The most beautifully written book. Dark fantasy with an intriguing world built around it. Also Sapphic romance!

I think that the book was potentially too long? Or it needed to be spaced out into two books? I felt like we didnt get enough time with the characters in a non extreme stress environment, and the travelling seemed FAST. I needed more information about the magic system for it to like actually make sense to me. Overall I don't think its bad, but I think that we needed to spend more time with the characters and setting for it to be more engaging.

allison saft can write just about anything, and this book is proof of that. from captivating characters to a romance you can’t help but root for, this sapphic academic rivals to lovers fantasy novel has a little bit of something for everyone. thank you netgalley! 4/5 stars.

It’s sapphic, gothic, academia, and adventure within a fantasy world. If these sound like you then this maybe your next 5star.

oh allison saft. i've been a fan of hers since her debut novel down comes the night. and i love her taking swings like this. however, it didn't hit like crazy for me. lovely prose as always but the story didn't connect.

This was an interesting time; while I loved the writing of this, the plot and romance left much to be desired for me.

The cover of this is beautiful and really drew me in. I was so excited to get to read a dark academia within a fantasy world, but I do wish for more of the academia part. More of the world and magic would have been so much better.

All of the characters were unique and intriguing but I really struggled with getting invested in any of them. The romance fell a bit flat. I needed more of a build up as I didn't really get that they liked each other at all. This happens with enemies/rivals to lovers for me. I always want more 'to lovers' than we got. It just jumped from despise to love to quickly.

This did make me want to read more from the author and I am planning to pick up another book from her.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

A dark and drowning tide is fantasy novel where we follow folklorist Lorelei as she and a team of novels as they search for a legendary spring said to gift the worthy with unimaginable power on orders of the king. Lorelei finds herself in command of the expedition after the murder of her mentor, she ends up having to team up with her academic rival Sylvia to figure out who is sabotaging the expedition.

I’ve previously enjoyed Saft’s work and this was no exception. I enjoyed the world building and the dynamics between the crew. Seeing how the reacted with each other and how certain characters where treated due to their religion, race and birth was interesting. I look forward to Saft’s next book.

A lush and creepy sapphic fantasy romance that had a lot of positives. I enjoyed it overall, but I do think sometimes the pacing lagged.

Starting 2025 with realizing that I read this last year as soon as I received a special edition from a book box and never came here to rate it. DANG IT. Anyway, this was my first Allison Saft book, and while I own a few others, this one was the first one that really called out to me and made me want to pick it up right away. And I was pleasantly surprised. I don't know what I was expecting, and while I never really believed the rivalry between the two main characters, I loved the grumpy sunshine-esque trope and the world and the adventure they set out on together. I am definitely going to pick up my other books by this author because this was really well done!

A Dark and Drowning Tide is such an immersive story. I loved the world building and the lush descriptions of the setting. I could visualize the eerie forest. I thought the characters were complex and the magic system was well developed. I also loved the folklore references, I thought they blended well as we followed along with the larger story.

Overall another great story from Allison Saft! There is romance, magic and a murder mystery.. what more could you want?

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and ... I have thoughts.

First and foremost, I enjoyed Lorelei as a stubbornly cranky main character and Sylvia as her love interest. The romance build up was definitely to my tastes. I enjoyed their dialogue as well as the events leading to Lorelei's realization that they both have feelings for each other.

The side characters were serviceable enough and made for a good little group of personalities going on a magical expedition.

The writing is great especially in terms of the imagery and the set up for the plot. Saft is very capable of immersing me into her stories and getting me to invest a lot into her characters.

Something about the book shifted for me around the 60-70% mark though.

This book is advertised as a magical sapphic fantasy romance with an expedition turned murder mystery and it is indeed that for the most part. Had the book stayed that course and stuck to those two main plot threads, it would have been a much stronger story.

I have a more detailed review on my Goodreads page (linked) that explains specifically what my grievances with the story are.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for the eARC

So, this is my first Allison Saft book, and... well, I won't hold it against them this time. I didn't like A Dark and Drowning tide at all. The two stars (which are actually a 1.5) are solely for the sapphic relationship, because the rest of the book was Not It.

Not only could I not care much at all for any of the characters, I couldn't care for the plot OR the world. I did at first. The first few chapters were bangers, but then I kept getting smacked on the head over and over and over again with the problems this society has with the ??? being told to me rather than simply being shown in the story progression. Like okay, I get it, you want us to know Lorelei is ??? and she's oppressed because of it. I love that plotline in books because it's realistic. But after the first few goes, I get it. Stop telling me. Show it instead.

