Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Effy Sayre is a failing architecture student who dreams of being in the literature college that is for men only. When she gets the opportunity to help rebuild her favorite late author's estate, she jumps at the chance. But she has to deal with a broody literature student trying to tear down the author's legacy, and the author's strange son in a falling apart house in this gothic/dark academia setting. The house is not all it seems and Effy will have to figure out what is real and what is in her imagination.

The good: I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. The themes of feminism, gothic lit, discrimination, fairy tales, and mental health were strong throughout the book. Effy was a relatable character (I, too, want to cry at every small and large inconvenience) who went through many struggles in her world. This is very character-driven, and Effy stands out as a realistic heroine. The writing was beautiful and the setting very haunting.

The meh: This did feel relatively YA which isn't my favorite. I would've loved an adult take on this book. At the end, it felt like there was a lot of explaining and telling which was a lost opportunity for the pair to do some more detective work and figure things out for themselves. Instead, we're told the entire mystery's resolution in a few pages.

The verdict: You will like this book if you like gothic settings, mental health and medicine taking rep, YA, literature and dark academia, and light enemies to lovers romance.

A StoryGraph review will be posted now and an Instagram post will be made the week of publication. Thank you again!

Young adult, romance debut by Reids that turned out to be much more than premise and promise. I will start with an official statement: I do not like romance books. I will read the genre only on specific occasions, when I feel like it, not when it is recommended to me. Also, if any story, from any genre has cheesy, horny people who strive towards each other, I wanna die by thousand deaths as they would be less painful. The Fourth Wing is the best example of that. But about this masterpiece in another post.

In this book we meet Effy who lives in the world where women mean nothing. They face blunt discrimination and contempt on every corner. Effy as a first woman in architecture college must find her own voice and space as she's vied as nothing more than a pretty piece of flesh. When opportunity arises, she submits her project for a remodeling competition created by the son of a famous writer whose work is very personal to Effy. There she met a literature student who wants to discover how much the work of the late author was authentic. Both find themselves in the place of fairy tale with gothic vibe full of dark mystery and constant dull weather. It's not a secret we have enemies to lover trope here.

With this book, that I gave 5 stars without hesitation (I rarely do that, bite me latest TikTok drama). The only problem I had was the pacing of the romance as it often occurs in YA novels. Everything else hits exactly right cords in my heart. I felt like reading Zafon's Marina with a hint of dark academia. The writing is stunning and the first time I really didn't need the audiobook to keep me focused. Also, the characters were very well-built with hints here and there about their motivations. Of course, there were sporadic plot holes and I was questioning how it makes sense, yet it didn't ruin my fun at all. The idea for the story was enough to keep my captivated and I see it as a perfect material for possible TV series. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Ava Reid's debut YA novel is powerfully written and thematically ambitious. Effy is yet another Reid protagonist who bucks traditional trends of strength in feminist narratives, highlighting the relationship between a society that dehumanizes and silences women and their subsequent reduction to vessels for male fantasies. The entire story reflects a harrowing narrative of disdain and dismissal that has haunted real female artists and writers throughout history. Included in Reid's acknowledgments is a brief nod to Zelda Fitzgerald, whose presence recontectualized some of the real world parallels in the novel I had missed. TW for sexual assault, none of which is depicted on page but contributes to a thoughtful exploration of trauma, PTSD, and the history of violence embedded within academia.

This is also the first novel of Reid's which, true to her forward, reads as definite love story. While Effy and Preston's romance is not the central axis upon which the story turns, it is a tender tale of two vastly different people finding love in common ground. It helps that their dynamic is set against a gorgeously bleak seaside gothic, in a crumbling manor dripping with salt and secrets. The location and the world, are beautifully imagined, with an intriguing mix of modern conveniences and old-world superstitions. .

My one main issue with the story is somewhat minor and personal but reflects a broader trend in YA novels that makes me very, very uncomfortable: the romanticization of cigarettes and smoking. I have no problem with this is stories targeting adults, but the love interest is frequently shown smoking and sharing a cigarette is notable romantic interaction at one point early on. I credit literature that aestheticized smoking in this way with a narrow miss with nicotine in my late teenage years, and find it very unfortunate to see it promoted thusly in a novel directed at young adults. .

