A sapphic rivals to lovers taking place over the length of a folkloric expedition in order to find a magical spring sounds so up my alley that it was soul crushing that the best thing I can say about this book as a whole is that I’m relatively ambivalent towards it. Where I was expecting a more fleshed out expedition rich in magic and folklore I primarily got a not-so-well fleshed out whodunnit murder mystery that checked so many formulaic boxes and investigated so many people that were just random cut outs instead of fully realized characters that I just got bored. Lorelai, our main character, is also so frustrating to be in the head of that I wanted to rip my hair out. Being in the head of someone who hates other people so much and also refuses to feel her full range of emotions makes it incredibly hard to care about any of the side characters, which was disappointing as I think I would’ve liked the book a smidge more if I cared. Even the folklore, which I was most excited for, felt so crammed into the story that I was getting annoyed every single time a new, random story was brought up. The whole of this really was boring and I felt as there was no reason for me to care about anyone or anything. Maybe I’m just having a bad day, but nothing about this surprised me and almost nothing made me feel anything. It's an incredibly sad day for me when I have to say that atmosphere doesn't hold a book together.

Oh my goodness- LOVE this book. It was a slow start, but I fell in love with the characters and the world. I loved the spooky vibes and how atmospheric the story is.

i was lucky enough to receive an e-arc of a fragile enchantment, saft’s most recent young adult novel, last summer, and i fell in love with her lush writing style there. this book is just as strong as that one in every way. instead of the light and almost whimsical atmosphere that AFE has, this book is suffused with a gloomy and magical feeling not unlike that of the once and future witches by alix e. harrow. the characters were distinct and easy to keep track of, the world was intricately built, and the story’s pacing made sense. i was originally intrigued by the romance (academic rivals to lovers isn’t something i’ve previously read), but it was the tension of the mission and lorelei’s inner monologue that kept me hooked. she is a fascinating and deeply interesting protagonist with a beautiful arc, and i’m adding her to my list of fictional characters i would be too intimidated to speak to in real life. my sole complaint is that, like the once and future witches, the characters were so rooted in their own world that it made them harder to connect to, but that is extremely nitpicky of me and i am aware of that!

thank you to netgalley for this arc!

Like all of Allison Saft's books, I loved it.
Lorelai has a LOT going on and a hell of a lot of guilt. Sylvia is a manic pixie dream girl of the entire excursion, I loved how her character was so trusting of her personal relationship with nature and the creatures in nature and that's eventually what helped them in the end, I really loved how everyone on the excavation team had their specialties (in terms of subjects being studied, a part of fantasy books that I've always loved are the "mythical" jobs, and very rarely do readers get a deep dive on academic magical jobs. I do wish that we saw more flashbacks to the war that explained things in better detail because I did feel a little lost on that particular plot line. In line with Saft's other books, the scenery was described beautifully and in such a way that made me desperate to jump into the pages of the book. All of Saft's books are so easy to visualize and as a reader I can really see everything when I close my eyes.
I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed but overall was a nice completion to the story being told.

I feel like I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book.

On one hand, it is beautifully written. Allison Saft always does such a great job breathing life into the worlds she writes. I loved the blend of fantasy, folklore, and mystery and I really loved the characters. Saft put just the right amount of angst and yearning.

However, I never really connected with this book. I never felt invested in the characters. I was a little bored. Now objectively, I think this was a great book and I think this was more of a "me" problem. I really do think that most people will love it, but it just wasn't for me.

First book by Allison Saft that I’ve read, and I’m not too sure if I am a fan. Took me longer to get through the book. I can the appeal and why some may love this book, but I just don’t think it was for me.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is a great combination of Emily Wilde and a murder mystery, but with less cozy vibes and more political intrigue. Alison Saft is great at creating whimsical, magical worlds featuring flawed characters and sweeping adventures. Whilst reading this, I could feel the magic in Saft’s world and that was the highlight for me. I did find the development of the relationship between Sylvia and Lorelei a bit lacking. I would’ve liked to see a more gradual set up, but it felt sudden and rarely hinted at. This may be due to the story being told in Lorelei’s perspective, and she seems oblivious when it comes to reading other people’s emotions. I enjoyed the mystery and twist at the end but the first half was too slow for my tastes. I think this was super enjoyable once the plot began truly developing and can’t wait to see more from Allison!

Synopsis:
Lorelei has been training as a folklorist for many years when she’s called upon her mentor to assist in leading an expedition to locate the origin of all magic. On the first night after the set off, her mentor is brutally murdered by one of the expedition members. Lorelei must team up with her academic, overly privileged rival, Sylvia, in an attempt to not only find the origin of magic, but the murderer or she will face the blame from the king.

Thank you to Del Rey, NetGalley, and the author for providing me an early copy!

