A dark and drowning tide was my most anticipated book release this year and it did not disappoint! I liked the main character Lorelei and enjoyed her dynamic with Sylvia. I like reading through her perspective and I didn't find her surliness offputting. For someone in her circumstances I would not expect their outlook to be sunshine and rainbows.

I haven't read any other fantasy novels with a backdrop quite like this one and I enjoyed the world building and gothic vibes. The folk tales Lorelei recites weave into the events of the novel and the characters actions adding extra layers to the storytelling and adds to her characterisation by her using folk tales as the lens in which she sees the world.

As for aspects that didn't quite hit for me. The ending didn't really feel particularly satisfying to me and Wilhelm's reaction was very underwhelming. He was the driving force behind the expedition yet it felt like he had no impact in the story overall. How he was described by the other characters and his goals didn't really match up with how he presented when we saw him talk. The story took a bit to get to the mentor's death which slowed me down a little when reading. There was mentions of the characters fighting in wars together and I was a little unclear of when and why especially as I had read it through multiple sittings and the details didn't always stick with me.

While I had my gripes about certain things there is still, of course, so much to love about the story! I think I'll eventually purchase the physical book when it's released as I feel I would reread it and immerse myself in a dark and drowning tide yet again.

4.5 stars rounded up ✨

The way I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars for this!

So, I think I really liked this, but I had such a hard time through the first half that it’s holding me back. This is a story where you’re landed fully in the middle of a deeply developed group dynamic of privileged people who all come from complicated former kingdoms that have now been colonised into one…and you learn all about it from the perspective of Lorelai, an outsider. It’s a lot to get your head round and I didn’t find myself wanting to pick it up as the info dumping was a lot.

Lorelai and Sylvia were highlights for me and when they finally get to go off together, the book really took off for me and I was really into the last half. Their romance - rivals to lovers - was so brilliantly done. It was complex and there was so much yearning.

Lorelai was great as someone who’s lived a difficult life under persecution but has developed their own coping mechanisms of grit, distrust and hard graft. She is not that likeable, a trait she is very aware of and thinks that means no one could love her - enter Sylvia!

Sylvia was my favourite. She was written so vividly and she was so goood; she just sparkled for me. Ludwig was also great but he didn’t feature much, and like the other side characters from the royal group was a bit underdeveloped.

This is a fairytale whodunnit, with more emphasis on the whodunnit. It covers themes of persecution and power, with Lorelai coming from a Jewish coded fantasy community who face constant discrimination. This side of the story was covered so deftly that it’s surprised me about the ending, which leans towards pro-colonialism for me.

Overall, a slow start with great sapphic romance and an intriguing whodunnit, just over complicated world building and overemphasis on the crime over the magic took away from it for me.

I really wanted to love this one, the blurb was sooo promising. I mean I didn't hate it, but I did almost DNF'ed it, but since I generally don't like abandoning books, especially ones that in a way were gifted to me, I decided to soldier through. And yes, I am glad I did. It does pick up around 40% in. My biggest issue was the main character itself I think. She hated literally everyone and everything, including the love interest, and in her case it was for no other reason that... she decided to hate her ?

A spellbinding rival to lovers set in an academic landscape- how could it be bad honestly.
Our protagonist Lorelei is all thorns, a mask she has spent her academic career carefully crafting. Sylvia is her opposite in every way, where Lorelei is brooding sharpness, Sylvia strives to see the magic in the world. When the two of them alongside some of their peers are sent on an impossible journey by the king to find a fabled magic spring, they all have to work together.
Saft's characters are all very complex and are driven by their own personal goals. Throughout the novel we watch them all struggle to survive in a world that would perhaps see them dead.
It took me a moment to orientate myself in the complex political machinations of this world, but once I did it was amazing watching Lorelei and Sylvia specifically struggling to navigate their people's precarious situations.
Reading in Lorelei's view (who is the groups Folklorist) was fascinating, watching her attribute things to fables or continuously using the stories to justify means or understand the others in her group.
Overall this novel was absolutely beautiful; dark academia, sapphic, rivals to lovers and set in German folklore- honestly amazing.

There are aspects of this book that gripped me like never before, and others that unfortunately didn’t convince me much. Overall, this was a great read, with an amazing lore and a rivals to lovers to make other titles blush in comparison. I will definitely check the other books by the author.

