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.

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.