This was really good. Lorelei and Sylvia team up to uncover the truth of their leader and find out their leader had secrets. Lorelei must find spring before the murderer strikes again.

A sapphic academic rivalry???? yes please!
this was everything I was hoping for (and look at that cover!! unreal.)

thank you net galley, allison saft, & the publisher for the arc!

A Dark and Drowning Tide has instantly become my favorite book of the year. I was completely enraptured by this story from start to finish.

The setting of this book was very rich and immersive. I very much appreciate this being a stand alone novel, but I would love to see more works set in this world.

I had a ton of fun trying to figure out the murder mystery, and was so excited when I was correct. I’m a firm believer that a mystery should be well set up and should reward the reader for solving it instead of just throwing in a plot twist at the end, which this book absolutely did.

I really enjoyed Lorelei’s perspective, and Sylvia is an absolute delight. The story could have benefited from setting up their romance a bit more, but I did enjoy the two of them together.

I would absolutely recommend this book to fans of gothic fantasy. Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC!

A Dark and Drowning Tide takes place in a newly united kingdom, with a young king trying to keep the peace with his ducal friends that grew up with him. It is a queernormative Edwardian/European-based land with subtle elemental magic and wild fae creatures.

Our main character Lorelei has stepped into this group of friends as the folklorist on their expedition, relating in Germanic and Jewish origin folklore as she leads their quest for the source of magic. The king has sent them to find the Ursprung, to control the magic and secure his rule. The quest begins with a murder and Lorelei must lead the expedition forward while trying to solve the mystery. She teams up with Sylvia, her academic rival and the heir to the largest territory.

You can expect:
NA Fantasy
Elemental Magic
Folklore and wild fae
Atmospheric Vibes
Dark Academia
Murder Mystery
Impossible Quest
Found Family
Rivals to Lovers
Grumpy/Sunshine
Single, 1stP POV

This is a very atmospheric book. It combines a lot of elements and makes them work together. I love the way the folktales were woven right into the narrative, reminding me of the storytelling in The Starless Sea. The magic system and wild fae gave me A River Enchanted vibes as well. If you like those book’s vibes and Saft’s A Far Wilder Magic, you’ll like this as well. However, don’t expect to read it for a gripping mystery plot or great character development. I didn’t really ever feel connected to the characters or care what happened to most of them. Lorelei does a lot of inner monologuing, with pining and tension, and it takes away from the meandering plot. I’m rating it 3.75 on Storygraph because I did enjoy it but it still fell just short of the rest of my typical 4 star read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing an eARC for my honest review.

DNF at 70 percent. I tried to push myself through this but I just couldn’t make myself care. The main characters were not really likeable and the pacing was awful. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year so I’m sad I didn’t love it. I’m sure some people will really enjoy it. It just wasn’t the book for me.

Everything about this novel was an adventurous time. It has mystery, who done it fantasy, with a magical twist and fairy tail stories weaved into it. Not to mention a Sapphic enemies to lovers trope.
The novel held my attention with the wonderful writing and how the story unfolded. Fun adventure to be had.

This dark academia folklore rivals to lovers book seemed like something I would really enjoy. However, I ended up DNFing at 20%. I was unable to connect with the characters and they seemed somewhat childish. I have seen quite a few good reviews for this book so I would still recommend people give it a go to see if they like it.

Thank you to Netgally for providing this ARC.

A dark, sapphic academia romance that has a LOT going on: gothic fantasy, rivals to lovers, Jewish rep MC, an expedition quest, and a murder mystery. But somehow the author manages to tie everything together in a lush and mystic atmosphere. I ate it up! There were only a few times the MC Lorelei, kinda got on my nerves with her inner monologuing. Lots of yearning and tension, but I thought that kept me drawn in for the resolutions. 4/5

This was a big disappointment for me. As far as Saft’s books go, Down Comes the Night has been my favorite by far, followed by A Fragile Enchantment. I think maybe if A Far Wilder Magic is your favorite, you might like this one more.

