complex, thought-provoking explorations of identity, power, and the blurred lines between good and evil, making it a perfect fit for readers who crave a rich, atmospheric tale of dark academia, Sapphic love, and magical adventure.

I love Allison Saft’s writing. It always hits so hard. ADaDT is no different. We get incredible characters, sweeping adventure, vivid world building, and intriguing politics. On top of that, we get this romance you can really sink your teeth into.

Lorelai and Sylvia, two women who despise each other must work together on an expedition to find an ethereal spring, promising unimaginable wonder. At the start though, Lorelai’s beloved mentor is murdered. Even through their derision of one another, they trust neither committed this act, so it must be one of the fellow members of their expedition.

What follows is a dangerous journey with stealthy enemies, wonderful magic, a cast of strange and mysterious characters, and a romance that I felt in my bones.

This one was a smidge longer than I wanted, but so worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This novel follows Lorelei, a folklorist mourning the death of her younger brother, for which she blames herself. At the beginning of the novel, she sets out on an expedition to find a magical river, the Ursprung, with her mentor and a group of five other students, including Sylvia, her academic rival. The King handpicks the group hoping they will be successful in their search, as his goal is to harness the power of the river for his own political gain. All the students, excluding Lorelei, were his childhood friends.

The world is filled with folklore, fairytales, magical creatures, and complex water-based magic. I found Saft’s frequent weaving of tales into the story very charming and informative for world building purposes. I wish we could have seen more of Lorelei’s career/studies of certain folktales.

The plot moves on through a murder mystery, complicated journeys, characters changing sides, multiple romantic relationships, and discussions of oppression and colonialism throughout the empire. I appreciated the depth of both Lorelei and Sylvia’s characters, as well as their relationship with each other. The other secondary characters were a bit difficult for me to parse from each other for the first half of the story. They could have used more fleshing out, along with the King. That said, I did enjoy slowly uncovering their own personal motivations and alliances.

Saft’s writing is enjoyable, clean, and features the right amount of description for a world as complicated as Brunnestaad. I look forward to seeing what she creates next.

4/5 ⭐️
This is another book I’m having a hard time rating. I’m giving it 4⭐️ but I think it’s probably like a 3.8 or 3.9. Like it was good. But also had a lot left wanting.
I think this book was the closest to being like the author’s other book, A Far Wilder Magic. Yet it still fell short. A Far Wilder Magic was near perfect. This was okay.
There was some great stuff in this book. For example I liked the dynamic between Lorelei and Sylvia. How opposite they were, but it is their differences that made them good for each other. I also really liked Johann. He’s complex and contradictory and keeps you on your toes. I liked the themes and the story’s intent. However it was left wanting. It could’ve gone farther. Like we were barely scratching the surface.
My biggest complaints with this is that the red herrings were so obvious. I was kind of surprised who the killer was, but at the same time it should’ve been obvious because every time she claimed it was one person it was so heavy handed that you knew it was a red herring. The characters that made up the crew was also slightly childish, but I wish they leaned into that more. Leaned into them acting like kids even though they think they’re adults cause they’re just young adults doing adult jobs but with teenage emotions and reactions. My final complaint was the folktales. In general I liked them. Unfortunately the way they were interjected into the story was not seamless. Instead you saw the thick, puckering stitches.
Overall, the story was entertaining and there were parts to it that I really enjoyed and thought were great. But I wish the story was refined a little and pushed to go a little farther. I would recommend this over some of her other books. But if you had to read one, I still highly recommend A Far Wilder Magic the most.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

Unfortunately while the premise of this book was intriguing to me I couldn’t get into it and didn’t enjoy the characters. I ended up not finishing this book

Thanks to Del Rey for the copy of this book!

Dark Academia is one of my absolute faaaavorite genres, which led me to pick up A DARK AND DROWNING TIDE. The only other Saft book I've read is A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT, which is a much lighter feel than this book. While I loved the start with nixies and folklore right off the bat, this book was just a little too slow for my taste and just didn't really hold my attention.

I was fully immersed in this story from the first page - a lyrical and dark story that reads like a fairy tale, dark academia, adventure novel, mystery and romance in a perfect blend. The characters were perfect, the settings and magic system were unique and interesting. I am also a huge fan of this audiobook narrator and will seek out more books read by her!

Thanks to NetGalley and PRH for the ARC, and to PRH Audio for the ALC.

I really enjoyed this one. The fantasy aspects feel a little like a blend of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies (fairies, academia) and One Dark Window (dark atmosphere, politics, legends), mixed with an Agatha-Christie-style murder mystery and a little sapphic romance. Plus a fantasy setting inspired by Central Europe. And these things all worked together perfectly.

All in all, it was the perfect blend of character and plot, with an immersive world. It had a little action sprinkled throughout, a little romance here, a little mystery there, and topped off with strong character arcs. It was also rich with themes about stories/folklore, and how they shape our perception of reality.

