Oh this was a banger. It was a little slow at the beginning, but once it hit about 40% of the way through, I literally could not put it down. If gothic sapphic vibes are your weakness, this is for you

rating: 2.25/5

to be completely honest, my rating might not be fair—i don’t think i’d mind this book as much as i did if i hadn’t been so excited for it. while i struggle to find much good to say about it, there isn’t much that i strongly disliked either.

allison saft is an incredible writer, so of course the writing itself is good. the prose is clear and easy to follow, while still having such a lovely lyrical quality to it. it’s full of descriptive imagery, and while the world building could be clunky at times, i think she still created a very complete and thoroughly explained world. she created a world with strong bones and a lot of potential—but to me that potential was never fulfilled.

something i love about allison saft books is they always feel a bit cosy—usually the stakes aren’t world-endingly high, there are no chosen ones, and the setting is pretty contained. well, the plot in this one was all over the place. this is both a murder mystery and a standard quest story, but it seemed as if the story couldn’t decide which it wanted to be the primary focus, so instead neither plot line received proper treatment. there are supposed to be severe political stakes to the quest and political intricacies between the main cast of characters, but with how all over the place this is, none of that really comes across. the plot twists were underwhelming and predictable, and while the story itself wasn’t predictable (again, because it could not decide what it wanted to be), nothing was surprising or shocking either.

the characters too are all completely underdeveloped, with the tentative exception of lorelei solely because you’re in her mind. lorelei is a deeply unreliable narrator, which i appreciated, but she’d say conflicting things within the space of a page or two, which grew frustrating quickly. had she never thought of silvia in this way, or had she thought of her this way a thousand times? your guess is as good as mine, since she says both two pages apart. while i like a good unlikable main character, lorelei’s constant melodrama was grating—but i did like that silvia actually calls her on it regularly. it’s refreshing to see this melodrama portrayed as a flaw instead of as poetic, if that makes sense?

but the other characters were one dimensional and flat, even silvia, who was at least a bit better developed than the others. their personalities are reduced to one thing, and while you’re told their motivations, you’re neither told nor shown enough to really care about them. this makes all the reveals and twists very anticlimactic, and the interpersonal relationships very dry (an absolute tragedy, because some of them had SUCH good set-up and so much potential).

and, of course, the underdeveloped characters really affected the romance. it’s obvious who the romance will be between, so if you look there’s plenty that’s meant to further the romance between silvia and lorelei. but there’s no chemistry there, and besides a handful of out of the blue lines, there’s no indication of any real romantic feelings between the two. the romance was ultimately just unbelievable and hard to root for, because it was all so shallow. i won’t even get started on the love confessions, but those were probably some of me least favorite scenes in the whole book.

I will start off with the Absolutely stunning cover on this book, it’s what first drew me to the book. I would buy it just for that reason alone to add to my library.

Truly a good gothic fairy tale that is perfect for this upcoming spooky season. This book is expected to drop September 17, 2024

What I loved about it:

Murder mystery

Gothic fairytale

Adult fantasy inspired by German folklore

Slow burn 🔥 Academic rivals ⚔️ to lovers (smart mouth, quick witted MC)

Academic expedition through a Sentient Forest 🌳 winds up with a death and a case of who done it amongst the 6 very different adventurers on a mission. All trying to find the source of all magic that has only been spoken about in folktales.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine for granting me an ARC to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I have to mark this as DNF at about 1/3rd of the way through. It's not a bad book, and I feel bad that my rating has to effect the total, but it's just not for me. I like the concept, but I felt like the world building was a bit too clunky--a lot of information is dumped on the readers, and the way characters are introduced makes it difficult to remember all of them. I might check out an audio book version, since it might be easier for me to absorb the information if I'm listening to it, but my 'to read' list is too long and my patience is too thin to read any more of this book right now.

There is so much here: Mystery, magic, romance, adventure, political intrigue, academic rivalry, racism and classism, grief and healing. All these different themes and elements come together in a healthy balance and make A Dark and Drowning Tide a really good read. I love the different folk tales woven throughout the story. They strengthen the characterization of Lorelei, the main character, as she is a folklorist and recalls the folk tales of her people the Yeva (an analogue for Jewish people). The tales also enhance the world building in a unique way and support different points in the plot.

Most of the characters were really well fleshed out which isn't easy to manage with six characters. I had a hard time between Heike and Adleheid but otherwise the cast is very strong with clear motives and they were easy to get attached to. Some characters who seemed one dimensional at first showed different parts of themselves that made them all somewhat dynamic.

