A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

TL;DR: This is one of those books I have to recommend if you love vibes – but also a twisty mystery.
Source: Netgalley – Thanks you to the publisher!

Plot: Lorelei and Sylvia set out on an academic quest which quickly turns into a murder mystery.
Characters: I both loved and hated these characters in the best, well written way.
Setting: This whole book felt like an Edward Robert Hughes painting in my head. I loved it.
Magic: This whole book is very folklore focused, and feels that way, especially with the magic.

Thoughts:

A Dark and Drowning Tide is shockingly underhyped, at least based on what I expected. This book has all the Dark Academia, folklore vibes that fans of that trope and genre would love. Plus a fantastic angsty sapphic romance! How has this been missed by so many?

Lorelei lives in a city that hates her and her people. She is this world’s version of a Jewish, and the anti-semitism is everywhere in this world. She works hard to hopefully become a type of advisor to the king and elevate herself and one day her people. As part of her efforts to gain that favor she ends up going on a research expedition with her academic rival, their mentor, and a batch of unruly nobility.

My one complaint about this is that while the fantasy was beautiful and very strong here, the melding of real world issues and phrasing, it felt jarring. I wasn’t sure where we were meant to be, in an alternate fantasy real world or an entirely original one. Besides this I loved the complexity of our characters, the deeply fraught relationships, and the folklore magic.

This is one I think any Dark Academia Fantasy fan would enjoy. It’s engaging and immersive and it’ll keep you guessing till the end. A big yes from me, I even bought my own copy!