I am a huge fan of Allison Saft, so I was very excited to receive this ARC from Net Galley. I find her writing to be both easy to read and lyrical, and I was very excited for the "sapphic naturalists get involved in a murder mystery ala Agatha Christie" plotline.

While it took me a few tries to get into this book, I think it's mostly because I am a mood reader, and when I found the right mood, I flew through it.

The book follows a group of scientists (kinda), who are sent on a quest to find the "Ursprung," aka the source of magic and power in this world. But while aboard the riverboat that will take them there, someone is murdered (Death on the Nile, anyone?). Our protagonist must figure out whodunnit, or else be blamed for the murder herself, all while trying DESPERATELY to ignore the growing feelings she has for her rival scientist, and pushing on with the journey to find the magical spring. Oh boy.

There are so many interesting explorations of power, of identity and religion and sacrifice, and in the end, (in a mirror of real life) I almost felt like no justice was served. Not for the people of the Yvanverte, and not for Loralei. That change comes slowly, over time, is a terrible truth, but it felt even more terrible here. There is a scene <spoiler>where the exploration group is in Sylvia's homeland, and the people there both refuse to let Loralei stay at the inn and then burn an effigy of a Yeva in their festival the next day</spoiler>, and I had such a hard time reconciling that with the very public and reckless nature of Sylvia approaching their relationship. I think Saft did an excellent job painting all the ways the world can be unfair, and cruel, but with the hopefulness of change on the horizon. Still, it's a hard pill to swallow.

One of the things I loved most about A Far Wilder Magic was the dual POV between Wes and Margaret, and I wish this book employed the same, a dual POV between Sylvia and Loralei. I needed Sylvia's optimism to balance Loralei's cynicism. However, we stay in Loralei's head the entire time, which perhaps was better for the whodunnit element of the story, but didn't scratch my rivals to lovers itch in the same way.

All in all, a very good adult fantasy debut from Saft! I love that she writes standalone novels with so much depth, and characters to remember and love. There are so many trilogies and duologies and series, where it takes books and books to fall in love with characters and explore the world, but Saft continually manages it with a single book, and I find that extremely admirable and impressive!

I really enjoyed this!

The start was a little slow—there was a lot of information about the world, the various characters, their backstories and connections. I would have benefited from a map, I think. But once the main plot started, I found it gripping. I loved the moody and atmospheric writing, the unlikable characters that you actually can’t help but start to understand and even like, and the slow burn sapphic romance subplot. This was darker and more violent than I thought it would be, but it absolutely kept me guessing until the very end. I think my favorite part was the weaving in of jewish folklore inspired stories!

This had me at academic rivals with a beautiful gothic folklore and its sapphic! The MC Lorelei is so focused on her rivalry with the Sylvia that she is mad at herself when she notices that what she feels might be more of longing. She struggles with the fact that she is not a good person and does not deserve a beautiful story. The two come together when they are both faced with trying to figure our the murder of their leader and their expedition to help their king unite all. The romance is light and it is very enemies to lovers and grumpy/sunshine.

Thanks to Netgalley and Allison Saft for the eArc!

I really enjoyed the writing style and the characters in this book. However, I got bored of all the info dumping which made the book feel really slow. Still, I will definitely be picking up Allison Saft’s other books.

gothic vibes and slow burn academic rivals to lovers, jewish influence, folklore, and lots of pinnnniinnggg

plot: 4/5
really compelling plot with great pacing and some mystery to keep you hooked. the magic and world are absolutely fascinating. its got the whimsy of folklore but with a dark edge.
the political was a little shaky, the dynamics and world structure just didnt feel solid enough to quite believe. but the geopolitics of the world arent critical to the majority of the book so i didnt think it would matter much. but for the last 20% it definitely matters so i felt a little empty with some of the climax since there wasnt that established understanding of how the politics worked.

characters: 4/5
the main characters are absolutely brutal and delicious and broken. i adore them and want them to be happy but alas they are bloody and damaged and gruesome…
the side characters left me wanting a little more. there were quite a few of them and i had a hard time keeping track. i think with lorelai as the narrator, she didnt care about those people very much so of course she wouldnt think too much about them. but as the reader i needed some more to understand them and the parts the played.

writing: 5/5
i really love saft’s writing, she is a master of pining and pain and whimsy and darkness. she writes in a way that is so engaging and evokes so much emotion. the use of folklore and the tales added so much depth and color.

overall: 4/5

im really picky about my fantasy romance but this hit all the right notes for me so i would absolutely recommend it despite the minor things i didnt love.

Beautiful written dark academic romance that had me intrigued for about 60% of the story. I love reading Saft’s writing. It is always just so lyrical and lovely. I was so intrigued with this and the fact that I was getting a romance + a little mystery. Unfortunately this felt a little to slow for me and the author lost me at around 70%. I just felt like I got excited about something just to be let down. The main characters where definitely interesting but I started getting bored with their interactions. I wish I could have seen the characters develop their relationship a little faster.

