This sapphic back-back adventure story sounded right up my alley and for the most part it was definitely that. I had some issues with the writing style, at times they feel clunky and overwritten but with such a whimsical setting I could see why they were chosen.

I would recommend this book if you enjoyed Emily Wildest Encyclopedia of Fairies, The Hobbit & some of T.Kingfishers work. It's whimsy, it's adventurous, I would even say it borders on 'cozy fantasy', it features an academic rivals quest story, fantastical creatures, romance and a murder mystery!

DNF at around 50%

I wanted a sapphic fantasy murder-mystery but all I got was this lousy headache.

I could not tell you how many times I have started and restarted this book over the last few months. I finally made it past the first chapter, but I continued to have the same problem. This book just did not grip me at all. I constantly felt like I was missing something, going back to try to glean whatever information I was missing but it just wasn't there. Simultaneously, it info dumped and set the scene/atmosphere very poorly. Another reviewer said "it almost felt like i needed to keep up but it was purposefully leaving me behind" which summarised things well. How dare the blurb sound so COOL and it turn out to be this??

The main character is described as sharp tongued and god I love me a bitch, but she was just boring? The romance equally so, and it felt like Lorelai was just trying to convince herself not to like Sylvia. There are multiple reviews that touch on the Jewish and Nazi influences that can explore this topic more eloquently than I. Frankly, I didn't care about anyone or anything. I should've taken my difficulty starting as a sign of things to come and given up whilst I was ahead. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Please take my review with a grain of salt since I am probably not the right audience for this book as I am not a great 'romantasy' reader.
It was very character driven but the main character was extremely boring. The other characters didn't add much either, and the pacing/plot advancement felt glacial. Adding to that, grumpy/sunshine is not a trope that I really like in romance, because I consider unfair that only one in the couple has to carry the emotional intelligence to balance the couple's mood on his/her/their own.
The story world seemed interesting, and perhaps the story could have been improved if the focus was on the magic elements/creatures of the story. As it was it didn't kept me invested enough in the characters or plot.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There’s no denying that Alison Saft knows how to write! Her world building and character development is so meticulous and detailed. However, I did struggle with this and I don’t enjoy it as much as her other works.

Thank you to Daphne Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft has a promising premise but falters in execution. The worldbuilding feels underdeveloped, leaving gaps that make it hard to fully immerse in the story. The characters and plot have potential, and the writing in itself was beautiful, but without a rich backdrop, the narrative falls flat. It’s a missed opportunity that could have benefited from more intricate detail.

Omg this was so good! I love this author and would recommend this book to anyone! The writing style is so easy to binge, and the atmospheric vibes were perfection.

This was a fun blend of fantasy, mystery, and sapphic romance. Really enjoyed it. I was grateful for the mystery and romance, as it kept the story interesting rather than the standard folklore fantasy expedition that it could have been otherwise. I hope to keep up with this author's future work. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Allison Saft is the master of beautiful, whimsical and dreamy prose that keeps pulling me into her well-crafted fantasies. Book by book I am more eager to stay longer with the characters, the magical and lush setting and the carefully created plot.

This adult debut felt new, yet familiar and I loved the lore woven throughout the story. Sylvia is one of my favorite characters ever and I giggled through their banter and swoony romance.

Beautiful, lyrically written and a tender sapphic romance? Sign me up immediately.

Allison Saft, I will now be reading your entire backlog, cheers.

Thank you to Daphne Press and Netgalley for this eARC!

Unfortunately a DNF for me at 25%. I struggled to connect with the characters and I feel like the enemies-to-lovers trope is just no longer working for me.

gorgeous world building, amazing character development along with a soft and kind romance.

This was giving holly black and i absolutely devoured it

a very unfortunate read for me, as much as i had wished to have loved this book, i just couldn't connect with it, at the end it just left me with a lukewarm feeling. not that there aren't people it would work for but it just wasn't for me

When their mentor is murdered on an expedition to find the source of all the world’s magic, Lorelei Kaskel and Sylvia von Wolff must put aside their academic rivalry to uncover the truth behind the crime.

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft is a gothic romance brimming with folklore. As her adult fantasy debut, Saft has crafted a luscious tale that captures political and cultural turmoil as a dominant nation fights to unify a region through brute force.

