Let me preface by saying. I was sucked in to this book in no small part due to its GORGEOUS cover. That, and a shameless weakness for a good antagonistic / enemies to lovers plot line that will never be overdone in my book no matter how many times it's done. Point being, as a whole however I can't say that it is my usual literary bread and butter, but from a casual consumer of fantasy I can say that I enjoyed it quite a bit! There is a lot of really fantastic world building throughout the story that, for me at least, hit that sweet spot between fantasy with delicate tethers to reality to keep it easily digestible for the less die hard crowd where fantasy is concerned.

I enjoyed the mystery element and found having it interwoven was a huge part of what kept me going (not much of a romance reader, while we're at it).

The only real issue for me (and this could relate back to fantasy not being my usual genre of choice) was that it oftentimes felt like I was reading a very beautiful report versus a story. What I mean by that, is that I found it difficult to connect to the characters in a deeper way. So while I wanted to know what happened, and I am happy to have read the book overall, I didn't necessarily find myself snoozing my alarm to sneak in another few pages. I hesitate to mark down for that, because again I think that could be more of a reader to book match issue than a weakness in the work itself.

Overall, I'm happy I had a chance to read A Dark and Drowning Tide and could see myself picking up another book by Allison Saft going forward, I definitely will be recommending it to anyone in my circles with an interest in fantasy, world building, and/or folklore!

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, and Allison Saft for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

(This review will be posted on my goodreads upon publication)

oh my god?? it's like her writing gets better every time so i have to say this one is my favorite book of hers!

there's so much i can talk about like the characters (lorelei and sylvia have my heart), the atmospheric settings and THE DESCRIPTIONS!!! and let's not forget the actual plot (which the mystery made me feel so stupid, i don't know how i didn't realize)

i cried so many times while reading it's not even funny. it was everything.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc!

Wow wow wow. I have not has a book hook me from the first page and this one did exactly that. The cover is beautiful as well. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this. Looking forward to more works by Allison Saft!

First of all I want to thank Netgalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC!
I am giving this a 5/5 review. Enemies to Lover? Sign me up! This book had me sucked in. With mystery, fantasy, romance and everything in between it gives you a little bit of everything. Our MC Lorelei is sassy and flawed. I loved the fact that the characters were flawed. I feel like this helps us readers to relate more to the characters. The writing was great and kept you engaged. The ending I did not see coming it was a big twist. I am looking forward to reading more from Allison Saft.

Lorelei Has dreams of being a naturalist in order to do so she had to she has to find a certain something for her king on the way to her journey she loses someone very close to her an has to solve the murder while trying to fend off other creatures, while trying to retrieve, said item !! This book was an adventure twists an turns left an right I absolutely loved this book and the cover is so beautiful

Gothic sapphic rivals pining for each other? Sign me up!

Lorelei Kaskel, the kingdom’s folklorist, must set out on an expedition for a mythical spring with six nobles and her beautiful academic rival Sylvia von Wolff. The trip is off to a bad start when the leader, Lorelei’s mentor, is murdered. Together with Sylvia, the two must discover the culprit and the secrets of the Spring, before an undeserving noble seeks it for themselves.

The mystery, mythical creatures, and magic were great additions to the story, but the real gem is the romance. Lorelei and Sylvia, their dialogue, rivalry, and pining scenes, all swoon-worthy perfection. It is slow, and is secondary to the plot, but so worth it. This book is a great read, the author never misses.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC.

➼ 4.5 ☆
~ thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a cop in exchange for my honest review !!

This was my first Alisson Saft book and needless to say, I'll definitely be reading her other works. I was desperately hoping to love this book, since I absolutely adored the premise, and I'm so glad that it didn't disappoint.

In this book, you read about love, bravery, and cruelty, among so many other things. The tale has been interwind with so many different topics so beautifully that I adored it so much. Some of the quotes hold such a close place to my heart. The writing was so elegant and enticing, I adored it. The way things were described, quotes were said, and characters were writing was enthralling. Everything pulled me in. The way this book was crafted was honestly so ethereal to me, it gave me this... feeling. I loved it, i loved that feeling.

