I didn't know what I was getting into when I requested this book. All I knew is that it was by Alisson Saft and the vibes from the cover were immaculate. Thank you to Del Rey (who always know what I want) and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot accurately convey to you the joy I was in when I read this book. You have everything that I love (and desperately needed at the time); a backdrop of a kingdom after a great war, a king with something to prove after conquering his neighbors, a group of academics, and one magical quest. I was hooked. And you will be too!

Saft's writing is incredible, as always. With characters that you can't help but root for.

I wanted to love this. Beautiful cover, intriguing plot summary, Lesbian romance…what’s not to love? Unfortunately, this was just not well written. The characters were flat and unsympathetic. I did not care about any of them and don’t feel like the author did an adequate job of fleshing them out and giving me a reason to care. A big disappointment.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4.

I’m not sure where to begin with this book as I’m still figuring out what I liked and disliked about it. I will say that it took me more than halfway to get invested in the characters and story. The writing was beautiful and descriptive but the plot lacked momentum or depth. I found myself kind of drifting along through the pages waiting for something to grab my attention. The slow burn romance between Sylvia and Lorelei fell flat and for an adult book debut, the romance and intimacy felt too YA. I did enjoy the murder mystery aspect to this book and commend the author for writing something new and fresh. Thank you NetGalley for my ARC!

Thanm you to Allison Saft and Random House Publishing for this arc <3

A sapphic, Jewish, romantic fantasy that is bursting with folklore and mystic unearthly elements. Everything from the compelling magic to the enchanting creatures grabbed me from the start, especially with the beautiful cover. The bewitching fairytales in every chapter that tied into the situation helped build a hypnotizing story that would keep me submerged into the story.

The tension between the two love interests, Lorelei and Sylvia, was choking me through the screen. But it was a good kind of choke, you know? One that I was eager to see more of and I got exactly what i wanted. Allison Saft was incredible with building up tension throughout the book and tying it off with a perfect undoing performance.

I am so excited to see people snatch a copy of this book in 2024. Allison's writing is beautiful and i am so grateful I got to experience this story myself.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey and Netgalley for providing me the eARC upon my request. These are my honest opinions of the book.
To be released: September 17, 2024

With such a gorgeous cover, I was really hoping to love this book. The cover paired with the synopsis had me expecting dark, dreamy, even slightly gothic tale with murder.

I was LET DOWN. Was I given a single reason to care about the characters? No, and it starts with the main character. Lorelai comes off as bitter, miserable, and hateful. I also felt a little uncomfortable with the implication that she and the Yevisch identity are stand-ins for the Jewish people. I’m not sure it (i.e. Jewish identity and anti-Semitism) was handled with enough care and nuance.

Sylvia, Lorelei’s rival, comes onto the scene in a fascinating way. With good looks, curiosity, and confidence, Sylvia should’ve been a character I liked or at least was intrigued by. However, just like every other character, Sylvia remains shallowly characterized and therefore foreign to me.

What further makes the poor character work stand out is the fact that the plot is equal parts treasure hunt and mystery whodunnit. With the majority of the plot being a cast of characters stuck on a boat looking for the “Ursprung,” I felt like the characters should’ve filled up the story with their distinct, three dimensional personalities rather than remaining names with traits. When they do take decisive action, I didn’t feel like I had enough substance to understand their motivations. The mystery basically amounts to Lorelai saying she is determined to find the culprit for over two hundred pages and then luckily stumbling upon answers. The bare bones trajectory for the plot and the romantic elements are great ideas but poorly executed.

The atmosphere is paper thin. I liked the little flairs of culture and setting we got, but it was mostly limited to names and brief descriptions. The info-dumpy folklore that occurs frequently throughout the book is supposed to support Lorelei’s role as the folklorist on the expedition—but it just comes off as random and disruptive. I do think the few action scenes and encounters with the magical creatures seemed comparatively well written. I also know from reading A Fragile Enchantment that Allison Saft has a better grasp of the romance story than plot lines involving politics. So I wish that the love plot incorporated had been more developed. As it was, the dynamic was a bit static and one-note for most of the book. The dramatic turns near the end cannot save it.

Overall, I would not recommend this book. It was very badly crafted as a whole.

