A solid novel for fantasy lovers, or those who love books featuring the lives of authors and their loved ones. Sometimes was a little hard for me to follow. Overall a solid read.

Ooh this was a very unique read. I don’t think I’ve read anything like it. Maybe the House of Salt & Sorrows mixed with Divine Rivals. I loved the dark academic vibes and the atmospheric setting of a decrepit house on a cliff succumbing to the rough sea. I loved the romance in here and the story was a page turner.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I enjoyed the story being based on the love of a story. I feel like the story needed just a little more. . .excitement, romantic tension, mystery, just a little more over all. It does try to tackle some heavy topics. I think it really picked up at the very end of the story.

I will be purchasing it for our library. I think students will like it.
3,5 stars, but rounded up to 4 on GoodReads

*4.25⭐️
Warning: this review doesn’t feature any spoilers, but it’s also really hard to talk about this book without spoilers, so I didn’t go into much detail.

This poor girl. As someone who deeply related to multiple of Effy’s experiences, Ava Reid perfectly encapsulated both how to be a survivor and how it feels to survive. As a female history major, I think that Ava Reid also perfectly encapsulated how it feels to academically survive in a world where it’s assumed that “scholarly” articles are more valid coming from a man. Watching Effy survive and learn to thrive by the end of the book was really special.
This was one of the most complex YA books I’ve ever read and I really enjoyed that. I hope that more English teachers add this to their reading lists. The world building was very complex and I would love to read more books set in this world! I also can’t wait to read more from Ava Reid!

Also, I absolutely adored Preston. The world needs more Prestons.

CONTENT WARNING: sexual assault, misogyny, xenophobia, blood, violence, unhealthy relationship dynamics

This was one of the books that I was really looking forward to reading, and it wound up being one of the biggest disappointments of this year for me. I had a lot of issues with this book, but let me start by discussing the things that I liked first.

Reid’s writing is absolutely gorgeous. She has a way with words and this book is clearly a love letter to those books that readers fall in love with and derive comfort from. I think we can all identify with comfort reads, and having that one book that we can always turn to that makes us feel better, no matter what is going on. Even better if it’s a book that we can see ourselves in, and that’s exactly what Reid centers this story on—a book that the MC sees herself in and has fallen in love with, reading it so many times that she has it memorized forwards and backwards.

However, these positives weren’t enough to save the book for me. There’s an issue I found that wasn’t addressed and made me feel uncomfortable while reading, and that’s Effy’s xenophobia and prejudice towards Preston, simply because he is Argantian. She’s constantly putting him down because of it, and decides that he doesn’t deserve to be in the literature college simply because of where he comes from before she’s even spoken to him. It’s never brought up in the book, and the way she acts towards him isn’t challenged at any point. Just like someone acting like that in real life would make me feel uncomfortable to the point that I’d say something, reading about this made me feel unsettled when it wasn’t addressed.

I struggled with Preston a lot, because his character was flat. There wasn’t much to him that made him feel like a unique person, rather than a place filler. While there’s a romance that is supposed to develop between Effy and Preston during the story, it never felt genuine to me. There wasn’t really any development of emotions, and it never felt like they connected on a level outside of discussing literature—I didn’t understand where the romance came into the picture.

It’s made clear throughout the course of the story that Effy has experienced sexual assault at the hands of a professor, and has a lot of trauma to work through. She perseverates a lot on her mental health, her school issues, and the research they are doing into her favorite book, but I still found her to be a relatively flat character. Even more concerning, the consensual sex that Effy does have in the book is still referred to as a ‘tender assault,’ making it sound like it’s harmful anyway.

Throughout the story, there were times when it felt like Reid hadn’t done any research into the subject matter. Effy is a first semester architecture student who is struggling in her classes, yet she somehow knows all she needs to know to design a new house for the estate of her favorite author? And when she gets there and realizes that it’s nothing like what she expected, she can still manage to handle it all? In addition, one of the characters is referred to as a changeling, but the explanation is absolutely nothing like what a changeling actually is.

Even worse, this book was boring. Large portions of the read were slow-moving and didn’t do anything to advance the plot, and I found myself often putting the book down and having a tough time picking it up again. It took me an excessively long time to read this book, and I was disappointed to see that it’s being promoted as dark academia when the story is only set in a school for the very beginning, and then she’s off to a crumbling mansion in the middle of nowhere. This book focused more on vibes and beating the reader over the head with her heavy themes of trauma, sexual assault by powerful, older men, and misogyny, instead of relying on character development and a strong plot that isn’t predictable from the start. Overall, this wasn’t a great read for me, and I’m probably going to skip her other books.