I had a good time from beginning to end.

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Rey for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Really liked reading this one! It's got a bit of everything from magic, to murder mystery, to romance. I was engaged from the very beginning, and drawn in by the great cast of characters and folklore. Lorelai's character in particular was my favorite, her perspective is both funny and misanthropic at the same time. As well, the romance was very well done and I enjoyed the chemistry and banter between Lorelai and Sylvia. Overall, this book was highly enjoyable, 5/5 stars.

The ambiance, the unique magic system, the mystery, the queerness! I’m obsessed! I adored every second of this book.
Vibes:
-The 1999 Cinematic Masterpiece “The Mummy” Starring Academy Award Winners Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz
-Death on the Nile
-Glass Onion

This was superbly entertaining. Lorelei and Sybil have been friends for most of their lives, and now they're trying to solve a murder while searching for a seemingly unobtainable power.

This was such a fun one, lots of great banter and relatable characters, and a slow burn romance with quiet nuances for those readers that aren't loving out loud like some of us!

Thank you for the opportunity to read an early copy of A Dark and Drowning Tide! I was really excited to read a fantasy story with a mystery element but unfortunately this one fell flat for me. The info dumping was overwhelming and I think it would have worked much better for it to be spaced out strategically. Character wise, this was well done! The yearning and angst is everything I could have wanted.

“𝕀𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕓𝕖 𝕤𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕥, 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥.”

This book had me at sapphic enemies to lovers, but kept me with absolutely stunning prose. A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft is a novel steeped in Jewish folklore, rich with yearning, filled with pining, and dripping with hatred. The emotions are palpable as you ride the rollercoaster plot through murder, mystery, mythical creatures, and unwanted desire.

The atmosphere is the biggest selling point for me as Saft creates vivid and dark imagery throughout all of Brunnestaad. Lorelei, Slyvia, and their team have been tasked to find the source of all magic but come across creatures of legend (who want them dead), cities of rebels (who want some of them dead), and sentient forests (you guessed it- that wants them dead.

I have always been obsessed with dark academia and for me A Dark and Drowning Tide fully delivers. Thank you @delreybooks for gifting me a copy of this book.

4⭐️

This book had political scheming, fantastical elements, and a bit of romance. It was not as romance driven as I thought it would be. It was hard to get into because the different countries and details made it hard to get a handle on what was going on. Once I oriented myself, I wasn’t sure of the point of it all. If part 1 hadn’t ended the way it did, I’m not positive I would have continued reading.Lorelai and Sylvia didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me at first. The rivals part of their relationship lasted a good while, which I enjoyed. Towards the end, their romance was so beautiful and tender. I loved them together. Overall, I liked this book. I recommend it to readers who enjoy fantasy books.

⌞ 3/5 stars. ⌝

a dark and drowning tide is a lesbian fantasy romance where the leads are constantly bickering and have to find a magical spring of power. there's folklore left and right, strange creatures, and what? murder mystery? what a hook 🤭

but, unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this as much as I hoped I would. there were things I liked, like say the romance aspect of it. the very ending? made me smile lots. without that, I might have given this 2 stars instead. I liked the action, so all of the crazy magical fighting scenes where they're up against dangerous creatures and whatnot.

so what are my pros besides that?
▸ I enjoyed the writing style and prose, especially liked the dialogue some of it was so poetic like okayy shakespeare
▸ both of the leads are strong. they had their flaws and fears, but throughout the book, they were capable of grounding themselves and staying level-headed.
▸ slowburn! if you like that.

my cons, now. this is why I took so long to finish reading this
▸ massive info dumping at the beginning of the book made it nearly impossible for me to get through the first chapter. I was on that chapter for a full month before I finally broke through.
▸ on top of the info dump, the beginning is sooooo slow. it drags.
▸ there IS NO MAP. I think I might have said "WHERE IS THE MAP" out loud like ten times for the first 50% of the book. the author gives us several locations and names, and better yet, WRITES DOWN A DESCRIPTION OF A MAP, but we don't have a VISUAL. so, I had no idea where we were.
▸ nobody seems to react to anything at all. their expedition leader literally dies from murder and everyone is just idk sucking their thumbs like oh! that sucks. let's move on though! this reaction later makes more sense for some characters, but for others, I don't get it. why were they so calm???
▸ finding the murderer was unbelievably anticlimactic, I wasn't shocked at all. so was finding the ursprung. the description of this story makes it seem like the murder investigation will be a focal point, but I think that this was just really hard to accomplish when they are also traveling and the expedition is important.
▸ while I liked and recognized some of the tales told to us by lorelai, I would have preferred it if they appeared at the beginning of a chapter, like a prelude into what we are about to read, rather than appearing in the middle of dialogue/action. like we're in the middle of something important and lorelai is like "this reminds me of this tale..." ok...
▸ I honestly didn't care about any of the characters.
▸ we have some sort of magic system in this story, though it is never explained. magic kind of just exists.

that's everything in my notes app. the fact that it's standalone is a little shocking because I don't know it feels a little incomplete? I'm just so disappointed because I feel like if this were approached a little differently it would have been so fun. the murder mystery wasn't exciting, in fact, it was kind of boring. most of what happened in this story was. final verdict? I half recommend this and half don't. a certain type of audience will enjoy this.

