A gothic dark academia mystery featuring two rivals-to-lovers who find themselves hunting down the truth about the author of a famous story... only to find themselves fighting against the Fairy King and other dangers as the truth will come at a price. Effy Sayre lives in a world where women aren't afforded the same opportunities as men, and as the only woman in the architecture college (when she wants to be a literature student but it is forbidden for women to be in the literature college), life is hard enough, especially since she is still reeling from the scandal with her advisor... the one in which people think she slept with him to get ahead when the truth is that she didn't want any of it. Effy's only solace from her haunted visions, her terrible childhood, and the assault she faced is her book Angharad, a book that tells the epic story about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King and destroys him. Effy idolizes the author, Emrys Myrddin and the author himself is shrouded in mystery. Yet when the Myrddin family is offering to let a architecture student redesign the house, Effy knows its her chance to find out more about her author. What she didnt expect was that she would be going with Preston Héloury, a literature scholar who wants to expose Myrddin as a fraud and not the true author of Angharad. Things to also note about this universe is that Effy's home land is at war with its neighbor and one of Preston's parents is from the neighboring war land and he is also faced with prejudices. Effy immediately dislikes Preston because he rented all the books on Myrddin when she wanted them, she is also jealous that he is able to be a literature student. Though they both get off on the wrong foot they both find that they are hunting down the truth of the Fairy King, yet Effy is plagued by visions of the Fairy King and she doesn't know what's real and what's in her head. Yet the more they try to find answers the more danger closes in on them. Will they be able to find the truth before it's too late or will they die trying?

This is Ava Reid's third book and her first young adult novel, it features her gorgeous writing and its definitely an atmospheric read. The story deals with a lot of triggers: sexism/misogyny, a sexually-exploitative power imbalance, grooming, rape and dubcon, ableism, mental illness, an emotionally abusive parent, alcoholism, PTSD and intrusive memories, mentions of drowning, and child abandonment. Effy isn't really a likable character and comes off very very young and the writing feels a bit juvenile at times when it comes to her. I did like the overall mystery but I wish there was some character work on Effy and Preston, I wanted them to be a bit more fleshed out and kind of wished there was a better flow to their romance. I liked the book overall but it's definitely not my favorite of all her books. This is her first young adult novel and it definitely feels young as the characters read a bit more juvenile despite being in college. Overall, it's a beautiful atmospheric gothic read with a dash of mystery, romance, and fantasy!

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I enjoyed the book, it is great in that certain things are not explained when introduced, but are slowly given context as the story progresses. I loved the dark fairy tale feel, against a backdrop of misogyny and political progress. Things that are briefly mentioned that don’t seem important later become much more involved in the overall story. I absolutely enjoyed this book, it was a great read for me!

I was shocked by how much this book pulled me in, I read it quickly and in one sitting, needing to know what happened, who wrote the book in question. And honestly if anybody was going to get a lung disease from how moldy that house was.

????/5 ⭐️

I don’t know how to rate this book. I loved so so much of it but there were a few things that bothered me. So, while this is five stars it’s also not?

Ava Reid always, always creates an amazing atmosphere. The crumbling house on cliff, the dark academia tones, the unknowing of what’s reality and what’s not is just incredible. My skin had goosebumps so many times because Reid’s writing just sucked me into the story. Effy is an ode to those whose homes are stories. Whose life surrounds them and it was written amazingly. Effy is a complex character who shows you there is power is softness. The way she was depicted, especially the ableism and misogyny she faced, was handled wonderfully.

And Preston and Effy?? I loved them so much. They encouraged one another and helped each other grow. I spent so much time giggling at them, they were so cute.

While I did love Preston and Effy, Preston did feel a bit two dimensional and flat. He got better at the end but I wish we got more development on his end. I also wish some of the world building could have been explained a little bit more.

I love this book so much and I highly recommend it. I just can’t figure out the rating so at the moment I’m leaving it unrated.

