Enemies to lovers is tough because it’s really easy to make one of the characters an actual villain if the author isn’t careful. And. I’ve gotta say Reid was not careful. Effy is a xenophobic hypocrite and I didn’t want good things for her. Preston was… have you ever had really cheap white bread that went stale? He could have literally been anyone!

Overall I think there were *some* okay aspects to the book - I think it fits well into the gothic genre, and Reid does an adequate job with descriptions (if some of the prose veers into purple, that is the least of the sins). If she didn’t have characters who were, at my most generous, deeply boring and, at my least generous, actively hateful that the reader was supposed to believe both fell in love with each other and deserved the final reward of love? I still wouldn’t have liked the book (it was so boring), but I wouldn’t be texting all my friends who have this on their “want to read” shelf like “hey girl. Let me tell you about this book.”

REVIEW✨
A Study in Drowning
By Ava Reid
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I have some mixed emotions about this book, I loved the vibe and the gothic/dark academia feel to it. It deals with the sexism in academia, dark academia vibes of a house rotting on a cliff, the main character is dealing with SA, and the way that the main character deals with her drama was very beautiful. But I had a hard time connecting with the plot and some of the characters didn’t make sense to me.

Romance: ❤️
Plot points: 💥💥💥
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ava Reid is a master class in literature. I loved this world, the characters, and everything about this story. I wouldn't change a thing.

This was a unique tail that I was surprised at how much I liked. Ava was able to capture an almost dystopian like five and an end of the world vibe with how she concocted the study and drowning story. I enjoyed the main character a lot and I thought that the main female was kind of witty, but also a unique twist on being more intellectual than a fighter. I liked all of those surprises that she threw into the story. And I really enjoyed the resolution of the flood and the drowning system, and the whole prophecy that the story was based on.

Absolutely obsessed with this book that I've read it a few times. I thought I already made my review and I apologize that it wasn't posted here. After reading it the first time, I made my book club read it and it was so interesting to hear the different perspectives and people share things that I missed. I have bought three editions of this book physically and I do think it's going to be added to my yearly re-read list.

I absolutely loved the book and it’s probably one of the better ones that I’ve read in a while. I have PTSD and the drowning metaphors didn’t seem like too much for me personally because I could fully understand each one and the moment. This book had me feeling her anxiety with her and the last few chapters kept bringing me to tears. I love stories that bring out my emotions.

The little pre chapter snippet for chapter 8 is when I caught on to a twist, I just didn't get it exact!

I loved Preston from the start and how he was always trying to be respectful of her and her space. Learning later (*SMALL SPOILER*) that ~of course~ he knew about the rumors made me love him more.

Effy grew on me throughout the book. She couldn’t even handle a man talking to her or being in the same space at the start of the book until Preston. It felt like she didn’t even have the same skittishness with him at all and that hit. As someone with PTSD, I remember feeling so weird that I had no negative feelings about my husband when I met him for the first time which was SO different than most men I meet for the first time. I’m glad she fought for herself by the end of the book.

I will say, the butler annoyed me. I could never tell whose side he was on/who he cared about. Did he know? Why didn’t he warn them at all? He literally just bounced and never came back. I couldn’t even tell if the bit about him at the end meant he was back around and had helped Angharad get set up or if she just meant he did all that after her husband passed.

I really appreciated the in world magic and was so satisfied with how this book ended.

This is my new favorite book!
I loved everything about this! The romance, the story, the mystery, all masterfully done.
I was iffy on Ava’s first couple of books, but this one knocked it out of the park. I’ll be shouting from the rooftops about this book!!!

I saved this book for exactly the right mood and moment and it did not disappoint. The story revolves around young Effy Sayre, who is delicate and dealing with hallucinations of the Fairy King since her childhood. When she applied with her project to redesign Myrddin's estate, Hiraeth Manor, which resides in a very dangerous part of the country, she didn't expect to be chosen for this impossible task. But she gets an invitation telling her that all of her expenses will be covered for six weeks, including her travel fees. When she arrives at the dilapidated house, which is hardly affected by the last drowning and crumbling into pieces, she not only meets Myrddin's eccentric son, but she also finds out that a literature scholar, Preston Heloury, also works with the letters and manuscripts of the late author with a secret agenda. When she finds out Preston is conducting a secret investigation to prove that Myrddin is a fraud because there are inconsistencies with his signature on the letters written for the publisher, and he didn't have a background as an uneducated fisherman's boy to write an epic masterpiece, Effy becomes livid. But Effy's nightmares about the Fairy King increase. She teams up with Preston to find out the truth about the manor and Myrddin, not only for her curiosity but also to end her misery about her biggest childhood mystery!

