OMG well that's how I feel about Allison Saft books in general.

Her adult debit did not disappoint. I loved the 2 main characters and it was such a magical world.

The slow burn was so good and the relationship was just beautiful.

Lost a star because the story was very confusing at points.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy!
I really enjoyed this sapphic romance, and it had incredible fairytale/folklore stories throughout that i absolutely loved.
The MC is Jewish, and I really like the representation. The world building was fantastic, and I was really drawn in.
Overall I thought the book was great, the end was a bit abrupt for me, but maybe I just didn’t want to close the book on this fascinating world.

Such a good read. Literally kept me guessing the whole time. Kinda dark academia kinda murder mystery. Lorelei was absolutely everything.

Allison Saft continues to make me fall in love with her books and A Dark and Drowning Tide was no exception. I love these dark worlds that she creates and the way her characters are written. It leaves you wanting too dive head first into the words and not stop until the book is over. Another great additional.

This is some of the best sapphic enemies to lovers I have ever read. I am a devoted fan of Saft, and I would say that this may even be my favorite work of hers. She has a unique ability in the fantasy space to set her characters on a journey we haven’t seen before. While A Dark and Drowning Tide has its share of court intrigue, the center of the plot is a scientific expedition that gives ample opportunity for tensions to build and sparks to fly.

This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft is a strong entry in the Sapphic romantic fantasy catalogue. Lorelai and Sylvia are two young academics who share the goal of going on an expedition to find the source of magic but are often at odds due to their differing personalities.

The synopsis alone made me crave this book but the cover? The prose? Everything about it screamed dark fairy tales and the book absolutely delivers. The prose hangs on poetic, lush descriptions much like Saft’s other works while recognizing the negative treatment of Jewish people in fairy tales through Lorelai’s POV as well as the unflinching way real life Jewish people were treated in Europe historically.

Opening with a bang, the book makes it clear that Lorelai has negative feelings towards Sylvia while also painting Sylvia as incredibly attractive, kind, and maddeningly gallant. The class differences and how Lorelai and her people are treated by the expedition group and the larger society they live in are a further obstacle between them.

Lorelai’s distrust of others is given quite a bit of emotional and thematic weight while Sylvia’s honest and charismatic nature plays against that same distrust to create a compelling romance that builds steadily.

The expedition to the Urspring, a place of incredible magic, hits a roadblock when Ziegler, the head of the expedition and Lorelai’s mentor, is murdered and leaves Lorelai in charge to find her mentor’s murderer while also continuing the search. The Urspring is to be used as a political tool and the dialogue and character interactions among this small group reveals the moving parts of the noble families in charge of the various territories brought together into one country.

I would recommend this to readers looking for Sapphic romantic fantasy, expeditions to find sources of magic, and fans of fairy tales. I would not recommend this to readers looking for romance to be the main plot.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Though I knew the ages of the characters, they read about that age, and there was a sex scene, I was very surprised to finish the book, and find out that it was Adult. I'd been assuming it was teen due to the tone, and I think a book like this has a lot of easy crossover in such. I did really enjoy the Judaism that played such a large role in it, and there were parts I identified with-- the city verses rural, where cities were generally "safer" to be, and how it can feel at odds with others yearning for different times. I also really liked the complicated friendships between most of the travelers who'd grown up together.

Lorelei I did like and her rivalry with Sylvia felt very believable, as did her entirely too slow realization Sylvia was genuinely deeply into her. However, I felt more interested in the lowkey romance between Heike and Adelheid-than Lorelei and Sylvia- not enough to give up Lorelei as a main character, but finding their situation more catching of my interest.

The murder mystery. . . I'm not sure if I was reading into it too much, but it felt as if a different suspect was being primed for the readers, only to be actually, fullheartedly trustworthy. Little clues were dropped, but a red herring that served to. . . be only that. Or maybe I was overthinking, but I found myself truly hoping it had been them, even though it would have completely changed the book itself. I think I might have enjoyed it more? Discussion that were had were still good though.