The characters were well written, but it felt as if you could only connect to them to a certain level. I couldn't figure out exactly why, but it frustrated me at certain times. You knew what the characters were feeling, but you weren't 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 what they were feeling. While I adored Lorelei and Sylvia, I wasn't able to connect to them as much as I wanted!

The romance was amazing. I loved the fact that it was a sapphic rivals to lovers, a trope that I've never read before but I feel like it was written perfectly. I do wish that it showed how Sylvia started to gradually care about her more because it seemed to come out of almost nowhere but it didn't feel entirely choppy. Overall, I adore how their relationship was written!!

The plot was amazing. I did 𝘯𝘰𝘵 guess who would turn out to be the killer, even though I had strong suspicions on who it was which turned out to be completely incorrect. I lovelovelove how the story was told and the twists that happened. I feel as if the final product wasn't one that I was fully expecting or one that added up for me but at the same time it did. I had a lot of conflicting thoughts about it!

Overall, this is one of the best books I've read this year! It's definitely a favorite and I cannot wait to get my hands on the physical copy because that cover is absolutely 𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴. I've fallen so in love with Lorelei and Sylvia so much, I was screaming over them holding hands. It's definitely a book I would recommend reading and I enjoyed reading it so much. This being the first arc I've ever gotten, I'm so happy I loved it! I'll definitely be reading more of the author's works because I adore her writing style <3

𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴

I was honored to receive this book as an ARC to review, The book is a wonderful mixture of mystery, and romance. The minute I saw the beautiful cover I was immediately intrigued. This story is very well written...the way the author describes things makes it so easy to imagine and paint the picture of the world, without it becoming overly descriptive to the point of dragging on.

If you love dark fantasy, romance, mystery, and especially if you love books with a touch of folklore....this read is for you.

The end will have you on the edge of your seat and you will finish with no regrets!

I rated this book 4.25/5

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher Del Rey/Random House, and the author Allison Saft, for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A Dark and Drowning Tide read like a cozy mystery fantasy. Though there were dark elements to the story, the world was written so whimsically that I couldn’t help but get lost in it. That being said, I wish there was some kind of mini dictionary or clever inserts of information to explain some of the magic terms and backstory a bit more. Sometimes I wondered if I skipped whole pages because suddenly I was reading about something that seemed to come out of nowhere.

The characters were interesting and some had and engaging depth. The banter between the characters was sometimes enjoyable and other times slightly unrealistic and cringey. I like my romances slow burn and this burn was SLOW in the best way. Unfortunately I felt the last conflict between the main characters was a bit rushed. I also craved more moments of bids for connection from Sylvia and tension before Lorelei opens up.

This was my first read from Allison Saft. It was beautifully written and I look forward to her other works.

WHAT. DID. I. JUST. READ. Perfection. Perfection is what I read. The cover? Absolutely STUNNING. But knowing that it was rivals to lover sapphics so me. I will admit that I'm not a huge 3rd person POV girlie. So, it was really hard for me to get through the first few chapters. But let me tell you… once you finish that first couple chapters, the MAGIC begins. The tension, angst, banter… UGH!!! MY HEART!!!
Now that I finished I don’t know what to do, I became far too attached to the characters… This is quite literally the best rivals to lovers book i have EVER read (so far).

An enchanting story filled with lush romantic tension, intricate worldbuilding, and a sprinkling of stories within stories.

I rated this book 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher (Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine), and the author Allison Saft, for approving me for the ARC of this book.

I haven't read anything by Allison Saft before, and I have to say I felt like this was a great novel and was very well written. I really liked the combination of murder-mystery along with fantasy and adventure. Even the medical explanations of the murders were well-researched, which I respect. I also really enjoyed all of the folklore sprinkled in, I think it really added to the world-building aspect of the novel. All of the various creatures the characters encountered while on their quest were pretty neat to learn about as well, also adding to my interest in this universe that Allison created. The characters were all also very well-developed. While I thoroughly enjoyed the cast of characters, I found myself kind of annoyed with Lorelei; she was kind of petty and unlikeable. That being said, I do understand that she had suffered a lot by the hands of others throughout her life, so I don't blame her, and it gave her character more depth. Over time she did kind of become a bit endearing to me.