I did not connect with the story or the characters of this one. The main characters felt very bland to me. The plot was very predicable. I just couldn't get myself to care at what was going on. I think the author is a talented writer, though. I think if she can work on her characterizations and plot, she'll eventually land a big hit with her atmospheric writing style.

A Study in Drowning is an incredibly atmospheric read swirling with folklore and mystery. Ava Reid’s craftsmanship is evident from page 1 - beautiful storytelling, powerful messages and themes of sexism and womanhood and self-identity. Effy is presented as an unreliable narrator, struggling herself to know what is reality and what is a figment of her imagination. She is not at all your typical YA FMC, she is soft and fearful and has some trauma in her past that deeply impacts how she sees herself and the world around her. This book had all the ingredients to be a five star read for me but ended up falling a bit short. The book had a very slow start and it took way too long for the plot to take off, leaning heavily on the atmosphere and prose to carry the reader along. Even the world-building felt lack-lustre, there were so many interesting concepts and aspects of the world that were glossed over that I just wanted to know more about! But many of these threads weren’t at all related to the main storyline and it was frustrating to find that they went nowhere as the book progressed. I think my biggest issue with the book is how the character development played out and I wanted more from it. I liked seeing her slowly open up to Preston over the course of the novel and start to acknowledge some of her past traumas, but there was a sudden character shift towards the end of the book that felt quite sudden in relation to the slow growth we had seen from her this far. To compound this I found Preston to be very flat as a character, he didn’t have much personality and I wanted more from him as well.

Overall I I can see why so many love this book, the incredible gothic atmosphere, the beautiful prose are enthralling and the powerful messaging about sexism and womanhood and taking up space in a world that doesn’t acknowledge you will resonate with many.

4.5-/5
Thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the ARC.

"Fear of the sea is fear of the eternal-because how can you win against something so enduring. So vast and so deep."

And just like the sea, this is one of those stories that seeps into you as you read and soon you are as swept away as are the characters in it. I love these kinds of stories where the place is as much a character are the people you interact with. This book is atmospheric, haunting, mysterious and full of the imagery of the sea. It is also a story of a young woman straining and struggling to find her place in the world as well as acceptance in a male dominated patriarchal environment that keeps trying to drown her ambitions.

"The danger was as ancient as the world. But if fairies and monsters were real, so were the women who defeated them."

This is a second world story with two countries at war and the students at the university study under the threat of continued tensions between these countries. Effy is forced to study architecture as women are not allowed in the literature program and when an opportunity comes along to design a new home for her favorite author, she jumps at the chance and then in drawn into a family and a world she is very unprepared for. She also finds she is not the only student intent on discovering more about this famous author and Preston and Effy are immediately at odds over the evidence that they begin to discover. The Myrddin estate is a water-logged, decrepit place full of ancient fairy magics and Effy and Preston soon find themselves in fear for their lives.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story from beginning to end as Effy faces her fears and fights for what she wants against a system built to thwart her at every turn. Preston is a wonderful character to initially face off against her and their barbs and academic disagreements help to lighten the mood. The descriptions of the house, the sea and the theme of drowning that interweave throughout the story are marvelous and it makes for a wonderful, haunting but ultimately uplifting story.

This book is hauntingly beautiful. It is a fantasy set in an imaginary time and place, but it feels more like it is set in 1960s or 70s Britain. Effy is a talented architecture student who is chosen to rebuild the home of the most well regarded epic poet in the nation. He has recently died and become a legend. Even though she would have preferred to be a literature scholar, this is only reserved for male students. Effy has resigned herself to architecture and this is her opportunity to find a happy compromise with her true dreams as well as escape a humiliating relationship with her sexually abusive advisor. Is Effy experiencing hallucinations or are her encounters with an elusive fairy king actually occurring? She has definitely experienced trauma and abuse by both her mother and toxic men in her life. Fortunately she meets Preston who both challenges, supports and respects her. She is able to overcome great obstacles with that support. She and Preston also uncover valuable secrets in their research that will have a profound impact on their existing society overturning deeply held prejudices and myths. This s compelling and well-written story.

