2.5 rating!

it pains me to rate this lower than 3 bc the characters are amazing and their relationship is complicated and messy and lovely. it’s everything i want!!

the other aspects of this book however disappoint me so much. granted, it took me 3 months to finish this so maybe i took so long to be invested that it made the world and politics nonsensical to me. but i doubt it?? i have no idea but i am so grieved by the way the politics was handled here, and it was concluded. maybe that’s just me.

the pacing is also wonky. it was if saft knew this book should be short but wanted it to be a novel so they put so many unnecessary long scenes in between. it was frustrating.

it’s truly a good thing the characters were so interesting i stayed until the end

“𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧…”

Sapphic, academic rivals, on an adventure, solving a murder mystery, and there’s MAGIC!

Lorelei has been put in charge of an expedition for the King. She is an outsider among a group of longtime friends, among them the bane of her existence over the past five years, Sylvia. When there’s a murder on board their ship, the culprit must be found, but the goal of their expedition cannot wait.

This one definitely had whimsey from the very start. And the animosity and rivalry between the two romantic leads was very strong. The romance was a VERY slow burn, but when truths came out, the passion and longing finally broke through, leading to an emotional ending.

Lorelei’s experience as a Javenish women (this fantasy world’s equivalent of Jewish) is also a large part of this story. Feelings of outsiderhood, past feelings of guilt, and a protectiveness over her people shape much of her actions throughout.

The group of characters in this book reminded me a bit of the characters from 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘚𝘪𝘹; you get to know them, and you’re not sure you really like and/or trust them, but deal with them you must. 😂

The atmosphere and the world were definitely my favorite part of the book. From the wildeleute, to the rivers, to the mountains and springs, the magic was definitely felt throughout this book.

This was a beautifully written, magical book with a sapphic romance at its center for when you’re looking for a whimsical story to take you on an adventure.

What this book is giving:
✅ Fantasy Romance
✅ Sapphic
✅ Murder Mystery
✅ A Quest/Adventure
✅ Mythical Creatures
✅ German Folklore
✅ Fantasy-Jewish Protagonist

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

Sapphic romance, slow burn, dark academia vibes. What more can you ask for? So much lore and fantasy I was hooked from the first few chapters. Def recommend!

I loved the romance. Very well done. I loved the MC emotional journey.

Hated the political resolution. Was sort of on the "big bad's" side at the end. Yikes.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free eARC in return for an honest review.

Allison Saft's debut into the Adult age category is a natural transition from the evocative prose, emotionally driven character arcs, and atmospheric world building of her previous YA novels. A DARK AND DROWNING TIDE delivers with twisting academic mysteries, morally grey characters, and a slow burn rivals-to-lovers central romance. Five stars.

I absolutely loved this book - I'm such a sucker for dark academia. The writing tone was perfect, there were very serious moments and the characters really felt real to me because there were a lot of bright spots of humor. I thought the ending was especially adept in balancing that. I feel like so often I pick up a book that's dark academia/romantasy and it's so heavy, no moments of levity. This was a perfect mix of that for me. I feel again that the author was very affective in making the characters feel real. A true enemies to lovers tale, IMO.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. This book was INCREDIBLE! This story was intoxicating, I was hooked from the first chapter. The plot was intense and the writing crafted a brooding and grim atmosphere with a backdrop of fantasy and fantastical creatures. I really enjoyed the main plot of a doomed expedition with such a dysfunctional crew who all have something to prove, who all would do anything even if it meant putting their morals aside to accomplish it. Lorelei was a brilliant MC and I enjoyed her perspective and her slow morph and growth throughout the story. This story held some of my absolute favorite tropes; one bed, enemies to lovers, grumpy x sunshine, and slow burn. SUCH INTENSE SLOW BURN!! I literally felt MYSELF yearning, I adore when an author and a book has me feeling every emotion the characters do. This book discussed a lot of difficult topics such as political strife, antisemitism, and had detailed descriptions of death and war. I also wanted to note that Saft did an incredibly job writing the characters panic attacks and PTSD.

I'm not sure what it is, but this book didn't hit me as much as I thought it would. I enjoyed it a lot in some parts and completely despised it in others. A Far Wilder Magic was a similar situation for me, so I'm unsure if it's the writing style or just my preferences. The book sounds right up my alley, but unfortunately didn't quite hit the mark for me.

This was a solid 3.75 out of 5 stars for me (rounded up to 4 stars). I really wanted to love it since the actual plot was so interesting, but I greatly disliked how often both Lorelei and Sylvia were brought up name wise. It felt over done and at a certain point we should understand the main pov, especially since it was just predominantly one pov with little bits here and there from other characters but still from the main pov.

The breakdown of the three parts of the book was nice. Felt like each section had a start and an end. The twist though of who killed their mentor I honestly I did not see coming. It very much was like "oh whoa, what?! I didn't expect that character". It was a nice little twist.

