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A review by booksthatburn
A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.
A DARK AND DROWNING TIDE is a rivals-to-lovers queer romance and murder mystery, which spends a lot of time on "rivals" a satisfying amount on "lovers", and just enough on the murder mystery to hold the whole thing together.
Lorelei is Yevani, (i.e. Jewish), having grown up in a ghetto and only been admitted to the university by dint of mentorship by an influential folklorist and academic. As a Yeva, Lorelei is in a precarious position within the expedition. She's "smart enough" to get in, but not trusted once she's there. Her competence is at once needed and suspect, especially once the expedition's leader (and her mentor) is murdered in the night when their journey is barely underway. The small group proceeds, though no one person trusts everyone else now that a murderer is in their midst. Lorelei is trying to lead the investigation and figure out the identity of the killer, but she keeps getting distracted by how exasperatingly lovely Sylvia is.
The expedition is to find a magical spring (the Urspring) at the behest of Wilhelm, wants to form a united kingdom of what are currently several different provinces with their own rulers. It seems analogous to the transformation of the various Germanies into a united Germany. Much of the worldbuilding is conveyed through interactions between the members of the expedition, as they all have very different perspectives on the idea of uniting the provinces into a single kingdom. Even those who agree it would be good do so for very different reasons. The members of the group are apparently united by their loyalty to William. Furthermore, they're all from different kingdoms, and everyone except Loreli knew each other as children. This means that she's an outsider both for being Yeva and for not sharing a specific past with the rest of them.
The mystery elements are the scaffold upon which the romance rests, part of what pulls to Lorelei to Sylvia is that she's circumstantially unlikely (or even impossible) to have been the killer, leaving Lorelei to feel as if she's the only reasonable ally in dangerous circumstances. Lorelei can't trust her absolutely, at least not at first, but she can trust Sylvia to be herself, and that's good enough. I like their dynamic, it fits them and the narrative very well. Things unfold slowly between because they continue to be rivals well into the story. Lorelei also keeps thinking of folktales she has collected. Their placement within the story does a good job of conveying her frame of mind as well as building out the world.
I love the ending, the final few chapters are my favorite part. I like how the various story threads are wrapped up.
A DARK AND DROWNING TIDE is a rivals-to-lovers queer romance and murder mystery, which spends a lot of time on "rivals" a satisfying amount on "lovers", and just enough on the murder mystery to hold the whole thing together.
Lorelei is Yevani, (i.e. Jewish), having grown up in a ghetto and only been admitted to the university by dint of mentorship by an influential folklorist and academic. As a Yeva, Lorelei is in a precarious position within the expedition. She's "smart enough" to get in, but not trusted once she's there. Her competence is at once needed and suspect, especially once the expedition's leader (and her mentor) is murdered in the night when their journey is barely underway. The small group proceeds, though no one person trusts everyone else now that a murderer is in their midst. Lorelei is trying to lead the investigation and figure out the identity of the killer, but she keeps getting distracted by how exasperatingly lovely Sylvia is.
The expedition is to find a magical spring (the Urspring) at the behest of Wilhelm, wants to form a united kingdom of what are currently several different provinces with their own rulers. It seems analogous to the transformation of the various Germanies into a united Germany. Much of the worldbuilding is conveyed through interactions between the members of the expedition, as they all have very different perspectives on the idea of uniting the provinces into a single kingdom. Even those who agree it would be good do so for very different reasons. The members of the group are apparently united by their loyalty to William. Furthermore, they're all from different kingdoms, and everyone except Loreli knew each other as children. This means that she's an outsider both for being Yeva and for not sharing a specific past with the rest of them.
The mystery elements are the scaffold upon which the romance rests, part of what pulls to Lorelei to Sylvia is that she's circumstantially unlikely (or even impossible) to have been the killer, leaving Lorelei to feel as if she's the only reasonable ally in dangerous circumstances. Lorelei can't trust her absolutely, at least not at first, but she can trust Sylvia to be herself, and that's good enough. I like their dynamic, it fits them and the narrative very well. Things unfold slowly between because they continue to be rivals well into the story. Lorelei also keeps thinking of folktales she has collected. Their placement within the story does a good job of conveying her frame of mind as well as building out the world.
I love the ending, the final few chapters are my favorite part. I like how the various story threads are wrapped up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Violence, Murder, Antisemitism, Child death, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: War, Fire/Fire injury, Chronic illness, Colonisation, and Animal death