From the first chapter I was hooked into this atmospheric and haunting gothic tale and it consumed all of my thoughts. I was even dreaming about it.

A Study in Drowning hits so many things I love to read about - a protagonist going to a mysterious manor with dark secrets, a story about the power of storytelling, a lovely slow burning rivals to lovers romance, the blurring of the lines between reality and fantasy, epigraphs at the beginning of every chapter...I could go on and on. To me, this was a perfect gothic fantasy and I think there are a lot of readers that will deeply connect with Effy's story in the way Effy connects with the story of Angharad.

This gets pitched as "dark academia" and while the story does have a lot of those elements and expertly engages with academic themes (particularly the institutional sexism/misogyny in academia, questions of authorship, and the concept of "The Death of the Author"), this is more of a traditional gothic novel with a slow-building plot full of haunting atmosphere and dread. It also is quite dark for a YA novel (major TW for sexual assault - though nothing is explicitly on the page it is a major element throughout) and I think it fits firmly into the upper YA/new adult/crossover age-range.

This was my first Ava Reid novel and now The Wolf and the Woodsman and Juniper and Thorn have climbed higher on my TBR. I can't wait to delve into those stories.

A Study in Drowning is a gothic infused, dark academia fantasy that reads like a creepy fairytale. There are a lot of themes woven into this novel, which is difficult for an author to balance, but Ava Reid handles it wonderfully. There are multiple genres in Drowning that are expertly crafted together: mystery, horror, paranormal, romance and fantasy. The writing is beautiful and enhances the story and atmosphere. I was very easily immersed in imagery while reading this novel.

This book would have been flawless if more character growth had been addressed. Effy, the main character, at times was difficult to like. She was stubborn and prejudice towards others from the country neighboring hers. While she did apologize for some of the words spoken, I felt a little more emphasis on character growth would have rounded out the character development.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this!

Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting book. I wasn't really sure how I felt about it in the beginning, but I ended up liking it about halfway through. I typically enjoy dark academia books, so that was a plus. This book is about Effy, who isn't taken seriously as someone who wants to be a literature student. When she receives the opportunity to redesign her literary hero's estate, she jumps at the chance. Unfortunately, when she arrives, she meets Preston who is determined to discredit all that the late author, Myyrddin's estate.

Their romance starts off as an enemies to lovers, but as Preston starts to ask her questions that don't add up, the two of them work o discover the truth about the late author. I didn't mind the romance, even though it may have been a little cliché. I didn't feel like it was insta-love, as Effy was adamant that Preston was wrong and the two of them couldn't stop bickering.

Overall, it was a unique story that I ultimately enjoyed. It did take me awhile to get into it, but once the mystery started, I was hooked.

Autumn is quickly approaching and, even though it’s still 80+ degrees where I live, I crave the autumnal, academia vibes. A Study in Drowning provides that atmosphere in spades – moldering manors, slowly drowning towns, and hints of an alternate reality at the edge of your vision. And if that’s not enough to sway you, it’s also a book about books.

Effy Sayre is dealing with a scandal and failing out of her architecture curriculum until she submits a design to the estate of a preeminent author who has just passed away. While she feels like she’s running away from her problems, this could also be a chance to salvage her academic career even though it’s in a remote location along the crumbling southern coast. Once there she finds she’s not the only university student at Hiraeth Manor. A boy named Preston Héloury from the literature college is also there putting together notes for his thesis, where he seems to be trying to defame the recently deceased and nationally beloved Emrys Myrddin. The two are immediately at odds because Effy dearly loves Myrddin’s works, though like rational folks, once they spend some time together their opinions of one another change. They begin working together on a scholarly article, determined to find the truth about Emrys Myrddin and the authorship of his most well known work, Angharad.

