Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for a copy to review!

I absolutely adored this book! From the worldbuilding and the magic system to the character dynamics and complicated feelings - everything left me spellbound.

I DNFed this book for a couple of reasons, a small part of this was bc i have vision problems and the format options for this book in netgalley just made it so hard for me to read, the second reason is that i really just wasn’t captivated by the story. The writing style is wonderful i do love it, i just couldn’t get on board with some aspects of the story line and the main characters lacked depth i feel, i feel like the sunshine x grumpy trope was way too hardcore and just made the characters lack chemistry, this book just isn’t for me which sucks because i’ve heard such great reviews and this was such an anticipated read for me but i’m sure there’s so many people out there that will love this book!

I rather enjoyed this book. It was a slow read, but it was interesting enough to keep me entertained and wanting to continue reading. A sapphic, forbidden romance, full of enemies to lovers, political intrigue and court politics, betrayal, adventure, mythical creatures, murder mysteries, and cross sea quests. A dark and drowning tide is written with German inspiration, and this is reflected through the story, from names to locations. A Magical adventure, that I am sure many will love.

3 stars because of my overall lacklustre feelings about this book.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is a dark academia tale infused with folklore and unsettling creatures. Set during an expedition to discover the Ursprung (literally translates as ‘origin’, by the way), it features a group of six academics of different fields, among which are our main character, Lorelei, and love interest, Sylvia.

First, let’s talk about pros. The writing and ambience were excellent. I’ve read one previous work by this author, so I wasn’t surprised, but the way Saft invokes the environment in each scene is masterful. The folklore tales and comparisons to the members of the expedition were great additions—they really brought forth the power of the stories that represent our culture, how they can cause great harm and spread prejudice, or bring understand between peoples.

The concept was also a key factor in drawing me in—the magic system, the Germanic inspiration for the folklore. In parts, it reminded me a bit of Gilded by Marissa Meyer. Though I’ll say it lacked a bit in depth.

And here are the two main problems I had with this story—characters and plot progression. For the first, as a prickly person who can be a bit of a grouch, being inside Lorelei’s head felt alienating. Because she only saw the people around her in one-dimensional ways, the reader gets no depth from them. I was going around in circles as to what bothered me most in this, and I finally put a finger on it—the lack of discovery.

First, I don’t believe for a second that Lorelei and Sylvia like each other; I also never believed their rivalry, because there was simply nothing but forced (and stupid at multiple times) bickering between them. Where is this idea that their mentor pitted them against each other coming from? Because they’re competing for the same spot for this one expedition, but they’d both be going regardless? Because the king (who is so underdeveloped it’s painful) will likely appoint one of them as his advisor? That wasn’t their mentor’s doing. (Also, the cast are supposed to be 25 and up but I’d be generous in labelling them as 18-year-olds.)

Second, there was no curiosity between each other, or even just from Lorelei’s point of view. About nobody, but it’s especially grating when you see it reflected on the love interest. Her family? Besides the obvious, it's barely on her mind. But we're supposed to believe she cares about an entire group of people when it’s convenient for the plot? She literally spends the entire book hating on everyone and everything. Which is fine, but don’t pretend she cares later when we barely get any glimpse of it. Don’t have Sylvia tells us all the ways Lorelei is incredible when we see nothing of it.
Third, what do you mean some of these people have fought in a war before and you don’t use that as a vehicle for empathy and exploration of grief and trauma?

I could go on, but let’s move on to the plot. In essence, there are two mysteries: 1) who killed the mentor, and 2) where is the Ursprung? Neither of them really take the lead. It’s clear from the beginning how it’ll go. And I’m sorry, but if I was aboard a ship and knew that out of five people, one was a murderer, I would not be proceeding as normal. We don’t get enough of a sense of the world for it to be truly relevant where the Ursprung is either.

I won’t touch on the questionable political messaging because 1) I believe the author was trying to go the route of the unification of Germany rather than colonisation, but 2) I’m not going to do the labour of a nuanced exploration of those ideas when the author herself didn’t either.

So, in short, if you’re in for the dark academia, sapphic rivals-to-enemies vibes, do pick this up. But if you’re like me and vibes alone can’t sustain you, maybe skip this.

I’ll say, it’s the second time in a Saft book that I could see an alternative route for two specific characters that would have added so much more interest to their arcs, but instead was disappointed by having them be mostly passive and there to fulfil a small purpose. I’d have two nickels and all that. I may try another book of hers in the future, but for now I’m unsure.

Thank you to NetGalley, Allison Saft and Daphne Press for the chance to read and review this book.

