3.5 ⭐

Starting off with Pros, Allison Saft had such beautiful writing, it was honestly so refreshing to read something so lyrical and well-written. The writing tied into the setting and characteristics of the plant life and magical creatures quite well, as well as the characters. I loved the sapphic romance, the pining and tension was everything!!!, was done so well, and the slow-burn was just timed right. Sylvia and Lorelei as characters were fun to read about and written well, I loved the intertwining of Jewish folklore and identity around Lorelei's character.

On the other hand, With the cons, this book (particularly to me) held a slight pro-colonial narrative. The way the world building is done, how the Lorelei is forced to work for the same man who conquered and took over her own people's land, also holding vile antisemitic beliefs against her and her people, it was kind of weird reading about the characters acceptance of the reality they were living in. The initial usage of colonialism as a world building narrative made sense within the setting, however as time went on it started to give a slight pro-colonialism with the outcome and reasoning of the murder mystery driving home the pro-colonial narrative.

4-

A sapphic love story, a fantasy quest and a whodunnit all rolled into one sounds like pretty much the perfect book, and I was so ready to fall in love with it. However, that didn't quite happen.

A group set out from the capital of the fictional Brunnestaad in search of the Ursprung - the font of all magic, at the behest of king Willem. They are 5 priviliged childhood friends of the king, all with different skill sets, Yevanish folklorist Lorelei and professor Ziegler, the expedition's leader - who is murdered on their first day aboard the ship by one of the 6 other people on the expedition. Lorelei, the second in command, is tasked with finding out what happened while continuing on the expedition. Sounds exciting, no?

It kind of is. It definitely has its moments, and there were parts I loved. I had a good time every time I picked the book up. But.. I didn't fall for it, didn't connect as strongly as I had hoped.

There are several reasons for this. One of them being the very thinly veiled allusions to Jews vs Germany. The Yevanish are Jewish in all but name, they even live in a Jewish ghetto, and words like pogrom and shiva are used throughout. And all of the names in Brunnestaad sound decidedly Germanic - never mind Johann and his order of.. wolves, was it? I just personally do not enjoy when fantasy writers do this. I want a world that is not our own, not something that's so transparently referencing real world history. It's also one of the reasons I didn't take to Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. I'm not a Christian, and I welcome literature that's critical of religion and offers different viewpoints and things that make you reconsider. But with fantasy I simply want to get lost in a world of magic and imagination.

Also, Lorelei - our protagonist, is hard to like. I get that she has a right to feel bitter and betrayed but it all gets a bit exhausting and while I didn't wish her ill, I also wasn't passionately rooting for her.

I would have liked some more worldbuilding and getting to know the rest of the characters better as we now only got Lorelei's fairly skewed view of things. It would have been helpful to know more of the history of the different lands to understand the stakes and the different factions and motivations.

All that being said, I did still find it exciting, and though the romance came in late and felt slightly awkward I was still there for it, and the ending touched me.

But if you don't mind obvious parallels to our own world or bitter and angry protagonists there is much to love here.

Oh I adored this gothic story! Allison Saft is an auto buy author for me and this one didn’t disappoint at all. Perfect read for this time of year.

3.5 ⭐️

A dark, mystical folklore heavy sapphic romance with a closed door murder mystery, what a fun mix!! A Dark and Drowning Tide follows Lorelei, a sharp tongued, quick to anger folklorist as she sets off on an expedition with a royal entourage to find a highly powerful magical spring as ordered by their king. When her mentor is murdered, there are only limited suspects, each with their own motives, With only one person she can trust is not guilty of the crime, she must work together with her longtime rival Sylvia to reveal the culprit before they both suffer the same fate.

I really enjoyed the whimsical yet dark and daunting vibes of this book, the world building was so well done, and I loved the folklore and tales of the wildeleute. Although I found it to be slower paced than I typically enjoy, I HAD to know who committed the murder and I was able to enjoy the vibes and the overall plot. Lorelei and Sylvia also had such cracking tension with their arguments, I was always eager to see who gave in first, which was fun to read.