Though this is set in a fantastical world, there’s more of the idea of magic present in this tale than actual magic. Effy gets glimpses of what she thinks is the Fairy King, but it’s unclear if she’s hallucinating, as she has a history of seeing things that aren’t there and takes medication for it. There’s a great deal of folklore surrounding the Bottom Hundred area where Hiraeth Manor is located and there’s a vague protective magic attributed to figures called the Sleepers, but little information is given regarding them. Though light on magic, the story is absolutely dripping with evocative writing and some rather interesting excerpts from Myrddin’s poems and stories. This is, in my opinion, something that fans of The Night Circus might enjoy though the setting is certainly a bit darker.

While I loved the writing style and the general setting, I must admit I did not care for Effy much at all at the beginning of the story. She has her tragic backstory and is presented as a girl trying very hard not to drown in her circumstances, but that’s not why I didn’t care for her. She was so hostile and accusatory towards Preston when she first met him and then she pried into people’s business shamelessly while also getting angry when people asked her probing questions. I did grow to like her more towards the latter half of the book, but I found Preston to be my preferred main character. He was scholarly and smug, but he was also kind and patient even when Effy was at her most frustrating.

This was a surprising book, mostly because I had no idea what to expect from it when picking it up. I snagged a copy mostly because I liked the cover and it mentioned a Fairy King – what did I really have to lose except time? If you’re a fan of academically inclined books that are practically overflowing with *vibes and atmosphere* you should definitely check this out. Though it is labeled as young adult, I would say that it skews toward the older end of the YA demographic, as both the characters are in their first year of college. Overall, I enjoyed this and wouldn’t mind checking out Ava Reid’s popular adult book, Juniper & Thorn at some point.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book! <i>A Study in Drowning</i> comes out September 19, 2023.

<i>A Study in Drowning</i> follows Effy Sayre, who has always believed in fairy tales, even when those around her called her silly and made for doing so. Since childhood, she's found solace in her favorite book, Angharad, an epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, and then destroys him.

Effy's love of this story leads her to pausing her studies at her architecture college (a place where she feels alone and yearning for a life where she can study literature) to enter a contest to rebuild the author's, Emrys Myrddin's, crumbling, sea drenched estate. There, she meets Preston Héloury, a young literature scholar studying Myrddin’s papers, and is determined to prove her favorite author is a fraud.

This story has some pretty immaculate Gothic vibes. You can smell the wooden decay, taste the salt of the sea, feel the wind brush against you as Effy explores the caverns of Hiraeth Manor. The writing is, for the most part, superb. This is definitely a story for the spooky literature girlies. Reid does a fantastic job at crafting the atmosphere of the novel, building up that creeping, claustrophobic, Gothic dread. This is the perfect novel for the "ber" months as the days get shorter and colder. I would not say this is a dark academia novel, so if you're looking for those specific vibes, adjust your expectation. There's a lot said about literature, but it's less of a critique or exploration of academia as an institution and more of a Gothic about the ways men harm women.

Effy is a great main character, especially for younger readers. The way Reid explores her trauma and PTSD is so well done, and I think it's something that is so important to discuss in YA lit. Preston was kind of one note, but I liked his character. He's got the grumpy yet tender scholar vibes down. I do wish there had been more of a resolution to Effy's initial prejudice of him. It kind of just gets forgotten amidst the rest of the plot, but the author takes such great lengths to describe how these two cultures have been at war together and how they view one another, but doesn't really do anything with that. There's slight conversations around colonization and stereotyping, but it doesn't go much further. Considering this is a pseudo fantasy world based on Welsh folktales and stories, I think that could have (and should have) been given a bit more nuance.

Really, I think this book suffered the most from having the too much gene in terms of plot. The main framing of the story, Angharad, Myrddin, and the Fairy King was well done. But the rest of the world building was a bit underdeveloped. For instance, the story is an amalgamation of Welsh folktales and the real Victorian/early modern era, which didn't always work for me. There was a dissonance there that I couldn't ignore. And there is a great subplot of the Sleepers that was so underused and underdeveloped, which is a shame because it was super interesting. <spoiler> I also have no idea what to make of the Effy as a changeling subplot. That felt...thrown in.</i>spoiler> Some more extended developing or trimming of the world building would have made this a tighter story.

