I rarely read fantasy but then I heard this book was similar to "A Study in Drowning" I was so curious to read it. And it was even better than I anticipated!
The world-building is great and the subjects are very interesting even for readers who are not used to fantasy-related themes. the story and characters are what tie everything together, they keep you on your toes and you keep turning the pages to see what will happen next.
The writing is phenomenal and it makes the tropes refreshing and fun to read and not cliché

First and foremost, thank you very much to Daphne Press for approving me for the advanced readers copy of this novel.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 & 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬: gothic, quest, murder mystery, Fairies and Folklore, Jewish main character and traditions, sapphic, academic rivals to lovers, water magic, German inspired setting, Emily Wilde meets Spinning Silver

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/3.75

A Dark and Drowning Tide was a bewitching novel which intertwined a gothic murder mystery with a romantic fantasy all whilst dripping with folk and fairy lore.

In a world where magic floods through the so-called aether, a substance only found in water, Lorelei Kaskel, a scared and dutiful folklorist, embarks on an expedition with six eccentric nobles including her academic rival Sylvia von Wolff, in search of a fabled spring called the Ursprung. Whilst for their friend, the young king Wilhelm, this magical spring of untold power is a tool to secure his reign of the embattled country, Lorelei is determined to use this quest to prove herself and fulfil her dream of becoming a naturalist and of being able to travel freely to faraway lands.

And so, the reader embarks not only on a dangerous and bloody journey full of wicked fairie folk creatures such as nixies, alps and irrlichter, but also on one full of superstition and betrayal, during which trust is long forgotten and everyone could be lying at any time.
In particular this latter aspect, added a lot of suspense to this book and had you questioning every word and action exchanged between our cunning cast of characters. In addition to that, I loved how the contrasting personalities of our two female main characters added so much banter to their romance and this novel. I also simply must mention that the German side of my bilingual brain had a good time laughing over the German words Allsion Saft used for the river names.

Most notably though was how brilliantly and elegantly Allison Saft intertwined the German inspired setting of Ruhigburg/Brunnestaad with the religious persecution of the Yevani people, and through that making a clear nod and reference to the atrocities Jewish people had to experience in German history. In addition to that, I was captivated by how this novel illustrated the depth of the aftereffects of trauma.

Nevertheless, I´ve found that sometimes Lorelei´s thoughts jumped quite quickly, making it hard to follow them and their logic. Along with that, I occasionally struggled to follow the dialogue passages of this novel for similar reasons. Furthermore, Heike, Adelheid, Johann and Ludwig were all quite similar to each other in terms of their backgrounds and motives, which was a shame since it took away a lot of their own individuality as side characters. Additionally, I´ve also noticed some lose and unsolved plot threads involving the murder mystery which was a bit disheartening, and I personally found that the ending was a bit too sweet for what the story and its themes were previously about.

3.5/5 Stars

A Dark and Drowning Tide is an atmospheric, mysterious and magical tale. This was my first read from Allison Salt so I had no idea what to expect, and I have ended up completely obsessed with her writing. The whole book was dripping in a dark folklore atmosphere and lyrical writing. The atmosphere almost felt like the main character in the story, with the mystery and fairytale-feel driving a lot of the tension.

I admit, the thing that drew me in most about this book was the academic sapphic rivals. Sylvia and Lorelai had so much tension radiating between them from the very first scene. Their personalities bounced so well off each other, with their relationship feeling so heated and dynamic. As I am weak at the knees for a good rivalrous romance, this was absolutely perfect and everything I wanted.

As well as the romance, the relationship between all of the characters was complex, rich and nuanced. While I really admire this storytelling, I admit that the way I read the book left me a bit confused and missing the more nuanced part of the story and context. Due to life busyness in the last month, I wasn’t able to sit down and read this book completely over a couple of days like I would have wanted. Instead I picked it up and dropped it with long gaps between. This made the complex setting, magic system and history of relationships a bit lost on me, with this book having a very confusing and hazy feel to me. I’m not sure if this confusion was partly intensional, but it did leave me feeling like I didn’t get all out of the book.

I also think the mystery and build up was so well drawn out, that the climax at the end felt a bit disappointing. Especially in terms of Lorelai’s ending, I really wanted more for her.

Nonetheless, overall this was a memorable and intoxicating story that I think wlw readers will adore. I’m excited to see more adult stories from this author, especially more from this world (maybe?!? Hopefully?!?)

2.5 stars

A Dark and Drowning Tide is a sapphic rivals-to-lovers story following Sylvia and Lorelei and an eccentric group of academics on an exhibition. When they mentor is found murdered, the pair must stick together to ensure brother are wrongly blamed when they come across her body.

The characters embark on their adventure/quest all the while trying to size each other up - it definitely fell into formulaic murder mystery territory which isn’t what I was expecting.

My overall impression of this book is wishy-washy. A lot of the characters blended together and so did the settings. I was caught off realising the location had changed between scenes because literally nothing stood out to me.

