I thought you had me at Allison Saft, but you really had me at Sapphic and Dark Academia because when you add that to Allison Saft what you get is a five star book no matter what.

This is my first Allison Saft book, but it definitely won’t be my last! I was drawn in by the stunning cover and the intriguing premise, but it was a slow start for me. Being dropped right into the story left me feeling confused, and I had to push myself to keep going and not DNF at about 37%. But I’m so glad I kept going!

Things I Enjoyed:
✨ Single POV
 👀
✨ Rivals to Lovers ❤️‍🔥

✨ Yearning 😩💕

✨ Silvia 🥹

✨ Writing Style 🖋️

✨ The Cover 📖

While I adored the mystery elements and eventually came to enjoy the romance, I can’t help but feel that Silvia deserved better. I wish Lorelei had been made to grovel more, and I think her character arc could have gone deeper. Still, this book delivered on so many levels, and I’m excited to dive into more of Allison Saft’s work!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC! 🙏

Allison Saft is truly very talented and had me guessing a lot in this whodunnit and it was far more convoluted than I anticipated. I love these dumb rival lesbians and their inability to USE THEIR WORDS lol. It was a very intense read and still magically beautiful. I got a little lost at a couple of points but that's my dumb brain for you. The ending had me smiling from ear to ear. Saft is accomplished at her worldbuilding within a single novel and made me feel like I'd been in this world for a lot longer than 384 pages. Definitely a recommended read from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this ARC!

Content Warning: murder, death, violence, racism, antisemitism.


Lorelei Kaskel is fighting for what she wants. Quick-witted and unfriendly, Lorelei is the beloved protege of a brilliant folklorist who has been entrusted with finding a fabled spring -- supposedly the source of all aether, magic -- at the request of Brunnestaad's King. But Lorelei is forced to contend with things beyond her imagining on this expedition, and worst of all, she's stuck with six eccentric nobles who are determined to make her life hell. Amongst them is Lorelei's greatest academic rival, the girl she detests for having everything: Sylvia von Wolff. But when Lorelei's mentor is found murdered, she finds that Sylvia is the only one she can trust, and it's up to them to discover who the killer is in the hopes of stopping a bloody coup. Pushed together by forces beyond their understanding, Lorelei and Sylvia grow closer as they learn that all is not what it seems amongst the nobles who all claim to have the King's best interests at heart, and their discoveries threaten to change life as they know it.

Much has been said about Saft and her talent, and while I've always kept a distant eye on her, I've never read any of her work until A Dark and Drowning Tide. You can consider me fully in the fan club now -- it's been a long time since I've read something that so completely and totally captured both my imagination and my heart. There is a plethora of talent here, just bursting with potential, and you get the feeling that Saft is just beginning on a long and beautiful career.

Lorelei and Sylvia are both rendered in such wonderful, detailed strokes -- they both feel so fully fleshed out, as though you could actually meet them and they would be totally believable human beings. There is a bit of an ensemble cast here with the other nobles who are a part of the expedition, and while some of them do suffer a bit from being a little more one-dimensional, I think Saft succeeded at creating an interesting brew of personalities that keeps the tension constantly growing. Of the rest of the cast, the standouts are probably Ludwig and Johann, who are total opposites and yet both manage to be fascinating. I'm also partial to Heike, but I think she suffers from a little bit of underdevelopment in comparison with the others.

Saft's writing is extraordinary. She has a way of crafting beautiful sentences that feel somehow both poetic and yet not stiff, natural, and all I can think is that rather like her main character, Lorelei, she must have some source of magic inside of her that helps her to create them. The worldbuilding, too, is exceedingly well-done, full of beautifully horrifying creatures who only serve to add to the story's atmosphere of fantastical otherworldliness.

At the heart of this story is Sylvia and Lorelei's budding relationship. The depiction of their attraction to one another is so intense, so full of longing, that I sometimes had to put the book down just to process it. It's yet another testament to Saft's ability to weave and build characters who are full of emotion and authenticity, and I think she does a great play on the enemies to lovers trope here. Her portrayal of the issues of class and race, especially in relation to how Sylvia and Lorelei perceive each other, feels sharp and spot-on.

Highly recommended. I can't wait to see what Saft writes next!

This book left me…confused. While I greatly enjoyed the folklore woven throughout the story, the political messaging was odd. It felt accepting of, and even pro-imperialism. I was hoping for some resolution at the end but it did not materialize. It was a five star until this. It’s basically saying accept the king and his imperialistic goals to conquer surrounding countries and assimilate because it’s better than standing up against him?? He wants to conquer and the author tries to humanize him. Hot take. Which is sad because I really enjoyed the romantic story.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

The most beautifully written book. Dark fantasy with an intriguing world built around it. Also Sapphic romance!

I think that the book was potentially too long? Or it needed to be spaced out into two books? I felt like we didnt get enough time with the characters in a non extreme stress environment, and the travelling seemed FAST. I needed more information about the magic system for it to like actually make sense to me. Overall I don't think its bad, but I think that we needed to spend more time with the characters and setting for it to be more engaging.

allison saft can write just about anything, and this book is proof of that. from captivating characters to a romance you can’t help but root for, this sapphic academic rivals to lovers fantasy novel has a little bit of something for everyone. thank you netgalley! 4/5 stars.

It’s sapphic, gothic, academia, and adventure within a fantasy world. If these sound like you then this maybe your next 5star.

oh allison saft. i've been a fan of hers since her debut novel down comes the night. and i love her taking swings like this. however, it didn't hit like crazy for me. lovely prose as always but the story didn't connect.

