Wonderfully atmospheric. I felt that the world building could have been deeper to fully immerse the reader in the world, but this was beautifully written and I loved the murder mystery element in a fantasy novel.

Allison Saft has done it again. I read her historical romance as an ARC and fell in love. I was on the fence with this one because it brought a different vibe but I fell in love. The gothic feel to the story sucked me in right away and I struggled to put the book down. It was beautifully written and so full of life.

the slow-burn had me in shambles. this book is the best sapphic romantasy i have ever read, and i was truly moved by the characters' relationship.

Thankful for the ARC of this book from the publishers!!

So many gems in this book…River mermaids, fairy folklore, cultural commentary, a world where it’s the ethnic differences that keep two women in love apart rather than the fact that it’s two women in love. In fact I ADORE sapphic writing where that is part of the world building and marriages are even arranged between women of certain families—so powerful.

So many lovable characters and creatures throughout. I swear if Anna Taylor Joy isn’t Sylvia in your mind, who could be?!

My sole critique is that often times scenes would cut so quickly to a new scene without any separation or segue way that it was a tad disorienting but not detrimental to the overall plot.

I do also think the descriptions started out slightly steampunk esque but then that effect seemed to be lost or just blurred into a traditional medieval times, sort of typical fantasy world halfway through—which is fine but it was less interesting.

Some magic systems did also seem slightly less fleshed out or were just quickly explained in one sentence after being introduced as an almost afterthought? But then again this wasn’t high fantasy so maybe that’s fine, but you had to stay on your toes and move your brain along quickly with the new information as it came.

Eager to read this again after official publication!

If you are a fan of Stardust by Neil Gaiman or All the Murmuring Bones by AG Slatter, you will adore this book as much as I did!

What can I even say about this book? This book is a peak inside a mind ruled by stories and folklore. This is a story of how society at large measures one people against another, one religion or way of being against another. This is a story of childhood and its loss, a story of social divide, of a country struggling to heal after war and conquest.

This is Pride and Prejudice, A Study in Drowning, and The Isle of the Gods with an adult sapphic flair and just gorgeous writing. Our heroines are relatable, infuriating, and lovely. Their relationship is a raft towards a better and brighter future for them both.

I loved the constant weaving of folklore and stories into the book and how Lorelei had a story for almost every situation, which completely fits her inner brooding personality and her occupation.

This story contains:
F/F Romance
Grumpy x Sunshine
Murder on a Boat mystery
Shared room at inn (two beds)
One shared tent
Pride and Prejudice-esque romance
Group Quest/Expedition
Mythological/Magical beings
Magic tied to the water
Quest to find the source of all magic
Jewish Folklore Inspired

Content Warning: f/f makeout and s*x, violence, murder, political intrigue, strong language

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

DNFed around 35% of the way through. i like the tropes present in the book, but the execution feels flat. the pacing is a little too slow for me. i plan to pick it up in the future again, but right now this is putting me into a reading slump.

An engaging and alluring story with fascinating world building. Mixing magic and politics, mystery/academia and romance. The characters were interesting, particularly the two leads. It was a quick and interesting read. I would have liked more background on the side characters, as they were fascinating—the book gives quite good information on them but I would have read even more!
I enjoy the author’s writing style. It’s lyrical, informative without being an info dump, and the characters felt distinct.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. This is my honest review.

A beautifully dark atmospheric tale that I devoured. And a slow burn sapphic romance!
This book follows Lorelei and Sylvia who go on an expedition to find the fabled source of magic but the murder of lorelei's mentor has every one of edge and everyone a suspect. Expect Sylvia....the two have to trust one another before the murderer strikes again.
This book is filled with folklore and mystery and angst! The best kind of angst. Vague review but y'all need to experience it for yourselves!
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you for the digital ARC!

ADADT has been on my want-list since it was announced, and it more than lived up to my hopes. Saft's style is so poetic and entrancing, and as someone interested in folklore, Lorelei being a folklorist and naturalist (and the intersection of the fields) was so up my ally. I love how the concept of storytelling was integrated through the plot, and the romance was perfectly paced.

some highlights:
queer, magical creepy creatures, a expedition out on the sea, whodunit, a group of easily hated side characters, dark fairytales? tension? FEMALE YEARNING? SIGN ME UP

if that isn't enough: this is for the political fantasy girlies, dark academia girlies, and the gothic fantasy girlies.... which on a diagram is usually just a circle. so, enjoy!

this book forced me stay up way too late multiple nights in a row... on WORK NIGHTS! at first, i'll be honest, i was a bit unsure. it was slow to catch me but once it did, it DID. also, as someone who doesn't love spice/smut, the scenes in this book actually did not have me cringing and skipping them. they were mild!

thank you to netgalley & random house publishing group for this beautiful ARC.

