My feelings towards this book started out aprehensive and remain mixed after finishing it. The cast of characters and their backgrounds seemed really cheap to me, and although I found myself really invested in the story and the romance, I feel like the ending was weak and lacking in consequence. With the political plot, it really feels like the story would benefit from a sequel (which appears to not be the plan), and without it it's just dissapointing, especially with how much fun I've had around the middle of the book and how invested i got in the world.
While the romance was really good - the pining! - some of the choices in pacing were weird to me, especially with how Lorelei would entirely change her mind in the span of a couple of chapters. Also, with a perceivedly butch/masc main character, it unfortunately didn't provide on the front of intersecting experiences of a butch/masc ethnic-religious minority, which i found really dissapointing.
Two of the more interesting characters from the expedition's crew were also kind of stripped of their own stories, personalities and reactions by the end, which was also just a real bummer.

This fantasy, dark academia, slow burn, sapphic romance was a joy to read and had me turning pages in anticipation of what happens next. This 'enemies' to lovers tale follows two FMC, grumpy Lorelei and little ray of sunshine Sylvia who embark on a fantastical adventure as a dangerous duo in Brunnestaad! I was mesmerised by the characters and world building and loved the botony and wildlife backdrop entwined with a enchanted shifting forest. I love the way Saft pens her characters and I felt such a pull towards Lorelei and Sylvia as their emotions heighten and feelings towards each other blossom.
I look forward to reading more from Saft as this was the first book I've read so will be picking up some of her previous work.

A very interesting take on dark folklore mystery. I enjoyed Lorelei as a sceptical grumpy character and the contrast of Sylvia to her. Their dynamic was one of my favourite parts of the book, both of their characters complemented eachother well. Each character had an interesting backstory that I was excited to learn about and all had their flaws and different motivations. The magic system and world were refreshingly different to some books I've read recently and the folklore behind it intriguing. This was an engaging darker sapphic fantasy mystery.

It had a weirdly pro-colonial message to it which is uncomfortable enough but then you add in that this is based in a fantasy version of late 1800s/early 1900s Germany (the story seems to be a fantasy retelling of the colonisation involved in creating a consolidated Germany in 1800s under Wilhelm I and the oppression of Jewish people in Germany during 1900s) and it just gets worse. The book frames the people who we are expressly told have been starved, discriminated against, and/or had their culture repressed after their country was invaded and colonised as the villains for wanting to get rid of the explicitly tyrannical and antisemitic emperor who colonised their country.
What's weird is that this message doesn't feel intended for part of the book given how many times we’re told how bad the emperor is and how horrific the antisemitism Lorelei experiences is - it just feels like a very underbaked idea that the author didn't know what to do with after she'd written herself into a corner, so we end up with this pro-colonial message to wrap everything up quickly.

If anyone was looking to scratch that dark academia itch and loved A Study In Drowning - this book is for you!

This was a great short read (for myself anyway) that had me hooked from the start. The storyline is unlike anything else I have read and I really enjoyed how the characters developed. They seem like polar opposites but as we all know, opposites attract.

There is just the right amount of world building to help you understand what is happening but not bog you down. And it contains some of my favourite tropes such as grumpy/sunshine dynamic and rivals to lovers.

Definitely recommend to anyone looking for an addictive sapphic, dark academia read!

Unfortunately I DNF this book after about 20%. Whilst the story itself seemed really interesting , I instead struggled with the writing style and found it hard to understand.

Lorelei is an expert on folklore, which would make her perfect for an expedition to find the mythical fountain of youth, but being Yevan sets her apart. She has never been able to move past the whispers that she steals children, or that she and her family are unclean because of their religion. Now, forced to cooperate with lords and princes who have always looked down on her, Lorelei must decide who she wants as her ally, and who she can't afford to trust.

I should have loved this book. It had all the makings of a 5* for me, but unfortunately, I found it difficult to connect to many of the characters. Partly, I think this was a characterisation issue. I found a lot of the dialogue clunky and unbelievable, especially when the other characters decided to monologue at Lorelei about their pasts. Why would they be so willing to discuss difficult and often personal topics with someone they don't trust? I also struggled with the pacing, particularly with the weaving in of some of the folklore and tales. It often became exposition, and broke up the pace of a scene rather than supporting and lifting it.