I do love what this book has to say and its overall message, though it does feel a bit didactic, especially near the end.

Overall, I had a good time. I think this is a story I'll revisit over the years in the colder months.

I have really enjoyed Ava Reids's previous two books, however, this one just didn't work for me. I didn't feel like we got too much in the way of world-building, and I didn't get any chemistry at all between Effy and Preston. At their first meeting she has an immediate dislike of him not just because he is part of the county their at war with, but mostly because he checked out all the books she wanted at the library. Which is irritating but not a reason to immediatly hate someone.
I enjoyed the setting of the estate, and liked how Effy and Preston went about digging into Emry's past. But I felt like nothing really happened until almost the end of the book, then everything resolved super fast, and most of my reading experience I felt bored.

While this one in particulat didn't work for me, I will definielty check out other books by Ava Reid in the future.

Absolutely loved this!! It was a thrilling read and I will read anything that Ava writes. I think this book needs to be picked up by more book box companies to create special editions. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review.

A Study in Drowning had the perfect gothic and academic setting for an epic romantasy. We follow our main character Effy and her self-termed "nemesis" Preston as they work to uncover the truth about their favorite author, a recently deceased Emrys Myrddin. Despite this intriguing premise, I can't help but feel like A Study in Drowning fell flat. Maybe I should even reword this to say, "BECAUSE of how intriguing the premise and world, the rest of the book fell flat."

Effy and Preston live in a country where the north is constantly on the brink of war with its neighbor and the south is slowly being sloughed off into the sea. The nation's most acclaimed southern author, Myrddin, has recently passed and our two students find themselves embarking on a journey south, determined to know more about the man and the mythical fairytales he left behind.

From this description alone, I would expect this book to be 5 stars or more. However, my brief summary above feels just as in depth as Ava Reid goes at times. We are gifted such an amazing world but are only allowed to look at it through the eye of a needle. I finished the book thinking, but what about this oncoming and ongoing war? (For relevancy context, the love interest is from the warring country.) Does Effy ever speak to her mother again? How do her feelings and relationship change once she has concurred her demons at the end of the book? What do Effy and Preston think of the South once all is said and done? What do they think of

Effy is smart. I cannot argue against this because it was told to us multiple times, though only shown to us maybe twice. After being rejected from the literature program due to her gender, Effy uses her top scores to enter the entirely male architecture school since it is considered the second most prestigious to literature. With her obvious intellect, I was desperately missing any and all introspection she would have the events and world around her. She does not question anything or anyone, nor delve into the complexities of her world or relationships. The most introspection we truly get from Effy is in her focus on Preston. Having loved the idea of two students exploring literature and the history of their favorite author, I couldn't believe there was such minimal analysis and almost no witty debates. Instead of thrilling banter, I felt like we were left with a lot of childish bickering between the two main characters. And to make matters worse, I often left this bickering thinking Effy was acting immature rather than the intelligent character I kept waiting for her to be.

Every male character in the book also had a strange fascination with Effy. I kept waiting for this to be "explained" as I couldn't understand why there would be so much attention called to almost every single man commenting on Effy's effortless beauty or "innocence" for no good reason. It felt like every single interaction Effy had with someone was predatory, but the interaction would never be discussed or viewed by Effy as predatory. I'm not sure I have explained it well here, I can't say more without risk of spoilers. I do recommend you be cognizant of my trigger warnings at the bottom.