I liked this book, but didn't love it. The world building reminds me of Divine Rivals, in that it is a fantasy realm based on an actual historical period, it's rivals to lovers, and there are two warring magical powers. That said, it falls short of the beautifully lyrical prose of Divine Rivals. Maybe if I had read Study in Drowning first, I would have liked it more. That said, I did like the spotlight it placed on misogyny. This fantasy world only allows males to study literature because women's brains can't really grasp it. The MFC also deals with being the only girl in her academic program, which opens her up to abuse and rumors. Overall a good read.

First, thank you so much for my first ever Advanced Reading Copy- this was a great opportunity for me to begin reviewing books in my preferred categories. There was so much to love about 'A Study in Drowning'. The writing style was beautiful, and made the setting of the decaying Hiraeth Manor come to life. Ironically, I felt right at home in the damp, almost eerily crumbling settings across the entire book. I also thought the pacing was great; I relieved that this wasn't a "Dark Academia" book that spent too much time at the University. The mystery elements were a little obvious, but I didn't feel like the book dragged or sagged too much to get there. While I didn't love Effy's character throughout the book, I'm glad she that she (predictably) had a satisfying arc to stand up to the professors at the end. Overall, I never once got bored reading this- I felt like the book had a spell over me that kept me engaged. I loved the themes of the book- overcoming sexism, hope, partnership, loss. I would highly recommend this.

did i add this to my tbr because of the absolutely stunning cover? yes. does the inside match the outside? double yes! there's definitely a lot going on, but i thoroughly enjoyed it. loved the world, the writing, the characters. i would read more from this author for sure

This was so boring. It was too descriptive on things that didn’t add to the plot and vague on anything that would have moved the plot forward. The main character was supposed to be a strong heroine but she came off as unsure, with small attempts of bravery. Sometimes I wanted to shake her to wake her up but she spent most of the story medicated. There was a strong message here about female empowerment but it kept getting lost.

DNF at 20%

For one of the shortest books i read this month, it felt like it was the longest. The description pulled me in, but it was just so dreary, so slow, so many extra words used... i can't. Sorry.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of A Study in Drowning in exchange for my honest review!

This was a mixed bag for me, I still enjoyed it overall because the strengths were really STRONG. The gothic atmosphere and how Reid dealt with Effy’s trauma throughout the book were handled so well. I feel like for a YA book, sometimes trauma is handled with a magic wand, but this did feel like she genuinely grew.

Unfortunately, I felt pretty disappointed that there was not a lot of in-depth world building. I felt like I constantly was given amazing and interesting information and then it led nowhere a lot of times. The character development for Preston, in particular, could have been better as well.

Overall, I’d say a 3.5 rounded up to 4, it’s one I’ll try again down the road!

Effy and Preston find themselves slung together to find the "real story" behind one of their country's great storytellers. Did Emrys Myrddin really write the fairy tale he's famous for? Will they discover the secret before the house and its inhabitants do them in forever? I enjoyed this, but it was dense. Lots of backstory and the house/weather was its own character twisting the plot. Dark and brooding. Recommended.

This was fabulous! I have loved everything that I have read from this author so far so I went into this book with some pretty high expectations and I am happy to report that I was not disappointed. The writing was gorgeous and the characters were very likable. The story hooked me quickly and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen to Effy and Preston.

Effy is a first-year architecture student. She would love to study literature instead but women are not allowed in the program. When she sees the chance to possibly work on designing the home her favorite author’s home she jumps at the chance. Once she arrives, she finds the home is in further disrepair than she imagined and there is another student doing work in the home. Preston is there as a literature student. As they look into things, they discover that they have even more questions than they thought.

I loved the characters in this book. It was obvious early on that Effy had an interesting history and I loved the way that the author gave us that background a little at a time throughout the story. Effy and Preston were a great match and I enjoyed watching them connect over the course of the story. The dark gothic setting was so well-developed that it almost came alive on the page.

I paired the audiobook with a digital copy and thought that Saskia Maarlevald did a phenomenal job with the narration. I have been a fan of her narration work in the past so I was excited to see that she was reading this story. She did a wonderful job with the various character voices which helped to bring the story to life. I am certain that her narration added to my enjoyment of this story. Overall, I thought that this was a wonderful book that will be going on my keeper shelf and I would not hesitate to recommend this book to others.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Harper Teen.

