I’ve been waiting for this one ever since A Study in Drowning. Well worth the wait and thoroughly enjoyed! Can’t wait to see what else she comes up with.

I loved ASiD and was excited to get an ARC for the sequel! Sadly, I didn't enjoy A Theory of Dreaming as much as the first book.

While the gothic vibes of the book rival those found in ASiD, I found the narrative repetitive and slow, and spent many pages feeling confused about the characters' thoughts, feelings, and the point of the plot. Ava Reid said she didn't plan to write a sequel for ASiD and it shows: though Effy and Preston have an equal share of chapters in the book, their plot lines don't really intersect. There are parallels between the book Effy studies and the story underlying the palace below the sea that Preston dreams of, but those parallels are never acknowledged by the other. I felt like most of the "conflicts" could have been easily solved with honest communication. Instead, the characters kept things to themselves (so as not to be a burden) and hid their worries and fears from their partner and friends, which was frustrating to read at times.

We still get to spend a lot of time with Effy, and particularly Preston, so if you're an Effy or Preston fan, this book might still make you happy. As always, I enjoyed Ava Reid's writing. The vibes were good, although a lot sadder and darker than in ASiD (mind the content warnings!). The side characters were great to read about, too: Master Gosse, Angharad, Preston's friend Lotto and Effy's friend Rhia.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a perfect continuation of A Study in Drowning. The world felt very dreamlike and allowed me to be fully immersed in the story while I was reading. However, some parts in the middle of the book did feel a bit necessarily drawn out and dragged a bit. All in all, great book and I would definitely recommend this series to my friends.

"I am seized by such love, I vow / that I must come to ruin now."

What an excellent follow up to A STUDY IN DROWNING! Like in the first novel of this duology, Reid manages to craft a unique, dreamy, decisive world that captivates. Its subject matter too, on unjust wars, nationalism, and the abuse of women and immigrants, is timely and thought-provoking. I could not put it down (though that goes for all of Reid's works). I will miss spending time with Effy and Preston, and learning about their world. On a craft level, the characterizations, pacing, and world-building were duly superb as well.

I read A Study in Drowning a year and a half ago and a re-read would have done me good before starting the sequel. There is a lot of rich world-building that I forgot and it is very necessary for the continuation of the story.
After I familiarized myself with the world, I was able to jump back in with no problems.

A Theory of Dreaming was less whimsical and honestly very depressing. Effy’s mental health struggles resonated with me deeply. Xenophobia and misogyny is rampant in this world… which is no different to our own.

This line was especially poignant given our political climate: “But what he had not understood until now was this: he could not make the world see him as he wished. Instead the world pressed in upon him, molding, crushing, until he was the shape they made him. Until he fit the image of the enemy. He could protest, but it would be no more effective than beating his fists against stone walls as they flowered up around him, encasing him in his own living tomb.”

I love Ava Reid. I just feel that A Study in Drowning should have been a standalone. Much less fantasy and more of the dark academia setting than the first installment. It just doesn’t seem to fit in with the first book and that’s okay.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Collins, for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. A Theory of Dreaming will release on July 29, 2025.

Thank you so much to HarperTeen for an early copy of A Theory of Dreaming! 💖
A Study of Dreaming is almost like a fantasy romance (I mean what I said, not romantasy 👀) and it is an epic tale that picks up where we left off in A Study in Drowning! I absolutely adored A Study in Drowning and was SO excited for A Theory of Dreaming! I really enjoyed this story and I love that in this story, we get to have some of Preston's point of view and this story is almost like ASID but instead of Effy having her escape, Preston has an escape but like the Fairy King in book 1, Preston's escape causes problems and starts bleeding into the real world. I felt like there was a lot of suspense for me in the book and didn't really know why things were happening and was so curious to find out! Now, I will say, there was kind of a big action at the end but it doesn't really feel like there was an answer to the suspense (or maybe I'm just confused lol) but I did really enjoy the book! It was a little deeper and has some really sad/dark moments compared to A Study in Drowning but I still read the book in two days so clearly I enjoyed reading it! There were some big moments that had me COVERED in goosebumps and I cannot wait to talk to everyone who reads this once it comes out! I'm just SO thankful I got to read it early or else I may have imploded due to needing to read it! 😂🫶

I loved A Study in Drowning, and this book was pretty good, but I don’t think I enjoyed it quite as much as the first book. The plot felt slightly disjointed, and the pacing wasn’t quite right. Overall a pretty good book, I loved seeing more of these characters:

The conclusion of Ava Reid's A Study In Drowning, A Theory of Dreaming picks up where ASID left off. We follow Effy and Preston as they deal with the aftermath of overthrowing the Fairy King. EFFY is finally nightmare free and able to continue with her thesis but will she succeed with the university and all involved waiting for her failure? If you love dark academia mixed in with intrigue and tension, you'll love this satisfying end to A Study in Drowning.