I haven’t read a well-done, character-driven gothic read in such a long time. And boy oh boy, did this book deliver!!! The story immediately sweeps you off your feet the first few chapters and keeps you guessing till the very end. The writing style definitely added to the gothic atmosphere and the characters were so fascinating! I couldn’t tear my eyes off of them for a moment! I know we are nowhere near the fall, but this book will immediately transport you to cold nights and eerie adventures. If this sounds interesting to you, then I recommend picking up this read!

This is a tricky one. My quick review is that I absolutely loved this book, but my feelings are more complicated than that.

Let me start off by saying I am a sucker for dark academia, books about books, and gothic settings, so this book would have had to try hard to disappoint. I'm glad to say that wasn't the case. The decaying almost-haunted house atop a cliff setting was visceral, the enemies-to-lovers romance was incredibly satisfying, and the themes of institutional sexism in academia, the relationship between author and reader, and space for old-world beliefs in a modern world all worked wonderfully.

That said, I still can't help but feel like something was missing. Almost like a new partner tried cooking your favorite childhood dish and although the meal was absolutely delicious and filling in its own right, you can still tell an ingredient was missing‚ even if you can't tell which.

Perhaps that was the intention. This book is about questioning reality—not knowing who or what to believe—and perhaps that applies not just to the story, but to the author's actual writing as well. The story moves along quickly, almost conveniently, setting up only what needs to happen. As I was reading, I felt like key details were being omitted or perhaps happening just offscreen. I knew there was more—a larger world, a larger story—but I wasn't privy to it. At least not yet. Just like Effy, I had to question whether to believe what I was being told or believe what I knew I was seeing. I'm still questioning it. So, I guess in that regard, the book was successful.

Haunting and beautifully written, this book is something special.

Thanks to HarperCollins/HarperTeen and NetGalley for allowing me to read this digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Everyone say thank you to Ava Reid for this book. A Study in Drowning is beautifully written and so engrossing that I could not put the book down the moment I started it. You have everything: dark academia, academic rivals, a spooky manor by the sea, and so much more. I loved this book and I absolutely cannot wait for it to be the book of the fall!

I had the pleasure of reading an early copy of A Study in Drowning thanks to NetGalley! This is my first Ava Reid book.

Effy is a first year student at the only college that accepts women: architecture. While she would rather study literature, she’s making the most of the academic environment…despite her unstable mindset caused by harassment and a possible childhood encounter with the Fair Folk.

Reid provides intriguing world building from the first chapter. Llyr and Argant are two warring countries sharing a border each with their own folklore and superstitions.

The story read like Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries with its literature-within-literature format, scholarly protagonists, and fae inspiration.

I enjoyed the metaphor between Effy’s PTSD being described as the “deep water place” and the literal “drowning” of the southern portion of Llyr. Reid provides beautiful descriptions that make me think she based Effy’s experience on her own.

The actual defeat of the Fairy King should have been extended. It needed more angst between the King and Effy. It was over too fast. And too easy. In a way Effy was defeating her demons and nay-sayers in this moment so I wish it had been extended.

I’m happy to say that I had an inclination that Myrrdin’s widow was the true author of <i>Angharad</i> in the beginning of the book. This is confirmed in chapter sixteen but the author wrote it perfectly so that the readers would be suspicious but some might not see it until then.