To me the characters were so interesting, but I would have loved more time spent on delving into their backgrounds more, even if it was at the sacrifice of some descriptions of the environment. The history of war, civil unrest and prejudice was so unsettling and realistic and seeing how each character behaves within this context was really compelling as well. This book also explores prejudice and antisemitism in a really powerful way, reading about how Lorelei was treated by the majority and her experiences growing up was really impactful and I really appreciated the commentary this book provided.

Overall this book was packed with dark, academic fantasy vibes with an interesting murder mystery and a fun academic rivals to lovers romance plot line, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that loves the above and enjoys a slower plot progression.

Thank you to Daphne Press and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in return for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐️

A gripping and emotional story. "A Dark And Drowning Tide" is Alison Saft's first adult fantasy novel. With a captivating writing style and a keen focus on the introspection of her characters, the author has wonderfully narrated the adventures of two rival girls, setting out in search of a legendary magical source. Lorelei and Sylvia’s story was both sweet and griping. I loved the elements of German folklore and the references to Jewish mythology. The only downside I found in the book was the handling of the pacing: sometimes I wished it had been put more focus on some scene, so I would have enjoyed them more than I actually did.

A thanks to NetGalley and the Publishing House for providing me with an ARC of the book.

Wanted to love it, DNF @ 51%. A bit too slow paced for me and I struggled to find myself invested in any of the characters

I loved this dark academia tale so much that I absolutely devoured it is one sitting and then I was annoyed with myself because I was enjoying it so much 🤣 The fault lies with Alison Saft and her fantastic and completely gorgeous writing, it’s so very much inviting and engaging !

The Dark and Drowning Tide is an addictive read, full of mystery, murder, magic, folklore, and of course romance ! All the characters are so very interesting and engaging, I am being greedy here but the one thing I would have liked is for it to be a bit longer but that’s only because of how much I enjoyed it and was gutted when I reached the end!

The romance between Lorelei and Sylvia is so slow burn and I am always here for a slow burn romance, the tension between them is so much fun as you watch them go from rivals to friends to lovers. A Dark and Drowning is the kind of story you will wish could go on forever, a story that will leave you with a full heart and one of the best things, hope !

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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.
I liked the writing style, it was a bit poetic and very pretty, but still easy to understand.
I will be getting many copies for my bookstore!

A gothic yet cosy fantasy, that's sapphic and has magic and academic rivals. A recipe for success.
After the murder of her professor, Lorelai and her rival sylvia must work together to solve the murder, but as ever not eveything is as it seems, and their mentor was hiding more secrets than first realised.
The writing matches the theme of the book and is detailed and flowing and poetic, and pulls you gently along for the ride, gradually building the tension as you read, drawing to an intense conclusion.

Theres a lot of intense moments and some quite dark lore, so the romance brightening and softened up those edges a bit.

It could have done with a little more worldbuilding, and being a little less on the nose about some of the political/religious overtones, but i understand having to make them more obvious to suit a range of readers.
But I love the chaos and the magic and the beautiful style of writing.

This book was amazing. I love fairytales and folklore and I love Dark Academia, so this book literally had it all for me. The fantasy world was rich and not too overwhelming (although it took me a bit to orient myself in how the world worked) and the characters are all very well written and rich in personality. I loved Lorelei, but god was I weak for Sylvia. The slow burn burned so well and I literally turned around in bed and screamed at my boyfriend when they FINALLY kissed. I need more of this vibe now, and am definitely reading more of Allison Saft's work.

Allison Saft is an author whose books I have really fallen in love with this year and this new release is no exception. This dark mysterious tale full of tension and romance is the perfect accompanent to the upcoming Autumn season.

I read a far wilder magic a few years ago, so I was super excited to read this one.

