Before reading this, I don’t think I ever imagined A Study in Drowning having or needing a sequel. Now that I’ve finished it, I can’t imagine it not having one—A Theory of Dreaming is a stunning novel and a vital counterpart to the first, exploring the cruelties that still abound after Effy and Preston’s “happy ending” and proving that not all stories can be wrapped up neatly after the last page.

For good or bad, A Theory of Dreaming takes us far from the isolated, otherworldly setting and atmosphere of ASID and tends to ground itself in reality. There were definitely moments in the middle portion when the plot started to slow. At the same time, I so appreciate the return to the academic setting, and it was quite realistic and frustrating to read about the hostilities our main characters face, now that they’ve come back to a university rife with misogyny and xenophobia after writing their controversial thesis. This world they’re forced to return to is certainly hateful and flawed, and without the sheen of magic, the ugliness of human nature comes to light.

Effy is already such a beloved character to me, and it was interesting (and heartbreaking) to glimpse a new side of her, as she struggles to cope with her day-to-day life without the ‘escape door’ of Angharad. But I also loved the new attention given to Preston in this—hearing from his point of view, fleshing out his character and backstory, and exploring his fantastical dreams—all while he deals with his skepticism toward magic and a deeply rooted anger he didn’t realize has been simmering inside him for a long time.

Effy and Preston each have very interior and isolating struggles to work through here. But their love—OH MY GOD, their love is everything. I had initially worried that their romance might bore me, since they’re already in an established relationship, but that fear ended up being totally unfounded. They have a love so tender, brought into focus with dozens of sweet little moments. Simple gestures, almost insignificant, all come together to form this beautiful picture of a safe, soft, and gentle relationship despite any insecurities or anxieties that arise in Effy or Preston. My chest physically ached every time they were together.

Ava Reid also has such a way with words, it’s ridiculous. I highlighted about a billion gorgeous lines and turns of phrase in here. Her writing is absolutely immersive and perfectly suited to a story like this.

Overall, this book really worked for me in a multitude of ways, and I’m so grateful it exists, and that there was still more to explore in this world!

I feel like this was everything I was hoping it would be and more! It took me a while to get through the first book, and I wondered if it was just me. However, I feel like it was a prologue to this book, and after reading it, I feel as though the two go together as a whole really well! I found myself rooting for Effy and Preston so much more, and I loved the atmospheric way it was written. Ava Reid truly knows how to make us feel like we're in the story with the character, and I learned that some of the things we don't know are truly for our benefit so we can go through the emotions with the characters and have it pay off in the end. If you stick with it, it will stick with you!

Disappointed, I thought I would enjoy this as much as the first book, only finished it for the characters.

LOOK, if I could separate out the last 20% of this book and give it 4 stars (maybe even 5stars!), I would. But, I'm not gonna lie, the middle 50-70% was really dragging for me.

A Theory of Dreaming continues Effy and Preston's story, picking up a little after ASID ends. We're now seeing them return to school and contend with the public's reaction to the story they broke about Myrrdin. They have new challenges to face at school, with their peers, with their mentors, and quite possibly with their world as a whole.

Now, onto why this book didn't really work for me: I love Effy and Preston - but they were so disconnected throughout most of this book that it was hard to understand how they would end up <spoiler>engaged at the end. I mean, they never really talked about what the other was feeling? And that took me out of their love story a bit.</spoiler>

Again, the middle of this book felt like it dragged on, repeating things until it felt like getting hit over the head with foreshadowing. Despite the focus being on Preston's story, I never felt that his world, the dreaming, or the magic was explained in a way that made sense. What's worse is that I didn't feel any real connection to what he was doing or searching for. It seemed way too convenient that <spoiler>he (and Gosse) would be able to fall into the dream sleep almost IMMEDIATELY. The supposed ritual Master Gosse does was just, what, closing your eyes and thinking about magic? I really tried to suspend my disbelief but please give me something to work with!!!</spoiler> The journey he went on was not enough for me to believe that it was that simple for all to end well.