I wonder if the author will write a companion book to A Study in Drowning following different characters in this same world. I have a hard time accepting that Ava Reid created such an interesting world but then refused to provide us with some of the most compelling details. I don't want more of Effy (I think I would be okay with more of Preston) but I am desperate for more of this unique world.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: I would also like to make an important note that my ARC did not contain any mention of trigger warnings. I would like to add my own warning that this book deals with sexual assault/sexual harassment as well as parental neglect. I personally did not like the way sexual assault/harassment was treated in this book. I would consider it a major plot point as it greatly influenced our characters and their actions. However, there is never any discussion or retrospection by Effy on the matter. My dislike of how this issue was handled was emphasized even more by my earlier mention of the way every man was interested in Effy's looks.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I can honestly say that I’ve never read anything like this book before. When I try to describe it, two words come to mind: weird… and engrossing. This book made me think of Wuthering Heights many times - a creepy old house out in the middle of formidable and scary surroundings with a grouchy dude roaming around the halls… but with some magical realism thrown in as well as a super precious romance (the kind of romance that I almost never enjoy).

Let’s start with what I loved about this book. It’s a gothic tale with a feminist twist with some of the best atmospheric writing I’ve ever read. There was just a perpetual creepiness throughout the whole novel that was irresistible to me. So many times I would think to myself how weird this story was… and then it would be an hour later and I still couldn’t put the book down. I felt seen with the mental illness rep and the feminist bent, and I loved the main character Effy. This girl has been through the ringer. She’s dealt with an emotionally unavailable mother, a traumatic childhood experience, grooming, sexual assault, public shaming, and a systemic misogynistic society that refuses to allow her to be seen as worthy in any capacity. She loves literature and truly feels saved by her favorite stories and author - so many readers will see themselves in Effy, and I am included in that group. I don’t want to talk too much about the ending, but I loved that too!

Now the things I didn’t enjoy. This story takes place in a different world that alludes to politics and war, but nothing is truly fleshed out. The book feels very Victorian (this may have been because of the connections I kept making to Wuthering Heights), but there are jarring modern elements like cars and telephones which would snap me out of the story. I also found the male lead, Preston, to be incredibly bland and boring. I was hoping there would be some sort of twist to make this character more complex to me, but that never occurred.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down, but there were a couple of elements that drove me crazy at the same time. This book is unique, and I loved the message it conveyed, but I wish it had committed more fully to a dark and fantastical tale instead of watering it down with sweet romance and modern references. Grades 9+

"I was a woman when it was convenient to blame me, and a girl when they wanted to use me."

A Study in Drowning was an avalanche of themes in a story of what we popularly call modern gothic fantasy. We return to a world of academia, where sexism is palpable and women are considered "frivolous" and incapable of lofty arguments but are skilled seductresses of men who are not only twice their age but hold a position of power.

The novel follows Effy, the only architecture student at the university, who ends up at the mansion of her favorite (recently) deceased writer to remodel it. Soon, however, we are drawn into the magical atmosphere of the mansion itself and Bottom Hundred, a town threatened by a second flood and the clutches of the Fairy King. At the estate, she is in the company of the writer's disturbing son and Preston, a pragmatic literature student with a hint of arrogance.

By its academic nature, "A Study in Drowning" brings us closer to the Dark Academia vibes, plus the Rivals to Lovers, which I like very much. Also, the folklore around the Fae Folk plays a vital role in the plot. I just couldn't put the book down, it had everything I needed to have me itching and beyond, including depictions of hallucinations and anxiety.

I was a little hesitant to read this book, because my previous encounter with Reid's novels (The Wolf and the Woodsman) was rather lacking, but in the end I have to say that I'm really glad I did. It's not a complete 5 star read for me, but it is a good story with lyrical writing, fascinating world-building, and a fascinating plot. I don't think anyone can argue that Reid lacks imagination, because every time I hear about one of her stories I think "huh, never heard of something like that before", and now having finished another of her books I can say "huh, never read anything quite like that before". The world is both similar enough to our own that it's fairly easy to envision, while being different enough that you really want to just wander around in it for hours because you know there's just so much more to it that what you're seeing on the page. In fact, if Reid told me she was coming back to this world and expanding on it I would be thrilled, because I feel like there's so much here that's gone unexplored I would love to more of it. Her writing is lush and lyrical, and while I didn't end up highlighting anything while I was reading I would love to go back over the story and do that, because I'm sure my copy would be full of sections that spoke to me. Honestly for me the only real hiccup with things in this book was our main character. For the most part she was great, but everything seemed to make her cry, and it just didn't feel like it fit well with who she was. After everything she had been through (both in the story and before it started) the idea that she would cry just because she spoke to some random student seemed wrong to me. I also have to say it was slightly exhausting. So much so I did think about giving up on this book less than 100 pages in, but in the end I stuck it out, and I'm glad I did. I'm sure this is sure to be a big hit in the YA world, probably even more so with older teens and adults, and I will happily direct people to it who are looking for something unique. I look forward to hand-selling this, especially as the holidays get closer, and somehow Reid has managed to pull me back from the brink of being an author I just ended up avoiding, so bravo to that.