The end I was meh about. I get the HEA but it was whiny in the sense of miscommunication and I hate that in books.

Lovely! I am always delighted to find a well done f/f romance/ fantasy read. Alison Saft does a wonderful job fitting interesting characters, an adventure/romance plot and unique world building into a shorter book. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for 400+ when it’s necessary, but sometimes it’s not. I found this to be well written, engaging and I was rooting for the two FMC’s the whole time. Solid book, would definitely recommend.

This book is whimsical, beautiful and everything I wanted. It was sapphic, academic rivals and I want to kiss them both. The atmosphere and tension is unmatched. Allison saft is a genius.

Thank you Netgalley, Del Rey and Allison Saft for allowing me to read an arc of A Dark and Drowning Tide in exchange for my honest review..

This one hurts a little. As soon as I read the synopsis for this book I knew I had to get my hands on it as soon as I could. I loved the way Allison Saft weaved folklore into the plot, often using these stories to mirror what was happening to the characters on the page. Those were some of my favorite moments.

However, I just wanted more. I wanted more backstory to better understand the characters and their motives (which is a huge part of the plot and we only get crumbs). I wanted more action, more tension, just more! I would have loved to see the plot of this book fleshed out into more than one volume, I feel like it would have given it more time with flush out some of the pacing issues.

I was engrossed in the book and did manage to get teary eyed in a few moments between Lorelei and Slyvia but I just wanted more!

I’ll definitely be checking out Allison’s other work as I was truly engrossed in the book when I was reading it and enjoyed her writing style very much.

Was not for me sadly, I think I’ll give the audiobook a go, but this was not it for me. Maybe I don’t like academia much these days.

Despite having two other books by Allison Saft on my TBR, both of which are already published, this ARC of A Dark and Drowning Tide is the first of her books that I've read. (Also, quick shout to NetGalley, Del Rey, and Allison Saft for making it possible for me to read this book before its publication!!) I am even more anticipatory of when I can read her other books now that I've gotten a taste of her work.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is many things--full of a cast of incredibly interesting characters, a peek into a world that is both like ours and also so different, a story that left me gasping, groaning, and grinning in turn--but what it is not is a disappointment. It took me a bit of time to get into this book (fanfiction related hyperfixations will almost always come out on top when I'm trying to decide what to read during my lunch break no matter how excited I am about the other book I'm planning to read), but by the time I finally sat down and made myself read the first chapter, I was hooked. I finished about half the book that day and the other half the next. Part of what drew me in was that cast of characters I mentioned before--not only are Lorelei and Sylvia intriguing (both as individuals and in their interactions with each other), but so are the group of other characters that surround them. Each is rich in backstory and detail, and, though we only scratch at their true depths, I found myself as attached to some of them as I did our main characters.

The thing that most firmly drew me into this book was the world in which it is set. There are familiar parts to this world--Lorelei's religion is a clear allusion to Judaism, and the empire in which our characters live gave me some pretty strong vibes of Austria-Hungary--and other parts are unfamiliar in their fantastical nature. (Vanishing islands that only appear at a certain time in the moon's cycle, the ability to control water magically, the wildeleute...) Seeing these things interplay was a joy within itself. And then there are the folktales. As a folklorist, Lorelei is full of them, and she's constantly bringing them up in her mind. I truly believe some of the best ways to understand people are through their folklore, and the folktales Lorelei tells in her own mind are wonderful windows into the world in which she lives. It is also so much fun to see what bits of the folktales are from folktales we have in our own world, and which ones are changed to fit the world in which the characters live.

I highly enjoyed A Dark and Drowning Tide. I can almost guarantee that this is a book I will be buying a print copy of when it releases so that I can have it on my shelf and return to it whenever I want. If you enjoy folkloric fantasy, dark academia, mystery, and sapphic love stories, then this book is definitely for you. If you can't get your hands on an ARC, make sure you watch out for it in libraries and bookstores this September. Or get ahead of the game and preorder it now!

This was beautiful, I had a very good time in this magical book. I like the way it was written. It was done good. I like the characters also.

The folklore in this book was absolutely beautiful and the gothic dark atmosphere built into the fantasy of this world was even better. I truly loved every second of this, and I love Allison Saft’s writing style even more. The way she describes everything helps immerse you into the world/story more than you could possibly imagine and it keeps you wanting more and more. The worldbuilding was amazing, and confusing at first but once I reread some parts I understood everything. The magic system in this book was fun to read and experience also.
Lorelei and Sylvia are the main characters in this story and I love both of them immensely. Lorelei is a folklorist and Sylvia is her academic rival. Their romance that unfolded throughout the story was wonderful to read and I loved the yearning they had for each other at certain points. They both also had good character development and I was never disappointed with either of their actions. Everything made sense for both characters.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I had such an incredible time reading this book!! The last novel I picked up from this author was their debut Down Comes the Night, and while I enjoyed and was frustrated by that one in equal measure, I could tell that this was an author that I really, really wanted to read more of, especially as their writing and craft matured. And oh man did A Dark and Drowning Tide prove me right!!!