From the words, ‘ A sharp-tongued folklorist and her academic rival must solve their mentor's murder’ I was sold. Add in that it is sapphic fantasy romance and it couldn’t have gotten any more perfect.

Loved the dynamic between Lorelei and Sylvia. More than that, loved the setting and concept. I did struggle a bit the fantasy element I struggled getting my head round and world building history and political alignments to begin, I was really missing having a map I won’t lie! Hoping to see a beautiful illustrated map in a special edition or physical copies in the future.
But the part I really loved was that despite being in a fantasy setting we had this incredible multidisciplinary academic, field research, expedition with disciplines I could only dream of coming together. A folklorist, botanist and naturist being my top ones. What I would give for some art work or special edition to look like their field notes journal. I fell in love with the natural aspects of this book. Add on a murder mystery and it really couldn’t be more perfect for me.

This book surprised me in tackling strong themes of anti-semitism and prejudice in a German inspired kingdom. Taking inspiration not just from germanic folklore but the country’s history was a bold but impressive move to make to explore not only a fantasy but complex narrative of human experience and how their experiences can shape us.

Honestly a wonderful experience and I can’t wait to see what the author does next. Definitely someone I will keep an eye on in the future for sure. I am absolutely not surprised at all that Daphne Press published this book with their importance on inclusive storytelling and I love seeing what stories they pick up. Another 5 star for them from me.Thank you Daphne Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read the arc in exchange for an honest review

Ahh I am so disappointed by this. I really thought this was going to be a 5 star read for me based on the premise: enemies to lovers, sapphic romance, academic rivals in a fantasy setting, but I was woefully underwhelmed. Before I go any further I just want to say, by no means, is this a bad book, it just wasn’t for me.

I hated Lorelei. She was mean and just kind of horrible to Sylvia? I felt like she really needed to do some work on herself before she got into a relationship with her (spoiler). She was not in the right place to love her and to be honest, she seemed like quite a toxic partner? I know she has experienced a lot which has caused her to think and act in the way she did, but that doesn’t justify her being cruel. Sylvia was ok, she definitely gave me manic pixie dream girl or a Mary Sue character. Sometimes she felt a bit bland and two dimensional. A few times it felt like the characters were swallowed up by the plot.

The plot itself was interesting as was the world, but I felt like we only really got snapshots into this world. I think this may be a standalone, so unfortunately, I don’t think we will get to learn anymore about the world, but I wish we could of taken some of the character dialogue heavy scenes out and replaced it with more exploration of the lore and the world itself as for me this was the most interesting part of the book. I did also like the magic system which again was interesting, but not always fully explained and in some parts felt confusing.

The pacing in this book also felt a little off to me. There were parts of it which seemed to go too quickly and other parts which felt long and drawn out. The pacing just seemed a little all over the place and several times I got confused and wasn’t what was going on.

Overall, I just didn’t really enjoy this book. I think there will be plenty of people out there who will love this book but it just really wasn’t for me.

Stunning! I really liked the dynamic between Lorelei and Sylvia, their romance unfurled beautifully and although it wasn’t the easiest at times, they were exactly what they needed for each other in the end.

I loved the folklore sprinkled throughout this one, as well as the water magic and overall world building. It’s a really poetic, captivating kind of story, perfect for those who like cosy fantasies and gothic/ dark academia vibes.

Sapphic academic rivals with a murder mystery subplot... what's not to love? I think a lot of people will be eating this up.

A Dark and Drowning Tide follows folklorist, Lorelei who is tasked to go on a expedition to find the Ursprung, which is said to give powers to those deemed worthy, with her mentor and some peers but to make matters worse, one of the peers is her her rival Sylvia. However nothing goes smooth sailing when Lorelei found her professor murdered one night and now she is on a mission to find the killer whilst trying to locate the Ursprung. And the only one that knows that Lorelei is innocent, is Sylvia.

I absolutely loved Saft's writing, it's so lyrical and descriptive that you immediately get sucked in. While this book is described as a "sapphic fantasy romance" don't let it fool you, there's no actually that much romance in this book. However, the amount that we got delivered! It was literally everything, had me kicking and screaming. I couldn't get enough of these two like their constant bickering but yet Lorelei couldn't stop thinking about Sylvia, chefs kiss. Their grumpy and sunshine vibes fit together so well.