I really enjoyed this. I thought that the characters and world building were well-done. I enjoyed the academic-enemies-to-lovers romance present, but I will say that while this book was well-written and compelling it isn't necessarily something new. So if you're looking for a unique twist or point of interest, you're probably not going to be overly intrigued by this story. It was well done, but it definitely fell in line with the enemies to lovers romance-fantasy lane. I did love that it was a Sapphic romance, though, I love the presence of more queer representation in fantasy.

I will not lie, I totally judged this by the cover...and IT DIDN'T DISAPPOINT. This sapphic fantasy is filled with political scheming, folklore, and a healthy dose of yearning. I found myself instantly invested and ate this up over a couple days.

Summary

Lorelei, a folklorist, has always been closed off from the world. As a victim of prejudice, she hardened herself and buried her nose into her career. When her hard work pays off and she is tasked with leading an expedition with six nobles to find a magical spring with untold power, she seizes the opportunity to prove herself. However, the expedition starts on rocky footing when Lorelei's beloved mentor is murdered on their ship. Forced to move forward with the expedition, Lorelei runs the course that her mentor mapped out while keeping her eyes open to the fact that a murderer is in her midst. The journey is riddled with dangers of all kinds. Creatures of folklore, enchanted lands, and worse yet, her peers. With danger on all sides, Lorelei is forced to trust the one person she has rivaled her whole life, Sylvia von Wolff. Together, they work to uncover the truth, while they hold back the yearning that is bubbling to the surface.

My thoughts

In a nutshell, I really loved this book. The whimsy and drama had me deeply invested. The writing is also beautiful. Descriptions were creative and extremely detailed, painting vivid images in my mind. While the writing is lyrical, it was balanced and didn't feel overly flowery. It sucked me in and kept me breathless. The characters were extremely dynamic and unique from one another. It was interesting having them all in close quarters.

I will say that this is definitely not a romance. While there is some in there, it is not the main subject of the book by any means. It does, however, have the most painful slow burn I have witnessed thus far, but I'm not mad at it.

There was intense world-building right from the start that continued throughout the book. There would be mentions of creatures, events, and places that aren't explained. This made for a confusing read at times.

Key Descriptors:
Dark Academia
Grumpy/Sunshine
Slow burn
Rivals to Lovers
Sapphic

A big thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Academic rivalry? Sapphic fantasy romance? Allison Saft? I’m in.

I’ve been working my way through Allison Saft’s books this year and when I saw the cover and read the summary for A Dark and Drowning Tide, I was immediately intrigued. And this one didn’t disappoint! I thoroughly enjoyed the world, magic and character building, as well as the plot and the academic rivals to romance. The tension, the intrigue and the action kept me hooked throughout the book, with Saft’s lovely writing tying it all together.

I’ll definitely be continuing to read whatever Allison Saft writes and recommend this one

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and Allison Saft for the ARC!

I actually had to DNF this was I was just so bored. If you liked the authors other books you may enjoy this one.

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy!

A Dark and Drowning Tide was a beautifully written sapphic romance. I found myself yearning for Sylvia alongside Lorelei and being dazzled by the folklore woven into the narrative to create such a rich world. As a fan of murder mysteries and someone used to figuring out the culprit before the reveal, I must say this book kept me guessing and I didn't figure it out before the reveal. It was wholly entertaining and I absolutely loved it!

I was immediately drawn to this book by the stunning cover. I really enjoyed the description and setting of the book, all things that made it easy to add to my TBR. — I really enjoyed the folklore stories throughout, that was probably my favorite part. I felt I didn’t connect as much with the story, characters and pacing as I hoped. I struggled a bit to get through it but enjoyed parts.

Take Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade*, but make Indy miserable, self-loathing, and living in a Jewish ghetto. Sprinkle in Saft's usual tactic of renaming religions and countries (while not renaming other details of those things) and you have this book. Suffice it to say, this is the review of someone disappointed by a lack of subtlety and lazy world building.

For this review, I'm not going to use the words Saft gave established people and places. The Jewish people are called Yevani in this story (most likely a reference to Yevanic). They living in a ghetto in a kingdom ruled by Wilhelm. So we're getting a mash up of WW1 and WW2 here. Some of Wilhelm's people are hounds who have similar believes to the Nazis. The Albisch people are the Catholics and they're a bit of a wild card in this story.

Lorelei, the main character, is a selfish, self-loathing, miserable young scholar living in the Jewish ghetto. She's part of a group of scholars, but is on the outside as the rest of them are either from the mainstream cultural group or have submitted to it. For example, there's Silvia, the Catholic, who is very sweet and ethereal. Lorelei has navigated many traumas. She's as negative and selfish at the end as at the beginning, which isn't the most satisfying character arc. She reaps a reward for her actions in the story, but the Jewish people are still in the ghetto. To this history nerd, this seems like the story of a collaborator.