The only thing about this story that I wasn't truly invested in was Lorelei's relationship/feelings for Sylvia (and vice versa). First of all, Lorelei seemed to really despise Sylvia; she was always so jealous, even after everything that happened between them. It was extremely toxic. Additionally, Sylvia's actions towards Lorelei never seemed to give any indication that she was into her at any point other than rivals (maybe this was because the story was told from Lorelei's perspective?). It all seemed kind of forced and didn't make sense to me. That might just be my own issue, however, because I'm not really a fan of the enemies to lovers/the rich princess falling for the peasant tropes. For how well-rounded this novel was, the romance aspect just seemed kind of basic and fell short for me.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book, because I feel like it was very well-rounded and had a little bit of something for everyone. I will post to my Goodreads account and my Instagram once it is officially published.

Lorelei Kaskel is a sharp-tongued folklorist must pair up with her academic rival, Sylvia von Wolff, to solve their mentor's murder in this lush and enthralling sapphic fantasy romance.

The book is part murder mystery, part crime thriller, part fantasy, and part romance. Regardless of what it could be categorized as, this book is just so vivid --- from the characters to the monsters to the scenery, everything just magically came alive in my mind. You can feel the harsh injustice done to Lorelei and the Yevan people (who are Jewish) in the story. The tension between Lorelei and Sylvia is just *chef's kiss*.

I loved the folktales and folklore woven into the story. It provides a much more colorful description and understanding that a simple descriptive sentence and so many of the tales or lore were ones that I had heard or read over the years (I am a sucker for a folktale).

I DID NOT see the ending coming -- which is a huge plus for me as I tend to predict the ending of mysteries with some accuracy. I had no idea who was going to be the murderer until it was revealed.

Definitely a must read for those into dark academia, fantasy, folklore, and sapphic romance!

Thank you to Del Rey, the publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book for an honest review!

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
Ugh. I LOVED this book.
This is such a good gloomy, slow burn, enemies to lovers fantasy. Lorelei and Sylvia were such strong characters and really balanced each other out perfectly.
I wished some other characters were fleshed out a little more, but it’s a small complaint in comparison to how much I liked this book.
Reading from Lorelei perspective instead of Sylvia was such a different take. I’m often reading from the love interest that doesn’t understand why the other hates them and this book gave me something different. I won’t give anything else away here. Definitely worth a read 5/5.

Good fantasy, although admittedly not quite what I was expecting or looking for at the time. The social commentary is exceedingly relevant and the worldbuilding is interesting, but I just wasn't grabbed as much as I wanted to be. Still, if you're a fan of the author's previous work, I think it's worth checking out. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5/5- This was my first book of Allison Saft's that I have read, and it certainly won't be the last. The writing was eloquent and easy to follow, and with a beautiful cover and witty protagonist, this book had all the right things in it, but it did not completely work for me. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable read.

I adored Loralei and Sylvia's connection as it unfolded throughout the book, however the reveal where Sylvia confessed that she had been infatuated with Loralei for years was a bit of a surprise. If there was more tension and background/build up for this, I think the romance would've made more sense with the surprise reveal. The novel also read like a YA novel, so once it got to the spicier scenes I had completely forgotten it was supposed to be in the adult genre. It felt more of a scratch on the surface of the adult genre, with more of a YA feel of the characters and romance in general. I wish there was more world building and background of all the characters as well. I was not attached to the secondary characters at all, and the murder mystery did not feel like a complete mystery with the constant accusations with minimal proof other than "they have a motive" between the other characters, a handful of which that die off.

I really enjoyed the mythology and gothic setting of this novel otherwise. I think it was a great approach into the adult genre for Saft. It can really be seen that a lot of research was done with tying in Jewish heritage and aspects in the world. Seeing Loralei rise in a world that is constantly against her just based on what her heritage is was empowering to read. The rivalry dynamic between our sapphic lovers was enjoyable to follow, especially once they both recognize that not only do they need each other's help, but they also are in love with each other. Loralei was a witty and entertaining protagonist to follow. A Dark and Drowning Tide scratches that gothic itch I have been wanting to scratch, and is a great read for the spooky season it will be releasing in next year.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Really enjoyed this. It was spooky and atmospheric. Great writing and story. I loved it a lot. I just wish the motivations were a bit clearer. Loved the inclusion of fairytales. Highly recommend this to fans of academia gothic novels.

