"A sharp-tongued folklorist must pair up with her academic rival to solve their mentor's murder in this lush and enthralling sapphic fantasy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic.

Lorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. The magical spring promises untold power, which the king wants to harness in order to secure his reign over the embattled country of Brunnestaad. Lorelei is determined to use this opportunity to prove herself and make her wildest, most impossible dream come true: to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to lands she's only read about.

The expedition gets off to a harrowing start when its leader - Lorelei's beloved mentor - is murdered in her quarters aboard their ship. The suspects are the five remaining expedition mates, each with their own motive. The only person Lorelei knows must be innocent is her longtime academic rival, the insufferably gallant and maddeningly beautiful Sylvia von Wolff. Now in charge of the expedition, Lorelei must find the spring before the murderer strikes again - and a coup begins in earnest.

But there are other dangers lurking in the dark: forests that rearrange themselves at night, rivers with slumbering dragons hiding beneath the water, and shapeshifting beasts out for blood.

As Lorelei and Sylvia grudgingly work together to uncover the truth - and resist their growing feelings for each other - they discover that their leader had secrets of her own. Secrets that make Lorelei question whether justice is worth pursuing, and if this kingdom is worth saving at all."

Yes, wonderful dark world, but you see there's also a locked room mystery at it's heart! Be still MY heart.

I was so excited to read this as it was one of my most anticipated books of the year. The idea of it was right up my alley, but ultimately fell short in many aspects. I found the lack of world building along with the random lore-dumps to be a little confusing. I loved the dynamic of the two main characters and their story to be beautiful, but it still didn’t make up for the rest of the book.

For me, this was disappointing. While the writing itself wasn’t bad, but the characters were really one dimensional. I never really felt anything for the romance or the mystery. For me, the biggest problem was that it didn’t manage to stand out in an overly positive or negative way. It was just there and felt fairly forgettable.
Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 rounded up! Thank you to Del Rey, NetGalley and the author for the arc of this book.

Atmospheric, immersive and filled with folklore tales- the best way I could describe this book was a less cozy, dark and sapphic Encyclopaedia of Faeries with a twist of DnD adventure. I’ve found I much enjoy stories with a group of adventurers!

What I liked:
-Folklore tales woven into the storyline
-Magical creatures
-Loralei’s character development
-Sylvia as a whole. What a wonderful character. Gentle, intelligent and strong. I could go on and on about her character and how it shows compassion does not equal weakness.
-Academia undertones
-High stakes mission with a murder mystery thrown in.

My critiques:
-Hardly any time spent at the university.
- More writing revolving around the heavy character bonds to further drive the plot. These characters have known each other for 20 years. This is hard to achieve in one singular book, so understandable.
-The pacing was a bit disjointed at times.
-The murder seemed like a little sprinkle of plot over a larger plot, which isn’t a bad thing, but there wasn’t a lot of upset surrounding it. It was also kind of predictable who committed it.

Overall, I was leaning towards a 4 star rating but that ending was spectacular and so I’m bumping it up to a 4.5 stars. This was an incredibly ambitious story to write so I have to give credit for the well thought out planning.
This is a book for a specific audience and I don’t believe everyone will enjoy it, especially if you don’t like a slow burn. However, I loved it and will probably be thinking about it for a while!

4.5 stars. This was an incredibly fun and dynamic read. My only ask is that I would have maybe made it longer so their was time to really describe certain characteristics of the various religions and types of people. However I did kind of love that the author just moved forward as if we knew the information. It kept me on my toes.

I could see this becoming a yearly re-read for me in the colder months. The hint of academia and themes of whimsy and worth were gorgeous. If anyone is pressed about the ending (and Im sure some people will be), I will FIGHT them. There was so much character growth!

Also this author is NOT afraid to kill people. GODDAMN

I DNF at 60% . The writing isn't bad but the chemistry between the characters lack in that department. I found most of the characters boring it took forever for the plot to go anywhere. For awhile I forgot they were trying to find Ziegler's killer. I'm sure others will enjoy this. Unfortunately I don't think this was for me. I'm sorry. Thank you NetGallery for the ARC.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is the academic rivals to lover novel of my dreams. Allison Saft is an incredible author, but this novel is definitely my favorite of hers! The atmospheric writing style, the gothic elements, the absolute YEARNING and swoon worthy romance- ALLISON!!! What did you do to me?! I am already telling everyone I know that they need to preorder this book.

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings on this book, some good, some meh, but overall this book I think left me feeling wanting. I was really excited for a sapphic romantasy adventure book, but I found that what was described wasn’t quite what was delivered. I don’t think it is a bad book by any means, but what I was expecting and what I ended up reading were different.