Saft didn't do that. I was blasted by the end of this book and annoyed as hell. Not to mention so. freaking. bored. The pacing had so much to be desired that, a few times, I actually had to go back and check if I missed something because of the way it all laid out. Then I'd go back to being bored again.

Where was the fun to the adventure? We had ship voyages! We had death! We had monsters! We had lesbians. WTF happened?!

(I did perk up each time Lorelei got a little swoony, but they were so few and far between for so much of the book that I was grinding my teeth when they did show up. Speaking of, though...)

The romance was cool. It hooked me back in when it was present, though I did start to get bored with it along with everything else. It wasn't the worst part of the book by any means. Which, in turn, does give me hope for Saft's other books, since I know they have romance in them. One of them has to click, right? Right?

(I hope so, because I have a copy of another of her books, and it's really pretty. And I don't want to unhaul it because I hate it and I want my shelves full of books I love.)

I don't know. This really wasn't for me, which is a shame because I would have sworn up and down it was before I actually read it.

Sigh. Onto the next I guess.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The vibes for this one were absolutely PERFECT. Folklore, sapphic yearning, weird creatures, locked room murder mystery, academia... *happy sigh*

Lorelei and Sylvia are excellent leads that compliment each other so well, and the yearning, bickering, and obliviousness to feelings between them was so fun to read. The side characters were also well developed, and their personalities made for some interesting interactions/situations.

The plot was a little meandering, but it suited the novel well because of the hazy and dream-like atmosphere. The politics were glossed over, which may annoy some readers, but again, I think it suits the atmosphere of the novel well.

I would LOVE to see more stories set in this world, even if the characters are different (but I do adore Lorelei and Sylvia and would not be opposed to seeing them again!). It was a difficult novel to leave behind.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This was my first book that falls under this subgenre of fantasy and I found it not to be for me. The book started off pretty slow and the world didn’t hook me in.

Seems like it may be a good book for others who like to read similar books.

There were parts of this that interested me, but overall while listening to this audiobook I felt apathetic. I got to a point where I would zone out of the story and then come back to realize I didn't really care if I missed anything important.

I didn't connect with any of the characters, they were pretty boring and not memorable. The chemistry was also non existent between the MCs, romantically or otherwise. I found myself asking at some point why they were even on this journey again and why would anyone care to thwart it.

It wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley & Libro.fm for the eArc and ALC.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

Actual rating: 3.5

Allison Saft returns with a sapphic fantasy centered around a murder mystery. Academic rivals are paired up to solve their mentor's murder. Folklorist Lorelai is the grumpy to Sylvia's sunshine as they seek a mythic spring on an expedition where the attendees are also the suspects.

I couldn't get into this story reading with my eyes, so I waited until after its release to snag the audiobook from my library.

Ultimately, I think this story just wasn't particularly for me, which is odd when I consider that Voyage of the Damned was a positive experience for me. While both books received the same rating from me, I think that ultimately I run the risk of forgetting a lot of details from A Dark and Drowning Tide. Part of me already wants to re-read this book because it sounded exactly up my alley, and I'm certain I must have missed something.

The yearning was certainly present. The slow burn was there. But I really wasn't attached to any of the characters on this read through. I could see the potential for me to like it, so perhaps this was just the wrong time for this read. I intend to keep the book for an eventual immersion read because this book (along with Curious Tides) is one of the few to ever leave me so confused about my reaction to it in the end.

I would happily recommend this book to fans of An Education in Malice or the aforementioned Voyage of the Damned. I appreciate the opportunity to have read this early.

I really liked how everyone was unique and interesting that it kept me reading at first. I already read a different book from this author and so I thought I should give this a chance. The world building was interesting. But despite attempting to continue reading, I gave up halfway.

A captivating and compelling story that follows an academic expedition to find a mythical spring that'll grant those it deems worthy unparalleled power. I really enjoyed the world building and the layers of history and folklore that was revealed through the story. Since we're following the perspective of a folklorist, I loved how she saw the events of the story through folklore parallels. My one critique falls under the development of characters as the conversations sometimes felt convoluted and confusing to follow which left me feeling less invested in the overall story. Some conclusions had me scratching my head as to how the characters reached them and other moments rushed to reach an epiphany. But if there's one thing that Allison Saft does incredibly well, it's writing character relationships that feel heartfelt and so real you just want to root for them no matter what.

Sweeping, romantic, and just a little creepy. This is the second book I've read by Allison Saft and it definitely won't be the last. I love how her books create such a specific atmosphere that immediately sets you into the world of the book. That's definitely what could be said about A Dark and Drowning Tide. I think of the two I've read, this one is probably my favorite. But I think the same impressive storytelling, romantic escape, and interesting story lore is heavy in both, so I believe it's just Saft's wonderful author ability in general. Definitely recommend!