All that being said, I really loved the discovery part of this book where Effy, Preston, and Rhia all are unlocking certain pieces of the fairytale puzzle - I think Reid does that kind of writing well. But unfortunately it just didn't hit the same as ASID did for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

A Theory of Dreaming follows Effy and Preston after the events of ASID and shows how they deal with the aftermath of what they experienced, individually and together.

The writing was beautiful, with stunning poetic prose that had me forgetting I was reading so many times. While ASID was more of a gothic fairytale with its whimsical setting and a constant dreamlike and etheral feel to it, A Theory of Dreaming is much more of a dark academia that almost reads like historical fiction.

It is definitely not an easy read, themes like xenophobia and nationalism are very present in the book. In addition to the mentioned themes it also deals a lot with depression, grief and war.

I really struggled with this series. Available Reid writes beautifully, atmospheric stories but there felt like there was no plot with each page dragging on and on. I could not connect to any characters or become invested in this story.

A Theory of Dreaming takes us back to the fictionalized version of Wales, Llyr, we so came to love in A Study in Drowning. Only this time with a twist. I don't know about you, but I love when the point of view changes in the second book of a series. While still told in third person, this story now zooms in on Preston Héloury, the love interest of Effy Sayre, as he navigates the scrutiny of their highly publicized thesis in addition to the blatant prejudice against his homeland, Argant. Before anyone worries, we still get Effy's POV as she too tackles the new academic world of literature and a life without the Faerie King.


Alrighty, where did we leave off from A Study in Drowning? Effy has been admitted into the literature college at the University of Llyr. She is the first female to be allowed to study literature. Having published a thesis proving that one of Llyr's acclaimed authors Emrys Myrddin did not in fact write his most famous work, Effy and Preston are now receiving unwanted attention from the media. For Effy, the terror is now all in the real world. Without the Faerie King around, she has no demons left to face other than her own and the blatant academic sexism. Her depression is her new foe. Preston, the ultimate "unbeliever", now straddles the veil the between what is real and what is not. Listening to the bells, Preston discovers he is able to "slip" into the world straight from the nation's folklore. There, Preston is king, Effy is safe, and most shockingly, Preston's father is alive.


What follows is a story that makes the reader question what is real and what is not in the same way Preston is. When his folklore world begins seeping into the real one, the lines become terribly blurred. As I read, I kept thinking that if it is so hard for me, the reader, to tell separate the two worlds, it must be impossible for Preston. He'd feel like he's going insane. then you tack on his worries about Effy and bigotry toward his being Argantian, and you have a supremely stressful environment that makes for lots of character growth.


Outside our beloved main characters, we get more of a cast of side characters in book 2. We have Rhia, Effy's roommate who was introduced in book 1, and her girlfriend Maisie, who was also introduced in book 1. We get the privilege of seeing how they are such great friends to Effy as she figures out how to survive herself. Additionally, we get my favorite side character, Lotto. Lotto is Preston's privileged roommate who is a player with a heart of gold and perpetually on the brink of failing out. While Lotto has his flaws like depending too heavily on Preston to help him in his studies, he also has plenty of pros. He is a staunchly loyal friend to Preston and, as a result, Effy.


Honestly, I just read the first half of this story. What I mean by that is I was able to set the book down and not give it another thought. When I crossed that 50% mark, the pace ramped up. The emotional stakes became too high to ignore. The fantasy world bled too much into the real. So much happened that I had to keep reading. By the time I got to 75%, I had to finish. Without spoilers, the last part of this book had me WORRIED and gasping with my hand over my mouth. For that reason alone, people should read it. You'll care because at the pulse of this story is two university students struggling with real life problems and real mental health. We can all recognize at least a bit of ourselves in them.

I hate to admit that I was disappointed by this, as I have been a huge fan of Ava Reid’s previous books. By the time we hit the midway point, it still felt like nothing had happened in the plot, and I feel like I spent the entire book begging Effy and Preston to just talk to each other. Reid’s prose is wonderful as always, though.

If I could give this ten stars, I would in a heartbeat. What a beautiful follow up to A Study in Drowning. When I picked up the first book I knew immediately I would love it and was so happy to be back in this world with Effy and Preston, it truly felt like going home. Ava really knocked it out of the park with this one. I was a little concerned because the first one was so perfect, how could it possibly be topped? But she pulled it off and then some. The writing is so stunning and the world she created is so immersive you truly feel like you’re there in this beautiful, twisted, dark academic world. Thank you so much for taking us back into this place. These will forever live with me and on my book shelf.