So it’s probably shocking that I even requested an arc of this book considering how much I loathed A Study In Drowning. But one of the big problems I had with A Study In Drowning was the lack of explanation for the world they lived in. From my review of A Study In Drowning: “A lot of the story didn’t make much sense. It felt like the foundation of an interesting mythology was there but it was just missing enough details to make me care or believe any of it.”

So why am I bringing that up now? Because I feel like in this book, I’m getting more of the information and depth that I was missing in the first book. It feels way more intellectual, almost like it was approached as an intellectual writing about knowledge, versus a day dreamer writing about knowledge. I don’t know if that makes sense.

All that to say, I’m honestly surprised this book didn’t bore me because of how academic it was. It did take me a minute to get into but I think I had a lot of feelings about the first book I had to work through first. lol and this is going to sound mean, but I think it was good to see them have to deal with the repercussions of their actions. Not saying I liked watching them suffer a bit, but that it helped humanize characters that I didn’t particularly like after the first book.

Now one thing I really enjoyed about this was Preston’s side of the story. It felt so out of character for him, but I loved seeing this side of him. Breaking down the no nonsense scholar, while also making him face something on his own that was unbelievable. But poor Effie, she really had a rough time of it in this book. I mean let’s be real, this book was not kind to either of them.

But truly, I enjoyed this book SIGNIFICANTLY more than A Study In Drowning.

I really loved reading A theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid. I love the cover as well as the authors writing style and the plot is as great as book one. I'd like to read more from the author and definitely recommend reading this series.

"[Preston] only felt a great sadness rise up in him, a longing for things that he once had, but never would again, and for things that he imagined, but which could never be real."

I have mixed feelings about this book on the whole, but the experience felt a lot like reading Rebecca Ross' "Ruthless Vows" after finishing "Divine Rivals." A lot of the world-building that was lacking in the original installment comes out in spades in the sequel, but it does so at the cost of and detriment to what made the original so appealing in the first place, particularly where the characters and the love story are concerned.

"A Study in Drowning" is still one of my absolute favorite books. I didn't hate "A Theory of Dreaming," but it lacked the same spark its predecessor had. The first half of the book drags and meanders its way through trying to build to something, and the second half, while better, reaches these points of interest and climaxes with a fizzling sort of fanfare. There's a lot of potential with the set pieces Reid has in this book, but they barely weave together into something resembling a coherent narrative. The best description for the overall "plot" of this book is more that it deals with trauma via vibes than anything else.

This all comes at the expense of Effy and Preston both as characters and for their relationship. There are elements that I found interesting that I wished Reid had honed in on a little better: Effy struggling with depression in new shades in the aftermath of the events of the previous book and the trauma that compounds as a result of events in this book; Preston struggling to determine a new sense of self as his belief system is questioned and he ends up in the crosshairs of anyone with significant power. I wanted more time and development with these aspects of the story. The portrayal of Effy and Preston's relationship also feels more hollow as a result of this- in large part due to the fact that they're not communicating with each other freely and thus aren't connecting the way they should. Their love story is one of the big draws of the original story; it didn't pack quite the same punch this time around.

The other big draw of the original story, for me, was exploring the trials and tribulations of being a woman through Effy's eyes. That too felt like a shell of its former self, partially due to Effy's retreat into herself because of her experiences. Because Effy struggled in a way that was more about shutting down and shutting out than using escapism as a coping mechanism, she ends up feeling like her whole character takes a backseat in a narrative that it supposed to be about women reclaiming their own voices.

I don't think choosing to use dual POV was the problem;exploring Preston's character makes a lot of sense here. Exploring the loss of innocence (and girlhood); the way depression can hollow out your personhood; the way sometimes survival and safety and peace are the only methods through which to shoulder the burdens of love and trauma and systemic oppression; the way it's extremely difficult to learn to ask for help and rely on others (even when they care about you) when you're used to being alone and shouldering the burden of responsibility and accountability- all of these are things that Reid touches on and spends some time with, but it feels like she barely scratches the surface.