We are thrown into an established group of people here, but Lorelei is our narrator and the grumpy outsider. She’s very cold and closed off, which makes it hard for us to connect to anyone with her as our guide. Sylvia is by far the best part of the entire book. However their move from rivals to lovers was abrupt and not entirely believable to me. Usually in a grumpy-sunshine relationship, I’d expect some softening from the grumpy one, but Lorelei is prickly to the end, even to Sylvia.

There’s a murder mystery here too, which was fine. The most well-done part of the book was probably the realism of the bigotry and persecution Lorelei’s people faced. But I think I wanted a clearer resolution there with more people than just Lorelei being accepted.

Many thanks to NetGalley and PRH Audio for the preview. The narrator for the audiobook was great and I would happily recommend that format. All opinions are my own.

The atmosphere is well crafted and, overall, the plot kept me engaged. What I struggled with, and I absolutely chalk up to a “me thing”, was the POV of Lorelei. She dislikes everything and everyone, she isn’t engaged emotionally. This made it hard for me to engage or maintain interest in her story.

This is my third Allison Saft book, and I think her books are just generally not for me. I like her writing and character work, but I found the plot and world building to be lacking substance in this one. I think I probably won’t pick up any more of her books unless it’s something that’s right up my alley. I know a lot of readers — particularly ones who like romance — will really enjoy her books!

ARC Review:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

A folklorist and her academic rival set off on a journey to find a magical body of water. This book is rivals to lovers, sapphic, fantasy, and a mystery all in one.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is the first Saft book I have read, and I was blown away by her imagery and ability to create such a vivid fantasy world. The creatures/wildeleute were the shining stars of this story. The plot moved a little slow for me, but it was interesting enough to keep me coming back. I thought the romance was really cute and enjoyed the juxtaposition of the two. I’ll definitely be picking up another Saft book in the future. A Dark and Drowning Tide releases September 17, 2024.

Thank you @netgalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a new favorite of mine. I was immediately sold when I read this was sapphic and my love for it only grew when I realized it was a Jewish, gothic, and dark academia novel. Allison Saft did such an amazing job with writing academic rivals to lovers in a gothic fantasy setting.

This book follows Lorelei and Sylvia as they team up to solve the murder of their mentor during an expedition to seek out a magical spring for the king. Lorelei knows that Sylvia is the only one on the expedition that is innocent. This leaves 5 other members of their crew that each have their own motive. There are many things they face on this expedition from a sentient forest to beasts that change forms.

The plot of this book was so well developed and paced very nicely. Each character added depth to the plot and were greatly written. Lorelei and Sylvia have become my new favorite sapphic couple. The tension??? The yearning??? Absolutely amazing! I thought this book was a great balance between romance and plot. The romance didn’t overshadow the plot of the book, but added to the enjoyment. This book had me immersed in this world with its folkloric nature. It was so beautifully written.

I don’t think I will ever get over this book. I didn’t want it to end. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

An enchanting sapphic read that teleports you to where you want to be. I loved the characters and their romantic tension. This solidifies my love for the author. As a debut into the adult genre this was fantastic!

I’m going to start this off with that this is probably the most conflicted I’ve felt about a book in a while.

I was immediately drawn into this book because of the absolutely stunning cover & the gothic tones it gives off.

The romance in the book was my favorite part hands down. I would give it a 4.5⭐️ in just the romance itself. I loved that we got the POV from Lorelei. The mood & pessimistic tone of the book match well with what the cover was giving. I always appreciate the not happy go luck side of romance that isn’t necessarily enemies to lovers. The tension between Lorelei & Sylvia was adorable. I love that Lorelei didn’t lose her grumpiness at the end. Also I am a sucker for the whole “ruin me” line.

Another thing I enjoyed from this book is I like majority of the characters. I enjoyed reading the interactions between Lorelei & Ludwig. And honestly Ludwigs whole character & wish we got more of him.

I also really enjoyed the creatures of this book & how it got looped back around later in the book.