If you are a huge fan of the first installment you will love this. It truly felt like a love letter to Effy and Preston. Plot wise I wouldn’t say too much happened and most of the focus on the story was the relationship between the two characters. This was a cute ending though and I’m glad we got to spend more time with these characters. Like always, Ava Reid has amazing writing.

This book is easily a five star read for me. I could not put it down. I love how Ava Reid connected everything together and I love how she brought us deeper into this world with the events of this book. Effy and Preston’s relationship are to die for! I loved Ava Reid’s use of imagery and foreshadowing😩 overall, this book is an amazing conclusion to this duology!

4.5 stars

I was so excited but also so dreading reading this book, just because A Study in Drowning was possibly my favorite book of last year. I absolutely adored Effy and Preston and was so excited to return to their world and see how their relationship develops. However, I have been burned by sequels before and it would have just broken my heart if this one did the same. While I can admit that this book was maybe unnecessary to the overall story, I was definitely glad I was able to return to this world. Reid is an amazing writer and she proves it once again in this book. The prose is beautiful, the atmosphere and world she creates is so vivid, and the characters are so complex. I enjoyed how we saw much more of Preston’s motivations and was able to see why he is the way he is. We also see how complicated healing can be and how Effy struggles so hard with it, even when she has so much support from her friends. It was also very interesting to see how much Reid was connecting this world’s political struggles to our (specifically the USA’s) real life struggles. Sometimes I think she hit the nail on the head a little too much, but I do enjoy seeing real life struggles in fantasy books because it gives me hope that if these characters can figure out how to fight against their oppressors, than maybe we can too.

However, as I mentioned before, this book was completely unnecessary. There were threads of a bigger plot, but ultimately it turned into nothing. This book was really just about Effy and Preston dealing with the personal aftermath of the first book and there really wasn’t much of a story or plot. It was very interesting seeing the politics of the this world and its complicated history, but it was kind of just surface-level and I really wish we got more of it. This could have easily been a very fleshed out, complicated story, if Reid had just made this book just a little longer, or made the ending more open. Instead she decided to tie it up into almost too neat of a bow. As it stands now, this seems like a complete series, but that’s also what I thought after reading A Study in Drowning, so who knows. If she’s not continuing this story, I don’t know why she just didn’t make this a little novella.

Overall, if you enjoyed A Study in Drowning, this is definitely a must read and of course Reid knocks it out of the park with her writing, but if you’re looking for a complete fantastical adventure like the first one, you might be a bit underwhelmed.

I’m one hundred percent convinced that Ava Reid can’t write a bad book. Every single time I pick of up one of her novels I’m immediately immersed in the world. A Study In Drowning was one of my fave books of the year and I was so ecstatic to be back in this world with these characters.

A Theory of Dreaming picks up beautifully where A Study in Drowning left off, diving straight into Effy and Preston’s journey after submitting their paper. The revelation that Preston heard the bells that even Effy couldn’t sets the stage for a story that blurs the lines between reality and dreaming, amidst the backdrop of the war between Lyr and Argant.

Back at university, Effy navigates the isolating challenges of being the only female in her literature program, while Preston wrestles with his unraveling reality. Ava Reid’s prose shines here, weaving poetry seamlessly into the narrative and crafting a world rich with depth, conflict, and beauty. The war-torn atmosphere and the character arcs are masterfully handled, pulling me in completely.

However, some of the tension between Effy and Preston felt frustratingly avoidable. So much of their conflict could have been resolved with an honest conversation, which had me practically banging my head against my Kindle at times! I also feel the book would have benefited from a content warning for themes of substance abuse and a suicide attempt. While these themes were handled thoughtfully, they could take readers by surprise without proper preparation.

Despite these issues, the story captivated me, and I’m so glad Effy and Preston were able to find their hard-won happy ending. Ava Reid has truly proven her skill in crafting profound, poetic, and deeply emotional tales, and I hope Effy and Preston’s happiness continues to grow in their shared reality.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Collins publishing for allowing me to arc read this story!