It’s gothic, it’s sapphic, it’s fantastic- A Dark and Drowning Tide is wonderful!!! Beginning with a murder mystery, filled with an adventurous battle, and a happy ending, this book is able to combine this elements to make a wonderful read!!! Both main characters work so well together and their scenes were so so so adorable!! There is so much to this world that I feel that the author has barely uncovered, whether it be the magic or the politics- so much potential!

This unusual book about a magical expedition is intriguing, mysterious, and thought provoking. I found the characters to be flawed, mysterious, bold, rich, likeable, and strange. The story holds a lot of mystery, backstabbing, roughness, and hope, however fragile. I highly recommend this story! Until next time Happy Reading!

I received this ARC from Del Rey in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a beautifully written book! I finished 70% of it in a day. It is full of some of my favorite tropes: slow burn, sapphic romance, rivals to lovers, betrayal, mystery, and magical elements.

Allison Saft write such beautiful imagery and you can picture the descriptions so well. You find yourself immersed not only in the story, but the world itself. You come to really feel like you know Brunnestad people with the weaving of their own versions of folklore. Reading this book makes me want to look farther into more than Hansel & Gretel, because all the tales she tells, are folklore from our own world.

This is my first Allison Saft novel, and if all of her books are written like this, I will be reading all of them. This book left me smiling and I cannot wait for this book to end up on my shelf.

what can i say about lorelei kaskal and sylvia von wolff? beautiful. fantastic. this story is full of the enemies to lovers troupe and i couldn't asked for more! i loved the world building, characters arcs, twists and turns and everything in between. i saw the ending coming, but what happened in the few chapters before made me second guess myself! anyways, im so thankful that i got to ready this beautiful sapphic love story!

I cannot adequately express how much I loved this book. The characters, the story, the bitter sweetness. The sharp bright and the rich dark of it all, like biting into a bitter orange dipped in dark chocolate. I simply cannot say enough good things about this book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for accepting my request for an ACR of this book!
4.5/5
Every plant, every human, every wildeleute, every drop of water, is a thread. Together, they make up the great tapestry of life. If even one stitch is pulled loose, the whole thing will unravel.
I have always been obsessed with Saft’s book ideas. Her stories are just so captivating and the vibes even more so. This cover for starters is gorgeous. The characters were amazing. I enjoyed how there was a balanced mood of romance, shock, and adventure. The twists and turns of this book felt me questioning what could happen next. The romance between Lorelei and Sylvia were one of my favorite parts of this book.

the first quarter of this book was dragging imo, it took me quite a while to finish it. i was not a fan of the pacing during the first part and some of the second part. once things finally started picking up, i was not disappointed. the premise is really interesting and the world-building was great.

4.25

Pros:
- Unique creatures - German inspired folklore and creatures. Not something I’ve seen mentioned a lot
- Possibly the best sapphic romance I’ve read??? Most of the time they feel too insta-love or they have absolutely no chemistry?! But we have to just accept it because there’s not that many sapphic fantasy romance novels.
- Rivals to lovers, no need to elaborate!
- The main group of characters were very distinct and felt fleshed out.

Negative:
- This is a standalone novel but it feels like I picked it up in the middle of the story? I literally double checked to make sure I wasn’t reading like a second in a series or a prequel. There are characters and plot points never really explained and we just have to accept that they happened.
- The sex scene?!? Like what was that? All this build up for a mostly confusing scene that felt like a fade to black? How are you going to have Lorelei talk about how much she wants to “fuck” Sylvia and then not give me any details???!!!
- The ending… is predictable at best and irritating at worst. Why did the author make one of them leave for no reason and then have no contact for months just to come back and beg to get married? Honestly that scene alone took off half a star

This was a sweet rivals to lovers dark fantasy that I enjoyed more of the time. My only issue with it was the passing but overall, it was a good plot.

This book pulled me from the very beginning. From the unique folklore and fantasy to the beautiful sapphic romance, I could only describe this book as a thrilling adventure.

Before even reading this I was hooked at sapphic academia rivalry. This was a beautiful dark fairytale filled with folklore, eerie sentient forests and mythical creatures. On top of all that, the relationship between Lorelei and Sylvia was the most delicious slow burn that had me kicking my feet and squealing! I absolutely loved everything about this book.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for sending me advanced copy!