I also liked the deconstruction of war heroes. It was brief, not gone into very much, but I think it'll be important for the next book, if there's to be a companion book. If there is, I look forward to reading it!

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book a lot. There's a thick air of gothic charm over the entire book, especially when coupled with the murder mystery element. Where this book shines the most, though, is the main character, Lorelei. She's stubborn and grumpy and prickly and a little dumb and I love her a lot. Her relationship--from hatred to reluctant allies to something like friends to something like more--with Sylvia is an absolute joy. I will say that I wish the other characters around Lorelei were a bit more fleshed out. It's not that they weren't to a degree; it's just I felt like they could've used a bit more to really make them stand-out, despite not being the main focus.

I especially loved the exploration of culture and power and how easily the majority can demonize and villainize the minority. I think the magic, too, was interesting--magic is based solely through water and the way that manifests and works in the world is very fascinating.

My biggest issue was that I felt like the murder mystery portion lacked a little something and that the ending was a bit too abrupt. I read another comment that mentioned that the story would've been a bit more interesting if the book focused more on the political intrigue lurking in the background and I agree. Especially because while the motive for the murder made (sort of) sense, given how much focus is placed on it in the story, it needed a bit more to really be satisfying.

Also, this is just a minor thing, but while I did like the inclusion of fairytales in the book itself, there were times when they popped up during a moment of tension and I really wish they wouldn't have. It sort of bled a bit of urgency out of the moment. Not entirely, but enough that it took me a little out of the story.

Overall though, I feel like this is a fun read for Sylvia and Lorelei's relationship alone. Definitely worth picking up if you appreciate some sapphics being hopeless and a little dumb (affectionately, of course).

My HEART.

The writing, the prose, the tone, the atmosphere. This book is rich and decadent - poetic and lyrical.

Lorelei is unforgiving. She is harsh and blunt and pragmatic. All the things she thinks have made her stronger are actually her biggest weaknesses. I love an unlikable main character who has a beautiful arc. It's one of my favorite devices in a book. Lorelei was the most grand, spectacular and beautiful version of that archetype that I have ever read. She has a lot of trauma, but even working through that trauma and learning to bring her walls down does not change her. Her lived experiences have made her who she is - and love or anything else under the sun is not going to change that. She learns to warm up, to accept small doses of love, but she is still a brutal and pessimistic creature. I absolutely love that she doesn't change. Too often character arcs move a character towards an enlightening where they have a sudden bout of happiness and drop their cool mask of indifference. But that mask is part of Lorelei and despite everything she learns about herself it is still part of her.


The world in this book is also lush and beautifully built. We move through areas quickly but each one stands out and feels tangible. My only qualms in the entirety of the experience reading this beautiful book were a few plot holes and misstep here and there that are hopefully adjusted before publication. Who sent the creature after her? How was her necklace ripped off but it still around her neck in later books? Why was the button never explained? I also wish the creatures were explained a bit more in depth before popping up. Even with these few points this book was brilliant. Absolutely remarkable down to every dot of ink on the page.

"𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐… 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦." 𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. "𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰, 𝘐…𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦."

the TENSION, the YEARNING, the PINING between these two almost made me want to rip my hair out, yet I enjoyed every second of it. Every interaction between them had me waiting with bated breath, anticipating, DYING to know if this would finally be the moment one of them would act.

𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵.

I’m literally foaming at the mouth.

"𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦," 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. "𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭?
𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵?"

I would have immediately folded.

a beautiful and heartbreaking, 𝓐 𝓓𝓪𝓻𝓴 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓓𝓻𝓸𝔀𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓣𝓲𝓭𝓮 brings the sharp sting of betrayal, the soothing balm of finally finding where you belong and the terrifying rush of finally letting yourself be open to love.
this dark fairytale is fully ready to unhinge it’s jaw and swallow you whole.