This was an interesting time; while I loved the writing of this, the plot and romance left much to be desired for me.

The cover of this is beautiful and really drew me in. I was so excited to get to read a dark academia within a fantasy world, but I do wish for more of the academia part. More of the world and magic would have been so much better.

All of the characters were unique and intriguing but I really struggled with getting invested in any of them. The romance fell a bit flat. I needed more of a build up as I didn't really get that they liked each other at all. This happens with enemies/rivals to lovers for me. I always want more 'to lovers' than we got. It just jumped from despise to love to quickly.

This did make me want to read more from the author and I am planning to pick up another book from her.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

A dark and drowning tide is fantasy novel where we follow folklorist Lorelei as she and a team of novels as they search for a legendary spring said to gift the worthy with unimaginable power on orders of the king. Lorelei finds herself in command of the expedition after the murder of her mentor, she ends up having to team up with her academic rival Sylvia to figure out who is sabotaging the expedition.

I’ve previously enjoyed Saft’s work and this was no exception. I enjoyed the world building and the dynamics between the crew. Seeing how the reacted with each other and how certain characters where treated due to their religion, race and birth was interesting. I look forward to Saft’s next book.

A lush and creepy sapphic fantasy romance that had a lot of positives. I enjoyed it overall, but I do think sometimes the pacing lagged.

Starting 2025 with realizing that I read this last year as soon as I received a special edition from a book box and never came here to rate it. DANG IT. Anyway, this was my first Allison Saft book, and while I own a few others, this one was the first one that really called out to me and made me want to pick it up right away. And I was pleasantly surprised. I don't know what I was expecting, and while I never really believed the rivalry between the two main characters, I loved the grumpy sunshine-esque trope and the world and the adventure they set out on together. I am definitely going to pick up my other books by this author because this was really well done!

A Dark and Drowning Tide is such an immersive story. I loved the world building and the lush descriptions of the setting. I could visualize the eerie forest. I thought the characters were complex and the magic system was well developed. I also loved the folklore references, I thought they blended well as we followed along with the larger story.

Overall another great story from Allison Saft! There is romance, magic and a murder mystery.. what more could you want?

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and ... I have thoughts.

First and foremost, I enjoyed Lorelei as a stubbornly cranky main character and Sylvia as her love interest. The romance build up was definitely to my tastes. I enjoyed their dialogue as well as the events leading to Lorelei's realization that they both have feelings for each other.

The side characters were serviceable enough and made for a good little group of personalities going on a magical expedition.

The writing is great especially in terms of the imagery and the set up for the plot. Saft is very capable of immersing me into her stories and getting me to invest a lot into her characters.

Something about the book shifted for me around the 60-70% mark though.

This book is advertised as a magical sapphic fantasy romance with an expedition turned murder mystery and it is indeed that for the most part. Had the book stayed that course and stuck to those two main plot threads, it would have been a much stronger story.

I have a more detailed review on my Goodreads page (linked) that explains specifically what my grievances with the story are.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for the eARC

So, this is my first Allison Saft book, and... well, I won't hold it against them this time. I didn't like A Dark and Drowning tide at all. The two stars (which are actually a 1.5) are solely for the sapphic relationship, because the rest of the book was Not It.

Not only could I not care much at all for any of the characters, I couldn't care for the plot OR the world. I did at first. The first few chapters were bangers, but then I kept getting smacked on the head over and over and over again with the problems this society has with the ??? being told to me rather than simply being shown in the story progression. Like okay, I get it, you want us to know Lorelei is ??? and she's oppressed because of it. I love that plotline in books because it's realistic. But after the first few goes, I get it. Stop telling me. Show it instead.

Saft didn't do that. I was blasted by the end of this book and annoyed as hell. Not to mention so. freaking. bored. The pacing had so much to be desired that, a few times, I actually had to go back and check if I missed something because of the way it all laid out. Then I'd go back to being bored again.

Where was the fun to the adventure? We had ship voyages! We had death! We had monsters! We had lesbians. WTF happened?!

(I did perk up each time Lorelei got a little swoony, but they were so few and far between for so much of the book that I was grinding my teeth when they did show up. Speaking of, though...)

The romance was cool. It hooked me back in when it was present, though I did start to get bored with it along with everything else. It wasn't the worst part of the book by any means. Which, in turn, does give me hope for Saft's other books, since I know they have romance in them. One of them has to click, right? Right?

(I hope so, because I have a copy of another of her books, and it's really pretty. And I don't want to unhaul it because I hate it and I want my shelves full of books I love.)

I don't know. This really wasn't for me, which is a shame because I would have sworn up and down it was before I actually read it.

Sigh. Onto the next I guess.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The vibes for this one were absolutely PERFECT. Folklore, sapphic yearning, weird creatures, locked room murder mystery, academia... *happy sigh*

Lorelei and Sylvia are excellent leads that compliment each other so well, and the yearning, bickering, and obliviousness to feelings between them was so fun to read. The side characters were also well developed, and their personalities made for some interesting interactions/situations.

The plot was a little meandering, but it suited the novel well because of the hazy and dream-like atmosphere. The politics were glossed over, which may annoy some readers, but again, I think it suits the atmosphere of the novel well.

I would LOVE to see more stories set in this world, even if the characters are different (but I do adore Lorelei and Sylvia and would not be opposed to seeing them again!). It was a difficult novel to leave behind.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This was my first book that falls under this subgenre of fantasy and I found it not to be for me. The book started off pretty slow and the world didn’t hook me in.

Seems like it may be a good book for others who like to read similar books.