While initially this novel began with a slower pace, it was necessary to establish the stakes once the murder plot unfurled. Once Ziegler had met her demise, it was as if the pacing had figuratively hiked its skirts. It seems that the group of six intrepid researchers were no stranger to ill-fortune. Between treacherous colleagues and the wildeleute, it’s any wonder progress is made in the expedition.

The narrative arc of Lorelei and Sylvia is the stuff of kick-your-feet-in-glee. Lorelei, a veritable storm cloud of a lass with childhood and cultural trauma to boot, creates chiaroscuro against Sylvia’s literal brightness. I loved that Saft preserved Lorelei’s rude and offhandish manner despite a softening of her inner dialogue.

There is a strong emphasis on the impact trauma has on a person and their lens on the world. Desperate people will lash out – Something reinforced time and time again in A Dark and Drowning Tide. In the current global climate, I feel that this novel stands as a bold reminder that people and nations are complicated beasts that have a myriad of motives.

I’m truly pleased to have started my 2025 with this gothic fantasy full of magic and hardship. Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the digital review copy in return for an honest review.


Review TL;DR:
Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars
Strongest elements: Character development, folklore-esque magic, and world building.
Content warnings: Antisemitism, murder, sexual content, colonization, war, vomit, blood, confinement, mental health issues, injury detail, child death.
Genre: Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy

Disclaimer: e-Arc provided by Daphne Press via Net Galley for Review. All thoughts are my own. My thanks to Daphne Press, for providing me with the arc for review.

Plot
This book follows an academic Folklorist Lorelei and her rival Sylvia. When a cast of characters heads off on an expedition, things soon go awry when Lorelai’s beloved mentor is found murdered. Lorelei reluctantly teams up with Sylvia, as she is the only one who believes her innocence, to discover the truth.

Thoughts
Rating: 3.5 Stars

This book has many things I like in books: a whimsical magic system in a fantastical world, a close cast of characters and a sapphic romance at the centre. However, it just hit the mark for me.

This was another atmospheric read from Saft, whose A Far Wilder Magic is one of my favourite books of all time. A Dark and Drowning Tide leans heavily into folklore and mythical creatures whilst also serving on the world-building and characters.

An academic mission featuring a rivals-to-lovers Sapphic romance, murder, and mystery kept me engaged and interested, though the pacing could be uneven at points. The main characters were rich and well-crafted, and the secondary characters were handled well, even if some of them didn’t really carry this through to the end. The core romance reminded me a bit of Divine Rivals, just more angsty and with a much more irritable grump. The book attempts to tackle some challenging themes, such as colonialism, racism, and oppression, and I can see where Jewish horrors and histories have influenced the story. That said, Saft’s writing is beautiful and lyrical, and there are some amazing moments where I was thoroughly lost in the magic of it all.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Daphne Press, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC of this book.
As an avid fantasy reader with a love for all things sapphic, I knew I would enjoy this book, especially after reading the synopsis on Waterstones. It was an immediate pre-order, and I was happily going to wait for the book to come out. However, I was fortunate to be approved for an eARC. While I wanted to start it immediately when I was approved, I was going through an incredibly prolonged reading slump: I’m a mood reader and couldn’t begin reading “A Dark and Drowning Ride” by Allison Saft. But once I overcame my blip and lack of reading, I was drawn into the magical and emotive world Saft creates brilliantly.
We follow Lorelei as she is chosen to lead a challenging group of individuals, each an expert in their field, on an even more challenging expedition. Add in an academic rival who Lorelei verbally spars with daily; it’s no surprise that everything goes wrong from day one, especially after Lorelei’s mentor, Zieglar, is murdered. Angry and incensed by King Wilhelm’s threatening letter, Lorelei swears that she will find out who murdered her mentor and find the Ursprung, a magical spring full of untold power.
Each chapter is embedded with metaphors and beautiful language that create an atmospheric novel; the book fits brilliantly into the fantasy and romance genre and is a delight to read. I mainly read fantasy and have found that there are many books in the “romantasy” genre that I didn’t enjoy reading but this one I liked. It felt more like fantasy, especially with the heavy hints of Jewish folklore and political intrigue.
Saft creates an engaging world that immediately drags the reader into the narrative. I was intrigued from the beginning and loved reading about Lorelei’s longing/hatred for Sylvia. Saft immediately shows the rivals to lovers from the very first chapter through scathing and snide comments that eventually lead to a sweet love where they would willingly die for one another. There weren’t many romantic moments in the first 60%, but I found myself kicking my legs into the air for some of the cuter moments. Despite those moments, the novel has moments of darkness and mystery that make it an interesting read.
I really enjoyed the book. The main character, Lorelei, a Jewish folklorist, was my favourite character. She was rough around the edges but showed an incredible aptitude for survival. She was loyal but only when it suited her, and I loved that she grew out of that habit for Sylvia.
This was my first time reading an Allison Saft novel, and I plan to pick up another. I’m happy I pre-ordered this one and absolutely love my physical copy.

