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.

This was so different from my normal read. Its a dark academia, adventure-type sapphic romantasy, with such a good story, and the most lovely characters. There are awesome dark twists and turns and i also enjoyed the added aspects of folklore. While at first i had a hard time getting into it, i really enjoyed this more and more towards the end. I think it was well written and well paced too. And this ending? Chefskiss.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

A Dark and Drowning Tide is a beautifully dark tale woven with rich folklore, an irresistible sapphic academic rivals-to-lovers romance, a gripping murder mystery, and an epic expedition.


The story follows Lorelei Kaskel, a sharp-witted folklorist on a treacherous expedition with six eccentric nobles to uncover a legendary spring said to grant immense power. For Lorelei, this journey is her chance to prove herself and fulfill her dream of becoming a naturalist. But the stakes rise dramatically when her mentor and expedition leader is murdered aboard their ship. With her remaining companions all potential suspects, Lorelei must lead the mission while unraveling the mystery. The only ally she can trust? Her infuriatingly charming academic rival, Sylvia von Wolff.


The worldbuilding in this novel is nothing short of breathtaking, immersing readers in a richly imagined realm. The murder mystery is masterfully crafted, keeping me hooked as the tension escalated. Saft’s prose is beautiful and evocative, breathing life into every page.


Lorelei is a standout protagonist - headstrong and determined, her character arc is as compelling as it is believable. Her dynamic with Sylvia, whose tender nature contrasts beautifully with Lorelei’s fiery personality, adds layers to the story. However, I do wish Sylvia’s perspective had been included to further enrich the narrative.


Overall, A Dark and Drowning Tide is a must-read for fans of dark academia, rivals-to-lovers romance, and richly magical worlds. Saft’s talent shines, and I’ll definitely be reaching for more of her work in the future.

I found this book so enchanting and cosy! Definitely what I was expecting of it, plus the mystery helped the plot along as most cosy fantasies, typically, can come across quite slow.

The characters were all so interesting as they were so varied in their personalities, although I did predict who was the culprit, it was entertaining to see how the characters presented, behaved, and went about the situation.

I loved learning about the different creatures and jobs of each member.

The setting was also contributed, as, personally, I haven't read many set on a boat, which added to the isolated feel and untrustworthyness for other characters in relation to the incident.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read and will definitely be picking up more from the author as I loved the writing style too!

It was fine, but I immediately forgot I read it. The story was fine, the writing was fine, but ultimately a book I may reread because almost nothing about it sticks.

A Dark and Drowning Tide” begins at a slow pace, which might be challenging for some readers. The characters are generally unlikeable and irritating, and the overly descriptive text can make it difficult to stay engaged. I had really high hopes for this book. Unfortunately this one just wasn't for me.

I had high hopes for this book based on its description, but was let down by the characters and the plot. There was some nice prose in places, but it wasn’t enough to carry the book for me. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic fell flat for me as they were never truly enemies, and despite Lorelai "loathing" Sylvia for most of the book, she changed her mind in a few seconds. I also found it difficult to connect with any of the main characters. It felt like a lot of political info was dumped at the start of the book just for it to be mostly irrelevant later on, and while the book mirrored many real political and moral issues, it didn't offer new commentary or attempt to tackle any of them. The magic system had a lot of potential but didn't feel fully fleshed out to the reader, as the only magic we saw in depth was Lorelai's, which was clearly quite different to other characters' power.

I dived into A Dark and Drowning Tide with certain expectations which was my mistake, however I quite enjoyed this book, it’s a beautiful story with complicated and complex characters that go on this quest by order of their King but all of them have their own motivations and convictions which puts them all at odds.

Lorelei is driven and has high stakes depending on this quest, but what really made an impression is on how little she really understands of herself and especially of her feeling towards Sylvia (Let’s say that denial is quite more than a river in Egypt).

The writing is beautiful, but I would have appreciated more detail to world building as a lot of the time I simply didn’t fully understand the context and the way that magic worked in this world. The mystery of who killed Lorelei mentor did satisfied the mystery/crime fan in me. The climax of Lorelei and Sylvia come together was slightly less satisfying as part of delay was due to misunderstanding which is quite an overused crunch for the romance aspect.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I will probably pick it up to reread it at a later date.

Thank you Daphne Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft
1/5 stars

First Impressions:
I was genuinely excited to receive an ARC of A Dark and Drowning Tide. The premise sounded rich and full of promise, and I am new to dark academia, I was eager to dive into the genre. Now, after finishing, I’m left wondering if it’s the genre that didn’t resonate with me, or if this particular story just wasn’t for me.

Characters:
Unfortunately, the characters were a big part of what made this book challenging for me. Lorelei, our main character, is one of the most consistently miserable and unchanging protagonists I’ve encountered. I can understand that some of her behavior might stem from her circumstances, but throughout the story, she often came across as a bully with very little growth or self-awareness. By the end, she seemed as bitter and closed-off as she was at the beginning, which left me feeling disconnected from her journey.