First I have to comment on the cover, the cover is gorgeous. I have mixed feelings about the book though. On one hand it's two idiots who are clearly into each other trying to find a magic river while solving a murder. On the other hand, there are so many red herrings for the story to end up EXACTLY where you think it would. I hated that part. I would have preferred more background on the characters rather than the middling murder plot.

Lorelei is a folklorist and throughout the book, there are folktales scattered. Each tale relates to that point in the story which I really enjoyed. Again, the murder plot wasn't really necessary. There was already so much tension on the expedition. Aside from Sylvia, there were four other people who were side characters that didn't really trust Lorelei. Also, there is magic in this world. People who can channel magic basically have water-bending skills. There are also a lot of magical creatures that seem sinister but are mostly misunderstood. Most things will hate you if you just try to kill it instead of understanding it.

I wouldn't really say this is enemies to lovers, more like dark academic vibes. Rivals to lovers is a better description. I would also say this is still pretty young adult to me, there is one kind of steamy scene, but it isn't too graphic. The themes of the book (us vs. them) are also portrayed in a way that might resonate more with younger readers. I also didn't like the ambiguous ending. I wanted to know more about the Yevani and how that storyline could be resolved. It was very clear to me that Yevani people were scapegoated, but I wanted more history and a concrete conclusion.

I liked this book, but I just felt like more interesting story choices could have been made.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

Things this book has that I absolutely adored:
-sapphic
-gothic vibes
-dark academia
-horror vibes

I love Saft as a writer, and honestly, I know her other books are YA, but they always read mature to me. In writing style and plot — and this new adult debut is just as stunning as her YA books. This one is definitely darker than the previous books she’s written, but the gothic and horror vibes are immaculate.

The pacing of the entire book was amazing, I was sucked in and at no point did I know where the book was going.

I know it’s fantasy and touted as such, but really, this book was a fantasy murder mystery on a quest. I loved it. It was such a unique take on concepts that I love in different forms.

So sort of The Secret History but fantasy? I don’t know how else to explain it other than: amazing.

Stunning writing, beautiful atmosphere, prose, everything culminates in an amazing book. People always complain that there aren’t enough sapphic books — DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS.

I will mention it does touch on some potentially triggering subjects, especially if you know the history of anti-Semitic rhetoric. I would say it is similar to how Ava Reid did it in The Wolf and the Woodsman. It isn’t overt, but you DEFINITELY know what it is supposed to represent.

Anyways, highest of recommendations for this book, please go read it when it comes out!

I really enjoyed it! I would recommend. It’s a fun read that gave me dark academia vibes. This is character driven as the plot is not moving forward often. So if you’re into books where you get a deep dive into characters and their motivations (mainly the MCs), you’ll enjoy this.

I feel like the flaws in this book start with how little we knew about the side characters who are important to the story or the professor-like person who is the catalyst of everything else that occurs. I thought the world building was unique but could have taken it further. I also thought that the romance between the MCs took TOO long to happen and at one point I was so annoyed by them being into each other and doing nothing about it.

The “battle” scenes were lacking. I couldn’t even really imagine what was going on there.

You might be wondering at this point why I rated this 4 stars even though there were many flaws. I still enjoyed it a lot. I liked the banter. I liked the relationship between the MCs. I liked the political consequences of everything. I liked knowing who the murderer was until the end. The mystery of it kept me going quickly.

Could it be better? Yes. Can you still have a great time? Also yes.

Ps. I still don’t know what the deadly magical sea creatures are. Mermaids? Sirens? Is there a difference?

PSs. There are other magical creatures whose weakness is coffee. lol. Same. Same.

In this thrilling read, a witty folklorist must set aside her differences and join forces with her academic rival to unravel their mentor's murder in a richly enchanting and thrilling sapphic fantasy romance!

I love a good sapphic romance and I think the academic rival trope just added to the love I have for this read! This is my first read by Allison Saft and the way she wrote this is so breathtakingly beautiful! The plot and the writing style alone were enough to make this a one-day read! I’m never a huge lover of worldbuilding, but I think Saft did hers in such an elegant way that I didn’t mind it as much as I typically do!

Now, let's get into our main characters Lorelei and Sylvia! I think these two were written in such a magical way that you don’t get a whole lot of in sapphic books. The way these two were constantly teetering on the edge of being so desperately in love with each other while also denying feelings for one another had me wanting to cry.

Much like Lucy Undying and Fang Fiction (both previously read on NetGalley), I fear this is a read I will be thinking about for a very long time!