A Dark and Drowning Tide
By Allison Saft
A review by Jamilla (@LandsAwayBooks on Wordpress.com)

Allison Saft’s adult debut entrances at first, but there is a bitterness in the aftertaste. A Dark and Drowning Tide sets you down in the strange and seemingly charming Brunnestaad, a Kingdom recently united by a successful war campaign lead by their young ruler. But beneath the gild lies rot.

In this world, where back in the day wishes held power, lives all manner of wildeleute, creatures … and flora of great mischief and danger, taken straight from folklore along with an intriguing magic, aether, drawn from the waterways.

We follow our intrepid grump of a heroine, a graduate folklorist, off on her first official king sanctioned expedition with a group of deposed (in the great unification!) royals, their shared childhoods, and divergent fields of study making strange bonds between them and the leader, the well known adventurer and naturalist Dr. Ziegler. The goal of the expedition, nothing less than finding the Ursprung - ‘the fabled source of all magic’, bubbling with power for the taking….if you’re worthy, or if you’re willing to pay the price to reach out and take it.

As it stands, A Dark and Drowning Tide, has a lot going for it: delicate prose, a bewitching world filled with all sorts of creatures, an intriguing magic system, murder at sea! betrayal!, folklore weaving throughout tying it all together and at the end a really sweet romance with a nice side of angst. A lovely bridge for those who mostly read YA to try their hands with the adult genre, I certainly had a good time sinking beneath its surface.

But. But. But. Buttttttt.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is marketed as an adult debut. But the introspection and depths I would hope for in a book such as this were barely plundered. It touches on identity and the vital pieces of ourselves we carve away to try to fit into systems that see us as less than gravel beneath their feet, referring often to Lorilei’s place…or rather displacement in this world where her being Yevani is reviled by most of the population, the bolder of which, meeting the revelation of her ethnicity with violence. This aspect, was one in which I had hoped would be explored more at the conclusion of the story. As all that Lorelei has wanted for herself, professionally, has been achieved. A yeva in the court, but the Yevani still in their ghettos? Not seen as citizens in their own country? Ever rootless?

Not that it can ever take only one person to save a people, in the real world anyway, but in this story rife with fairytales and wonder, I wish a more just ending had been dreamed up for the Yevani people. I wish that this book was more than just the uwu a gothic romance, grumpy x sunshine, adversaries to lovers featuring a jewish sapphic than it ended up being.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

If you liked A Study in Drowning, you will love A Dark and Drowning Tide in this sapphic fantasy romance!

A big thank you to Penguin Random House, Allison Saft and NetGalley for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review! It is greatly appreciated!

Allison Saft does it again. I was absolutely captivated from the very beginning of this enchanting and gripping fantasy. I think I found a new auto-buy author!

Saft’s writing was utterly immersive and beautifully woven to create a book you just have to devour in one sitting. Saft took inspiration from folklore that just added to the overall vibe of the book!

With hints of dark academia, this book is filled to the brim with dark imagery, mystery and intruige and an addictive plot that keeps you wanting more and more.

We see the world through the perspective of the brooding love interest which added such a fun twist to this book!

I loved the characters in this book! They were well fleshed out and I loved seeing how their character developed throughout the book!

I highly recommend this book! Saft’s enchanting writing style will grip you from the very beginning!

I devoured this book! A dark academia, rivals to lovers, sapphic romance?? What more could I want. What really hooked me into this story though, was the mystery right out of the gate. It added such an amazing extra layer to the story that had me guessing the whole way through. Saft has created a mystical, dark, and enticing world that had me captivated from the first page.

Lorelei is an amazing main character. She is so broody and blunt and tortured that you are rooting so hard for her. And then compared against the magical and wistful Sylvia, you just want to smoosh them together ASAP. Their romance was so perfect and they had the perfect rivals to lovers arc that felt so right.

Really, for me, what made this book a 5 star, was Saft's beautiful story telling. Not only does she know how to create a magical world, but she really excelled at crafting an atmospheric novel here. She did an amazing job building suspense, intrigue, mystery and a lot of other emotions simply through her prose. I was in awe. I am obsessed with this and cannot wait for everyone else to get their hands on it.