I do think it's important for prospective readers to know that while there are strong romance elements in the book, it is first and foremost a fantasy novel, despite marketing putting it forth as a fantasy romance novel. (It very much is not.)

This story seems to be set in a world loosely inspired by the consolidation of German states under Wilhelm of Prussia (mid to late 1800s), which makes for an incredibly fun setting; I've not come across any recent fiction set in that time period, and by lifting qualities from the real historical world to put into this fantasy one, the author is able to create and explore some really interesting ideas. There also feel like some glancing nods to the Brothers Grimm (who were doing fieldwork during this time period), but not in a way that would draw any strong parallels (at least in my opinion).

The world-building is incredibly solid: meticulous politics, mysterious fae creatures, and grounded invented folklore abound. All combine with great character writing to guide us through a world that feels fully-realized, and that I would honestly love to spend more time in. Even though the world is a secondary fantasy world, the author does very well in exploring themes of prejudice; while the world is not sexist or heteronormative, it is strongly antisemitic and xenophobic. Working with these themes within a fantasy context allows both author and reader flexibility to think and dwell upon these issues in a compelling way.

I also really loved the characters. All six in our main cast are deeply developed and wonderfully complex. We struggle with pulling apart the strings of their actions and motivations as much as Lorelei does, but completely alongside her, since we are able to understand their character as much as she does.

Overall, an incredibly fantastic reading experience. I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning because I could not wait to find out how the story unfolded. I will absolutely be pre-ordering a copy, and I will be recommending my library does the same. Cannot wait to hear what my friends think when it comes out!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Allison Saft can do no wrong. This is another masterpiece and I fell in love with this one from the beginning. It’s fantastic. The story, the characters, the plot all blend seamlessly. I can’t recommend this one enough!

If I were to characterize A Dark and Drowning Tide with a single song, it would be “Dress” by Taylor Swift. Allison Saft’s adult debut is a sapphic romantasy filled with secret moments, pining, and anticipation. Sylvia and Lorelai’s romance will draw you under the current of its depths, leaving you breathless.

The romance between Sylvia and Lorelai is the heartbeat of the story, alive, and pulsating along with the reader’s suspense.

Surprisingly, the romance is a subplot to the first half of the novel, subsequently taking a backseat to the murder mystery narrative. However, it is essential to the story itself. A Dark and Drowning Tide is a slowburn, but their longing builds and builds, leading to an electrifying culmination.

The novel is very much a dark academia book with gothic vibes. Mix in fantasy, and a bit of real-life historical inspiration and you have an immersive tale. Despite a lack of advertising, there is an element of political intrigue to the story. The logistics of the political elements are partially off-page, but relevant to the resolution of the “whodunnit.”

To me, Lorelai and Sylvia’s romance is exemplary of rivals to lovers and gives off a I can’t stand you… how you make me undone vibe. One could also appropriately coin their relationship as enemies to lovers as well.

One of my favorite aspects of the romance within A Dark and Drowning Tide are the “screw-it” moments where Sylvia and Lorelai are unguarded and unabashed. While there is only one spicy scene in the book, there are sacred moments between the two that showcase lust and angst between the two.

Additionally, there were a few aspects of the novel that I found myself struggling a bit with, hence the 4-star rating. The names of the characters were quite fantastical, of which I love the concept. However, it’s execution was lacking. The book could have benefited from pronunciation guide to allow me to fully immerse myself in the story. I ended up giving the character’s nicknames and referring to them by the first letter of their name. It’s a bit disheartening because I imagine the names would be pronounced beautifully.

Another quick sidenote, will Alison Saft please give us a spin-off with Ludwig? That’s mostly a joke, but I would be very interested in reading about his adventures! For anyone who has read The Last Hours series by Cassandra Clare, Ludwig reminds me of the character Christopher Lightwood. He’s a bit of a science nerd, with glasses. Who wouldn’t want a book of a wholesome character acting on his scientific exploration and hear him gush about it?

All in all, A Dark and Drowning Tide was one of the best books I have read this year. It was incredibly immersive and beautifully crafted. I will most definitely be nominating this book for LibraryReads and will be making sure our library secures a copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Del Rey for this advanced reader copy.

•eARC Review•
A Dark and Downing Tide by Allison Saft
Rating: ★ ★ ★ .5

This is a wonderful dark and gothic inspired folk tale. This one was a little slow to start but really picked up after the first third or so. From there it’s captivating with mystery, murder, grief, romance, a whole lot of rivalry, and adventure.

Thank you so much Allison Saft, NetGalley, and Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine for this ARC read!