The settings were dark and moody, just what I love. I think the world-building is one of the things I enjoyed the most in this book. It is rich, with all kinds of monsters, folklore, landscapes and culture. To read this book was to travel through its lore, and the experience truly was worth it. I would have loved a map to go with the story (maybe included in the physical copy? That would be amazing!).
The only part of the world-building that unfortunately didn't make it for me was the linguistic inspiration behind the writing. I think it is very personal (for context, I talk both German and Dutch), but the names of places and characters sometimes confused me. The use of German names was dominant, but then some Dutch was slipped in there and the lack of linearity in the language made the understanding of the world a bit harder for me. I did understand that both Germany and the Netherlands were inspiration for some part of the world-building, but when the languages didn't match it got me out of the story quite a bit.

The romance has the perfect amount of angst, tension and release I was hoping for. What I truly appreciated is the fact that while being an important part of the story, it doesn't take all the space and doesn't come in the way of the world building and the lore. It was truly a blast. It is an amazingly well-build rivals to lovers, the kind of slow burn where you know they actually are both crazy for each other but simply cannot let it show. I am usually not one for rivals or ennemies to lovers (in these instagram polls I always answer childhood friends or best-friends to lovers) but trust me when I tell you that this one is AMAZING. And it's sapphic, what else could we even ask for?

The writing was fast-paced, but with enough details to allow you to immerse fully in the world. BUT I have to admit it was all quite confusing to me at first (maybe related to the language I mentioned higher up in this review), with lots of information and little time to digest it as we dive straight into the plot. I really enjoyed the folkloric tales included in there, they all bring so much to the story, the lore and the plot. On the other hand, I feel like most of them could have been brought up in a more subtile way. It is something I also noticed in some of the dialogues and resolutions, a sort of bluntness that could almost be mistaken for a desire to round situations and discussions more conveniently. But then, I think it is also the writing style of the author, which is something very subjective.

I think it is super important to have discussions on anti-semitism, and the author brought them up very cleverly in this work. It seemlessly goes with the lore and the characters building, and I think this is an amazing way to include 'real life' issues in fantasy works while still showing them as important and actionnable.

Thank you Daphne press and Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was actually very intrigued by the premise of A Dark and Drowning Tide, so I was excited when I finally got a chance to read it. But did it live up to my expectations?

What I liked most about this book was the gothic, dark vibes permeating the story and characters, but I'm afraid to say the rest felt rather dull to me.

The first half of the novel didn't actually contribute much, apart from taking an excruciatingly long time to set up the second half of the book - which is more interesting - without actually delving into the characters, the relationship between the two leads, or the worldbuilding.
It all remains rather superficial, so it was hard to really care about any of it.

Lorelei is an angry protagonist who is, in my opinion, sometimes a bit difficult to like, but she's the only character who is decently fleshed out.
Sylvia could've been an interesting character, if only we had seen more of her.
The dynamic between the two would've been great, if only there actually was any chemistry between them or at least a decent build up to the evolution of their relationship.
The other characters were one dimensional, so all their potential was wasted.

The writing is nice, but I didn't like how Saft introduced the lore, it felt out of place and it disrupted the flow of the story.

I kept feeling that maybe, if it had been developed into more books, there could've been more time to properly delve into the world, the political intrigue, the characters, the mystery and the romance.

Still, if you're looking for a dark sapphic romantasy, you might want to give this book a try.

🌑⛲️𝕬 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕯𝖗𝖔𝖜𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕿𝖎𝖉𝖊⛲️🌑

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

I adored this book! A sumptuous and enthralling tale of sapphic academic rivals to lovers, twisted delightfully around a locked room murder mystery.
this book was a joy to read, filled with such a deeply detailed world and character building.

within this story, we follow a team of academics as they search for an intensely magical spring; and the hardships and heartbreak that relentlessly follow them on this journey. I loved how each character had their own distinct place of origin within the setting, and it was shown so much how this directly affected their actions throughout the book. I also loved how each character was completely their own and how Allison wasn't afraid to show her characters having flaws and that those flaws did have direct consequences within the novel!
the development of relationships between all the characters, the worldbuilding, the rich description was all so good.
I really enjoyed the little drop ins of in world folkloric knowledge, it was really interesting to see how these stories then affected the perception and treatment of characters at the time the story was told.
Very much recommend for anyone looking for a dark yet sweet sapphic fantasy, who loves magic and a touch of politics!

⚠️potential spoilers⚠️
and of course, the inclusion of one of my favourite romance tropes: person A who thinks they cannot possibly be loved and person B who loves them like its the easiest thing in the world is one of my favourite themes throughout the book - if a bit emotionally devastating to read at times.

