Dark folk fantasy vibes with light horror elements, perfect for an enemies/rivals to lovers enthusiast who also enjoys a bit of grump/sunshine in their MC pairings. (Don't we all?!)

Saft's world building is excellent across all works I've read and this story is no exception. The plot is full of difficult to predict twists and turns, which the analytical reader will appreciate.

If you are a fan of stories within stories, MC folklorist Lorelei provides the perfect opportunity to weave folk tales throughout the plot. These provide beautiful and poetic insight into the lore of the world and also maybe a breadcrumb or two. This is definitely a book you can reread and pick up on easter eggs.

Overall this a solid debut entry into the adult genre for Saft. Like myself, you will be left wanting to read more.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is an upcoming adult debut by Allison Saft. This was my first book from her, and I'll say now that I loved her writing style and I fully devoured her words. Her writing feels extremely accessible and is very easy to follow along, with her character descriptions being easy to pick up and her narrative voice being very well suited for fantasy.

This story follows Lorelei (amazing name) who is a folklorist and is going to be going on an expedition with a ragtag group of researchers. They're going to find a magical spring and are being commissioned by the king. However, once onboard, a murder occurs and everyone is a suspect. Among the group is "the folklorist, the naturalist, the botanist, the medic, the thaumatologist and the astronomer.".

Particularly important here is Lorelai's academic rival, Sylvia, described as basically being the most beautiful person ever (at least according to Lorelai), but also all around good person. Or is she? No, she's definitely a good person, as Lorelai discounts her being a murderer from the get go. With the person being murdered being her mentor, Lorelai takes charge of the expedition and the murder case, trying to solve it before someone else becomes a victim.

However, the dangers are not only amongst the people, but also amongst the world itself!! There are Nixie's, pixies, alps, changing forests and just really dangerous climates, to be honest!! How do people live out there? You wouldn't catch me in Brunnestaad.

As you could tell, this novel is heavily based off of German folklore, and something that I really appreciated was that Lorelai could understand something based off of a folk tale that she had grown up on, such as Godfather Death. It was really interesting to have these breaks in the story to be told a similar tale in order to understand our main protagonist's perspective.

There is also a love story here, very queer and very wlw, but with a definite emphasis on cynic x optimist, because boy does Lorelai need an arse kicking. Not that I didn't love her, she was amazing, but if I were Sylvia, I would NOT have been nearly as patient. That's true love, I guess.

In all, I really enjoyed this novel and the dark academia/dark fantasy elements, as well as the magic system and the class system as well, where classism and racism were heavily explored. I think this is a unique world I was transported to where my only criticism is that I wish I could have had longer with it!

Thank you to Netgalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was everything I wanted it to be and MORE.

This book follows Lorelei, a folklorist who is trying to make a name for herself and her people in her studies. Her rival Sylvia, is everything Lorelei wishes she could be. They journey off with a small group to find the Ursprung (the pool with the largest source of aether) for the King. The plot turns a little bit into a murder mystery filled with dark mythical creatures from German folklore.

Every moment of this book was wonderful. The way the scenes are described made me feel like I was in a fairytale. The banter between the characters was numerous, and the love story made me absolutely sob.

The unique magic system was also fabulous. We have magic users who draw their power from water and can manipulate it in any which way.

The plot took me through soo many twists and turns, It never felt lacking. I wish this book became a series because I could live in this dreamland of a book forever.

I will say if I wasn’t translating the names of the mythical creatures on my kindle I might have been a little bit confused, and I wish there was a map to help with visualising the locations of places. I think it would’ve make my reading experience that teeny bit better. The first 4 or so chapters are also very dense, but everything fell into place for me after that and I was having a brilliant time.

Overall, I had a wonderful time and highly recommend! Thank you NetGalley & Daphne Press for approving me for this terrific ARC 🖤

This was a bit of a fun, folklore heavy, sapphic fantasy. Also, surprise! locked room murder mystery! Except it’s not a room but rather a scientific expedition through whimsical forests in search for the source of magic.

This cover art is some of my favourite of the year. I remember being shocked at how stunning this was when it was released initially.

I can see why they marketed this as dark academic (the current popularity alone would be enough reason) but I don’t actually agree on that for a genre fit. For me an important element of dark academia also includes the institution. Whereas in this story the characters are all researches/ scientists but the story occurs on their exploration.