The overall story is that scholars have a mission to find a magical spring that will give Wilhelm power. Each scholar has used their academic specialty to help identify where to look. Lorelei's specialty is folklore, though we randomly learn that she didn't even want to study that. This is one of the random tidbits that doesn't seem to serve the plot in any way, but there it is. Folk tales are thrown into the story in a haphazard way. Sometimes they are new, sometimes they are tales you'd recognize (The Elves and the Shoemaker by the Brothers Grimm, for example). There are a few parts where you must suspend your disbelief or forget what you just read. For example, after some treacherous rock climbing, a character has their pack with tent, furs (to sleep on), and a sword on them. At another point, a character's hands are injured and useless, but they then are able to take off clothes one scene later.

Regarding the romance here, it feels shoehorned in. She loathes herself and the others...until close to the end, when she very suddenly likes Silvia. Silvia, the sweet, helpful naturalist, likes Lorelei all along, no matter how nasty Lorelei is to her. It would have been so easy to make Lorelei prickly with the rest of the group and a nicer version of herself with Silvia, who is also part of a marginalized group (though one that isn't persecuted the way Lorelei is).



*There was a point when I was thinking I had to be mistaken about The Last Crusade aspect of this story, but the use of the word "penitent" in the cavern scene when they find the spring sealed it. That word is critical to the movie.

This book is definitely different than what I usually read, which is refreshing. I thought the magic, creatures and folklore in the story was unique.

The reason for four stars is because I didn’t connect with the main characters as much as I’d like… probably until 70% in. I also am someone who prefers short chapters and broken up paragraphs with more dialogue, and this book had the opposite. However, I will say that even though the story layout was not my favorite, the author’s writing style was really good, and I enjoyed this read a lot.

An academic rival turned into solving a murder in a thrilling sapphic fantasy.

I like going into books only knowing a little bit so knowing that they were academic rivals who must work together to solve a murder was enough for me to want to give this a read and I'm glad I did, it was just a fun read.
There wasn't anything that strongly surprised me but for me, this book is more about the relationship between Lorelei and Sylvia and them learning to work together and falling in love. It is a very slow burn, the witt and banters will keep you reading.
I did enjoy the ship setting, stories set a sea always draw me. And I know I keep coming back to that word fun, but that is what this book is fun; queer, fantasy, romance, it's a good book for a rainy summer day. It's not a crazy epic, heavy fantasy read. It's easy to get lost in, it's fun!
I've read one other book by Allison Saft, A Fragile Enchantment, and enjoyed that one; gave it a four. However, this one is Allison's debut in adult fantasy and I must say, there were a few scenes that read and felt like YA romance. So a bit off balanced. I do have to say that the writing style has a folk vibe to it.

Folklore atmosphere in this adult fantasy of a sapphic slow-burn academic rivals.

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft is a dark, atmospheric novel full of folklore, magic, mystery, and sapphic love. This novel is Saft's first foray out of YA fantasy, and she proves she is adept at anything she writes! Saft was able to pivot her signature atmospheric writing and rivals-to-lovers characters into more mature writing for an older audience. The novel follows a grumpy folklorist and sunshine naturalist who are part of an expedition to find the source of magic in their land. The expedition does not go as planned, and mystery, murder, and danger ensue. Saft creates characters you care deeply about and want to overcome the obstacles thrown at them. The story kept me engaged and wanting to find out what happens next. Saft can also deftly navigate the prejudices faced by certain characters and reflect on how certain races are treated. To conclude, I loved living in the world Saft created and always look forward to whatever she writes next! I recommend A Dark and Drowning Tide to fans of dark academia, folklore, rivals-to-lovers, sunshine/grumpy lovers, and sapphic romance.

I can always count of Saft for a beautiful and magical story full of fierce and complicated women. This was such a delight to read and I'll continue to read anything Saft writes!

My first impression of this book was that its setup was messy. Messy in worldbuilding. Messy in demonstrating character dynamics and personalities. Messy in setting up a scene. It made it difficult for me to love the reading experience.

But, by the end I was enjoying the plot and romance enough to finish the book.

I think the readers that will love this book are the ones who can really appreciate a self-sabotaging protagonist.

A review of this book will be on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, @ChloeFrizzle

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Rey for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Be prepared to be seduced by this lush and dark folklore inspired sapphic fantasy! A Dark and Drowning Tide oozes with atmosphere and has the most beautiful prose.

This was the perfect blend of fantasy, dark academia and folklore. Fairytale readers will eat this one up. Long term fans of Allison Saft will not be disappointed.

P.S I’m absolutely obsessed with the gorgeous cover art!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for my ARC.