I love how the magic and world building leans into the Fae influence. The strange, unpredictability of the magic really helped keep things engaging. All in all this was a solid read.

A dark and drawing tide follows Lorelei and Sylvia Who are academic rivals. I guess they’re competing for some position. Under the mentor. I saw three of them set out on an expedition. The mentor is murdered. Which begins a mystery of who done it and are the rest of them at risk? Headed down the river on a boat through a forest where anything could happen. With the most likely going to find magical creatures. Plus, there’s a sapphic romance. I truly wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, I found it very difficult to get into to stay hooked into the story. I feel that the summary of this book explains more than I could actually get out of the story itself. Leaving me with a reading experience that there’s something wrong with me that I didn’t understand more about the plot why the characters are going on an expedition what they’re looking for what the end goal is. The story itself feels more meandering I lose the purpose for reading the story.. I do think there’s a beautiful lyrical writing style the characters are interesting. The rival academics is most interesting concepts for a main character that can’t say that I’ve seen that. Except in Wilder magic also by Allison Saft.. The author has a very distinct style its soft, cozy and atmospheric. So all this booked didn’t necessarily work for me I could see why it works for so many others.

Allison Saft always has great descriptive imagery and I felt as though I was inside a movie at times which is great! With that said, I just don’t think this genre is for me. There is a lot of folklore that you have to weed through that doesn’t necessarily seem important to the plot. Additionally, there was a lot of German phrases/words thrown in (understandable) but I did a lot of googling to figure out what everything meant as a non-German reader.
All in all, I think this is a very niche YA novel and some readers will really enjoy it!

I enjoyed this! I found the story magical and alluring! The writing itself was exactly what I love and I can’t wait to read more by the author.

3.5/5
Due to its advertisement as an academic rivals to lovers book, I was a little wary to begin this one as I feel like those novels have been disappointing me lately. However, I was pleasantly surprised and found myself completely engrossed in this novel the moment I began reading it. While the magic system isn’t exactly unique, Saft explains it beautifully and truly trusts her readers to not need unnecessary over explanations. I also loved the fact that the plot of this book was just as, if not more, important than the romance. While the romance is beautifully tense and aggravating throughout the entirety of the novel, the plot doesn’t suffer due to it. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a more gothic fantasy or a well done rivals to lovers trope!

3.5.

A dark and drowning tide follows one of our main characters, Lorelei, as she journeys on a mission to prove her worth. All goes very much askew when her mentor and expedition leader gets murdered.

I honestly felt that the pacing of Ziegler’s death was too soon. The way the characters also reacted to this threw me off, especially since I thought we’d be getting more insight to this. Speaking of the characters, I felt as thigh we learned too much of them in a short amount of time. This left me questioning who was who at times.

The pacing of this novel was honestly way too slow for me, hence me taking almost two months to complete it. I felt like at some parts the story was completely dragging.

The world building wasn’t heavy, but I felt that there was enough to help me understand some of the points the author was making. I did enjoy the fantasy elements, and when the characters did use their magic. The romance was also very fun and very slowburn. I wish we did get to see more of them when they did confess their love.

Thank you to Allison Saft, Del Rey, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lorelei Kaskel is on an expedition with six other individuals in pursuit of a legendary spring. However, it all starts to unravel when Lorelei's mentor is murdered on their way to the location. This leaves Lorelei on board with five other individuals who each have their own motive for murdering the professor. The only person she knows who did not commit the murder is her academic rival, Sylvia von Wolff. The two team up together to solve the mystery.

However, the murderer of Professor Ziegler is not the only danger present. As Sylvia and Lorelei venture into the woods, they find the forest is filled with dangerous creatures seeking blood. There's also a thread of political unrest as a coup rises in the background. There's also the danger that Sylvia and Lorelei present to each other as they grow closer and their feelings threaten to obscure the purpose of the mission. As they venture deeper, Sylvia and Lorelei discover Professor Zeigler's secret agenda, which could drastically change everything they know.

Saft has created an intriguing dark academia atmosphere and paired it nicely with an inauspicious murder. Sylvia and Lorelei's academic rivalry builds tension as the two are forced to work together to survive the expedition and carry out the wishes of their professor. This only adds to the gloomy atmosphere, but by the end, each character has grown to see each other in a new light. Their respective backgrounds and beliefs add to the world itself and create a unique set of obstacles that Sylvia and Lorelei must face together no longer as foes, but as something else entirely.

This book is well worth it if you're looking for a dark academia title, but want a splash of adventure and to venture beyond the walls of the school. This sets a new precedent for this type of story and I hope we continue to see others like it.