As my introduction to Ava Reid and her writing style, I found A Study in Drowning to not be a great place for me to "jump off the diving board".

Ava's passages are written smoothly. The story of A Study of Drowning is unique but I found it to be ordinarily so.

Effy is the only woman in the architecture program at her college in Caer-Isle. And with that has come some advances and trauma from a member of staff there. She is severely traumatized, constantly envisioning the incident over and over. Looking through Effy's eyes is like looking through a fractured mirror. Nothing is clear, or as it seems. It is very warped, strange, and shattered. It almost makes her an unreliable narrator.

So when an opportunity arises to work on her favorite author's home. While hesitant, she finds that it would be a great way to leave it all behind.

Many will feel this is a "romantasy". And while there is some romance it isn't at the forefront of the story.

"Your only enemy is the sea"

The dedication to this book reads: “This is a love story” and (mean this will all love) It is NOT. Now, fantasy stories are not all about romance for me, and I am not one to complain about a fantasy book having too little romance. But, when you start the story and get this dedication, it sets the wrong tone for the book.

Effy and Preston’s romance is underdeveloped at best. The entire conflict between them is one-sided anger over something stupid. Then it's like Effy flips a switch and decides she wants him. There are a few moments of sudden pining, that were probably supposed to be tension, and suddenly they're together.

While I would say A Study in Drowning has a great plot, it isn't necessarily driven by the plot but more so by Effy and her beliefs. Typically I am a character-driven person (and if you are too this would be a great read) but I couldn't find a minuscule amount of caring for these characters. Effy while obviously mentally going through something serious, feels a little too childlike, giving A Study in Drowning an overly YA feel.

“Everything ancient must decay”

Beyond this, it is slow-paced, and there are major holes and details missing in the story that never really get explained. There are mentions of magic but again, it never gets explained, so you are left feeling like you are missing something. The book could have had an additional 50 pages to flush it out a little more adequately.

The ending felt as if it didn't quite fit. The Faerie King is resolved way too easily, especially given everything he represents in Effy’s life. I also was left with major questions. 1. Why was Drowning a capitalized word? What does the sleeper magic entail? What does hearing the bells mean?

“That was the cruelest irony: the more you did to save yourself, the less you became a person worth saving.”

So then the question is, do I think you should read it? While I say yes. I will also say no (and yes I will tell you why).

A Study in Drowning is a good story packaged in a way that is easily digestible. In addition, the story has great potential. If you go into it without setting yourself up with expectations (skip the dedication page) I think you will enjoy it. In turn, I say no because the story is basic and lackluster. I am not saying that every story needs to be poignant and thoughtful (some of the best stories aren't) but I read for escappy (escape in Dori's mind). Wanting to get swept up in a great time and feeling like I am not reading.

I felt like A Study in Drowning wasn't enough of a great time until the very latter half of the book while winding down the story. So it gets 3 stars. I will explore Ava's other reads. A Study in Drowning just wasn't for me. I do recommend, it for the Gothic fans though.

Thank you to HarperTeen and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book immediately grabbed me, and I read the first half super quickly! It didn't turn out to be the book I thought it would be. I thought there would be a lot more of the house itself being the evil, but it ending up being what it was was very interesting. Overall a pretty good YA read.