Thank you Daphne Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read a e-copy of this.
In this novel we follow Lorelei and five fellow students as they look for a magical spring that will help them overturn the war. While traveling there however, their professor is found dead; so Lori wants to find the killer before they strike again and has to ally with Sylvia to investigate.
The plot of this was really good and I enjoy the adventure aspects, however the characters made the rating lower for me. While I didn’t really care about liking the rest of the cast, Lorelei was insufferable through the entire book. I could understand her feelings and actions to a certain point. However her treatment of Sylvia was out of pocket and straight up rude while she helped her and understood her.
I would recommend this book to you if you like an adventure with high stakes with morally grey characters this book is for you.

A lovely story, rich with fairytale and a magic system based around manipulating aether, present in water. A quest for a magical spring, guided by folklore, magical science, and instinct, on a ship populated with academic rivals, courtly politics and romantic tension, soon turns into a murder mystery. Saft’s prose is lyrical and the characters fascinating, as is the culture, which borrows from German and Jewish folklore and history, with city-state rivalry, old conflicts and prejudice rising to the fore. Whilst there is a murder mystery it leans more heavily into the romance aspect: by which I also mean the traditional quest aspect of romance. Will Lorelei win respect, or her rival’s heart? Will she gain what she wants, or what she needs? A sapphic gem that was a pleasure to read.

Lorelei knew the shape of a fairy tale: a prison.

Two star students are pitted against each other for the same position on the Ruhigburg Expedition where their mentor and professor is murdered by someone on the team.
Lorelei had never believed she would be chosen. Her rival, Sylvia, was one of the most famous and beloved naturalists in the country and Lorelei was no one, a cobbler's daughter plucked from the despised Yevanverte. Sylvia was the princess and Lorelai was the witch, the goblin, the Yevanisch viper.

The Ruhigburg Expedition aims to discover the Ursprung, the fabled source of all magic and King Wilhelm's current obsession. If she succeeds, Lorelai can win the king’s favour and her freedom. However, the rest of the team also want to gain the King’s influence.

There was a lot of information dumping. You are thrown into a world where everything is established and little explanation is given so you are frantically trying to piece the world together.

Not to mention, it is clear the characters outside of Lorelei have a deep and complicated past and childhood together. Whilst this can feel frustrating to try and figure out connections and hatred and loyalty, it also meant you were fed tidbits of backstory as you go along, the same as Lorelei who is trying to discover the murderer.

After everything that had happened today, she had no energy left in her to yell. Slowly, Lorelei sat down in the middle of the street. I'm ready, she thought. Just strike me down now. God, however, was cruel.
Sylvia von Wolff's face appeared in her field of vision instead. "Please get up. People are beginning to stare."

Onto the sapphic yearning. Whilst other reviewers have complained that Lorelei’s hatred for Sylvia is unfounded, I disagree. Sure, she is being petty and insecure, yet you can see how she acknowledges how inane this bitterness is. However, it’s something she has learnt growing up ostracised from both her community and the world outside those walls.
She doesn’t hate Sylvia per se, just what she represents.

Lorelei is a pretty infuriating character. She wallows in self-pity and regularly fails to see beyond her own problems and self-defeatism. I think this was a deliberate ploy of Saft’s as she reveals the other characters’ own grievances, troubling choices, and rocky motivations.
I think this might have been helped by a longer book, but also one of the perks of this is it being a relatively standard-to-short length fantasy standalone.

Over and over again, she repeated to herself, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. Like an incantation— like a fairy tale repetition might make it true.

I think the ending was fairly rushed which ruined my enjoyment for me. I think this would have benefitted from being a duology.

I would recommend this if you enjoyed Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries and keep an eye out for August release The Phoenix Keeper! Also Evocation by ST Gibson!

Thank you to Del Rey for sending me the physical arc in exchange for a review!

I did not finish this book. It’s not that it was bad, but it was not to my taste. I apologise for wasting your time. I have rated it 3 stars on the fact I did not finish it and acknowledge the issue is probably my taste in genre.

I enjoyed this book: mostly the cast of characters and that all the expeditioners had their own specialty and relationships with the others. The main plot did take a backseat to the intrigue of the politics and loyalties, which I did not mind at all. However, it also overshadowed the magical aspect of the plot. The world was wonderfully magical and so were the folkloric creatures they came across, but I hoped for more exploration of Lorelai's (and also Sylvia's) magic. It's quite a big deal that she has to keep her powers a secret, but once it comes out that she has them... she just has them and that's it. I wish this book showed us more of her and the world's relationship to magic as it is part of the main plot of finding the origin/root of magic. The vibes and general atmosphere of the book were quite appealing; it felt wild, magical and fantastical! The academic rivals trope was also done well, I thought the romance was cute. It stood out to me that all the names were German and then that Lorelai and her Yevani people are Jewish. I think the fantasy spin on these tensions was interesting, however, it felt a bit too ... literal. It's confusing to me that they are not called Jewish, while 'rabbi' and 'kosher' for example are still concepts. It kind of pulled me out of the book a bit as it seemed a bit out of place for a fantasy book.