You are kind of just dropped in the deep end with the magical world building and political landscape on this one. King Wilhelm has recently united a number of neighboring countries through war and there is still significant unrest and distrust among the people of the countries and peace is very delicately balanced at the moment.

Considering how feral I am for enemies to lovers as a dynamic I continue to find rivals to lovers a bit uninspiring. I enjoyed Lorelei and Sylvia together later in the book, but I found their initial chemistry a bit flat and like there wasn’t enough of the internal push/pull that comes with the revelation of “oh shit, I misunderstood what this feeling was” which is always part of the fun of this trope. I think in part it’s cause Lorelei is a hard character to like, she’s cold and callous cause the world made her that way, but she is not a character with much warmth (maybe hidden deep deep down). That being said, pretty much everyone in this is pretty unlikeable, with the exception perhaps of Sylvia, so I suspect that’s meant to be the point.

Saft is a very capable writer and the writing craft in this was lovely. I’ll admit though it was not especially ground breaking and the ending didn’t shock me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide my thoughts on this eARC

Allison Saft is an auto-buy author for sure. This was one of my most anticipated reads and it did not disappoint. A sapphic academic rivals to lovers romantasy, this book was perfection! I was captivated by Lorelai and Sylvia’s journey.

From the atmosphere, to the writing, to the characters - everything just fit perfectly. Heart wrenching and utterly entrancing, this is my new favourite book. If you’re looking for dark academia, fantasy, and folklore (with sentient forests), then look no further.

Beautiful prose and stunning characterisations. I loved getting lost in this story with all the folktales woven throughout. There are so many sections I could quote but this completely undid me: “Do you still think me cruel? Would you like to see the depths of it?”. In isolation it doesn’t seem like much, but please read and feel the unbridled yearning between Lorelei and Sylvia. I adored them together and never wanted to leave this world.

I absolutely devoured this book and can’t wait to read the rest of this authors works. I recommend this so highly and have immediately preordered a physical copy!

I absolutely adored this book.

I have read books by this author before however this book was so much darker than her others but still equally as cosy.

This is a sapphic, academic rivals to lovers plot book and it was brilliant.

We follow our two FMC’s on a journey to finding the ultimate power however their course is quickly changed when they encounter a murder on their ship. On their new journey to finding out who done it, we are met with betrayals and heart warming moments.

I would recommend this for lovers of Ava Reid as well - very similar vibes.

Sadly this ended up as. a DNF. I was excited to read this book and had high expectations especially since one of the book boxes will do a special edition.

Sadly this was a let down. I found the info dump in every chapter unhelpful, mostly confusing and making it boring. The characters seemed inhuman with no feelings at all when the leader of the expedition dies. Some areas was repetitive and the characters was irritating. I was expecting a lot more from the book and author.

This has potential for a great book if the excessive info dumps are rewritten. Which currently leads to confusion and boring drawn out chapters. Plus give the characters some empathy, feelings or emotions they’re not robots.

Hopefully someone else will enjoy this book.

Another absolutely fantastic book by Allison Saft! I recently read A Fragile Enchantment and really enjoyed it so I knew I would love this!

If you live all things fantasy, Sapphic romance and dark academia, you will devour this!

In theory this book should have been ideal for me - a sapphic folklore tale based in pseudo-Germany. Somehow it failed on all counts. The sapphic element was tedious (oh she would never like someone like me, I shall hate her, wait she likes me, it can't be true blah blah) and the characters read like YA because they all suck at communicating. Especially Lorelei. The (one measly instance of) sex was boring and mostly consisted of Lorelei telling Sylvia she was going to "ruin her" over and over.

I found all the characters dull and the writing overworked and again more like a YA novel. There's only so much "a seed of bitterness had taken root within her and over the years it had grown wild and sprouted thorns that coiled around her heart," kind of flowery stuff I can take. This style continues through the whole book and I just didn't enjoy it.

The folklore seemed like it was shoehorned in; every now and then Lorelei just spouts off a semi-relevant tale. It felt awkward. The Jewish stuff was ok, I get Lorelei has this inferiority complex, but if she just communicated like a normal person half this book wouldn't need to exist. And seriously what's with the ruining? Maybe I'm just too old and too literal for a book like this.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is a whimsical fantasy where our FMC Lorelei and her academic rival Sylvia must solve their mentors murder. An expedition of folklorists and naturalists is taken to find a hidden source of magic but when Lorelei’s mentor is murdered, the suspects are the five remaining expedition crew. This fantasy has folklore, a smart, sharp-tongued and witty FMC who must now lead the expedition and solve the murder.