I do wish that maybe we could've gotten a dual pov or perhaps a multi pov because I would've loved to know what Sylvia was thinking during some moments and I think it would've given us a better insight on some character's motives. I would've loved to have seen the murder mystery aspect a little more as well.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

🌊A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

"What must it be like, she wondered, to feel you truly belonged to a place? She did not expect she'd ever find out"

//ARC received from @netgalley and @daphne.press

A Dark and Drowning Tide was one of my 2024 hopefuls, combining dark academia with murder mystery and folklore. This is a book perfect for fans of Voyage of the Damned and Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries.

When I was not reading the ARC, it was calling to me like a siren. However, the book attempts to include and do too many things at once, and complex as it is, it fails to bring everything properly to a close.

My favorite part of this book was strangely the romance, which was absolutely delectable.

However, I had multiple issues with the book:
1. It seems almost incomplete. Many of the characters are not well rounded and the murder mystery was unsatisfying.
2. The plot seems quite problematic, in and so far as it almost seems as a pro-colonialisme narrative, that praises assimilation. Whatever the intention, this was the experience of this reader.
3. The book was a little bit of a heavy read, surprisingly.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is a book, whose strengt is vibes and its romance. This is a book I should like to reread, but probably not physically. It might have been a better experience as an audiobook. I was going to be receiving two special editions of this, and opted to cancel one.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

#adarkanddrowningtide
#allisonsaft #darkacademiareads #arc #arcreader #daphnepress #bogbloggerdk #anmeldereksemplar #boganmeldelse

3? 3.5? ⭐
(Belated) Happy Publication Day!
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Thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author, for providing me with an e-ARC of this book.

It's a perfect release for this month since the academic year is back and autumn is starting.

As readers, we're following an academic adventure of a group of students: some noble-born and our main character, Lorelei, is a social outcast. It's a consequence of her heritage, which intends to mirror Jewish history. They go on an expedition to find a magical spring. As we can imagine, nothing comes as easy as they would like to.

It can be slow at times, and I didn't feel how high the stakes were because the characters somehow had a lot of time to talk, even though they were in a hurry—especially nearing the end. Nevertheless, I got fully immersed after going through the first 1/3. Academia, folklore and adventure, followed by a murder mystery, are the main plot points of this story. I genuinely loved how Saft worked the folktales into the narrative. All the little creatures and water magic aspects played a significant part in creating the reading atmosphere.
However, I've got a neverending feeling that the book could have had a more enhanced political and colonial aspect. Maybe then it would have had more depth. Some part of this world's history was left untold.

The sapphic romance was lovely. I'm a sucker for slow-burn and academic rivals. What's better? Before they become lovers, they have to turn into reluctant allies.
Both Sylvia and Lorelei were looking for acceptance and a feeling of belonging. No matter how beautiful, the folktales were caging Lorelei on top of her delusions and closed-off emotions. Sylvia, on the other hand, was full of a yearning fire.

The detail that had me giggling was Lorelei's hand flexing after touching Sylvia's arm – I see what you did there

"A Dark and Drowning Tide" is a dark spell of hidden secrets, dangerous powers, and hearts fighting against an unstoppable fate.
A gripping tale where every twist pulls you deeper into its chilling mystery, leaving you breathless until the very end.
Perfect for fans of atmospheric, slow-burn fantasy with morally complex characters and haunting tension!
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book!

I missed the publication, oops!
But a Dark & Drowning tide deserves all the love!
Thank you to NetGalley & Publishers for this e-arc!

its gay, its fantasy, its dark, romance, gothic! what more do you want this autumn? I think the poetic writing of Allison keeps on getting better!!!!
You wil llove this if you fancy nice words and sentences. perfect atmospherical read!
rivals to lovers and it kept me up at night! the mystery is intruiging and keeps on giving.

i loved absolutely everything about this book!!!!! another one i will be buying. i think allison is an autobuy author at the moment.

On paper this should have been a 5 star read for me, I love Dark Academia, Folklore and Sapphic Romance but... I didn't fall in love with the execution of this novel.
I loved the writing it was very evocative and submersive and everytime the wildleute came up in the book it was magical. I always wanted more of them. The protagonist was a very interesting character with a solid past and a complicated inner monologue. But sometimes she felt to. me childish and annoying. I loved the group of childhood friends and getting to know them, their pasts and their personalities.
The ending didn't convince me, and the "last months" of the story were silly to me. A more mature approach would have worked better for me.

Sadly I could'nt connect with the story and had to dnf at 41%
I did like the writing style however so I'll put it at 3 stars in the middle

It has been a while since I read a proper rivals to lovers and it's save to say that I was not disappointed.

I found the world building quite easy to understand, so I got into it pretty quick. I loved the setting and the places Saft described and I was able to get a clear picture of it in my head. Both main character's were likeable even with their faults (I love mean lesbians) and I liked seeing their character development.