It did not disappoint. The world building is exquisite. The characters are all so well rounded, I believed each and every one of them as a real person. This book immerses you, and there's no escaping it (in the best way). I really enjoyed the mystery element to this novel. Without spoiling it, the reveals seemed so obvious once they were announced, but the author keeps you guessing until the very last second.

I enjoyed the romance element of this book too, Sylvia and Lorelei are so good together, and I found myself devouring their scenes together.

I would 100% recommend this book.

Read from September 10th, 2024 to September 25th, 2024. Written on October 6th, 2024.

First off, I do apologise for the delay on posting this review. Between work and the beginning of the second year of university, my brain hasn't been in the right place to sit down and write this.

I have to start with the cover. It is so so beautiful. My congratulations to the artist.

About the writing, though some parts could be a little bit better in terms of making the narrative flow a more easily, in general, it is quite good.

The story has incredible world-building and character development.

Now, there are a couple negatives in my opinion:
1. I feel like the main plot twist was not as twisty as I hoped for. Though I wasn't exactly expecting it, it didn't feel like a major revelation.
2. The relationship between Sylvia and Lorelei was...weird. It was too slow in some aspects and too fast in others. I felt that the whole "rivals-to-lovers" had a strange passage from rivals to lovers, it didn't feel natural, maybe a bit too rushed in a way? Even though they do take their time to get together. I don't know.
3. I didn't fully enjoy all the folktales that the main characters tells. At first it was nice and really good for the lore, but after a while it just became a bit too much.

I'm not entirely displeased, and I do recommend this if you like fantasy stories and a lot of folktales and old history.

(Free ARC from NetGalley and Daphne Press that I chose to review after reading - Cross-posted on Goodreads on October 6th, 2024)

Here I am again, obsessing over another Allison Saft book. She. Never. Misses.
From A Far Wilder Magic, to A Fragile Enchantment, and now A Dark and Drowning tide, Allison is the high queen of constructing fantasy worlds full of magic and intrigue that you can't help but lose yourself in. And even better than that is the angsty romance full of pining you'll find amongst the pages. I love the way that within her writing she always includes a critique of a social issue that reflects what is happening in the real world, and she does so in a delicate yet powerful way.
It is no surprise that once again I am giving an Allison Saft novel 5 stars.

I know it’s from a different author, but I immediately associate this with A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid. The power of water, the power of fairy tales, interesting female leads, and gothic vibes all around.

In A Dark and Drowning Tide, we follow Lorelei, essentially the underdog of an expedition to find the legendary spring that is the source of all magic. She’s such a clever character with a rather sharp tongue (which I always enjoy), and a strong desire to help her impoverished and discriminated community. Still, she’s such a self-deprecating character who believes the worst in herself.

The political aspect’s strong presence in the plot was something I didn’t enjoy. I was in this for the magic and the murder plot. And the sapphic romance part of this so-called romantasy was so subtle throughout I’m not sure it can even be called slow burn, but I really enjoyed it too. I loved Sylvia so much, I wanted to be her, frolicking in nature with magical creatures… don’t we all?

Overall, I had a great time reading A Dark and Drowning Tide. It was almost exactly what I wanted it to be, and just the kind of book I was craving.

this was incredibly well written with prose that allowed you to imagine every tree branch and pond in exact detail. each character was very thought out and real, as real as it gets within the pages of a fantasy book.
I felt myself sympathetic with the ‘villain’ as they actually had understandable motivations, and i did think that there would be more of a conclusion to those ideas at the end, but a lot stayed the same as it was to begin with.
the idea of this magic system is brilliant, and i loved what was shown and the implications for further worldbuilding it gives.
the plot was interesting when spurred on by our main characters and their journeys to tolerating each other (and more :D)

An absolutely stunning story based off fairytales and folklore, this slow-burn fantasy romance had an incredible atmosphere that left you wanting more.

Although it took me a couple of chapters to really get into it, once I did I couldn't put this down and stayed up well into the night to finish this.

The characters were fascinating and inspiring, and the budding romance was beautiful and left me kicking my feet. With the added suspense of a mystery, the twists and hard-hitting imagery, this was definitely a book I will find myself reading again.