Feeling a little disappointed but I can see lots of people enjoying this.

Unfortunately this was a DNF😭

This was a huge info dump in the beginning and i found it lacking in keeping my attention.

The murder came and went so quickly i was just bored and uninterested.

This is definitely a slower dark folklore fantasy it may be fore you but wasnt for me

Thank you netgalley and daphne press

I will rate what i read about 3 stars

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine/Del Rey; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

Dark, gothic, grim, and glorious, A Dark and Drowning Tide is a sapphic fantasy murder mystery with a semi-historical fiction slant that I absolutely devoured. This one is an easy recommendation for adults/young adults interested in any of the categories above!

For sensitive readers, this book contains depictions of racism, sexuality, violence, death of loved ones, drowning, and magical loss of autonomy.

3.5 rounded up for netgalley. This was everything I expected out of An Education in Malice and more. I loved the build up of the rivals to lovers between Sylvia and Lorelai and felt their relationship was done incredibly well. That being said, I struggled to care for or connect with the side characters that Lorelai is stuck in the expedition with. This definitely stems from being in Lorelais head for this story and she essentially hates everyone. It’s hard to care for a character when the POV you’re reading from couldn’t care less about them and actually felt they were disingenuous. I found Lorelais POV also to get a bit boring at times so it took me awhile to get through this one. I think if this was at least dual POV with Sylvia because their two personalities would’ve probably balanced it out.

Pick up A DARK AND DROWNING TIDE for:

Dark academia
Rivals to lovers
A touch of magic
Murder mystery
Fantasy quest

The vibes were giving if The Atlas Six had a magical Hobbit adventure, but with murder. Dun dun dunnnn.

A team of intellectuals and soldiers journey to find an enchanted pool that would grant unlimited power to whomever is worthy. Power meant for a king attempting to unite all peoples under a single kingdom.

So naturally, someone gets killed along the way.

Regrettably, I had a difficult time with the pace and progression of quest. The entire book is dialogue heavy spelling out history and personal connections between characters. This was broken up by a few high action challenges, but then it was a swift return to talking.

My recommendation is to prepare for the highlights of the book to be about the characters and the intrigue rather than the quest or the magic.

Thank you Netgalley & Ballantine | Del Rey for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGallery for the Earc!!

I guess I’ll start this review off by saying I feel underwhelmed/unsatisfied by the ending. I think that this book would have felt more complete and intriguing if it had been a series. The plot felt very rushed, and with the ending I was bummed that Lorelei didn’t really seem to have a compete arc.

I was also sad that the romance didn’t feel very developed. With the pair getting engaged in the end, I didn’t feel like they were actually in love? It felt like their romance was thrown into the plot about half way through the novel, which is not good. There needed to be more obvious pining in Lorelei’s interiority. I really thought she just hated Sylvia for a while, even though I knew they were going to have a romance. Not a super well executed enemies to lovers I fear.

Another point that I want to mention in my review deals with the political world this novel tries to build. I am confused why Lorelei stands by Wilhelm while he is clearly a colonizer/tyrant (I feel this is the best description of his rule). Like he is segregating Lorelei’s people and she still stands by him without trying to make change? To this point as well I feel that Adelheid was in the right, and yet she is the villain who must be killed. Very strange political stance…

Ok! On to some things I thought were good.

I find Saft’s writing style to be very beautiful. Each sentence I read added a good impact to the story, especially in the action sequences and within Lorelei and Sylvia’s romantic encounters. There were times I found myself rereading sentences because they were intriguing. Saft is definitely a writer, her words just flow excellently.

The world Saft starts to build in this novel is also so incredibly cool. I wanted to know so much more about the magic system and the creatures that inhabit the world. I was sad there wasn’t more to be said about these things in the novel, which brings me back to my point about this concept working better as a series.

Overall, I rated this about a 3.25 ⭐️
There are things to be improved, but given this is her debut adult novel it wasn’t horrible by any means. I will definitely pick up her YA books at some point, as I am interested in her writing.

A captivating read for fans of lush, immersive fantasy worlds, swoon-worthy romance, and complex, thought-provoking explorations of identity, power, and the blurred lines between good and evil, making it a perfect fit for readers who crave a rich, atmospheric tale of dark academia, Sapphic love, and magical adventure.

I love Allison Saft’s writing. It always hits so hard. ADaDT is no different. We get incredible characters, sweeping adventure, vivid world building, and intriguing politics. On top of that, we get this romance you can really sink your teeth into.

Lorelai and Sylvia, two women who despise each other must work together on an expedition to find an ethereal spring, promising unimaginable wonder. At the start though, Lorelai’s beloved mentor is murdered. Even through their derision of one another, they trust neither committed this act, so it must be one of the fellow members of their expedition.