The author’s prose is beautiful and the romance & pining was enjoyable but I just think these characters would’ve been more enjoyable in a different book. Also nothing changes the fact this is one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen.

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy of this book! It sounded right up my alley and I was so excited to dive in. I ended up reading it on holiday, and while I was intrigued enough to keep reading, unfortunately I didn’t get hooked.

The main character, Lorelei, is part of an expedition for the king to find a magical spring that grants power. Before it can even get started, Lorelei’s mentor and leader is murdered, so she must work to figure out who did it. She has to work together with her rival, Sylvia, and their relationship develops in different ways.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is fantasy, and there is magic, but the overall setting is reminiscent of historical Germany, and Lorelei is the equivalent of Jewish in this world. Lorelei’s religion is one of the most important details in the book, and Saft describes both the struggles and the cultural connections in very emotive ways.

Folklore is woven through the whole story, and I loved these elements, especially with the writing style. The myths and history added lots of detail and helped to flesh the world-building out. Still, the way they were inserted into the story sometimes felt blunt and obvious, instead of being fully integrated.

I do think that outside of Lorelei’s personal history, the world-building felt a bit flat. I felt that things were only referenced in context of trying to figure out the murderer, and I really did not fully understand the relationship between the king and the other five from the expedition, because Lorelei was not part of that history.

I get the point of the murder mystery, and I was intrigued to find out who did it, but it didn’t grab me. I was much more interested in the expedition itself and the search for the spring, especially when they encountered creatures and interesting locations on the way, so I wanted to see more of that.

I loved the sapphic relationship and the tension between Lorelei and Sylvia, although I think it could have been even better if there was more of a slow burn. Generally, I think the book would have benefitted from being longer, because the side characters also could have been fleshed out more to give a clearer picture of the situation.

The ending… surprised me. I won’t say anything specific because I don’t want to give spoilers, but I thought the resolution would be different. I think my disappointment was a bit more pronounced because this sounded so good and I was ultimately underwhelmed.

thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc for this book!

a dark and drowning tide follows our main character lorelei kaskel, who is a folklorist (aka she collects stories) and her fellow expedition members as they try and find a magical spring that holds unlimited power which the king will use to keep his kingdom together. if my explanation sounds vague, that's because the worldbuilding was as well and i was just hanging on for dear life trying to decipher this plot.

there's also a murder mystery element where the mentor of our main character gets murdered during the expedition but that plot element is really dropped and picked up again at random and never felt very high stakes until the end of the book.

there's also not one but two instances of lorelei and sylvia (the love interest, it is a queer love story so bonus points for that as always!) leaving an injured friend behind for no good reason?

there's also no character development to be found in lorelei. she's closed off and guared and it all makes sense because of her past trauma and the discrimination she faces daily but it's to the point that she constantly self-sabotages and just makes the stupidest decisions and it just got so very frustrating reading her think in the same circles over and over again. because of this the romance also felt like it came out of nowhere beause we don't really get a read on lorelei's emotions ever.

as mentioned before the worldbuilding needs some tidying up. there's just SO MUCH lore and instead of making the story feel rich and rooted in its own reality, it just made it muddled and messy. bestie, it's okay to do some exposition once in a while.

also just a personal issue for me and my limited attention span: the chapters were VERY long.

2.75 stars.

I feel a little iffy about how to review this one. I started out enjoying it a lot, then it became a little less, but towards the end it was fairly enjoyable again.
I think a lot of us are here for the sapphic romance and tbh I felt no spark between them when they were bickering, or at any point leading up to it. That kinda dissapointed me.
I really like the world that was built, but I felt like I needed some more history than I got to really get it. I loved the mythical creatures, nature parts and it's the stories that come with it though.

Overall I do think it was a good read and it never really gets boring. There's basically always something happening, which made it a lot easier to keep my attention. Still I think it's a bit of a slowburn (especially on the romance part).

This is a very mixed story - while it isn't the lengthiest tale, the story is very jam packed with lots of details, myths and legends. This is a really unique magic system and I loved the idea of a murder mystery set on a boat. But, our main character Lorelai is a difficult protagonist to follow as she comes across as very unlikeable. While the reader understands this is a form of defence mechanism due to the racial discrimination she has faced and trauma, it did make connecting with the side characters more difficult and less developed as she didn't want to get to know them. The romance element of this is very sweet, and I did really enjoy reading all of the different myths in this story although they did sometimes feel rather disconnected from the main story. With all of this in mind, I'd give this 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"She would never know how much of this bitterness within her was innate and how much had been shaped by the inevitable cruelty of living. Her story had been written long ago, in indelible ink and blood. There was no hope of changing it now."

This is one of those books that is difficult to review. What I loved most is how each character was described, not only through Lorelei's general description but also through stories and legends, giving us a glimpse of their true nature. I felt immersed in a fairy tale that transported me to another world and showed how people can change and love despite their pasts. The academic rivalry added, of course, an extra layer of interest.

