I don't want to review the book because I'm fairly certain I enjoy the story, but the narrator is just not for me and my mind wandered SO much! The narrator had such a bland voice and the cadence never changed...and I just don't know, the narrator was not for me.

Darkly romantic, unsettling and moving all at once, A Study in Drowning is an atmospheric story about readers and their relationships to stories; academia and the institutional sexism that it is built upon; and the frustrating treatment of women's voices both in academia and in life, especially among family. Reid's prose is so heart-achingly beautiful, the book is filled to the brim with lines I want to read over and over again.

The Gothic backdrop of a crumbling estate on a cliff is the perfect setting for this dark academia story. I could practically smell the salt as I read the book. The rivals to lovers romance is so tender and beautiful and really sets this book apart as one of my favorites of all time. The main character, Effy, broke my heart because of how relatable and frustrating her experiences have been. The world building in this story is excellent, giving the reader the sense of a complete world full of its own myths, religion, and history. Reid is a master at writing fantasy romance that is intense, bold, unsettling, and touching, and she has proven herself yet again with this YA debut!

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books/HarperTeen for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for an arc of A Study in Drowning in exchange of my honest review.

It's official, Ava Reid is in my category of auto-buy author and I'm impressed how beautifully written and how she manages to include such powerful messages in such well-rounded stand-alone fantasy books. Her work seems to talk to each other but at the same time they are so diverse in themes that only show how versatile she is.

A Study in Drowning is the story of Effy, the only female student in an architect school that wished she could have been studying literature instead. When she gets the opportunity to work designing the house of her favorite author she jumps at the opportunity, just to arrive there and see Preston, a literature student that is trying to unravel this author's work.

As usual, Reid brings a lot of heavy themes to the book but woven them really well into the narrative. Starting with Effy, she is looked down upon not only by her peers, professors but her own mother, she also suffers sexual assaults from her "mentor" and still has to be quiet about it, and lastl,y she suffers from PTSD and illusions (which we will later learn what they are) and relies on pills to function. It was impossible for me not to compare her with Marlinchen from Juniper & Thorn. Reid again brings this theme of how survival is also bravery, and how you can seem powerless because you don't fight back, but it doesn't mean that you are less strong.

Moving on to a broader aspect of the book we also have the discussion of stories appropriation. We have so many examples in history of how women did marvelous academic discoveries that were not credit to them. This hit me right in the gut and I loved to see how Effy grew through the story and how he dealt with this issue at the end of the book.

We also have discussions about academic sexism, abusive power dynamics and misogyny. One point that really stuck with me is how the society perceives females as fragile/innocent/iffy GIRLS for everything, but they are WOMEN when they have to receive mockery and consequences of assaults they are victims of.

All those big and heavy discussions are super well rounded in a story that has rivals to lovers and this haunting, eerie, fae-like environment that Ava Reid writes so well.
I totally recommend and I will keep talking about it non stop!

Wow! This was definitely not what I was expecting first of all. It was very dark and at times heavy. I loved the bigger message it gives. The FMC did appear a bit immature but I think there was a point in that. I wasn’t too into the love story part (I didn’t feel the connection much), but I was very satisfied at the end. I thought the character arc was immensely important and fantastic for young women! I was always rooting for Effy. I did feel like it was very male-heavy, which I would assume is the point. But I did wish she had more support from a female voice OR we had the side that the females don’t support her… I just found that nagged at me a bit. Although again, there is a point there too but I just wanted her to have SOME female light in the dark. Overall it was very well done!! 4.5 stars rounded up! Thank you very much for Netgalley and the Harper Collins Teen for an advance copy!!

4.25/5

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This was a beautiful written novel that ties together both fantasy and the real world. The female roles in this book deal with the struggle of men dismissing their intelligence and strength while ultimately learning to stand up for themselves and fight back.