Allison Saft does it again!

A beautiful story of folklore and fae for the dark academic crowd. Though I found it a little slow to get into, this book had such great vibes and a good story underneath them. I loved the cast of characters that, while immensely dislikeable, made a good cast for the story.

This is a brutal tale of prejudice and antisemitism. It shows the darker side of humanity and how when pushed into a corner, into desperation and very limited options, you can seem to become the person they want you to be. But it’s also about what’s underneath. It’s about that one person who sees you for what you actually are and finding them and finding a way to be together when the world pulls you apart.

I loved the romance between Lorelei and Sylvia a lot. I love a good enemies to lovers and this was the sort of slow burn romance that I want from that. I think it helped that these two had known each other for a while so the author didn’t feel the need to talk about how hot Sylvia was on first sight. There was just slow loathing and a level of obsession that slowly revealed how much they actually cared for each other.

The book didn’t set itself up for a sequel, but I would like to read more of this world and more Lorelei and Sylvia in the future.

Whilst I did find this a slow burn it was definitely worth the wait!
I love a book that has magical fantasy, a world where you can loose yourself from the mundane of your real life, to then add in the sapphic element takes it straight to a five star read.
There's even a murder mystery to add to the tale, it definitely has a bit of everything and was such an easy read.

3.75 ⭐️

Back in the days when wishes still held power…
there was a kingdom called Brunnestaad, built in pursuit of a king’s expansionist dream and then brought to completion by his son.
The foundations of this kingdom, however, were unstable, because the conquered peoples within it possessed different and precious cultures and traditions and many resented the king for the lost independence. So, the young king asked his dearest childhood friends, heirs of the annexed kingdoms and now acclaimed academics, to set out in search of a legendary magical spring, capable of granting the most deserving unheard-of powers.
Along with these eccentric nobles, the expedition was led by the famous naturalist Ingrid Ziegler and Lorelei Kaskel, her student and the protagonist of this story. Lorelei is a Yeva folklorist (an ethnic group inspired by the Jewish one): she and her people are relegated to the Yevanverte, a ghetto from which they are not allowed to leave without an escort. They are victims of violence and prejudice: even in fairy tales they are described as cowards, careerists, cruel. The most radical do not even consider them human.
However, Lorelei, thanks to her apprenticeship with Ziegler, has gained access to the capital's academy, and now she can hope for a future outside those walls.
However, on the first evening of their journey a tragedy occurs: Ziegler is killed. It will be up to Lorelei to track down the murderer, with the only help of Sylvia, her academic rival.

The magic system of this world is simple but interesting: ether (the substance of which magic is made) uses water as a conductor and therefore anyone with magical abilities can manipulate this element. To this, there are numerous elements from Germanic and Jewish folklore.

Overall, I liked it. I found the story entertaining, the two main characters well developed, and I appreciated the presence of folkloristic elements that were unknown to me, even though at the beginning it was a bit difficult to get into the story and remember the names of all the characters, places and magical creatures. However, this book is not perfect.
First of all, I was not properly satisfied with the secondary characters: they have potential, but they are not given enough space. It would have been nice to read some flashback chapters of their childhood, to be able to pity them and feel sorry for their lost bond. I especially hoped Johann would have some sort of redemption arc (yeah, I willfully ignored his giganti red flags till the end). The biggest problem, however, is the "colonialist" issue, because in the first half it seems that the author wants to denounce the expansionist aims of the king, only to "justify" him and accept him as a "lesser evil" at the end, it seemed to me the simplest conclusion, butnot the right one.
Furthermore, the love story takes on a bit of a dramatic tone at the end (at least for my taste).

I feel like recommending this book, for different reasons, to those who loved books like “Babel”, “Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries” and “The Cruel Prince”: on the one hand it has an academic cut, especially in the first part (no, don't worry, there are no footnotes), on the other a fairytale cut, in which humans and fairy creatures coexist without too many explanations.