Hi friends! So today I'm going to be doing a review on "A Dark And Drowning Tide" by Allison Saft. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the Goodreads synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers so please keep that in mind!)
"A sharp - tongued folklorist must pair up with her academic rival to solve their mentor's murder in this lush and enthralling sapphic fantasy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic.
Lorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. The magical spring promises untold power, which the king wants go harness to secure his reign of the embattled country of Brunnestaad. Lorelei is determined to use this opportunity to prove herself and make her wildest, most impossible dream come to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to lands she's only ever read about.
The expedition gets off to a harrowing start when it's leader - Lorelai's beloved mentor - is murdered in her quarters aboard their ship. The suspects are her five remaining expedition mates, each with their own motive. The only person Lorelei knows must be innocent is her longtime academic rival, the insufferably gallant and maddeningly beautiful Sylvia Von Wolff. Now in charge of the expedition, Lorelei must find the spring before the murderer strikes again - and a coup begins in earnest.
But there are other dangers lurking in the forests that rearrange themselves at night, rivers with slumbering dragons waiting beneath the water, and shapeshifting beasts out for blood.
As Lorelei and Sylvia grudgingly work together to uncover the truth - and resist their growing feelings for one another - they discover that their professor had secrets of her own. Secrets that make Lorelei question whether justice is worth pursuing, or if this kingdom is worth saving at all."
I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley, however all opinions are my own.
So the reason I wanted to read this book is because I saw the description of it on Netgalley and thought it would be something I would love. As much as I appreciate receiving it I'm not going to lie friends, I actually found the first half of this book quite boring. Until the main plot point happens (and even a little bit after that) the book was just unfortunately too slow for my liking. I really wanted to love this book because we all know how much I love queer storytelling especially in fantasy settings but I just couldn't bring myself to do so. With that being said, when you do fully get into all the action and adventure of this book, it is really enjoyable and does pick up the pace a fair bit. I had a love/hate relationship with the enemies to lovers aspect of the story, I feel like until we got to the lovers part of it, it was just a little too much. I absolutely adored the twists within the story and the adventurous ending. Unfortunately though, because of how long it took us to get there (more than half the book) I don't think I'll be picking up another Allison Saft book. I might try one of her YA stories but just going off this book, I wasn't overly fond of how long it took to get into the nitty gritty of the story.
I gave this book a 3/5 star rating on Goodreads!
This book is already out!
What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!
Have a wonderful day!
Love, Doe!