Overall a beautiful story about female agency and oppression.
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Content Warnings: implied sexual harassment/abuse, prescription medication use

This was my first time reading anything from Ava Reid, and while I don't think it really changed my life, I really enjoyed a lot of elements in it and found it to be an enjoyable read.
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Things I really liked:
- It has all of the eerie, atmospheric touches that we all love in the dark academia genre that make you feel like you're reading in a creepy abandoned manor by candlelight instead tucked up in bed with your kindle
- The plot was engaging. You are alongside the main character as she untangles the mystery revolving around her favorite author as well as the mysteries of her own mind and self .
- Preston (he's adorable in his own way)
- Effy was complicated, she carried around a lot of trauma, and existed in a constant state of survival that we may not be able to relate to, but can definitely understand. There are a lot of powerful sentiments surrounded womanhood and how history has treated women (I loved all of the eerie ocean quotes).
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It did start off a bit slow for me - and I really did not like the way that Effy was characterized at first. She sort of got repetitive, it just seemed like every other page 'tears welled in her eyes' or 'her face was warming' and I kind of just started envisioning her as a sniffling little tomato. I didn't want or expect more from her per se, but I wish her personality could have been developed in a way that, to me, felt less tedious. She pulled it together quite a bit and I started to root for her toward the end but I had a hard time getting past that. The ending itself also felt really sudden and rushed and I wish it had been a bit more gradual.
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**Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review**

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

To be honest, I almost put this down multiple times, despite the fact that there was so much about it that I loved: the academic setting, the pseudo-Welsh setting, the slow romance, the Gothic vibes. I just couldn't get on board with Effy's character for the longest time. I wanted her to be stronger, to stop apologizing, to stop hiding. But her growth through the story really pulled me in, and I definitely changed my mind about her by the end. By the end of this novel, I was completely in love with it and will definitely be adding it to my shelves on release day.

3.5/5

As a long-time Ava Reid fan, I was really excited to get my hands on this ARC!

This piece is unlike The Wolf & The Woodsman and Juniper & Thorn in the way that it is a more YA-focused dark academia novel, rather than an adult fantasy novel. I enjoyed seeing Reid explore a new genre, and I believe that she captured the spirit of dark academia quite well. I always enjoy a hard-hitting female-focused storyline, and Effy was certainly a powerful character in both her perseverance and bravery.

Ava Reid always manages to write extremely likable protagonists, and I especially enjoyed Preston's character: I love that he was a shining light in a world seemingly filled with cruel and wicked men.

Overall, I thought that the plot was well-rounded, but there were also moments that could have used slightly better pacing. I thought that the climax and resolution felt a little bit rushed, and I wish there had been a bit more of a gradual conclusion.

I always really enjoy Reid's writing style and prose, and she definitely continued to express her talents in this book! Overall, I enjoyed this book and am very excited to see what she comes up with in the future!

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review - thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins!

A Study in Drowning is in the style of a classic fairytale, which is to say it is dark.

Effy has been told since she was a child that her sightings of the fairy king were hallucinations, that she needed to be a "good girl" and take her medicine, to the point that her mother asks her if she's taking her medication when she shows strong emotions, like being on the edge of crying. As a first-year student in the architecture college who dreamed of being admitted to the literature college (despite them not accepting any women), Effy couldn't resist the opportunity to design a manor in honor of her absolute favorite author just six months after his death. Imagine her surprise when she winds up staying at the manor, working with the author's son on her design for the manor!

Imagine her surprise, when Effy encounters P. Héloury (her self-styled nemesis that checked out every single library book on Myrddin that she'd wanted to use to research her architectural design) there on behalf of the literature college.

Imagine her surprise as the world she's been told is fake begins to collide with the world she's been told is real, as she begins to question everything.

TWs for abuse of power, mention of & brief (non-graphic) descriptions of sexual assault by an authority figure.

I had many theories and thoughts and was trying to put some things together as I was reading through - this definitely kept me hooked!

<spoiler>I swore early on that I would throw a fit if Effy was ""fixed by"" (or had) a romance by the end of the story - and somehow Reid convinced me with Preston's gentleness and kindness that, yes. Effy knows this doesn't repair her trauma. But she deserves that kind of gentle kindness and it's ok for that to be in a romantic relationship. So well done on Reid's part! You convinced me and also I ship it.</spoiler>