Follow Lorelei and Sylvia, two rivals, who must now work together after their leader was killed in the beginning of their expedition. Love, power, and adventure join the party and form a folklore like story.

“Every plant, every human, every wildeleute, every drop of water, is a thread. Together, they make up the great tapestry of life. If even one stitch is pulled loose, the whole thing will unravel.”

This is my first read written by Allison Saft, and I have to say I am blown away.

The overall writing of A Dark and Drowning Tide was beautiful. Saft has a gentle and detailed style of writing that kept me so hooked throughout this whole story.

As the Ruhigburg Five and Lorelei sift through this adventure together to find the fabled Ursprung, it feels as though you are truly joining them on their expedition.

Through Saft’s writing, I felt truly engaged and connected to the characters. Folklorist Lorelei and her moody and self sabotaging attitude, and Sylvia’s gentle and kind demeanor are a perfect balance.

The struggles that are portrayed through Lorelei and her life through antisemitism are very eye opening, and really made me have a deeper love and understanding for this character.

I overall thoroughly enjoyed this book, and cannot wait for September 17th when it releases.

Thank you to the author, as well as NetGalley and Random House publishing for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for sending me an advanced copy of this book for my review:

3.5 stars from me

No spoilers:
The writing of this was beautiful and magical. I love dark academia slow burn rivals to lovers romance fantasy queer everything it’s just right up my alley. The angst was so high in this book it powered me through. The tension between Lorelei and Sylvia was so good! I enjoyed reading this but initially took me quite a bit to fall into the story, I was pretty overwhelmed in the beginning. But that being said I loved the imagery and would definitely like to read more from Alison! Thanks again

I wanted to love this SO BADLY, but as u read, I realized I was drawn in by the buzzy blub that promoted a sapphic, rivals to lovers story with a dark academia setting. The story too SOOOOO LONG to get started and I really had a hard time connecting with Lorelei “everyone must hate me so I must hate them first” that when the love story popped up, I didn’t care. It became a “I hate everyone but I hate you less.” Some of the behaviors seemed immature for people allegedly in the late 20s early 30s and while the world building seemed interesting, it wasn’t stable enough to avoid constant exposition.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

This has to be my favorite of Allison Saft’s books. I loved them all, but the beauty and the world of this one really pulled me in. This author is amazing at writing atmospheric, romantic fantasy and I felt myself getting lost (positive) in this book. The lush descriptions and the beautiful romance are amazing. And i’ve always been a sucker for rivals to lovers.

Easily four stars. I devoured this book, Alison Saft’s writing was so lush and descriptive I felt like every word was sea-soaked. The romance itself was a lovely subplot I cared about Silvia and Lorelei dearly.

The cover is gorgeous and the synopsis was really promising but alas, this just was not for me. I'm a huge fan of Saft's previous novels, but unfortunately I found it very difficult to get into this book. The characters simply did not connect with me, and I found the overall atmosphere too miserable to be enjoyable. It's a miss this time, but I'll still gladly check out whatever Saft writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and DelRey for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

For fans of Ava Reid's "A Study in Drowning" and Heather Fawcett's "Emily Wilde" series.

The description and cover of this book pulled me in immediately. A dark academia enemies-to lovers-sapphic romance? Say less!

Lorelei and Sylvia are on a small team of experts to find the source of magic for their king. Brimming with political intrigue, pining, and fantastical elements, A Dark and Drowning Tide is the perfect book to cozy up to by a fire.

Pros:
- Allison Saft's descriptions are so illusory and immersive, I found her syntax to be so poetic and appealing.
- The slow burn! I love the trope of a character slowly realizing their "hate" of someone else is actually love/admiration, and this book gave me just that!
- There was a political undertone that made this book feel real, which I think a lot of YA misses sometimes.

Cons:
- Hopefully the published copy will have a map! I think this could really aid in visualizing the many kingdoms and places mentioned.
- Lorelei being a folklorist was so cool and I really liked the concept. However, I found the constant inserts of stories into the narrative to be confusing at times. I had to keep checking to make sure I didn't miss something big - only to realize that Lorelei was just sharing an anecdote.
- I struggled with the name Lorelei! I think it's always hard when there's a pop culture icon attached to a name, but I couldn't get past seeing Lorelei Gilmore!
- Some of the world building I needed to be explained more. I felt like I fully couldn't grasp the way magic works in the world and some more explanations could have been helpful.

Although this took me a little longer to get through than usual, I overall enjoyed it and would recommend to any dark academia / sapphic YA romance lover! 3.5 stars / 7/10

I found myself really leaning into this one. I love the lyrical way this author writes. I will def give her other books a chance!