Lorelei herself was an interesting unreliable narrator (and the way her reliability was undercut by the other characters was very nicely done). Her rage was well-integrated into the plot and her interactions with other characters and the political system. Ultimately, however, I found I didn't believe enough in the characters surrounding her to really connect with the book.

Straight away I was drawn into this book by the slightly too serious main character Lorelai as she navigated a world of politics that did not have her interests at heart. This book has it all, folk tales come true, magic, a locked room mystery, betrayal, yearning romance and a happy ending.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this book and moments that leave you guessing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Daphne Press for the opportunity to read the ARC of A Dark and Drowning tide.

Strong premise and I like the dark acedmia vibes, I just found I didn't connect with the characters and the overall execution. I think its target demographic is slightly younger than I was hoping for/am, but a more YA audience might enjoy it more.

Thank you to Netgalley & Daphne Press for the opportunity to read this arc. I am immensely grateful & had heard a lot of things about this book prior to reading it but have been left dissatisfied.

Unfortunately, I made the difficult decision to DNF this book at 57% which I have contemplated on doing since I would say around the 40% mark. I will discuss a few reasons why, primarily I have a large tbr pile and ultimately I’d rather spend my time reading something that interested me. I will go into why this didn’t in further detail. I definitely could have pushed through and read this I think, however I just didn’t have the energy to do so. My main issues with this book are both the main and side characters & the structure of the world building.

Firstly, an issue I had and have seen others deal with is the fantasy lore dump in the beginning and throughout of the book. I found it really confusing and hard to keep up with, I wasn’t able to ease my way into it and often I found myself lagging behind the book in situations. It almost felt like I needed to keep up with it but it was purposefully leaving me behind. I honestly couldn’t keep track of all the information between the different regions, ethnicities and history between them all. It also jumped locations while info dumping which was a difficult combination whilst trying to get into the story, sometimes I thought I missed a page and would look back to see I didn’t even though it read like I had missed something.

Secondly, and my biggest issue, was that I didn’t care. I don’t mean that in a rude way: the characters were difficult to care for therefore there wasn’t high stakes for me because of this. The main character was incredibly hateful, spiteful, and I immediately could see that it was meant to be an enemies to lovers but it was almost trying to convince me that she secretly liked this person (but was so spiteful whilst doing so¿) when the reality was that their tension wasn’t romantic to me. It was more like two people from different cultures skirting around the awkwardness and the intenseness of their histories and places in the world and were forced into proximity of each other. I usually love enemies to lovers but I knew that it couldn’t convince me of this one within the last 43% of the book, especially when it was painful reading the love interest obviously liking the main character despite their horribleness. The other side characters were not likeable and felt very flat for me, and I do not care about their shared histories and romantic tension between them. It unfortunately just didn’t do enough to get me to be interested or care for them: I think if it spent less time of the side characters and more on fully immersing us into Lorelei and emphasising with her plight and building on her determination then it would of been better.

I also think it is important to mention the colonial elements to this story and the influences of Jewish & Nazi histories embedded into it. There are multiple 1 star reviews that discuss this in immense detail that I would implore you to read as I believe a few others have put it more eloquently than I could. But, ultimately my own opinion is that the side characters read as privileged colonialists (unsure if this was purposeful- perhaps we really weren’t meant to like any of them except for Ludwig?) and the overall colonial arch of the story felt too shallow and not fleshed out enough. I think more care needed to go into this aspect of the story despite the authors background, I think maybe more sensitivity readers could have helped? It did not read well.

Overall I think that this book was trying to do too much in too little time. I think the structure of events were too simultaneous & sporadic for me to really get a feel for this book. I did enjoy the magic system elements but ultimately the main character was not likeable and the romance felt too forced for me to have any desire to continue.

I enjoyed reading this haunting tale of mystery, betrayal, and dark allure with a splash of romance.