This book was amazing, and lived up to every expectation I had set. The overall idea is incredibly unique, and its execution was satisfying. This book embodies the YA genre (if you’re not a big fan of YA you might not enjoy it as much) and I adored it every step of the way

From the very beginning of the book we learn a lot about Effy, her from mannerisms and ideas, that propels the first chapter forward while explaining the word she lives in. This to me was engaging and kept me reading without becoming bored.

Effy represents a very real character with complex human emotions that come from her specific experiences. The character development in this book is absolutely breathtaking. The intricacies of each character are clearly shown, and characters that were relatable and easy to understand were showcased. In addition to this the discussion of anxiety, and trauma is well develop and it was incredible seeing Effy work through her internal struggles.

The chapters do seem to have time jumps where you have to continue reading to understand where you are. I know this is not everyones jam, however, I adored it as there was always interesting hooks to the time jump and I felt like it really propelled the beginning chapters which are often drawn out in other books. I felt like the pacing overall was amazing and the logical progression of the book was great. Nothing included felt unimportant, and the book easily follows an engaging sequence of events that didn’t create a stalemate in the book.

I got the honor of reading an ARC of this book and I was not disappointed. I adored this book so much. The characters, and story itself, were amazing and I hope other see the beauty in it.

I love the way that Ava Reid writes. This was extremely lyrical and I have read it twice since receiving this ARC. The story is very gripping and the dark academia vibe is something that I needed in YA form and I'm glad Reid wrote it. The prose is fantastic and the background of Effy is beautifully haunting. I spent most of my time questioning the reality of everything in this book. The idea of Effy's favorite author being a farce? Executed perfectly. The lore behind the house and the crumbling foundation and how that all relates to the story as a whole.

I started to sell this book in June and having already seen pre-orders of it come by!

5/5 Stars

TL;DR - Lyrical, haunting, and deceptively enchanting, this book is a masterpiece of YA literature. A deeply feminist exploration all the ways men invade womens’ lives and take credit for their brilliance, and how the women are silenced and confined and ultimately, forgotten. Just enough magic and mystery to sate this avid fantasy reader, as well as stark and authentic looks into trauma, grief, and all the ways we let others dictate the rules of our realities.

Big thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing the ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review!

***Trigger warnings for: sexism/misogyny, a sexually-exploitative power imbalance, grooming, rape and dubcon, ableism, mental illness, an emotionally abusive parent, alcoholism, PTSD and intrusive memories, mnetiones of drowning, and child abandonment.***

"But didn’t all drownings begin with a harmless dribble of water?"

‘A Study in Drowning’ by Ava Reid is a dark academia, magical realism novel about Euphemia “Effy” Sayre, a first-year architecture student who would much rather be studying literature at her university, if only women were allowed into the program. She’s been obsessed for years with the works of Emrys Myrriden, the late author most-known for his epic tale ‘Angharad’, the story of a woman who falls in love with The Fairy King, when a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity arises to write herself into his story, albeit posthumously. Effy wins a competition to renovate the author’s family estate, but venturing to the remote Hiraeth Manor offers more questions than answers, and something is hiding in the drowning mansion - something that knows her name.

Holy freaking wow, this book. I was so incredibly excited to get approved for an ARC of this - I’ve heard good things about Ava Reid and was eager to see her work for myself - and I have to say, she did not disappoint! She might genuinely be my new favorite author - brb, adding her other books to my TBR.

I can’t talk about this book without first talking about how profoundly feminist it is. Like the sea into Hiraeth Manor, it’s dripping from every crack and crevice, and I am HERE for it. It’s such a timely, poignant exploration of how (historically and presently) womens’ genius always plays second fiddle to the aspirations of men, and how time and again, women are forced to take a backseat in their own brilliance, and ultimately, their own lives and legacies. I cannot possibly express how much this book filled me with righteous feminine rage, on Effy’s behalf and that of other female characters, and on behalf of all the women who will never see their names as anything more than footnotes in the annals of patriarchal history. Ava, thank you so much for giving voices to these women with your own.