Set in a Welsh-inspired fantasy world, this cozy-turned-dark academia tale has the smoothest flow I have ever read. It’s like being swept up in a dream - or maybe swept under by the tide - to borrow some of Ava Reid’s drowning metaphors. Every little bit carefully unfolds, no rush, no flood. It’s perfectly timed to keep you turning the pages for more.

Effy is the only woman attending the Architecture program at her country’s premier university. It’s quite the accomplishment but not what she was aiming for - the men-only Literature Studies. She’s floundering with the passionless workload and violently misogynistic colleagues. But she sees a competition poster to redesign the home of her favorite author and National hero, Emrys Myrddin. She takes every chance to pursue the project but finds that nothing is what she had believed it to be.

There is a mysticism engrained in the culture that is fascinating. For people like her colleague Preston, magic is a myth. For believers like Effy and the southern fishing communities, faery magic and guarding against its many dangers is a vital part of life. It builds up the constant argument, what is real? By the end I couldn’t decide if I wanted this to actually be a fantasy or not, because if fairies are real then Effy is doomed to die.

The book is formatted with quotes from Effy’s favorite writers before each chapter, much like Ninth House and Fourth Wing. The fictional writing Effy shares is beautiful and poignant. You learn as much from her story as you do the ‘quotes’ and her interpretations of them. Readers and poets who like to explore the folly of youth, inevitability of things, and feminine rage and loss will feast on this book. The attraction between characters is begrudging and tender. Although market as YA, they do have s*x on page although it is described very politely. There are themes of har*ssment, gr**ming, and expl*itation although the actual incidents do not happen on page. She’s also handling her mental health and neglectful mother in a way that was very relevant. It’s safe enough for most adults and I flag it as heavy themes, not triggers.

I adored this masterpiece and it balances the academia, haunting and fantastical elements so evenly that many will enjoy it. The highlight for me was how Preston and Effy talk with each other. They dive into each other’s lives so deeply. It makes their dialogue very satisfying. The final reveals will fill your cup and tie everything together nicely. You will come out of this story a little changed yourself.

Thanks to Ava Reid, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this the first time about a month ago. It was a bit of a slog, and my grandmother had just died so my focus was off and it felt like a lot of it went over my head. I gave it a few weeks to breathe, then tried it again. I'm about halfway through, and I won't be finishing it. My focus wasn't off the first time; this just isn't my kind of book.

It has a literary feel, with theme layered upon theme layered upon metaphor layered upon more themes. It began with exposition that did nothing to pull me in. When she got to the place and met Preston, and there was more dialogue and intrigue, it grabbed more of my attention and I followed along better. Still, there are aspects of this story that just baffle me.

First, why is it set in a fictional world and time? There's no good reason it needs to be; the plot doesn't span the globe, it revolves around a book and its author. It could have taken place anywhere. It's clearly meant to emulate, at least in my mind, Scotland and England in the 18th/19th centuries. So why couldn't it have been so?

Second, what the fuck is a drowning? I assumed it was just a flood, and at first it seems so, but at times it's spoken of as if it's a metaphor (such as in the title) and now I'm just not entirely sure. Was it a weather event unique to this world, or did have fantastical undercurrents? I'm having a hard time caring.

Third, for a girl who was unwillingly obsessed with the faerie king and all things faerie, Effy failed to realize that, hmm, strange, every mirror in the weird house was unable to reflect one's visage. That the mirrors in the car were turned away and useless to the driver. That her host seemed to have a dual personality. To be clear, she notices these things, and even thinks them odd, but that's it. I wanted to shake her. Reid was not subtle in her foreshadowing.

If the tone hadn't been so literary, if it had just been an engaging mystery, I might have liked it more. As it is, no thanks.

I give this book 3.5 stars.
This story really pulled me in. The imagery was fantastic and I was thoroughly spooked during the “horror” scenes. I was so addicted to this story and loved the FMC and her character traits. She was really written for us anxiety girlies. Also with being a victim of SA, I felt seen in a way that no character has made me feel before.
However, the ending felt very rushed to me. Also with how she defeats the villain, it felt a bit “too easy” for me. I thought there would be more struggle in that aspect given how big a role this villain played and the psychological aspect that went along with it.
While the ending was not up to par, this was a very entertaining read.