🧚‍♀️ Sapphic fantasy
🪷 Academic rivalry
🌲 Folklore and magic
🍃Strong FMCs
🌊 whimsical fairytale themes

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The writing throughout this book is really stunning, it leaves you wanting to read more and I couldn’t put the book down. This book has whimsical themes that entrap you into the story.

I absolutely loved this and cannot wait for more people to read it 🧚‍♀️🌲🪷🍃🌊🌲

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this amazing book! I finished it and immediately wanted more, it has become one of my top books for the year so far!

The world building was immaculately done and I felt immersed in this world of folklore, magic and exploration. I loved learning about the folklore and different mythical creatures and I went in not knowing a lot about german folklore and mythical creatures to googling them all to learn more! I found it really fascinating and the lores really gave the overall story a great background and support to the plot.

The characters are perfect! They are expertly written and I felt deeply connected to them. I think I might be a little bit in love with Sylvia, and I'm left wanting so much more from her and Lorelei; I want to follow them on their next adventures and it felt like closing a chapter on friends when I finished the book. I rarely have this much emotional connection with characters from a single book, so Allison Saft poured some magic into these characters!
I loved the enemies/rivals to lovers and the ever-growing tension kept me enthralled. It felt like a natural course for our main characters, rather than it feeling engineered as it can in some enemies to lovers. Lorelei and Sylvia are the best and worst of each other, their dynamic is impeccable and I wish there were more books to follow their journey because I would devour them.

There is an undercurrent of challenging anti-Semitism throughout the book, and we see how Lorelei paints herself as the villain in her self-hatred and self-destructive way, because she believes this is that all anyone will see her as anyway. Her experiences of being a Yevani, the discrimination, the hatred, the abuse and the way all of these things have shifted her view of the world into a dark and dangerous place for her to live, really come to life in the book. However the way that she continues to fight, to challenge people's expectations of her and forge forward to find a better way for her people is beautiful, as is Sylvia's adoration for Lorelei no matter the challenges they face.

This book is a beautiful, dark, sapphic fairytale romance that will truly capture your heart and imagination. It has easily become one of my top reads for the year and I can't wait until it's realised so I can get a physical copy and stare at this gorgeous cover all day long.

I don’t quite know how to feel about this book… much like Sylvia and Lorelei’s feelings for each other, there is a very strong sense of love and hate for the whole thing.

I liked the plot and the writing, but struggled with Lorelei’s character in particular, who I found had no redeeming aspects whatsoever. Why on Earth would Sylvia have been pining for her for years? In her own words -Lorelei is rude and her self pity is both exhausting and boring. As an ethnic minority I appreciate the highlighting of the effects of racism, but I felt too frequently it was just too on the nose; too much telling without showing.

The interwoven folktales also had the potential to be really magical, but unfortunately they felt ill-placed at times, and inserted, rather than incorporated.

I love the LGBTQ+ rep and that, amongst racism and classism, this was one aspect that wasn’t problematised.

Maybe it was just me but I also struggled with the multitude of side characters, none of whom were fleshed out enough to be memorable. Until the very end, I had no idea who was who, from where, with what loyalties.

Loved the happy ending though!

4.5 stars

This might be the most stunning cover I've ever seen.

Thank you so much to Daphne Press and NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. A Dark and Drowning Tide was on my 2024 release radar so I was so honoured to be able to read it before its release later this year.

My gosh, this is utterly, utterly gorgeous. A dark academia, rivals-to-lovers, sapphic romance, tale that is utterly dripping with German folklore, and adorned in flora, fauna, and water-based magic.

The prose is rich, including that of Lorelai as she comes to terms with her emotions, and the novel is littered with folklore tales that explore the prejudice that resides within them. The world-building is wholly immersive and the expanse of creatures inspired by Germanic folklore make regular appearances throughout. I almost forgot I was reading throughout most of it as I just wanted to be dropped into the gorgeous yet tricksy sentient forest.