In that vein, this book explores some pretty dark things, as you can see from the trigger warnings. And yet, I didn’t feel bogged down by these themes as I normally do - rather, I found them inspiring in my own journey with trauma and healing. I really appreciate the author’s care around sensitive subjects, and that they were explored thoughtfully and realistically. I found the depictions of PTSD and intrusive memories in particular very relatable, and I am always glad to see it portrayed correctly and respectfully. Again, Ava, thank you.

That aside, this book is genuinely GOOD. The writing is simple and clean, and subtly beautiful. It’s atmospheric to the max, equal parts character study and spooky mystery - absolutely checking all the boxes for a Gothic novel. As a bonus, it gives very subtle 'Howl’s Moving Castle' vibes, even if it’s low-magic, and that makes it all the more charming. And let me tell you, this book is LAYERED. So many things that seem mundane at first, but in hindsight, they’re all cohesive threads in a tapestry that weave together into something magnificent. A lot of things to think about, maybe too many to grasp in just one read-through, but boy am I excited to pick this up again in the near future and see all the little things I missed.

I love the excerpts from different in-universe books at the beginning of each chapter. It’s a little stylistic choice that I greatly enjoy, and it really adds flavor and context to the world and the story that we wouldn’t get naturally otherwise. I am a sucker for fictional academic works in books, though.

"Effie was no great designer, but she was an excellent escape artist. She was always chipping away at the architecture of her life until there was a crack big enough to slip through. Whenever she was faced with danger, her mind manifested a secret doorway, a hole in the floorboards, somewhere she could hide or run to."

Effy is amazing and I would die for her. She’s so clever, so strong, and even though she’s dealing with a lot mentally and emotionally, she carries with all with such grace - and she’s also not afraid to break down when it becomes too much, something I deeply appreciate as someone who’s dealt with some of the things she does. Girl has fire and drive, and I stan.

To Preston I give the rare accolade of *chef’s kiss*. I’m a sucker for soft scholarly bois, but he’s just, perfection. Sure, he can be conceited (something Effy calls him out on, you go, queen!) and arrogant and he does talk and talk, but as someone whose partner is also a scholarly soft boi, it reads as fully accurate and endearing to me. Okay, maybe I’m biased, but he’s still amazing. He’s kind and empathetic, and he doesn’t question Effy’s strength or her merit (at least, not once he gets to know her, this is rivals-to-lovers after all!). I could go on and on, but suffice to say, I really love him as a love interest.

In that vein, I really did like the romance in this. Maybe to could have gone a little harder on the “rivals” part, but that’s purely subjective and what’s there is still very satisfying. It gives very Scully and Mulder (from The X-Files) vibes, a non-believer and a believer having arguments over reality and fantasy, which is something I just adore. The chemistry is believable to me, and the course of their falling for each other was extremely enjoyable. Give me more male love interests who are genuine cinnamon rolls, please!

If I had to name something that I didn’t like about this book (and I am hard-pressed, believe me), it would be that it’s a bit hard to nail down when exactly this story is supposed to take place, albeit in a fictional capacity. First I thought it was late Victorian, maybe turn-of-the-century, but then cars are mentioned, so I amended my inner imagining to the late 20s, maybe early 30s. But then television is mentioned, and sure, it was invented in the late 20s, but it didn’t become a household thing until (by my limited research), the early 50s. The person who owned the TV was well-to-do, so owning one earlier is believable, but it still threw me for a loop. If I had to guess, I would say mid-40s in Earth-years, but I would have appreciated some more clarity. But that’s literally it, no more nit-picky things (I know, I’m shocked too!).

Final Thoughts:

Ugh, this was so good! I will not be hesitating to add a physical copy of this to my shelves, and I think I’m actually lucky enough that one of the pretty-book subscription boxes will be doing a fancy edition - yes, please!