As someone who loves dark and intricate books this has taken the cake for me. The slow burn, rivalry and humor in A Dark and Drowning Tide is SO good. The only complaint I have is that I had to read a tad slower to grasp certain texts. Which Is NOT the Author's fault but it's my own operator error.(haha) I recommend this to anyone l=who loves a good world building and detailed story!

I was immediately captured by the haunting cover art to this book. It's a fascinating story about Lorelei's experience on an expedition with her mentor, her rival, and a cast of characters who all get swept up into this fantasy murder mystery and treasure hunt.

I was entranced with the folklore stories sprinkled throughout, though later in the book it became a little too much for me.

Lorelei's and Sylvia's unfolding rivalry and relationship was wonderful to behold. This sapphic romance was well done. For once no one was trying to change anyone else to become more palatable,

A few of the characters fell a little flat for me at times, but I still enjoyed the story as a whole. After the rather slow pacing of most of the book, the ending wrapped up a bit quickly for me as well.

CW for antisemitism.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really great sapphic tale with gothic themes that were able to instantly plunge any reader into it's deeply atmospheric story, with some great standalone characters. If the cover alone (it's absolutely breathtaking) is not enough to reel you in, Allison Saft's beautifully imagery is enough to hook you line and sinker. This book is multi-pov, and has a lot of information to bestow upon it's reader - which could have been paced better - but the folklore, intricate detailing, world itself, more than made up for it to me.

I was originally NOT aware that this was a LGBTQ book, but in the end it did not bother me - it was simply a surprise. The author had a really good handle on the storytelling and the slow burning passion that rose between the two main characters.

This dark whimsical tale is a one I highly recommend.

Thanks to Del Rey and Netgalley for this ARC.

What an amazing book. This is the first book I read by this author
However as I started to read I became enthralled, excited, everything a book like this has! I applaud the well-written, fluid prose so much that I read it in two sittings reluctantly (I didn't want to stop at all!A very clever world build was on point. The characters portrayed so vividly. I highly recommend this read for a nice truly entertaining endeavor. I enjoyed reading it. #ADarkandDrowningTide #NetGalley

Here is my review of this beautiful book called A dark and Drowning tide that I received as an arc. I honestly had a really hard time getting into this book. It completely drew me in from the cover to the gothic description of the book.
I don’t do well with trying to figure out 3rd person POVs and who’s actually speaking at that moment. It also took me way too long to actually figure out what was going on. The beginning seemed very confusing. Other than that, I really enjoyed the book. We have here a gothic academic rivals, with a good sapphic pining. Let’s not forget a good murder mystery when Lorelei’s mentor gets murdered when her team was on a mission to find a mysterious body of water for their king. Thank You NetGalley and Allison Saft for the Arc!

DNF at 26%

I don't know, maybe I just didn't connect with any of the characters. They all feel flat for me. I felt like I was being thrown locations, names, terminology, etc all in the first 50 pages and it just confused me. It was all just boring to me and everytime I opened it to read I could only make it a few pages before I couldn't read anymore. I liked the idea but it didn't do it for me

Enemies to lovers, LGBTQ, and fantasy creatures... this book hits so many high spots! I really loved the plot but additionally I enjoyed that the plot taught me a lot about characters from lesser known folk tales. Unfortunately, I guessed the ending early in the plot but that didn't make the writing any less wonderful or the story any less magical.

I would give this 3.5 stars if I could. I felt it was a great concept that could have been executed better. I loved the folklore, the setting (dark academia is my jam), and one of the characters, Sylvia, was very charming and easy to like. On the other hand, Lorelei was too one-note for most of the book. Seemingly just all bitterness, although understandably so. When the slow-burn romance starts to come to fruition, it seems her character shifts too suddenly, and too drastically. It felt like the pacing was off with the plot and character development. The magical system is unique but a little confusing and half-baked.

If I had to categorize this book, I'd place it in 'New Adult'. It's not really giving YA vibes, but its not really an Adult Romance, either. It falls into a grey zone for me. The cover is beautiful and captures a lot of the atmosphere right off the bat.

Thanks to Del Rey and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The beautiful whimsical gothic cover art got me to read it, the enthralling plot and subtly successful integration of folklore made me stay and finish. WOW! Finished in one sitting.

Dnf at 20% mark. Nothing to do with the publisher, author or book but I didnt read the bio as well as I should have and I don’t like to read LGTB books. Therefore I didn’t want ti finish since the main characters were that.