However, there was one aspect that left me with a bittersweet feeling: I felt like something was missing at the beginning. I expected a closer look into Sylvia's life, rather than just being told about it by Lorelei. I would have loved an intertwined narration of both their stories and views on the world.

~ 4 ⭐️

4 stars. Really enjoyed this, thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! Allison Saft delivers again with an interesting and unique dark academia novel. The world building and setting is wonderful and the characters are well fleshed out with interesting development. A little slow to start but definitely worth when the story picks up about 20% in. Highly recommend!

Big thanks to netgalley and the amazing daphne press for providing me an arc of this book.

This was one of my most anticipated books of this 2024, but sadly I DNFed at 85%. I got so tired that I don't even care how it even ends. The writing is rich and beautiful, the atmospheric descriptions are exquisite but all of this wasn't enough. The hate between the protagonist and her rival/love interest is unbsustantial. The plot is soo boring and I have a really bad time trying to understand the character personalities. I came to the conclusion that they simply act as the plot demands and not in a stable way. The politics are boring. The world is unclear. As a fantasy book is really vague.

A beautiful sapphic, dark academic romantasy. If you like Emily Wilde and A Study in Drowning then this book is a must read! The romance had great tension between academic rivals and I ate it up! I knew from the first chapter that I was going to love this book and I was not disappointed.

Great book, with good character development and interesting world-building. I feel the start could have been slightly smoother, as it took a while for me to understand what was going on. But overall, a nice sapphic fantasy, definitely worth a read!

I loved this sooo much, it was just beautifully written. So gratefully to have had access to this arc, I flew through this book so quick. I absolutely loved the romance.

I want to thank the author and netgalley for this ARC. The mystery surrounding the murder is incredible. the folklore part is not at all disappointing. I loved the plot the characters and the romance.

There were parts where that felt very flat for me and I didn't understood the connection of the characters. I loved the murder mystery.

I had really high expectations for this book, because the premise sounds right up my alley and I did really like the author’s previous book. Unfortunately I was quite disappointed. While I did love the gothic vibes and magical atmosphere, the story was just kind of boring. Also the characters felt so one-dimensional that I could not bring myself to care too much. The romance was sweet but overall this one just fell kind of flat for me.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book however I'm afraid I had to mark it as DNF. I struggled to fully grasp and take in the infodumping of world lore throughout the book which didn't make it an enjoyable read for me as I couldn't remember certain pieces as they became relevant or were mentioned again. I'm sure a lot of people would enjoy this book but I couldn't keep up with it personally.

I requested this book from NetGalley without knowing much about it—the intriguing plot description and the captivating cover drew me in. Allison Saft, though new to me, has written several other books that I had yet to explore. Upon reading this novel, I was blown away by the beauty of her writing. Her language is not only lyrical but also imaginative, painting vivid pictures in the reader's mind.

The highlight of this book for me was the seamless incorporation of folklore and fairy tales into the storyline. The main character, Lorelai, is a folklorist who seems to have a fairy tale or a story about/for every creature or moment. These reminded me of the original Brother Grimm fairy tales I used to read as a kid, making me terrified of the world for a moment or two 😅

Without going too much into the plot details, if you find any of the following elements appealing, you might enjoy this book as much as I did:

✔️ Academic rivalry: Lorelai vs. Sylvia, two smart and strong characters that were both great in their academic fields.
✔️ Germanic-inspired folklore and fairy tales: Imagine creatures, the woods, dark water, and often a teaching moment.
✔️ Sapphic romance: Oh they were burning for each other 🔥
✔️ Murder mystery: A ship, a dead body, six suspects.
✔️ Quest and heroine journey: Both literal and metaphorical, the journey was compelling.
✔️ Elemental magic ( 🧊 🧊 👶 ): There was plenty of water and ice in this story.

What didn't work for me: I'm just not a huge fan of murder mystery elements in the stories I read, and that was the case here as well. While the mystery was well crafted, I didn't enjoy all the speculation and guessing that goes with it.

Also, I felt that the ending was rushed. After a story that unfolded at a measured, deliberate pace, the conclusion felt somewhat abrupt. I would have loved if we had more time to appreciate and enjoy with the characters the journey they've been on and a HEA .

Despite these minor issues, "A Dark and Drowning Tide" was a lovely story overall. The world-building, character development, and beautiful writing make it a worthwhile read. Saft has a talent for creating an atmosphere that is both haunting and beautiful, and I look forward to exploring more of her work.4/5 ⭐

Thankyou NetGalley for this arc,

The synopsis of the book was very promising but unfortunately it fell a bit flat to me. There were parts where a lot information was given at once and parts were things didn't really make sense. Also the way the main characters fall in love all of a sudden didn't really make sense to me. What I loved the most about the book was the murder mystery.