What ruined me from giving the book a 4⭐️ was the plot itself. I left this book feel so incomplete with the storyline. I constantly felt like I was missing something. The world building was nonexistent. I was so confused on the part of the country & felt like I needed map (I am not stranger to high fantasy so I’m used to made up places). There was so much history that we were not giving about the world, plus its characters history. Not to also mention the lack of magic building. These were just things I could not look past & took enjoyment away from the story. I would have liked to see this story split into a duology. There was just so much life that could have been added to the book if that was done.

I also would have like to see this not in third person because it felt messy with how it was written at times.

At the end of the day, I’m giving ‘A Dark and Drowning Tide’ a 3.5⭐️.

Thank you NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Allison Saft's writing is always so beautiful. While I think that this book could have benefitted from better pacing, I can say with confidence that this is my favorite of Saft's works so far. Lorelei and Sylvia were strong and interesting characters who moved throughout a fascinating world built on myths, fables, and events that are analogous to our own world. Lorelei is the perfect embodiment of a "morally grey" character. When so many people describe characters as "morally grey" to fulfill a trope and write actual war criminals, Saft writes Lorelei as a pragmatic, acerbic, traumatized, and passionate young woman who understands the lack of options existing in this brutal situation. Saft's past work, particularly A Far Wilder Magic, look at how antisemitism and other forms of prejudice are deeply traumatizing, I think that A Dark and Drowning Tide had the strongest discussion of how violence and prejudice interacted with the world's magic system. I particularly loved the integration of Lorelei's work as a folklorist with her heritage and the use of stories within the story.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this lovely book.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed beyond my disbelief. The premise was exactly what I was looking for: sapphic academic rivals to lovers, creepy murders, dark academia stuffed with folklore and fairy tales, and not to mention the cover was so alluring! From the moment the book started, it felt so off... The characters felt like two-dimensional archetypes of certain personalities; the MC, Lorelei, was the brooding and grumpy one, while the love interest, Sylvia, was little Miss Perfect, beautiful and smart. Despite a rough beginning, I was determined to like it.

The first 50 per cent of the book felt quite slow, as the plot only consisted of the content in the blurb, making it harder for me to immerse myself in the story. Most of the book's trudging around till around 70 to 80 per cent had little significance to the plot or how the book ended. The folklore felt a bit loose, and I found it hard to find my orientation in the world. I would have loved if the beginning of the book had a map to help me more effectively visualise everything.

Overall, the book had its high points, such as a compelling premise and atmosphere, but I was unable to become invested in the plot, the characters, or their relationships. I was so sure this was my book, that I'd at least rate this book a 4 stars, but sadly this is more of a 3 stars.

My excitement for this book had much to do with how I loved two of the author’s other books. This book was a bit slow to begin with, but once the murder mystery part started to happen it really took off. I usually am not a fan of female characters for various reasons and this book had quite a few. For the most part they were tolerable and different enough to add to the story. I wish there were more male characters and that they got more presence. Lorelei was irritating, and everything she is accused the other characters of being, she was herself. That being said she was still entertaining at times. I liked the pacing for a standalone and how it ended.

There's nothing I love better than a Sapphic love story!!! The storytelling was whimsical and it truly felt like you were there in the story. The characters were easy to be able to connect with, which is something that I love most when reading. I hope there's a book two!

Lorelei is on a mission with six others to find a magical spring for their king. The mission comes to a halt when her mentor is killed! Everyone that is part of her mission are suspects. She teams up with her academic rival because she knows that she is innocent. They must hurry and find the killer before they can strike again!

This book had me zoned in from the very beginning. In one day I was already a third of the way through. The banter between Lorelei and Sylvia was so on point. I was laughing, on the edge of my seat, and not knowing what was going to happen next the entire time. This book is such a great murder mystery. Of course I had a few theories on who the culprit was. And I was only partially right but I’m glad it wasn’t so obvious! The ending was so beautiful although a bit rushed. I definitely recommend this book.