I loved the framing devices of various novels and diary entries and newspapers, although there are a *lot* of names thrown around which makes it difficult to keep track sometimes. I did also like the inclusion of the various cast of secondary characters, but they could have been featured more and fleshed out better. The story wasn't about them, but they felt more like props than characters.

TL;DR: 3.5-ish stars. I loved the original but the sequel, while promising and full of potential, falls flat in delivering a fully coherent narrative and tries to expand the known universe at the detriment of its characters and core relationship. Reid's writing style is poetic and beautiful, but this sequel falls flat compared to its predecessor. It felt like a first draft that still needed some wrangling and editing to reach its full potential. I am still always willing to pick up Reid's work, and I'm sad that this left me somewhat disappointed.

[NetGalley was kind enough to provide me with an ARC for this title.]

What an amazing sequel!!!
I consider this one darker than the 1st book. We see how Effy and Preston struggle with all of the injustices going on at the school.
The dream world was amazing! It was defitnately my fave.

I suggest reading books 1 first and then this one in order to fully comprehend what's happening.

I love the author's writing style and so happy we got this book to enjoy!

Just like the first book, Ava Reid’s writing is beautiful. Her chapters flow nicely and the characters are very three dimensional. Effy and Preston are both brought through some real lows and challenges in this story.

I thought this was a strong sequel to A Study in Drowning but it was also very different from its predecessor. It had less action in it and more getting to know these characters and their school environment better. I think Ava Reid always sucks you into her books with her spectacular writing.

Lyrical, haunting, and utterly mesmerizing, this sequel is a masterpiece of dark academia and gothic fantasy. Effy’s struggle to define herself outside of myth and expectation is raw and deeply felt, while Preston’s descent into a world of dreams and power is as unsettling as it is captivating. Their bond; intense, fragile, and laced with longing. The prose is lush, the atmosphere thick with tension, and the themes of storytelling, identity, and ambition unfold like a spell you don’t want to break. Overall, it is a breathtakingly evocative conclusion.

Another gorgeous title from Reid! This one was much darker than anticipated, between Effy's mental health struggles and the implied plot behind the Neried. The relationship between Preston and Effy is deep and beautiful, though I'll admit I crave a bit more romance. I found this book much sadder than the first one, but still a rewarding and beautiful read.

I loved that this felt like very natural continuation of the first book when it comes to vibes, but not neccessarily focusing on the "happily ever after" and romance but another mystery that helps to get better understanding of Preston when the first book was focusing on Effy.
What I really enjoyed was the pacing for both, these books dont rush through the plot but leisurely pull the story back with such intricate mythology of the world woven into it. It just made me wonder, what else could be found in this world? What mystical stories still need to be told?

This didn't hit home for me. I had trouble getting into the story and understanding what was happening. Maybe the first book wasn’t as memorable and or there didn’t need to be a sequel.

AMAZING READ! I loved a study of drowning and this was a fantastic follow up. A lovely dark academia fantasy, the world building is out of this world

A Theory of Dreaming brings us back to the atmospheric world of Llyr, but this time, the focus shifts. While Effy is still central to the story, this book leans more into Preston’s perspective as he grapples with the aftermath of their explosive thesis, the prejudice against his Argantian heritage, and an eerie shift in his own reality. The novel masterfully blurs the lines between fantasy and truth, making the reader question what’s real just as much as Preston does.

One of the strongest elements of this book is its exploration of mental health—Effy’s depression and Preston’s growing uncertainty about his own mind add emotional weight that makes the story feel deeply personal. Their relationship remains a highlight, evolving in a way that feels raw and authentic. There’s a sense of hesitancy between them at times, as they struggle to share their burdens, but that only makes their journey together more rewarding.

The worldbuilding continues to shine, diving deeper into the mythology of Caer-Isel and the enigmatic sleepers. The dreamlike quality of Ava Reid’s prose makes the story immersive, though some elements—especially the mechanics of Preston’s dreams—were initially difficult to grasp. However, once the novel hits its halfway mark, the tension skyrockets, and the blend of psychological and magical elements becomes impossible to put down.

New and returning side characters add even more depth. Rhia and Maisie offer steadfast support to Effy, while Lotto, Preston’s charming but often exasperating roommate, brings both levity and loyalty to the narrative. These relationships help ground the story amid its darker themes.

While the book starts slowly, the second half is gripping, filled with twists that had me holding my breath. The ending, in particular, was intense and left me reeling. This sequel doesn’t just revisit the world of A Study in Drowning—it expands upon it in ways that challenge both the characters and the reader. If you loved the first book, this is a must-read.