What follows is a dangerous journey with stealthy enemies, wonderful magic, a cast of strange and mysterious characters, and a romance that I felt in my bones.

This one was a smidge longer than I wanted, but so worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This novel follows Lorelei, a folklorist mourning the death of her younger brother, for which she blames herself. At the beginning of the novel, she sets out on an expedition to find a magical river, the Ursprung, with her mentor and a group of five other students, including Sylvia, her academic rival. The King handpicks the group hoping they will be successful in their search, as his goal is to harness the power of the river for his own political gain. All the students, excluding Lorelei, were his childhood friends.

The world is filled with folklore, fairytales, magical creatures, and complex water-based magic. I found Saft’s frequent weaving of tales into the story very charming and informative for world building purposes. I wish we could have seen more of Lorelei’s career/studies of certain folktales.

The plot moves on through a murder mystery, complicated journeys, characters changing sides, multiple romantic relationships, and discussions of oppression and colonialism throughout the empire. I appreciated the depth of both Lorelei and Sylvia’s characters, as well as their relationship with each other. The other secondary characters were a bit difficult for me to parse from each other for the first half of the story. They could have used more fleshing out, along with the King. That said, I did enjoy slowly uncovering their own personal motivations and alliances.

Saft’s writing is enjoyable, clean, and features the right amount of description for a world as complicated as Brunnestaad. I look forward to seeing what she creates next.

4/5 ⭐️
This is another book I’m having a hard time rating. I’m giving it 4⭐️ but I think it’s probably like a 3.8 or 3.9. Like it was good. But also had a lot left wanting.
I think this book was the closest to being like the author’s other book, A Far Wilder Magic. Yet it still fell short. A Far Wilder Magic was near perfect. This was okay.
There was some great stuff in this book. For example I liked the dynamic between Lorelei and Sylvia. How opposite they were, but it is their differences that made them good for each other. I also really liked Johann. He’s complex and contradictory and keeps you on your toes. I liked the themes and the story’s intent. However it was left wanting. It could’ve gone farther. Like we were barely scratching the surface.
My biggest complaints with this is that the red herrings were so obvious. I was kind of surprised who the killer was, but at the same time it should’ve been obvious because every time she claimed it was one person it was so heavy handed that you knew it was a red herring. The characters that made up the crew was also slightly childish, but I wish they leaned into that more. Leaned into them acting like kids even though they think they’re adults cause they’re just young adults doing adult jobs but with teenage emotions and reactions. My final complaint was the folktales. In general I liked them. Unfortunately the way they were interjected into the story was not seamless. Instead you saw the thick, puckering stitches.
Overall, the story was entertaining and there were parts to it that I really enjoyed and thought were great. But I wish the story was refined a little and pushed to go a little farther. I would recommend this over some of her other books. But if you had to read one, I still highly recommend A Far Wilder Magic the most.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

Unfortunately while the premise of this book was intriguing to me I couldn’t get into it and didn’t enjoy the characters. I ended up not finishing this book

Thanks to Del Rey for the copy of this book!

Dark Academia is one of my absolute faaaavorite genres, which led me to pick up A DARK AND DROWNING TIDE. The only other Saft book I've read is A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT, which is a much lighter feel than this book. While I loved the start with nixies and folklore right off the bat, this book was just a little too slow for my taste and just didn't really hold my attention.

I was fully immersed in this story from the first page - a lyrical and dark story that reads like a fairy tale, dark academia, adventure novel, mystery and romance in a perfect blend. The characters were perfect, the settings and magic system were unique and interesting. I am also a huge fan of this audiobook narrator and will seek out more books read by her!

Thanks to NetGalley and PRH for the ARC, and to PRH Audio for the ALC.

I really enjoyed this one. The fantasy aspects feel a little like a blend of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies (fairies, academia) and One Dark Window (dark atmosphere, politics, legends), mixed with an Agatha-Christie-style murder mystery and a little sapphic romance. Plus a fantasy setting inspired by Central Europe. And these things all worked together perfectly.

All in all, it was the perfect blend of character and plot, with an immersive world. It had a little action sprinkled throughout, a little romance here, a little mystery there, and topped off with strong character arcs. It was also rich with themes about stories/folklore, and how they shape our perception of reality.

I had a good time from beginning to end.

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Rey for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Really liked reading this one! It's got a bit of everything from magic, to murder mystery, to romance. I was engaged from the very beginning, and drawn in by the great cast of characters and folklore. Lorelai's character in particular was my favorite, her perspective is both funny and misanthropic at the same time. As well, the romance was very well done and I enjoyed the chemistry and banter between Lorelai and Sylvia. Overall, this book was highly enjoyable, 5/5 stars.