Thankyou NetGalley, Allison Saft, and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a beautiful atmospheric story. Saft has done a wonderful job combining elements of dark academia, folklore, murder mystery and whimsy, with a touch of romance. I really enjoyed the short stories of lore within the story itself. As well as all the fantasy creatures they encounter, It has a unique feel, which was refreshing.

The cover is gorgeous!!

Allison Saft continues to write beautiful stories with complex and wonderful characters. I loved Sylvia so much. Even Lorelei with her gruff exterior was such a great character. The two of them together were just so cute with their bickering and getting annoyed with each other. The side characters were a little harder to figure out in the beginning, but I grew to enjoy some, like Ludwig and the alp, as well.
My biggest issue with the book was the slow and complicated beginning. It took a while for me to get through the book because I have a lack of German folklore knowledge. The names or the creatures, country, and people were confusing to be mixed in with all the exposition setting up the story.. Some things were obvious, Lorelei is Jewish, Brunnesteaad is Germany, etc. But the overload of names, both human, country, and creature, were a lot to process in the first quarter of the book. That being said, once Ziegler's death occurred, I found it much easier to follow the flow of the story and enjoy it more without getting confused by every name that is being thrown at me.
I continue to adore Allison's Saft big worlds and spectacular characters. I also love that Allison Saft does not shy away from queerness and makes happy queer stories. A Dark and Drowning Tide is a wonder.

First of all. Can we talk about how beautiful this cover is… because wow. Like………… helloooo…

So, I think this ended up probably being my least favorite Allison Saft book so far (but I LOVE the others I have read… so it’s a tough competition out here). It’s not because this ended up being a bit different than I expected, or that the writing was not gorgeous as usual (seriously, it’s stunning). I think it had to do with the plot and romance, which I did enjoy very much but it didn’t leave me hungry to read all in one sitting as I have with Saft’s other books. It’s possible it’s because this is also her first foray into adult fantasy and the pacing and overall writing is just a bit different.

I think my issue was that this almost felt like the second book in a series? The characters jump almost instantly into the expedition which is nice because I don’t have to trudge through eons of exposition, but also leads to what feels like a lack of evidence for relationships to come between all of the characters. Most critically was the main romance between Sylvia and Lorelei. The whole academic rivals thing just didn’t work out for me and I think it’s because we didn’t actually seem them be that much of rivals? However the descriptions of Sylvia were purely magical and so beautiful, and both characters themselves are really interesting. I also liked them together, but I did find it not a tense because Lorelei only realizes her feelings for Sylvia… after Sylvia confesses. And I get that Lorelei has PTSD and has gone through a lot in her life! But I also wanted a little more romantic perspective from Lorelei.

The worldbuilding is simple and, while politically strife, the politics don’t take up the page. Which is something I SOOO appreciate about Allison Saft’s stories (because I’m more here for the vibes), but if you’re looking intensely intricate worldbuilding, this might not be it for you.

Overall this was a beautiful read full of some pained and hurt characters. Lots to love here!

Sapphic academic rivals to lovers in a gothic fantasy setting filled with folklore and intrigue?! It's like the book was written with me especially in mind, haha. "A Dark and Drowning Tide" has an amazing atmosphere, a world that is familiar to our own, infused with magic. Dark forests and rivers, and little towns filled with superstition wreathed in mist. The central cast of academics/warriors were written with a mature complexity to them that I enjoyed, no one is a perfect villain or perfect hero. Lorelei Kaskel, a jewish-coded folklorist with a sharp tongue, was a great POV character and always had me engaged with her observations and inner-conflict. She's all sharp edges and brooding and her rival Sylvia Von Wolff, a naturalist, is filled with irrepressible wonder and softness that made for a fun counterpoint in their relationship. I was weak at the knees for the pining and betrayals between these two. My only complaint is that the book ended, and I wasn't ready to let the characters go quite yet. Maybe I can beg the author for an extra little novelette? Haha. This was a great adult debut for Allison Saft, and I look forward to seeing what else she will put out in future. I'd recommend this book to readers looking for a queer romantasy with a great plot and gothic atmosphere.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for the advance copy of "A Dark and Drowning Tide" by Allison Saft in exchange for my honest review ~