Spoiler-Free Review

Good news! A Dark and Drowning Tide was my ninth 5-star read of the year, out of 54 books read so far. I got this ARC at the end of last year, and I’m so mad it took me this long to read it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Rey for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

What’s A Dark and Drowning Tide about?

Lorelai, a folklorist, has worked hard for a place on an expedition to find a magical spring, only for it to all go wrong when someone is murdered. Now Lorelai is in charge, and she must work with her academic rival to both complete the mission and solve the murder.

I loved everything about this story.

A Dark and Drowning Tide feels like a darker version of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies, mixed a little with the expedition aspects of the movie Atlantis, in a fantasy setting inspired by Central Europe. And these things worked together perfectly.

Our main character is a Jewish woman (in this fantasy world, she’s called a Yeva) who grew up in the equivalent of Jewish ghettoes (called the Yevanverte). She’s worked her entire life for the opportunity to go on this expedition, despite extreme prejudice. I felt the group dynamics perfectly matched this theme, because it was very telling that while the group didn’t trust Lorelei because she’s a Yeva, she couldn’t trust the group because one of them was a murderer. Different levels of concern there.

One of the other themes I found most interesting was how stories shape our perception of reality. It analyzes the ways which folklore can inspire hope or wonder and perpetuate prejudice. For the main character, it was also about how the stories she tells about her own life impact her view of herself as a person.

I have to say that I loved the dynamic between Lorelai and Sylvia. Our main character is sharp-tongued, ambitious, emotionally distant, and almost purely academic, while Sylvia is more the self-appointed knight type who rushes headlong into danger and wears her heart on her sleeve. They are constantly exasperated with each other. (If you’re a Dramione fanfiction girlie like me, you’ll probably understand what I mean when I say these two have a very Draco-and-Hermione / Slytherin-and-Gryffindor dynamic.) I also appreciated that the romance was a subplot, and very much a slow burn.

All in all, it was the perfect blend of character and plot, with an immersive world. It had a little action sprinkled throughout, a little romance here, a little mystery there, and topped off with strong character arcs. I really enjoyed it.

Should you read A Dark and Drowning Tide?

If you like books that blend genres, you’ll like this one. It’s fantasy, mystery, dark academia, and sapphic romance all bundled into one standalone story. The fantasy aspects feel a little like a blend of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies (fairies, academia) and One Dark Window (dark atmosphere, politics, legends), with an Agatha Christie style murder mystery at the center.

I also recommend it if you enjoy stories with strong themes, and which analyze real-world prejudice in a fantasy context.

Mark your calendars: this one releases September 17!