Thumbnail for Illumicrate 'Darker Academia' box image
Thumbnail for A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft (Illumicrate 'Darker Academia' exclusive) image
Illumicrate 'Darker Academia' box image
A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft (Illumicrate 'Darker Academia' exclusive) image
  • Past Box
A Dark and Drowning Tide Full Box (Illumicrate 'Darker Academia' exclusive)
Illumicrate 'Darker Academia' box
A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft (Illumicrate 'Darker Academia' exclusive)
Back to Past Boxes - Illumicrate
Illumicrate image

Illumicrate

September's Theme

Allison Saft

A Dark and Drowning Tide Full Box (Illumicrate 'Darker Academia' exclusive)

Featured book: A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

A redesigned cover (by @niallcgrant; design by @chattynora)

Full colour printing and foil on the hardback utilising the US cover art (by @audreybenjaminsenart; design by @chattynora)

Digitally printed edges (by @niallcgrant)

Illustrated endpapers (by @hopechristofferson; design by @chattynora), different front and back

Bound-in author letter, bonus material, signed by the author

September 2024 'Darker Academia' Illumicrate Box

This box was part of the Illumicrate subscription in September 2024 and is no longer available to purchase.

Subscribe to Illumicrate

About the product

Featuring: A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

These hallowed halls of learning harbour something dark and restless.

Sent on a quest by a king seeking the power of a magical spring, a determined folklorist knows it is the perfect chance to prove herself. But when her mentor is murdered, she must team up with her infuriating (and beautiful) academic rival to uncover the truth. Caught between her dangerous expedition mates and the mysterious forest surrounding them, what she discovers may make her question the motives of her mentor and the kingdom itself.

The book at a glance:

  • Adult fantasy standalone
  • Featuring: redesigned cover; full colour printing and foil on the hardback; digitally printed edges; illustrated endpapers; author letter; bonus material; signed by the author.
  • F/F romance; lesbian main character, lesbian love interest, queer side characters; Jewish main character; German folklore

Photo: @lonely_reader

'Clever, emotional, and gorgeous' Ava Reid

'I loved every page' Rachel Gillig

Book merchandise

Our September 2024 'Darker Academia' box included:

  • The Dark Academia bookcase puzzle image

    The Dark Academia bookcase puzzle

    Artwork by Olivia Gibbs; designed by Chatty Nora

  • Scales And Wings task journal image

    Scales And Wings task journal

    Designed by Gretchen Cobaugh

  • Wheels of Fate Reading prompt cards image

    Wheels of Fate Reading prompt cards

    Designed by Franziska Stern

  • Foreshadowing glasses case image

    Foreshadowing glasses case

    Designed by Jay Kay

A Dark and Drowning Tide

  • Content Warning

    • Violence, including graphic descriptions of blood and injuries
    • Murder
    • Past death of a sibling (on page in flashback)
    • Antisemitism and scientific racism
    • Nationalism and imperialism
    • Grief and PTSD
    • Emesis

About the Author

Allison Saft is the New York Times, Sunday Times, and USA Today bestselling author of A Dark and Drowning Tide, A Fragile Enchantment, and other romantic fantasy novels. After receiving her MA in English Literature from Tulane University, she moved from the Gulf Coast to the West Coast, where she spends her time practicing aerial silks. She lives with her partner and an Italian greyhound named Marzipan.

Our FAQs

Explore our Frequently Answered Questions section for the solution to all your burning questions.

All FAQs

  • Will you be restocking any of your special edition boxes?

    All our Illumicrate Editions, Collections and Archives boxes are sold as one-off boxes, which means once they're sold out they won't be restocked in the future. 

    While we don't regularly sell individual items, very occasionally we do have sales of full boxes or individual items we have left over after replacements and damages. These sales are usually announced on our social media so keep your eyes peeled!

    Sometimes we have reprinted book sets such as the Roots of Chaos set, however it is very rare that we do this. We also cannot guarantee any reprinted sets will be signed. As with all of our products, any reprints will be announced on social media and the news section of our website.

  • Can I buy past boxes or individual items from past boxes?

    If a special edition book or box does not sell out prior to the initial shipping date, it will remain for sale in our shop. If they do sell out during the pre-order window (before the initial shipping date), we will wait at least three months to resolve any orders that were damaged or lost in transit. Once an appropriate period has passed for these to be resolved, we will assess the remaining stock and may put the remainder up for sale.

    If you can't find a past special edition in our shop, it means we currently don't have the stock available - sorry for any disappointment.

    We also sometimes sell the books or full boxes from our monthly box and book subscriptions in our shop. If you are based in the US or Canada, you can purchase Illumicrate past boxes from our US website.

    While we don't regularly sell individual items, very occasionally we do have sales of individual items we have left over. These sales will usually be announced on our social media so keep your eyes peeled!

  • Do you ship to my country and how much is it?

    Yes, we can ship to almost every country! There are a few exceptions, currently, we cannot ship to: Belarus, the Canary Islands, China, El Salvador, Guadalupe, Haiti, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. This is because our shipping company is unable to deliver in these countries, sorry!

    You can see a full list of shipping rates for our products here. These shipping costs do NOT include customs and other taxes that may be due within your country. All customs and other taxes are the responsibility of the customer.

    If you are based in the EU, VAT is included in your order. You can see our EU VAT rates here.

    If you are based in Australia, a 10% sales tax will be added to your order at checkout. 

    If you are based in the US and Canada, your monthly subscription ships from our US warehouse. You can see a list of shipping rates for the Illumicrate subscription for US and Canadian subscribers here.

Still need help?

Visit our contact page for more details Contact Us