NOW FOR THE ROMANCE. I loved it. Like I said, finally a good rivals to lovers. I felt like it was timed really well, not too slow and not rushed either. Sometimes you have to yearn for someone you (think) you hate.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review

This book is at its core the perfect autumnal read, it is a sapphic academic rivals to lovers! This book follows a group of nobles on a search for a spring of legend, tensions between the group are heavy and they only multiple when on the first night the leader of the group is murdered and no one knows who to blame! The atmosphere of this book combined with its rich details of all this worlds folklore truly made this something completely unique to the genre. The chemistry and longing between our two main characters is what made this book impossible to put down, these characters are perfect together. It was not just our two main characters that had me binging this book, it was the whole cast. Each of them are written in a way that you don’t know who to trust. Trying to solve the murder whilst reading about their epic journey to the spring was by far my favourite aspect of this book!

3.5/5 ⭐️

I found Lorelei to be an intriguing protagonist and I feel for her situation. We get glimpses of how her trauma manifests itself throughout the story, and it was heartbreaking to hear her discuss folktales with clear discriminatory intentions. I enjoyed her dynamic with Sylvia, the human embodiment of hope and optimism, as she is the perfect counterbalance to Lorelai’s understandably doom and gloom outlook on life.

Unfortunately, I did have some minor issues with the book. Firstly, the story would’ve benefitted from having multi-POV chapters, especially Sylvia’s, so we could get a better understanding of each character’s motive. Secondly, while I enjoyed the inclusion of folktales, their additions felt jarring and at times took me out of the ongoing dialogue or conflict. And lastly, without delving into spoiler territory, there was a lot that needed to be addressed in the ending and it could’ve been handled better if the book was a duology instead of a standalone. Nonetheless, Allison Saft’s prose is mesmerising and I was completely immersed in the world she built for the story and its characters.

If you enjoyed 𝑬𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆’𝒔 𝑬𝒏𝒄𝒚𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒂𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝑭𝒂𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 but also wanted a whodunit murder mystery with political intrigue in a slightly darker setting, then this book is for you 🌿

Thank you to Netgalley, Daphne Press, and Allison Saft for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

On paper, A Dark and Drowning Tide fills quite an extensive checklist of things I've always wanted in a book, things I believe would universally appeal to me, not unlike the checklist many people have concerning future partners they'd like to date. Unfortunately, just like those who utilise checklists to seek appropriate dating candidates, my list did not take into account one of the most (arguably the most) important things: chemistry. I should have loved this book... but I didn't.

Allison Saft has created a lavish world full of lively creatures — or so readers are told. That, perhaps, is my biggest takeaway from this book. Readers are constantly told, rather than shown. We learn about the names of entities, locations, magic systems... yet we rarely see them. We hear about cultural differences, but they are rarely demonstrated. We are told characters despise one another, yet we do not see this in their monologuing. To me, this firmly lies in my belief that A Dark and Drowning Tide should have been a duology, not a standalone. To create such an expansive fantasy universe in so few pages is ambitious. To carefully and thoughtfully develop a political system fuelled by systemic racism and xenophobia in so few pages is even more ambitious.

It is rare that I ask for more pages when reading a book, but in this case, A Dark and Drowning Tide truly would have benefited. This review will remain relatively spoiler free, but I do want to note that the ending is what really cinched this belief. Early in the book, one of the main characters expressed a (remarkably sound) belief that being with another character would be impossible without sacrifice, and it was a sacrifice they were unwilling to make. Not only is this conversation glossed over, but when they do start considering being with this character, this conversation is never mentioned again. Those very real concerns lay abandoned for the sake of love, and despite being a romantic at heart, I found this difficult to swallow.

Overall, A Dark and Drowning Tide was a book I liked, but did not love. I think it is decent for a debut, but it is not a debut. My star rating reflects that.

From the beginning the writing felt very formulaic as if the author was checking trope boxes as they wrote. I found some of the worldbuilding interesting, especially the folklore elements, but instead of discovering things as we went along there’s frequent inelegant infodumps which takes the fun out of engaging with a new world. There wasn’t a lot of subtlety and I never bought into the romance.

I really enjoyed the overall vibes of this book, and the dark academia / folkloric romance cross over is something I’d love to see more of. This book had everything that I love (mostly yearning and angst in a fantasy setting) and I enjoyed it thoroughly. A Dark and Drowning Tide is a slow burn, one bed, sapphic romance and an epic adventure through an immersive setting with a unique and interesting magic system.