Oh. Wow.

Full of folklore and fairytales, dark academia and politics, this story encapsulates it all.
Lorelai has been studying to be a folklorist her whole life, hoping to finally be accepted by the kingdom as good enough to be a free citizen. Paired up with her academic rival Sylvia and four other eccentric nobles, they begin a quest to discover the Ursprung, a spring with unlimited power and magic - for those considered worthy.

The writing flows and the characters are so incredibly distinct in personality and quirks. The majestic nature of Sylvia’s affinity with magical creatures is evident from the beginning, as is Lore’s intelligence and wit. It took a little while for me to initially get into the story, but once I was, I couldn’t stop reading!

Tropes/themes:
🌊 rivals to lovers
✨ murder mystery
🌊 folklore
✨ kingdom politics/race wars
🌊 sapphic love/ LGBTIQA+ rep

A gorgeously atmospheric tale of folklore, self-discovery, and the strength of human bonds.
Lorelei Kaskel, a sharp and determined folklorist, ventures into a misty coastal village searching for a mythical spring, only to uncover secrets that threaten to unravel her world.
The prose is as simply beautiful, immersing readers in a tale that feels timeless yet intimate. Perfect for those who enjoy richly drawn characters, eerie landscapes, and stories where the lines between myth and truth are tantalizingly thin.

this was so gorgeous!! i cannot emphasise enough the beauty of allison saft's writing (though that surprises no one, she's never let us down). this was such a stunning fairytale type story, with a really unique mythology and magic, and the most insane academic rivals to lovers sapphic relationship.

"back in the days when wishes still held power..."

i really enjoyed this world with all its heavy folklore aspects - it was well formed, interesting, and such fun to read. the plethora of fascinating creatures and clever little stories were so well interwoven into the novel, and i honestly wanted to know more about all the unique beasts and critters. please write a little compendium, allison saft!

"this place had made lorelei into a viper, and if she should go down, she would go down hissing like one."

i also adored these characters. lorelei was angry and sometimes rude, she was brusque and trusted no one, but she had so many reasons to be that way. it broke my heart to see her and her people beaten down time and time again, and i thought her character was really well-written. i loved seeing lorelei slowly open up and begin to trust people (sylvia) more, she deserves the world!

and sylvia... my little angel. just a ball of happiness and fluff - sylvia always looked on the bright side, and trusted in everyone, to almost a concerning level. get this girl some street smarts! some suspicion! she always tried to treat lorelei with kindness, despite sometimes receiving... not kindness. and honestly, i loved her full obsession with lorelei. their obsession with each other, really! their rivals to lovers relationship was so gorgeous and all-consuming, and i want more of it!!

"that night, as she did every night, she dreamed of drowning. only that time, in the exquisite and unbearable sweetness of sylvia von wolff's eyes."

thank you so much to netgalley, and the author and publisher for the arc copy!

A Dark and Drowning Tide combines a slow burn romance, political/ academic intrigue, a touch of magic and a murder mystery that must be solved before more fall and the academic mission falls apart.

Filled with atmospheric world building, magic and creatures from folklore the setting itself will captivate you. The academic elements were intriguing with scientific ways in which magic could be measured and plotted, combining well with the more traditional such as studying folklore and mythology in order to chase down magical locations. The slow burn romance is full of angst and tension, with a sunshine v grumpy element which was one of my favourite elements of this tale.

I do wish this book was longer as I believe some of the side characters could have been further fleshed out in order to heighten. the tension and the stakes. Sadly on a couple of occasions I mixed up characters or had to turn back a couple of pages to figure out what was happening.