Effy Sayre is a first year architecture student who would rather be studying literature. At the beginning of her story, she finds a poster for a design contest to redesign the estate of Emrys Myrddin, her favorite author. If she can't study his works, she'll at least enter the design contest to see his home in southern Llyr.
Upon arriving, she finds a decrepit, waterlogged manor on a cliffside and is greeted by an academic rival, Preston Héloury whose thesis she disagrees with. Regardless of their differences, they band together to solve the mystery of Myrddin's principle work, Angharad, in the face of natural and supernatural forces at play.
My scholarly heart was filled with joy reading this Gothic/dark academia/young adult mystery. Can I just say how much it pleases me to puzzle out the little details in Reid's works? Like Llyr is Wales while Argant is possibly Brittany? The university is in Caer-Isel, the mythical sunken city of Ys, and Llyr went through a "Drowning" a little over 200 years earlier in the story. Emrys Myrddin? *Kind of a spoiler* Immortal Bard?! We also get some nods to Marlovian theory going on later in the plot, and the publisher of the famed novel at the center of the mystery is called Marlowe! *Chef kiss*
The themes of ASiD are numerous and complex: superstition, fairies, misogyny, women's roles in academia. But the one that stuck out to me most was mental illness. Effy questions her reality throughout the book as she confronts visions of the Fairy King and dang, if that ain't a trauma response. Even her resilience as she struggles and survives is a sign of her past trauma.
Misogyny and its trappings are the other themes that stuck out to me. Effy is barred from the college of literature since women "have not, as a sex, demonstrated great strength in the faculties of literary analysis or understanding."
First of all, ugh. Every man except for Preston says something misogynistic to her. Ugh. Second, it was interesting to see the internal rebellion Effy had in the face of such outright misogyny. Eventually, she was able to stick up for herself in a way that made the ending satisfying.
The atmosphere of the story was immaculate! The crumbling Gothic manor on a cliff by the sea, the stormy weather, the gruff and helpful harbinger in town. I. Ate. It. Up.
There's also outright romance and romantic tropes in the book that I haven't seen in Reid's other works. I enjoyed the way she incorporated them and molded them to her style.
I can't recommend this book enough. I hope my review has convinced you to read it, and that you'll pick it up when it's released in September!
Also, many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am an Ava Reid stan. She can do absolutely no wrong in my mind, and this book is just as incredible as Woodsman and Juniper. The writing in this book is absolutely immaculate and I am obsessed with effy. However, I do think that Reid is generally better suited to writing adult fiction.

Effy is the lone female student at Caer-Isel’s College of Architecture, who ends up with a unique opportunity to design a house for the estate of her favorite (dead) author. Upon arriving at the estate, she finds that the people in the Bay of Nine Bells take their fairytales and superstitions very seriously.

There is so much to love about this book. The fairytale aspect, the imagery that is so reflective of both the fairytale at the center of the story and the emotions of the characters themselves. It’s dark academia, with fairytales and romance but without the extreme pretentiousness. It’s an onion and it has layers and I loved pulling it apart as I read, trying to figure out for myself what was real and what was imagined. I loved it and Ava Reid is quickly becoming one of my autobuy authors.

This was absolutely lovely! There are so many teen fantasy books in the market nowadays, but this one stands out from the rest. I have been craving a book like this for years. Think early Sarah J Maas or "Poison Study".
This book was everything I had been wanting and missing. Excellent dialogue, solid world building, an independent, likeable heroine, romance. I just savored each page and was very sorry when it ended. I will definitely be buying this book in print! TEN STARS!

This book is lyrical, beautifully written, and enchanting. You are transported into this world with ease and find yourself never wanting to leave. I loved the romance, the mystery, and the entire plot development. I wish I’d had this when I was a Young Adult, it would have easily changed my life then.

The thing I love about Ava Reid's writing is that no matter what, she draws you in. This book was no different. I thought the characters were compelling, and the story was interesting. It does drag a bit at times, but I enjoyed it overall. 4/5 stars, and Ava Reid is an author I'll continue to read from!

Thank you so much to HarperCollins & NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Study In Drowning follows Effy Sayre, a college-aged female who has had visions of The Fairy King since she was a little girl. Effy is the only female in her architectural program and enters a contest to redesign the estate of one of her favorite authors. She is competing against an English major named Preston who hopes to expose the author, Emrys Myrddin. The two start out as academic rivals and slowly burn to a passionate pair worth swooning over.