The mystery was gripping enough and I liked the appearances of creatures from folklore as well as the introduction of stories here and there. However, I wish there was more world building overall and more information about the magic system.

It took me a while to get into the story at first because of Lorelei, the main character. Her attitude appears as quite antagonistic, but we get to know her throughout the story and can empathise with her attitude and wariness towards others, given their view of Yevanisch people.

Sylvia was an interesting love interest, I can understand Lorelei’s fascination with her. She is an intelligent, kind, alluring, and beautiful woman who comes from a different world than Lorelai. Her compassion for all the creatures was so strong and I loved seeing her interact with them.

This book was overall an enjoyable read and I would recommend it if you like sapphic romance, dark academia, and folklore based stories.

Thank you Netgalley, the author, and publisher for the free copy of this book. As a disclaimer I received this book after publication and I had a few other ARCs to finish first, hence the late review.

I absolutely loved the fact rhat this book is full of nods to fairytales - spotting references to tales and lore made it a worthwile read in itself.

Both protagonists are great but I particularly liked Sylvia (despite struggling with the fact that it is my nans name and I have never met a sylvia under 70)

However - some chapters needed more pace and I found myself skimming through bits until something more exciting happened and for that reason despite the cute story references and two great female protagonists - 3.5 stars from me.

I don't think this gripped me as much as I wanted it too. And I say 'think' because I still ended up enjoying the story, especially the folklore and travelling elements, but I didn't find the mystery elements all that inticing. In fact, I think I would have loved this if it concentrated more on the fantasy elements and world building instead of trying to tie in other elements and genres. The romance itself is pretty good though, with a slow burn academic rivals to lovers with plenty of coiled tension. I just really wish more time had been spent constructing a well thought out world instead of spreading itself too thin.

There are plenty of things I could say about A Dark and Drowning Tide, the promising world building for example, but I imagine over reviews will comment on this. Instead I will focus on the primary thing that made this book a chore for me – the main character Lorelei.

The biggest issue is that Lorelei is awful and just painfully unlikeable. I totally get that she has a traumatic past and she is ostracised as Yevani. BUT Lorelei is also, well, a bully, someone who goes out of her way to be cruel and cold to Sylvia who has done nothing but be kind to her, looking at everyone with disdain. Lorelei is bitter, self admittedly so, because she perceives Sylvia to have an easier more privileged life, other people in the crew too are actually relatively (or fully) supportive of Lorelei however her attitude towards them feels unnecessary throughout the book, even when the other characters develop depth. Yes there is context off the page, interactions we don’t see that we are expected to understand the gravity of for Lorelei to be as she is, yes it is the classic ‘guarded, cold person masking their vulnerability with indifference and barbs’, but it also doesn’t make Lorelei particularly easy to warm to, which is her motive with the other characters but also happens with you as a reader, because her thoughts aren’t much better than her actions.

Ironically because she feels judged and looked down on, Lorelei proceeds to spend the whole book making life more uncomfortable for others, demeans them, makes assumptions on their lives and the ease of it and gives them nothing to like (but it’s her fault they don’t like her). She distances herself and pushes people away with barbs and performative superiority/irrelevance, but also hates not feeling like she belongs. Again, I type this as a privileged person so I fully accept that I can say her attitude was difficult to spend time when I have not been in a situation to be treated in a way to inherit said attitude. But Sylvia bears the biggest brunt of this cruelty, her kindness the most offensive, and when you’re only stuck with Lorelei as your narrative, it’s not an enjoyable experience to see her being so unreasonable and callous. For example, one moment she is feeling “exiled” by the group because no on volunteers go with her somewhere, then Sylvia offers and she has to hold back a sneer because sees the offer as pity and refuses to show gratitude for it. I get that she’s a character with walls up, defensive and pushing people away, but it’s difficult company.
For example, at one point Sylvia looks at Lorelei with concern, in return Lorelei looks at her and wants to “repay her sympathy with cruelty” to the point of thinking about wanting to bash in her skull. She knows Sylvia is educated and experienced, and resents when she is right to the point of even disregarding it, at one point she remembers something Sylvia published regarding thwarting a creature and rather than being grateful for that knowledge that saves her life, hates that it came from Sylvia – she does this with other characters too, it’s pig headed and she’s meant to be a grown woman but she’s so consumed with bitterness. Lorelei is leading this team of characters and yet they are surprised when she asks questions about them (which she’s doing to investigate, not out of genuine interest) and it surprises them because she has not shown any interest in getting to know them as people, even though she is leading them, because she believes she knows all there is about them. She uses people while fully resenting that they have any use. I’m not saying these characters are particularly nice people, in fact some are frankly villainous, but they have their own stories too, their own pasts and trials.