The story follows the our FMC, Lorelai, an outcast at her university and suffering with the trauma of her past. She is then chosen by her mentor to join five other companions on an expedition to seek out a mythological body of water that is the source of magic for the King. One of the other candidates for the expedition is Lorelai's own academic rival, the ethereal silver-haired Sylvia Von Wolff who is the purest of souls wanting to respect and bond with all creatures, no matter the dangers that they present.

The slow-burn romance between Lorelai and Sylvia is full of angst, yearning, tension, and longing, which is slowly drip-fed to us throughout the book. We don't get to know the rest of the expedition team as thoroughly as Lorelai and Sylvia so sometimes their we don't quite understand their actions until a little more is revealed.

I'd recommend this to anyone and everyone that loves fairytales, magical creatures, epic quest narratives, and devastating romances.

Thank you to Netgalley and Daphne press for approving the ARC for my honest review.

I liked the book it had a lot of twists and turns I just thought that it will be more focused on the murder mystery part, but it was a very minor plot in my opinion. Some of the bickering was a little too much of downright hating and not tension but the last 30% of the book was just perfect! It was really a nice way to conclude the book and the overall story.

Lorelai Kaskel feels like the world is out to get her - and for the most part it is. As a child she took a chance to reach out to her idol, Ziegler, now mentor, and has risen to be named co-leader of her expedition to find the source of magic in the world, the Ursprung. Unfortunately, she’s just found Ziegler’s body, and unless she can uncover the murderer, will be named culprit herself.

This book at its heart is two mysteries: who killed Ziegler (and what do they want?), and where is the Ursprung? More importantly, however, it is a devastating romance.

The worldbuilding itself is strongly tied to allegories of our real world, borrowing names and languages where relevant, but with added whimsical magic beings. Scheming and tricksy magic beings, the kind with sharp teeth and a desire to injure those who have harmed them. Sylvia is pure of heart and wants to learn from these creatures by bonding with them, while Lorelai has already seen too much of the world’s cruelty and wants to protect herself. The women are introduced as polar opposite characters, which weaves and fluctuates between them as the novel goes on.

The pacing is perfect in this book - no one sequence, fight, in-world folk tale, etc. goes on for too long. The prose is beautiful, giving enlightening descriptions while delving deep into Lorelai’s emotions - even as she herself isn’t paying attention to what they might mean.

The other characters in the band of friends (questionably) are fleshed out well enough, but you don’t get close enough to any of them to figure out for yourself who might have killed Ziegler, which does leave them feeling quite at arm’s length. However, I assume this is intentional, as the 5 of them have been friends since childhood and grown up together, leaving Lorelai feeling on the outside due to this, as well as her own culture/background.

We as the readers are fully aware of the depth of Lorelai’s feelings for Sylvia, through her obsessive “hatred” - she just had to read all of Sylvia’s books and learn her favourite colour so that she could be informed in her hatred, ok?! The romance building in this book is devastating, it’s heartbreaking, and it’s beautiful. There’s so much yearning that it brought me to tears, as well as Lorelai being an utterly useless sapphic and not understanding her own emotions (or anyone else’s intentions).

It’s just a truly wonderful ride, including the mysteries not being too predictable, and getting to enjoy some fae trickery. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a sapphic romance with a hint of fantasy/folklore. I’m rating a 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

This book to me is a combination of fantasy, 'whodunnit' and romance. The leader of an expedition to find the source of an untold power is murdered. Lorelei and Sylvia determine it must be one of their group. The story is a mix of the investigation, trying to find the source and romance (eventually) between the two women. I was not sure what to expect but found it quite enjoyable to read.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I'VE READ THIS YEAR SO FAR. SUPER LOVELY. SUPER WELL WRITTEN. THE PLOT IS FANTASTIC. LOVED EVERYTHING

A beautiful fantastical tale revolving around an expedition to locate a fabled spring. Combining academia, folklore, rivalries and a sapphic romance. It is beautifully written and absolutely my cup of tea. Most of that characters are fairly unlikeable which some people may struggle with but I love it when everyone has secrets and no one can trust anyone else.
I have to admit that I wasn’t fully invested in the romance but it was a minor niggle rather than a big stumbling block. The two characters just didn’t seem to have that sort of chemistry between them.
The book isn’t particularly fast paced but more than kept me invested and wanting to read more.

Thank you for the ARC! I loved this story, it was extremely well written. Will definitely be on the lookout for more books by this author!