This is a beautifully written dark academia piece - the first half was a little slow as the building blocks of the story's foundation were set, and then the second half really peeled back all the layers of the onion and uncovered the secrets that we were looking for. I was a bit surprised at the abrupt ending - I was expecting more of an epilogue prior to the acknowledgments!

Uncovering the mysteries was pretty fun - it was cool to dive into the fairy world and the comparisons of how different regions had different interpretations/folklore of the fairy world.

I definitely recommend this book to those who love solving puzzles.

A beautifully written gothic story about a girl making sense of the world and uncovering the truth about fairytales. Effy isn’t your typical badass female character - she’s ridden with anxiety, needs pills to sleep, and finds it difficult to hide her emotions, which I actually loved and found very relatable. She definitely has her strengths as well though - she’s a brave, intelligent feminist who fought for her place as the only female in her university program. In her own words, she’s a survivor.

While I did really enjoy the story, I think my expectations were a bit high based on other reviews. The first half was just okay for me, but I started to become more invested when the magical aspects and the Fairy King started coming into play more. I also enjoyed the academic rivals romance and thought Preston was a great contrast to Effy. I liked the ending the best and I thought the story was wrapped up really nicely.

Thank you to HarperCollins for the ARC!

Anything can be taken from you, at any moment. Even the past isn’t guaranteed. You can lose that too, slowly, like water eating away at stone.

There is a lot going on in A Study in Drowning. It’s about institutional sexism in academia; about how young women are simultaneously treated as too insipid and frivolous to be of any consequence and yet also held responsible for the predation of the men who demand power over them. It’s about stories and the relationship between author and reader; about who really owns a story and decides what it means. It’s about all the ways your voice can be taken from you - both by others and eaten away at within yourself - and what it takes to get it back, if you can.
All of this is wrapped within a Dark Academia tale of mystery and romance (of the academic rivals variety) in a rotting old house on a cliff, intertwined with themes of the disconnect between religious, superstitious folklore and academic agnosticism. This book will have you questioning perceptions of reality and not knowing who or what to believe.
And all of it works so beautifully. A seamless blend of narrative, characters I absolutely loved, mysteries to unravel, and an ambiguously fantastical setting that you will question again and again. I loved this book so very much.

On the note of characters, I can’t not speak about the main character, Effy.

You don’t have to take up a sword. Survival is bravery, too.

Effy Sayre is for the soft femmes. The anxiety femmes. The “I’ve been rehearsing my Starbucks order since I got in line” femmes. The “life has made my fight or flight response heavily weighted toward flight for my own survival” femmes. I love her. She’s not going to pick up a sword and get a training montage to defeat her enemies on a battlefield, she’s not always going to have the right quip at just the right time, and she’s not always going to have the right answers, but she shows that there’s a strength in softness. That it’s strength enough to survive and that the ways we find to make it through the day are valid. She’s not a perfect character, she has very real flaws beyond the sometimes trite “quirks that a romantic partner will find cute,” and it’s part of what makes her authentic and leaves room through the writing for real growth.

Almost as soon as I started this book I knew there was no chance that I was going to be Normal about it. Effy, has my whole heart. I love her, I feel protective of her, and I will lay down my life for her. (Remember, not going to be Normal about this). She distinctly puts this in the rare category of books that make me feel Seen as a human being, alongside others like VE Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and John Green’s Turtles All The Way Down. This is personal, it feels very singular (though it definitionally is not), and it absolutely elevates the experience of an already fantastic book. This idea is reflected in the story as well. To paraphrase, “Writing [a book is] like shining a beacon from a lighthouse…Are there any ships on the horizon? Will they signal back…?” It reminds me of the Kazuo Ishiguro quote “In the end, stories are about one person saying to another: This is the way it feels to me. Can you understand what I’m saying? Does it feel this way to you?”

And so, yes, I am the ship on the horizon signaling back. It feels this way to me too. And for that, A Study in Drowning holds a very special place in my heart. Five Stars.