The main plot of this book requires Lorelei to investigate a m*urder that happens on the boat, however she has already decided who the suspect is, with no evidence, she asks questions and decides they’re lying when she answers. Because she perceives herself to be treated as inferior, she behaves superior. In another moment, there is a debate on a course of action, Adelheid passionately advises, based on readings, that they must redirect the course of the journey to avoid a dangerous surge in magic. Using her command over them all, Lorelei dismisses this concern, continuing the journey’s original course (into danger) – and THEN she asks how the readings work. So she makes the decision with ignorance and out of arrogance, and THEN actually looks into understanding what she’s already decided on. She’s a leader who doesn’t listen because she knows best, who judges others because she doesn’t take the time to know them (while offering nothing herself) – and you can guess how well that turns out! But no, Sylvia is the apparent reckless one, irresponsible and impulsive and Lorelei genuinely believes her role is to clear up the mess “selflessly”, even the ones she’s responsible for. Even her abrupt, bullish ways with the creatures in this book that intimidate and scare them, the schellenrock, for example. Lori can’t just Sylvia do her thing so she ultimately disrupts a plan because she demands impatiently information, snapping at the creature she even describes as childlike and scaring it, when she could have just asked and it would have been given. There is no self awareness though if you’re hoping for a lesson about treating others how you wish to be treated, or that she doesn’t know everything, or that others might actually know best. At this point I hope it’s clear I do not like this woman.

You’re led to believe on the page that she secretly likes Sylvia, despite how she treats her, punishing herself for noticing the ethereal beauty she carries, however at no point do you understand why, beyond the kindness of her heart, Sylvia persists in return. It just made my eyes roll, in one example they are in situation because Lorelei didn’t listen and now they’re in trouble – Lorelei, the leader of the group, then sits defeated on the floor. Sylvia steps in to help and extends a hand to help Lorelei up – so of course she pushes her arm aside and stands up by herself and acknowledges but pushes aside the look off hurt her reaction provokes. In another example Lorelei starts an argument with Sylvia saying she didn’t need her to step in to defend her (which she doesn’t say thank you for) - and then gets immediately angry bringing up another time when she didn’t step in to defend her. Later in the book, Sylvia intervenes again to help her and Lorelei attributes it to Sylvia’s “hero complex” because it’s easier than addressing human emotion. In another example, Sylvia is vulnerable and asks for help at one point in the story, and Lorelei refuses to or show any sympathy before dismissing her because she has the authority over Sylvia to command it – she calls this a “poisonous victory”, she knows she has been unkind, she knows she has offered Sylvia nothing, and yet she still surmises, with disgust, that there is no one she can turn to or trust but Sylvia literally after she does this. Like I’m sorry, what? This is not addressed later, in fact none of her behaviour is dwelled on.
Sylvia will continue to be kind or at least tolerant and offer help and ‘see’ Lorelei behind the prickles like a kicked puppy and try see the joy in the world, and Lorelei will continue to resent her “stupid smiles”, be jealous of her, and be bitter and cruel to her and dismiss any tenderness given. She’ll jump from a moment of inner self reflection, admitting that she is not easy to love, acknowledging to herself that she is petty, to embracing “cheerful malice” and the worse thing Sylvia does every now and then is lose patience and bite back but still helps. Help is seen as pity, the automatic response is to sneer and reject – the only growth is Lorelei learns to sometimes only think it. This is not the sapphic romance I signed up to, it isn’t love, it’s something far more toxic veiled in attraction, beyond her looks (cue multiple references to wanting to twist a finger in her hair), there is nothing nice that Lorelei thinks of her, in fact the best qualities in Sylvia is what Lorelei seems to hate the most. This isn’t enemies to lovers, there is no tenderness or vulnerability, no slow burn, no chemistry. When Sylvia is vulnerable, Lorelei responds with a sneer, prodding and poking because she can’t resist it. She is on defence when there is no attack but her own, it’s all about her, her feelings and, to quite Sylvia in a truthful, frustrated moment on the receiving end of her scorn and provocation, her “self pity”.