There were things that I thought were done really well in this book and that I appreciated. To begin, I did think the author had a lyrical way of writing that was really pretty. I did this one mostly on audio and there was a certain atmosphere to the book that developed out of the writing that was really enjoyable in this format. I found it was very descriptive and the style was intriguing. They also incorporated a lot of folklore into the story that was well done. I enjoyed how it fit well into the academic exploration to have ‘citations’ of lore included to help with defining or explaining things. It reminded me of the Emily Wilde’s series style of writing, which is a series I quite enjoy. My academic heart was loving this!

There were also a lot of parallels in this book to World War 2 and how the Jewish population was treated, both by the government with laws and by every day people with their discrimination. Even some of the rules and nomenclature followed by the FMC felt like it fit into this groups’ history. You could tell it was well researched and the inclusion was well done.

However, there were quite a few things that just didn’t quite fit for me. They weren’t necessarily bad, but just not quite right for my personal taste and reading style. As always with a critical review, these are my personal opinions. This is not a negative reflection of the author or other readers who liked it.

I saw this marketed and promoted as a sapphic romantasy and while it is a queer normative world and the characters do eventually get together, it is a stretch to call it a romance. This is more fantasy book with a tiny sprinkle of romance vs a romantasy book. I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with it being written this way, I do think it wasn’t marketed correctly and this left me disappointed. I wanted a lot more romance. Also, because it wasn’t romance forward, some of the romance elements felt a bit forced between the characters or unnatural. I didn’t quite get the feeling of a building romance. I think it needs to be heavily emphasized that this is a book with a minor romantic subplot vs a romantasy novel.

I found the world building a bit difficult, especially at the beginning. As I said, the description of things was very atmospheric, but the actual development was where I struggled. A lot of the politics had me confused and I found myself needing to go back. I was very confused with the setting in whether it was modern or historical (even with fantasy based stories, there is usually a context of what kind of world we are in). I eventually just went with it, but admittedly I was confused by who people were or what their relevance was.

Speaking of people - I struggled with character development. I never really felt all that attached to the main characters. They were interesting, but I wasn’t cheering for them. More so felt like an academic observing. I also really struggled with the secondary characters and keeping them straight. They were the children of royalty in the world, but I feel like they weren’t introduced well to understand their past or even their ages (or maybe I just totally missed this description). They each had a different role on the trip, but two of the women I couldn’t keep straight and had no idea what they did.

I think this is a book that I would recommend to some people, but I would preface that it is very much a slow building fantasy and not a romantasy. It had elements that were well done and overall had an interesting plot, but if you’re in search of your next favorite sapphic romantasy, I don’t think this will be it.

I knew I would like this book before even reading and was not let down. I love Allison Saft and her writing style as an author. I read "A Far Wilder Magic" last fall and the way the writing played with my brain was magical, and "A Dark and Drowning Tide" was no different. Sapphic academic rivalry, sign me up. Folklore HEAVY novel, extra sign me up. I enjoyed this from start to finish. A really good choice for a fall read in my opinion! Thank you NetGalley!

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this did not work for me. I know clearly why, so I can outline it for those who may still be interested. If you are a fan of the Cruel Prince by Holly Black, this feels like a sapphic adult version of that. Which I know will get some gears going, as it should, we all have our things. It's not too similar in that it feels like a copy cat but it feels close in the storytelling style, and fantasy elements.

At the start of the book we are dumped into a rich fantasy environment. There is a lot of worldbuilding and info dumping which personally put me off. I do think I will end up being the the minority for this book. If you like the current trends in romantasy especially with the fae, you should give this one a try especially since it's sapphic and usually that is a win for me.

I also just didn't like the main characters at least for the 15 percent of the story I read, that may have changed if I continued but I felt that I read enough to know that this book isn't for me but got a clear gasp of who would like it which hopefully I've outlined in this review. I feel slightly let down but I feel hopeful for the book overall because I do think it's written in a way that current romantasy fans will eat up. Especially fans of Holly Black.

*rated 3 stars for fairness as I did not finish the book.

Allison... I fear you have written a truly beautiful novel.

Lets review the key points here - An atmospheric rivalry to lovers in an academic setting within a world that you can just let your mind go and disappear in to... A story about self discovery and of course, touching on the romance again, so well done.

Additionally, I try not to judge books on their covers but I think it's a crime not to mention how STUNNING the U.S. & the U.K. editions of this book are. So outstandingly breathtaking. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy to annotate all of the notes that I made in my kindle.

I am being particularly vague here because I really think the synopsis is enough, PLEASE pick this up!

I enjoyed this; while I felt that there were sections that were a bit convoluted, I feel like this would make the perfect Netflix miniseries. I appreciated the frank discussions around antisemitism and how normalized queer dynamics were. Yet, I felt that I was often getting confused throughout the story and often forgot who was who in our cast. I am interested to read more from this author.