It sounded very promising. Adventure, magic, female leads …. However I found the character and world building not rich enough for me and couldn’t engage with the characters. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

This beautifully written, sapphic rivals-to-lovers story is rich with folklore, magic, and a dark, misty atmosphere that I adored. The book brilliantly addresses antisemitism and discrimination. However, my praise stops there.

I expected more from this story, particularly in terms of magical exploration and character development. While the world-building captivated me, it was solely due to Saft's stunning prose and the incorporation of German folklore, not the characters' interactions within it. The characters fell flat, making it difficult for me to connect with any of them, especially the main character. Although her negativity is understandable given her circumstances, it quickly became tiring, especially when it abruptly shifted.

It took me two weeks to finish this book, and overall, I can't say I enjoyed it. However, I cannot overlook Saft's remarkable writing style. Having loved "A Far Wilder Magic," I know this author is capable of great work.

• DNF at 15%

I honestly tried pushing through but I felt very unaffected by the story as by the characters. The pacing is very slow and I was looking at the page number at the bottom of my Kindle whenever I finished reading one page, which says enough for me. I’m not saying the story is bad but I feel like it just isn’t for me.

Dark academia, sapphic and folklore all sounded right up my alley but this book didn't hit the marks for me.

First of all, dark academia where? Yes, we start off with information about Lorelai's and Sylvia's academic work but that's pretty much as far as this book goes when it comes to academia. I would describe this novel as a quest/detective fantasy instead.

Secondly, I did not care about any of the characters. The MC hates everyone and is frustratingly stubborn. Everyone else is either emotionally closed off or perceived as narcissistic by the MC.

Thirdly, the pacing is waaaaay too slow. When something happens it's resolved quite quickly or seemingly forgotten and then brought up a couple chapters later.

Finally, this wasn't a sapphic couple I was rooting for and the relationship felt forced. There wasn't a natural progression from enemy to lover. It just comes out of nowhere.

4.25* - the scenery and descriptions of flora and fauna were enchanting and my favourite aspect of this book. Another highlight was the fairytales interspersed throughout the book, which were creative and beautifully told; the writing style was just perfect for the atmosphere of the story. I can absolutely see why people love Allison Saft's other books if they're as well written. It was just missing a little bit of plot - I wanted more twists and didn't love the resolution of the book. Also, I didn't feel particularly attached to any of the characters or the romance, until the very last scene:

"... and maybe someday, with time, the world will realize there was never anything wrong with someone like me loving someone like you."
"That is a fantasy," Lorelei whispered. "The loveliest fairy tale I have heard in all my life."

This scene was gorgeous and got me in my feels, happy pride month <3

Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

It's a fantastic beautiful book! The development between the 2 female leads is so endering with a dark and sunshine dynamic. A murder mystery that keeps you guessing in a unique and vividly described world that has so much depth in the creatures and folk lore.

I enjoyed Saft's writing and vivid descriptions in this novel. My favourite aspects were the folktales woven into the story, and the banter between Lorelei and Sylvia was a fun time! Here and there, the plot moved a too little quickly, and I occasionally needed a moment to catch up with Lorelei's reasoning.

"A sapphic dark academia? I HAVE TO READ IT." - my thoughts when requesting this book.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is set in a germanic world (I would say around the XIX century of our own world) where magic is widespread and studied in an academic setting. We follow Lorelai, her mentor and their expedition group on a quest to find the source of magic.

Lorelai is our folklorist, our black cat of the black cat/labrador couple. She's clearly jewish, and we get to see how many prejudices there are against jewish people and how they have to live in ghettoes. That reminds us of real European modern history, and I think was a nice touch to world building as it leads to conversations about xenophobia.

The romance aspect was a little bit weird in pacing, as Lorelai hates Sylvia from the beginning and about halfway about the book she has these thoughts about being with her, which kinda felt out of the blue. But once they were together, I was sold. I adore the black cat/labrador trope.

Worldbuilding-wise I think it could have been expanded a little bit more. I would have loved to see much more insight on how magic is studied, how the war started and how the reigns are characterised. I don't know, it kind of felt rushed sometimes and I wished it was a multi-book series as there's much to explore. I really enjoyed the snippets of fairytales we got tho.

In the end, I would say that it's the perfect book if you liked "Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Fairies" and "Six of Crows". It wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but I enjoyed anyway.