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A review by comfyhedgehog
A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
❀❀❀❀❀ 4,75 out of 5 flowers!
"𝑇𝘩𝑒𝑟𝑒'𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒." 𝑆𝑦𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝘩𝑒𝑟 𝑗𝑎𝑤, 𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝘩𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑠. "𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝘩𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝘩𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑏𝑟𝑢𝑡𝑎𝑙, 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑡. 𝑆𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑖..."
I have to admit, I couldn't believe it when I got the arc for this book, and now I'm so excited to share my feelings here. Oh my goodness, how I love A Dark and Drowning Tide! Reading A Dark and Drowning Tide felt like being pulled into a fairytale all of its own. From the moment I opened the book, I felt entranced by the beautiful writing style, the characters, the atmosphere, the story... It felt like being lured by the song of the nixie into a dark pool of water, not being able to resist the lure, being drowned in words, and then when coming out of it on the other side of the water, coming out of it way differently than before having been lured into it: enchanted in the best way possible. A Dark and Drowning Tide weaves sapphic romance, lore, mystery, and dark fairy- and folk tales into each other, blending that beautifully with vulnerable topics being explored.
We follow Lorelei Kaskel, a sharp-tongued determined folklorist, who is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. But when she has boarded the ship and finds out that her mentor - who is also the expedition's leader - has been murdered, Lorelei must work together with her academic rival Sylvia Von Wolff, to solve who the murderer could be, all while dealing with political and emotional struggles of her own. And the dangers lurking around the places that are to be explored, and the dangers of court at home. And while being looked down upon by her peers. While tension keeps building, and feelings of romance begin blossoming, Lorelai has to decide who is to be trusted, and which risks are worth to be taken.
''𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑙.''
⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.•
When I first stepped into the thick mist, I felt the atmosphere hugging around me. A Dark and Drowning Tide is so atmospherically written. It feels mystic, dark, enchanting, mysterious, and oh-so-beautiful. The prose-like tender, yet deep and emotional writing style let my heart ache and feel wonder. Allison Saft's writing style is so so beautiful, and gorgeous!! I completely fell in love with it and I feel the beauty of it all in my heart even now after having read the book. It's truly something precious. I sometimes completely forgot to annotate because I was so in awe, but when the romance started blooming, I kept on marking quotes, and telling and showing them to my boyfriend, and I am going to cherish them in my heart. Allion Saft explores folk - and fairytales and their prejudice of them, and different topics, in such a sharp, compelling, brave, elegant, and beautiful way. I adored it. I do have to admit that I sometimes lost a bit of interest and concentration when reading the folk- and fairytales, but that was because I was so invested in the actual story of the book, that I just wanted to keep reading more about that. Nevertheless, the tales added depth and uniqueness to the book which I admired. The plot and story itself were so very interesting and enthralling. It drew me in. It has a murder mystery element, and I didn't see the reveal and ending coming at all. I thought I was so sure of who it wouldn't be, and who could be, and It turned out that I had it completely wrong. I enjoyed seeing the story unfold slowly and getting to know the reasons behind the murder. In the end, it all began to make sense. It was so perfectly done. I also was very invested in the worldbuilding and magical aspects and that with an academic expedition leading us and the characters to different places each with its dangers and creatures.
When I stepped further into the mist and heard the nixie's song when I couldn't resist it, walked slowly into the water, took in a deep breath and amount of air, and went all in the water and let myself be led by the magic of it all, I was entirely captivated by the story and the characters. They turned out to be deep-layered ones. The one is more likeable than the other, but no less interesting. All were different in their way with their motivations and personalities, which created some tension. For me, they each grabbed my attention, each had their allure. We see Lorelai struggling with anti-semitism, being looked down upon, and being hated, the pain and fear of it all. The pain of having lost loved ones as well. Sylvia, having been let grown up by her mother as the idea of who she could be, instead of who she truly is. The loneliness that comes with that. But then, when having been lured into the deepest parts of the water, we get to the romance part. And oh my goodness, Lorelai and Sylvia gripped me by my heart. I loved the romance so so much!! And the slow-burn!
''𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢?''
''𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑆𝑦𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑎 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦, 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟, 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠. 𝐼𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝.''
From seeing each other as rivals to lingering glances, standing a bit too close (but not too close for the reader though of course) in front of each other, brushing and braiding one of the love interest's hair, holding hands, gentle touches, how they talked to each other, looked at each other, let each other feel, the longing, pining, angst, denying, aching, and then finally kissing and loving, ah It was all so so good!
''𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑖 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑘 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒.
''𝑁𝑜𝑤, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟.''
I feel like, even though Lorelai and Sylvia differ so much from each other, they complement each other so well. They truly have my heart. And oh my goodness, that ending was so funny, adorable, and cute, so them. Lorelai could be so oblivious at times, and I loved how Sylvia loved her even more for that. Lorelai was honest and savage, and witty and sarcastic at times, she often made me laugh. She is such a strong character. With everything that she has been through, and was still going through, she was still selfless, determined and courageous, even through her insecurities. I liked her a lot. Sylvia was kind, enthusiastic, reckless, often snappy, and intelligent, and I admired how Sylvia was always so in touch with her emotions. There was so much strength in her vulnerability. She was kind and brave and loving and I found her enthusiasm so charming and adorable. There were many heartfelt, emotional deep scenes, as well as cute ones. Although I loved it all, I do however feel that sometimes I as a reader didn't fully get to feel the emotions the characters were feeling. That they got told and shown, but not...felt. I did connect with them, but not very deeply. But that's personally. I appreciated that even though the romance was such a good part of the book, It wasn't the main focus. I feel like it all just was very well balanced out; romance, yes, but also fantasy aspects, worldbuilding, emotional depth, glimpses of other characters, and topics being explored. If there wouldn't be romance in this book, I still would have found it a very good one. I think the strength of this book isn't the romance, it's everything I just said combined.
And then, when I reached the surface of the water I was left breathless and in awe by all that I had read. I think you'd like this book if you think you'd like a captivating sapphic romantic fantasy filled with folklore and a dark fairytale feeling, beautiful prose, witty banter, deep layered characters, important and emotional topics, slow-burning tension, and an undertone of mystery. To me, this book felt like a dream coming alive. And I absolutely LOVED and still LOVE it all so much. I am truly mesmerized by this precious treasure of a book. A book I will cherish in my heart, think about often, the feeling of it long lingering around me, and which I hope will reach other readers' hearts as well, and which I would love to re-read one day. Honestly, I will read any book by Allison Saft now I have read this one! :)
''𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠.''
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author, for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review. ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
ps. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT SYLVIA WROTE IN THE LETTERS TO LORELAI. AND, POETRY?? WHAT IF WE WILL NEVER KNOW? *internally screaming*
"𝑇𝘩𝑒𝑟𝑒'𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒." 𝑆𝑦𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝘩𝑒𝑟 𝑗𝑎𝑤, 𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝘩𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑠. "𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝘩𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝘩𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑏𝑟𝑢𝑡𝑎𝑙, 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑡. 𝑆𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑖..."
I have to admit, I couldn't believe it when I got the arc for this book, and now I'm so excited to share my feelings here. Oh my goodness, how I love A Dark and Drowning Tide! Reading A Dark and Drowning Tide felt like being pulled into a fairytale all of its own. From the moment I opened the book, I felt entranced by the beautiful writing style, the characters, the atmosphere, the story... It felt like being lured by the song of the nixie into a dark pool of water, not being able to resist the lure, being drowned in words, and then when coming out of it on the other side of the water, coming out of it way differently than before having been lured into it: enchanted in the best way possible. A Dark and Drowning Tide weaves sapphic romance, lore, mystery, and dark fairy- and folk tales into each other, blending that beautifully with vulnerable topics being explored.
We follow Lorelei Kaskel, a sharp-tongued determined folklorist, who is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. But when she has boarded the ship and finds out that her mentor - who is also the expedition's leader - has been murdered, Lorelei must work together with her academic rival Sylvia Von Wolff, to solve who the murderer could be, all while dealing with political and emotional struggles of her own. And the dangers lurking around the places that are to be explored, and the dangers of court at home. And while being looked down upon by her peers. While tension keeps building, and feelings of romance begin blossoming, Lorelai has to decide who is to be trusted, and which risks are worth to be taken.
''𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑙.''
⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.•
When I first stepped into the thick mist, I felt the atmosphere hugging around me. A Dark and Drowning Tide is so atmospherically written. It feels mystic, dark, enchanting, mysterious, and oh-so-beautiful. The prose-like tender, yet deep and emotional writing style let my heart ache and feel wonder. Allison Saft's writing style is so so beautiful, and gorgeous!! I completely fell in love with it and I feel the beauty of it all in my heart even now after having read the book. It's truly something precious. I sometimes completely forgot to annotate because I was so in awe, but when the romance started blooming, I kept on marking quotes, and telling and showing them to my boyfriend, and I am going to cherish them in my heart. Allion Saft explores folk - and fairytales and their prejudice of them, and different topics, in such a sharp, compelling, brave, elegant, and beautiful way. I adored it. I do have to admit that I sometimes lost a bit of interest and concentration when reading the folk- and fairytales, but that was because I was so invested in the actual story of the book, that I just wanted to keep reading more about that. Nevertheless, the tales added depth and uniqueness to the book which I admired. The plot and story itself were so very interesting and enthralling. It drew me in. It has a murder mystery element, and I didn't see the reveal and ending coming at all. I thought I was so sure of who it wouldn't be, and who could be, and It turned out that I had it completely wrong. I enjoyed seeing the story unfold slowly and getting to know the reasons behind the murder. In the end, it all began to make sense. It was so perfectly done. I also was very invested in the worldbuilding and magical aspects and that with an academic expedition leading us and the characters to different places each with its dangers and creatures.
When I stepped further into the mist and heard the nixie's song when I couldn't resist it, walked slowly into the water, took in a deep breath and amount of air, and went all in the water and let myself be led by the magic of it all, I was entirely captivated by the story and the characters. They turned out to be deep-layered ones. The one is more likeable than the other, but no less interesting. All were different in their way with their motivations and personalities, which created some tension. For me, they each grabbed my attention, each had their allure. We see Lorelai struggling with anti-semitism, being looked down upon, and being hated, the pain and fear of it all. The pain of having lost loved ones as well. Sylvia, having been let grown up by her mother as the idea of who she could be, instead of who she truly is. The loneliness that comes with that. But then, when having been lured into the deepest parts of the water, we get to the romance part. And oh my goodness, Lorelai and Sylvia gripped me by my heart. I loved the romance so so much!! And the slow-burn!
''𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢?''
''𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑆𝑦𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑎 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦, 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟, 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠. 𝐼𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝.''
From seeing each other as rivals to lingering glances, standing a bit too close (but not too close for the reader though of course) in front of each other, brushing and braiding one of the love interest's hair, holding hands, gentle touches, how they talked to each other, looked at each other, let each other feel, the longing, pining, angst, denying, aching, and then finally kissing and loving, ah It was all so so good!
''𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑖 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑘 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒.
''𝑁𝑜𝑤, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟.''
I feel like, even though Lorelai and Sylvia differ so much from each other, they complement each other so well. They truly have my heart. And oh my goodness, that ending was so funny, adorable, and cute, so them. Lorelai could be so oblivious at times, and I loved how Sylvia loved her even more for that. Lorelai was honest and savage, and witty and sarcastic at times, she often made me laugh. She is such a strong character. With everything that she has been through, and was still going through, she was still selfless, determined and courageous, even through her insecurities. I liked her a lot. Sylvia was kind, enthusiastic, reckless, often snappy, and intelligent, and I admired how Sylvia was always so in touch with her emotions. There was so much strength in her vulnerability. She was kind and brave and loving and I found her enthusiasm so charming and adorable. There were many heartfelt, emotional deep scenes, as well as cute ones. Although I loved it all, I do however feel that sometimes I as a reader didn't fully get to feel the emotions the characters were feeling. That they got told and shown, but not...felt. I did connect with them, but not very deeply. But that's personally. I appreciated that even though the romance was such a good part of the book, It wasn't the main focus. I feel like it all just was very well balanced out; romance, yes, but also fantasy aspects, worldbuilding, emotional depth, glimpses of other characters, and topics being explored. If there wouldn't be romance in this book, I still would have found it a very good one. I think the strength of this book isn't the romance, it's everything I just said combined.
And then, when I reached the surface of the water I was left breathless and in awe by all that I had read. I think you'd like this book if you think you'd like a captivating sapphic romantic fantasy filled with folklore and a dark fairytale feeling, beautiful prose, witty banter, deep layered characters, important and emotional topics, slow-burning tension, and an undertone of mystery. To me, this book felt like a dream coming alive. And I absolutely LOVED and still LOVE it all so much. I am truly mesmerized by this precious treasure of a book. A book I will cherish in my heart, think about often, the feeling of it long lingering around me, and which I hope will reach other readers' hearts as well, and which I would love to re-read one day. Honestly, I will read any book by Allison Saft now I have read this one! :)
''𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠.''
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author, for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review. ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
ps. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT SYLVIA WROTE IN THE LETTERS TO LORELAI. AND, POETRY?? WHAT IF WE WILL NEVER KNOW? *internally screaming*