When I finished ASID, I didn’t really love it — but I couldn’t get the book out of my head. For months I kept thinking about the settings and the characters.

So when I saw that there was a sequel, I was excited to give it a try. Unfortunately, this just didn’t grip me and it was missing some of that indescribable magic that left such an impression on me after book one.

Maybe, like book one, I’ll sit on this for a while and decide I liked it more than I initially thought. Maybe I won’t.

That being said, if you loved ASID, I think you’re going to be really happy with this.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Arc

I think I've found one of my new favorite authors.
From the second I picked up the first book I was invested in Effy and Preston and their journey. That has just continued into A Theory of Dreaming. The first book absolutely could have been a standalone but the way Ava Reid furthered their story in A Theory of Dreaming was amazing and made me so happy when I realized I got to follow these characters on another journey of investigating past authors and their works. I loved the ending and how even when they were hiding things from each other thinking it was best for the other, they still got through everything together.

ad much as I think a asid could have been a standalone, this sequel was as perfect as it could be. Lyrical and beautifully atmospheric- I always love comings back to this world

Thanks to HarperTeen for an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

DNF’d at 52%! I was trying to give this book the benefit of the doubt, but I just couldn’t keep reading and hope for better. I was surprised by this book’s existence. *A Study in Drowning* was supposed to be a standalone, but I guess there was enough demand and content to write more.

In order for me to best explain why I did not finished reading, I will talk spoilers on *A Study in Drowning*, so please do not read this review any further if you have not read the first book yet. If you don’t care, then read on.

This book starts off right from where we left off in book 1 with Effy being a student at the literature college instead of architecture and going through college life with her boyfriend, Preston. Now that Effy has defeated the Fairy King and co-authored a thesis with Preston on Myrddin’s legacy, she has struggled with imposter syndrome at the literature college, putting a Llyrian icon into questionable integrity, and having no alternative to escape. Not gonna lie, I could not fully care about her struggles since I was more worried and interested in the war between Llyr and Argant. *A Theory of Dreaming* is more Preston’s story than Effy’s, which was what intrigued me the most about this sequel. Preston is dealing with xenophobia due to being Argantian and entering an underwater palace through his dreams as he becomes a believer in magic.

I wanted an explanation since *A Study in Drowning* on the reason for this war between Llyr and Argant and never received an answer. I should not have to hope for such an explanation when this war is clearly influencing Effy and Preston’s decisions on their coping mechanisms and the university’s attacks on anyone not following Llyr traditions. I cannot care about these emotional journeys when the source of their strife does not give me any context. Also, Effy and Preston refused to talk to each other about what they are going through. I could understand some forms of miscommunication between young couples, but I cannot get past not talking to your partner about how you are feeling. This type of miscommunication just adds to the page length at this point.

Overall, I was curious to see if this sequel was even necessary in the first place. My verdict at around halfway through: not really.

Content Warnings (so far): xenophobia, sexual assault (past), drug abuse, sexism, misogyny, death of parent (past, mentioned), grief (minor) war (minor)

Wait because I devoured this book!!! This was mostly a continuation from the first with more backstory & character development but I loved every second of this!!

Def would recommend this series to anyone who loves fantasy!!

Thank you to NetGalley & HarperCollins for allowing me to read & give my honest opinion!!

Thank you to HarperCollins for the arc!

3.5

In this book, Preston really stands out showing depth and vulnerability that is refreshing. Effy however, feels stuck and is caught in repetitive trauma processing that does not add much to her character. Themes like women’s work being stolen and Preston’s struggles with prejudice are interesting but do not go anywhere new or deeper (which is a shame, and was expecting more)

The first 70% of the book feels aimless like it is lost in its own dream world. I kept waiting for the plot to pick up, but it took far too long. By the time things finally happen in the last 30% the conclusion was tiring rather than satisfying

I have always and is a fan of Ava Reid's writing which is absolutely beautiful but even gorgeous prose cannot make up for a story that feels unsure of its purpose. Will I keep reading Ava Reid’s books? Definitely, she is an incredible writer.