Characters wise, Lorelei doesn’t develop or grow at all, which is frustrating when she is the one you are stuck with, she walks this book believing herself the only victim and justified to wield her pain like a weapon and shield. The other characters are more interesting and complex, each having a story that anyone but the protagonist can appreciate because it’s not about her. Sylvia is the heart of this book for me, she is pretty consistent and likeable, her joy and positivity are hard earned in a life grasped tightly, a legacy looming over her. Johann starts the book as the bigot but actually he is also protective and loyal, a weapon that has been forged but not by choice, Ludwig is endearing, Heike a desperate pawn, Andelheid a no-nonsense, focused woman – I just wish we had more of them, multiple POVs with actual morally grey characters would have probably made this an easier book.

I appreciate my review is entirely on a character I did not like or warm to, however to consider the rest of the book, there is potential in the creatures mentioned in the book, the Nixies, wildeleute, schellenrock, alp, etc, again I would have liked more of these as their appearances are the highlight in this story, Like the supporting characters, these creatures are more than monsters, in Sylvia’s gentle interactions with them you can see that they too have their own thoughts and charms.

This isn’t a long book but it felt long, probably because of one character I think I have made my feelings clear about :D Take Lorelei out of the equation and this book had potential, but there isn’t much left because the story doesn’t just involve her, it feels entirely written around her, leaving little else.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

First I want to thank the publisher and Net Galley for giving me access to this e-arc for a review.
There was a lot that I did enjoy about this despite the middling rating. The middling rating might have ended up being a timing issue with when I read it. So to be fair I want to focus my review on the things I liked about it. I enjoyed the world and the writing style... and because of this I will for sure be giving this author another read with a different title. The writing is beautiful and I really did enjoy the magic and the banter between some of the characters. I think I will come back around and try reading this again at a different time as I did like the vivid story telling. However, it did feel a little like I was reading Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries... which I did not enjoy at all. This is why the timing might be the issue as I read Emily Wilde's not very long ago and maybe if there had been more time between it would have been better for me.

Loved the moody and gothic atmosphere that the author has created to set up this mystery/romance novel. The characters were interesting and I loved that the bits of folklore were well described. The writing style is beautiful.

punted pretty hard on a strong set up - when things unravelled nothing landed that satisfyingly. didn't care enough about the side characters and felt like the romance ! which i actually did care about these guys were cute ! went from burn to RUSH. not bad but had POTENTIAL and so i felt sad.

After being disappointed with the Regency fantasy one, this story has a lot more of the aspects that I enjoyed in A Far Wilder Magic. There does seem to be a running theme of our main characters being part of an ostracized group – but then no effort is made to make said group something unique to the fantasy setting – it’s so obviously a part of our world that it pulls me out of the story. Especially as the worlds these stories take place in are always supposed to be full fantasy, not fantastical alternate histories of our world for example. It's great to see representation, but it would have worked better if it was more integrated, even if it takes a lot of inspiration from the original. I also felt this tried to do a lot all at once – we didn’t need the ensemble cast, we didn’t need the numerous extra plots. The atmosphere and dialogue was excellent, so I might be persuaded to give her another chance!

I absolutely adored this book! Thank you so much to Allison Saft, Netgallary and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! You really did have me with the dark academia vibes! Definitely one of my favourite themes. Mixed with a rivals/enemies to lovers trope and I was hooked! The fantasy element was also was just the cherry on top. Everything that I love in one book! Would highly recommend them read!

This book is right up my alley, the gothic, dark academia vibes were gorgeous. I liked the darkness and the twists and of course I enjoyed the Sapphic love story.