The horror, mystery, enemies-to-lovers romance, paranormal, and psychological thriller genres are perfectly blended at the same portal. The riveting mystery makes you guess until the end as the spine-tingling, eerie, drowning house pushes you to hide under blankets. You're drawn into the unreliable narration of the traumatized heroine and complex storytelling. But this book is more than a dark academia, paranormal fantasy, or bone-chilling horror novel! It was layered and enthralling; one I will absolutely not forget anytime soon.

Loved this. I’ve really enjoyed everything by this author. She’s an autobuy author for me. I love how every one of her stories is completely different from the others but you can still feel she’s the author. A very strong voice - one I really enjoy.

This was my first time reading Ava Reid and I really enjoyed this book. However I did not realize it was categorized as young adult nor did I know it was a first in a series! The first 75% of the book was incredibly sloooow. But once you get to the climax the story takes off!! I cannot WAIT for the next installment. Ending alone makes the whole book worth five stars!

This book was a bit of a let down after all of the hype around it. While the writing was beautiful and I understood the point the author tried to make, it felt clumsy at points. The reveal of the actual Angharad author was extremely predictable and while the atmosphere of the creepy house certainly was there, the plot failed to keep me engaged. Effy and Preston were also quite bland as characters, with few defining traits. I do see why people loved it though, it just didn't work for me.

I enjoyed this immensely. The deft way the narrative is woven together struck me again and again as masterful. With passages of poetry, academic study, and cautious whimsy alike gracing the beginning of each chapter and then dispersed throughout. This in no way reads like a young adult novel. It’s full immersive fantasy at its finest. A credit to storytelling and dark fairytales a like.

Dark academia, high fantasy, Welsh-inspired folklore? Say less. I absolutely devoured this A Study in Drowning and the plot twists frequently kept me on my seat. I loved the dynamic of Effie and Preston, and appreciated the character development for both of them. ASID takes place in a world where the fae are not friends, and superstitions are more than just a story to scare children into behaving. I loved the literary elements that were woven into the story. Definitely pay attention to the trigger warnings, especially those dealing with sexual abuse and uneven power dynamics. This book is for anyone who has ever fought for their voice to be heard, and who has ever felt like who they were was not enough.

I loved getting to know Effy and the the rest of the characters, but my favorite element of the story was easily the eerie atmosphere of the house at the center of their story. It's so thick you can practically feel it.

A rivals to lovers romance set in a crumbling, isolated mansion? This book is a perfect atmospheric read for the beginning of Fall, don’t you think?

"A Study in Drowning" earned a well-deserved nomination for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction in 2023, and it’s easy to see why. The novel offers a richly layered narrative that delves into the treatment of young women and the unjust burdens placed upon them by men. The characters are crafted with remarkable depth, and their journeys of discovering love and overcoming formidable obstacles are both inspiring and poignant. This book is an excellent choice for fans of psychological thrillers, mysteries, and enemies-to-lovers stories.

I get the love for this book. It has pretty prose and a fun concept, but I do feel like it was lacking a bit.

The execution was off. It had a lot of limp storylines that are never fully resolved or glossed over.

I liked the vibes and it was perfect for a gloomy day, but it didn’t hit my expectations!

A Study in Drowning is a beautifully written, atmospheric dark academia novel with tons of gothic vibes woven in. The mystery is compelling and the story is full of dark secrets.

Effy Sayre is the only woman in the architecture program, and is further isolated when rumours about her and the professor begin circulating. Her favourite novel is a tale about a woman fighting the Fairy King, who Effy has been hallucinating since childhood, this book is the only thing that makes her feel sane. When she gets the opportunity to redesign her favourite author's manor, she jumps on the chance. When she arrives, there is a rival student working on a project of his own.

I think I went into this with such high expectations because of how hyped this book was... I really wanted to love this, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. I found it to be so slow, that it was dragging for me, but I did finish it in one sitting so its not like it was bad. I was intrigued with finding out what happened in the story, which is why I kept reading, but it felt anticlimactic in the end to me. I can't say I cared about any of the characters, and I wasn't a fan of the majority of them.

Overall, just very lack luster for me, but I know a lot of people really enjoyed this, so definitely check it out if it sounds like something you would like!

The atmosphere of this book was true to the spirit that is the Dark Academia genre. I love the academic rivals in Effy and Preston. They’re both such interesting and unique characters. The world building was truly fleshed out and given several dimensions which just added to the layers of this story. While not my favorite DA book I’ve read, it is certainly up there as one of the strongest in the genre

I loved the dark academia meets fantasy vibes.
The atmosphere really had me gripped. I loved the imagery of a drowning, rotting manor. It felt like an old school epic- think Tam Lin- given new breath