(I literally need to know if the alp finally got it’s damn coffee)

thank you to the publisher & to NetGalley for letting me read and review an advanced reader’s copy of this book

I’d like to thank Netgalley for this arc!

And now I must admit my vanity….that cover was what gripped me. It was my sole purpose for wanting to read this. However, I stayed for the storytelling and its pacing. I love how well this is written and I honestly couldn’t read this fast enough.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the characters in it! I fell in love with Saft’s writing style, it felt like I was feeling what the characters felt at that moment.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for allowing me access to to the E-arc.

4.5*

Wow! This arc was so good! I enjoyed all the vibes that it gave. The two main characters were very interesting and captivating. I enjoyed their stories so much. It would be awesome to have character artwork of them. I really liked the fact that the plot was fast paced. It was hard to put it down. Im so glad that i got to read this.

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes a more gothic tale! I look forward to reading more from this author.

I read and enjoyed Down Comes the Night, one of the author's YA books, and so was very excited to see that the author was putting out a fantasy for adults! It was not dissimilar to the YA book I read - a gothic fantasy centered around a core mystery all tinged with horror. And she pulled it off! There's an immediate closed door murder mystery, loads of court intrigue, and tons of folklore and worldbuilding, mostly of the fae variety, but with lots of cool critters I had never encountered (and I've read soooooo many fairy books, y'all). The mc is Jewish, so there's loads of commentary around anti-semitisim, which feels unfortunately timely. And romance can be very hit or miss for me, but I really enjoyed it here. 4 stars - I really liked it! Would generally recommend to adult fantasy readers or mature teens.

I'm conflicted on how to feel about this read, I was so excited to pick this up early but was left feeling a bit disappointed. The overall plot and writing was intriguing but not enough really keep me invested or willing to convince myself to look past what I wasn't vibing with. All thoughout the book, the writing seemed like it was overcompensating when the pacing would slow down and when it would pick up I was so uninterested I didn't catch myself getting back into the story or its characters. I'm still a huge fan of this author and I can't wait to see what else is released in the future, but unfortunately this one was a bit of a miss for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

There were times I enjoyed this and other times I really didn’t. The world was interesting and is full of lots of folklore and traditional fantasy and magic, but I felt like with a standalone we didn’t really get to delve into it too much. It also read very much like a YA novel, instead of adult. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing it just wasn’t what I was expecting. The romance in the novel fell flat for me. It was very much enemies and then wam bam now they are in love. It felt very unexpected. In the end I think many people will like this, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. There were definitely times I was interested and I have no doubt I’ll pick up another Alison Saft book in the future. This one was maybe just not quite for me.

4.5⭐️

This was academic rivals at its finest. And an adorable love story as well.
If you liked Emily Wildes Encyclopedia of Faeries but wanted more adventure, this is the book.
A murder mystery that kept me guessing until the very end.
On a more serious note, this book covers the topic of antisemitism in a way that is not to over-handed.
I though this truly was a beautiful book.

Not my thing. Too much misogyny. Mean characters. Granted I picked this book up because I saw it on my fyp so I didn’t even know what it was about. My fault. First and last book by this author. Definitely a DNF for me. I bet it’s an amazing book but I’m a character driven person and I simply didn’t like the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.
Academic rivals, their mentor, and a group of others that are the top of their various fields are all sent out on a quest by their prince. Their mission? To find the source of all magic. There is tension amidst the group, which quickly turns to suspicion after one of the members of the group is found murdered. Who caused this death? Could it be one of their own? Or perhaps another reason caused it… An absolutely beautiful tale! Filled with folklore, mystery, adventure, creatures, magic, and love.

I have now officially read three Allison Saft novels. This is her adult debut. A sapphic dark academia with a murder mystery and academic rivals to lovers, all tropes that I freaking LOVE. Not gonna lie, sometimes I felt like Lorelei was autistic and managed to turn her special interest/hyperfixation into a career (but then again that's me as well sooo...). This was insanely atmospheric and haunting and beautiful.