Most of the other characters were also hard to connect with, as they didn’t feel particularly likable or fully developed. The one exception was Sylvia, who became the main reason I continued reading. She had a warmth and complexity that felt refreshing compared to the rest of the cast. I found myself wishing Sylvia was the protagonist or that we could have had a split POV to get more time with her.

Romance & Relationships:
The romantic elements, unfortunately, didn’t make much sense to me. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic felt very one-sided on the “enemy” front, with motives that seemed inconsistent and contradictory, making it hard to buy into the tension. The grumpy x sunshine trope also fell flat; it felt more like a genuinely kind person being drawn to her bully, which was difficult to root for. Overall, most of the relationships felt hollow. We were often told characters cared for one another, but it wasn’t shown in meaningful ways, leaving these connections feeling shallow.

Pacing & Writing Style:
The pacing was another struggle. Key moments that needed space to breathe were glossed over, while random details stretched on for pages. I know Lorelei is a folklorist, so the folklore elements make sense, but they often felt clunky, underdeveloped, and inserted in ways that slowed the story without adding much depth. The prose, metaphors, and similes often came across as clunky, which disrupted the flow of the story.

As a reader with dyslexia, this made it especially challenging. The font style, size, and spacing in the ARC version also didn’t help, making the reading experience even slower and more difficult. I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue specific to the ARC, but it significantly affected my experience.

Plot & World-Building:
The plot had a lot of moving parts, but they never seemed to fully come together or develop naturally. By the end, many plot points felt rushed or unresolved, leaving me with more questions than answers. The world itself also didn’t feel truly immersive—it felt like it only existed to serve the story, rather than as a lived-in place with depth. Since it’s based on our own world, this felt especially jarring and frequently took me out of the story.

Final Thoughts:
I wanted to love this book. The summary promised so much, and Sylvia’s character gave me a glimmer of hope. But beyond that, I found it difficult to stay engaged. Maybe dark academia isn’t for me, or maybe this particular story just didn’t deliver what I was looking for. Either way, A Dark and Drowning Tide ended up being a 1-star read for me.

On a positive note, I have to say the cover art is absolutely gorgeous—both versions are stunning.

I had the wonderful opportunity to read this book as an ARC reader through NetGalley, for which I want to express my gratitude! This review is my honest and voluntary opinion, and I am thrilled to share my thoughts.

Sapphic yearning and sentient forests you will always be famous.

I love how Saft constructed atmosphere in A Dark and Drowning Tide. Maybe controversially, I'm a fan of ornate, flowery prose and this book is dripping with it. Lorelei's narrative voice is strong and assertively cold, which offers an interesting perspective on the novel's secondary characters. I do think some characters are more interesting and developed than others and the magic system is a little bit barren for my tastes, but Saft is clearly confident in how she's portraying every element that surrounds the narrative at play here.

But most of all, A Dark and Drowning Tide was at it's peak every time Lorelei and Sylvia spat venom at one another. I will never be disappointed by sapphic tension, even if I was screaming at them to get over themselves and just kiss barely thirty pages in. In reality, pacing-wise I thought the romance of this novel was timed splendidly, and interwove with the narrative very well.

I have a couple of issues with the ending that I ponder could even be fixed by a sequel. Not that I think this book necessarily needs one, but <spoiler>I'm apprehensive at how this book ends without much criticism of the colonial structure the characters inevitably end up participating in.</spoiler>

Nevertheless, I liked the atmosphere and writing style of A Dark and Drowning Tide very much, and would be interested to read some of Saft's other work, now.

Uhm, yes! Yes to everything!

I loved it!
Sapphic academic rivals and beautiful folklore!

I adored our protagonists, Lorelai and Sylvia were amazing and somehow they were both so relatable to me. Usually I have a fave, but not in this case. I love some grumpy and cynic founding her sunshine optimistic opposite side of the coin **
Even supporting character are lovely in this book and what I loved most was the presence of female friendship as well, beside the obv love story.
The worldbuilding was deep, whimsical and full of magic as I expected and I don't know how the author gave us so many information without slowing the pace and info dumping as usual.
The story itself developed well, with clever twists. We even got some political scheming going on, mainly hinted, but I loved it.

I found the writing style similar to Ava Reid which is perfect for me.
Oh, the magic system was everything, the creatures...I loved it all.

Do I recommend it? YES YES YES! READ IT!

I'm honestly not too sure how I felt about this book. I think I didn't feel much. It wasn't bad at all but I wasn't as enthralled as I thought I would be. The world was pretty interesting and the characters too. I honestly don't know why I didn't love it. I truly feel like I should have. It just didn't grab me. I still want to read more books by Alison Saft though.