I wanted to love this book so much. I have read a few of Saft's past books and loved them and, essentially, I should have eaten this up with it being dark academia, enemies to lovers, sapphic, dark folkloric, spooky but I had such a hard time getting into it. I loved the premise and requested it so quickly but it just fell flat compared to the other Swift stories I've read. It gave me the setting and the mood but the characters just weren't keeping my attention. I imagine there are plenty of others who will love this book and it won't prevent me from inhaling whatever comes next from Swift.

I'm so disappointed because this SHOULD be something I loved. Gothic, sapphic dark academia featuring spooky folklore? Inject it to my veins. But Saft's style is so... meandering and I was bored.

This was not my kinda book, but I am very aware that a book someone doesn't like doesn't mean it isn't perfect for others. I expected to like it more, a Sapphic enemy to lovers romantasy. I read 50% before calling it quits. None of the characters were relatable or even likeable which made me feel no connection to them or their story at all.

The tension. Pining. YEARNING. Swoon worthy.
This is my first Allison Saft book and I was blown away by her writing.
While I struggled with the world building in the beginning (my fault. Life was crazy and I wasn’t prepared to pay attention. Oops!), I was immediately enchanted by the dark yet magical atmosphere and the folklore sprinkled throughout the story. I felt like I was IN a fairytale, about to embark on some great quest. But also like, the scary kind of fairytale?

When it comes to the romance, there were many beautiful moments and lines that just melted me. Lorelei and Sylvia just fit together, the grumpy and sunshine academic rivals who also secretly admired the other. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them work together and along the way be forced to confront their true feelings for each other.
I only wished that, while I enjoyed Lorelei, we got Sylvia’s POV. She was such an interesting character and I would’ve loved to get a peek inside her head and see more of her in general.

There is murder, adventure, creatures (alps, nixies, and lindworms oh my!), and romance in addition to masterfully tackling topics of grief, loss, and prejudice. I highly recommend you pick this one up for fall!

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the arc and opportunity to go on this magical adventure (that I will definitely be going on again because I WILL be rereading this in the future!)

I was HYPED for Saft's adult debut, especially when I learned it was a sapphic fantasy. Unfortunately, this just fell flat for me. The quest element of the story felt predictable and I wasn't invested in the romance.

4 stars

This book had a lot going on. I was a little confused at first because you’re kind of just thrown into the story with not a lot of world building or explanation of the magic system. To be honest I was a little confused by this for the whole book. I had to go back and reread the synopsis because I was a little confused by the expedition the characters were going on. Once I actually got to the expedition I was a little more immersed in the story. After this point you’ve got murder mystery, political plots, expeditions, weird magical rivers, and a little bit of romance. I was honestly expecting the romance to be a lot more prevalent in this book but it really wasn’t a major part of the book in my opinion. There wasn’t a lot of buildup to it or much character development between the two love interests other than them spending more time alone together.
Romance aside, I did like both the main characters. They were both really interesting, complex characters with very different backgrounds. Their rivals to lovers relationship was fun and there were definitely some funny and sweet moments at both ends of this spectrum.
I did enjoy the vibes of this book. It was very eerie, magical, dark academia, mystery. The story was interesting and although I was a little lost at points it was an overall enjoyable reading experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC!

A Dark and Drowning Tide did some things quite well and fell short with others.

Pros:
- The writing is beautiful and engaging and created such an atmospheric setting.
- The main character Lorelai was complicated and quite bitter which I felt was an interesting LOV to read from. I do wish we had some more character development for her though.
- I loved the slow burn of the relationship between Lorelai and Sylvia

Cons:
- While the setting felt well established the politics and geographical landscape did not.
- The side characters felt quite one note which meant the murder mystery part felt very obvious and unsatisfying
- Because the politics of the world never felt fully explained in the end it seemed pro-colonialism? I say seemed because I still don’t feel like I ever knew what was going on politically. This also didn’t make the stakes of the quest feel very high.

The atmosphere of A Dark and Drowning Tide is exactly what I needed as the days started getting darker earlier. This sapphic fantasy contained all my favorite elements: enemies to lovers, academic pursuits with otherworldly beings, magic, and danger. The FMC's deep self-loathing makes sense when you look at her history and the darker elements of discrimination that she constantly faces. With that said, her self-loathing became a bit annoying at times, just like Sylvia's neverending hope and determination to see the best in everything around her. But I do suppose Lorelei and Sylvia are the perfect match with their personalities taken into account. I loved the mystery and the cast of characters who loved to loathe while reading. The twists and turns were a bit predictable, but not so much so that I didn't want to keep reading to see if my guesses were correct. This is the second title I've read by this author, and I honestly loved the new adult book much better than the YA book I read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Allison Saft for allowing me access to an ARC in exchange for an honest review!