This book is a buoy at sea. A lighthouse’s relentless patrol for all souls lost and circumnavigating home. Rarely do I start something and instantly understand how much it will touch my soul. The aching beauty and deep-seated magic springing open like springtime buds for the world to see is exactly what I needed whilst in the throes of a rainy and snow-melting spring when the land is hard and the days feel so wet and endlessly gray.

A STUDY IN DROWNING is a YA gothic mystery novel similarly perfect for fall with its “dark academia” undertones and rich atmospheric settings. The main protagonist, Effy Sayre, is the only female student at an otherwise all-male Llyrian school for architecture. Her first choice is the school of literature, however, due to the glaring misogyny of the board, no women are allowed admittance. Forced into complacency, Effy is excited when a contest to design the manor of Myrddin, the recently deceased author and beloved Llyr author of her favorite novel “Angharad” is advertised on campus.

This novel has always been a balm and salve for Effy amidst a rough childhood filled with neglect and gaslighting behavior from her alcoholic mother. “Angharad” has been a safe place for her fears, hopes, and even at times, desires, creasing the pages with use and filling them with tears to absorb her pain. There is seemingly nothing that can dissuade or disillusion her love for Myrddin and sense of Llyrian pride, academics, and general nationalism.

Until she meets Preston Héloury–an Argantian literature student who suspects “Angharad” might not have been written by Myrddin. This immediately casts a rift between the two academic rivals as they try to solve and uncover the mysteries of Hiraeth Manor–a crumbling and decrepit estate on its way to returning to the sea.

I think what’s so potent about Reid’s writing style is how visceral the descriptions are as well as this mounting fear of drowning which serves as an extended metaphor throughout the entire novel. You see Effy, a tender and delicate girl clinging to fairy tales to deal with her trauma and pain, and the world that insists on crumbling at her feet, making way to the roaring ocean below. And you long to catch her, wrapping her up in this net of mythos and calm beneath the lashing waves.

With the inclusion of tougher themes pertaining to child abuse, SA, addiction, and so on, the sort of roman à clef nature of the text, and this “story within a story” atmosphere, we are given multiple insights into one story in particular and many others like it. The repetition and the injustice in this narrative that we can not seem to change beings to feel a lot like drowning until one brave day, somebody takes a stance against this age-old narrative of pain and injustice.

The exploration of pain, trauma, and bravery against your inner demons, or the chance to stand up against certain injustices in ASID skyrockets it into a sort of timeless piece of literature that can be revisited whenever one is faced with mounting dread, paralysis, or crippling inertia. Ava Reid takes your hand and shows you how there is a soft place to land in literature and that your voice matters–your story matters, and you are not alone.

A Study in Drowning
By Ava Reid

“Part historical fantasy, part rivals-to-lovers romance, part Gothic mystery, and all haunting, dreamlike atmosphere…”

I must say, the blurb doesn’t mislead, especially in emphasizing the atmosphere. Reid does an amazing job at really dragging you into the wet, decaying, damp, heavy atmosphere and then just drags you through it the whole book. But in a good way. And in this state of half drowning we find our main character, Effy, who is struggling to keep her head above water. She’s been cast aside, called crazy, and belittled her whole life. So much so that she doesn’t think she can trust her own instincts, she has perfected the fine art of shutting down and feeling the waves crashing in. A balance of dissociation and panic attacks.

Enter her trip to her favorite author’s estate where she comes face to face with herself and with the demons who haunt her.

Have you ever found yourself wanting to know what happens next and the next thing you know, you’re eyes are skipping over lines to get there? But then you don’t want to miss anything so you make yourself read more slowly? Maybe that’s just me, but I found myself doing that with this book. Not that it doesn’t have its faults. Besides the main characters, everyone else seemed to be a caricature of a person. Nearly every man was lecherous and wanted to subdue and control the main character. But despite the quibbles, I was thoroughly enthralled by the journey Reid took me on.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was absolutely incredible. I love everything Ava Reid writes, but I think this might be her best book yet. Despite this book being YA, it dealt with pretty heavy topics in a very age-appropriate way. Reid's depiction of Effy's panic attacks and dissociative episodes were so true to what I experience myself and I greatly appreciated that representation. I also loved the romance between Effy and Preston.
The Welsh-inspired mythology was so interesting, and I especially loved the excerpts at the beginning of each chapter. This book is just so wonderful. The way the mystery played out was so perfect, and the ending felt so gratifying. 5000/5 stars.

this was such a great read, it had a little bit of everything and the elements worked overall. Ava Reid has a great writing style and it took me in for a great journey. The characters were what I was looking for and felt like they belonged in this world. It had such a great job in telling the story and it works well overall and worked in the historical fantasy genre.

"Effy was so pleased her bait had worked, she had to keep herself from smiling. For the first time, she felt she had gained some ground, had some advantage over him. “I just assumed you had an ulterior motive. You were so uneasy when Ianto tried to show me the study.” “Well, congratulations on your powers of observation.” Preston’s tone took on a bit of bitterness, which pleased Effy even more. “But just so you know, not a single literature student would pass up the opportunity.”

The beauty that is held inside every page of Ava's books will never cease to amaze me.

Reading A Study In Drowning felt like setting my brain on fire, the prose so gorgeous I felt it down to my bones. Slipping into the story is as easy as water sliding past your skin, and then there is the joy of the rip current tearing you to shreds until the very, very end.

With imagery that branded itself on the back of my eyelids and a romance that I felt in every aching part of my soul, I do not have words to encompass my love for this book. Effy is my child, the love of my life, my girl who deserves the whole world and her place firmly inside it and all the love that she wishes to have (and Preston, my smug boy, who has such a tender, thoughtful heart). What struck me the most, and by that I mean struck right in the chest hard enough to knock me to floor where I will remain as what I FEEL towards this book is simply a whole very lot, was that Effy's strength is so largely internal. She operates on a basis of survival; her growth comes from an internal shift of discovering how can move the world with those skills, and how she can be when her focus is not solely set on keeping herself alive. It is a strength, and Effy exemplifies that in every way. She's is a wonderous, courageous girl, and she meant the world to me.

Specialness is engraved in every facet of this book, but where it shines through most clearly is in it's kinship. In it's open and honest declaration of the pain girls and women feel. In a way that felt so incredibly loving it says: "I see you". It offers a shoulder to cry on, a gently embrace, and the frustration and rage that comes from being ignored and made to feel mad for far too long. Even more so, it offers the satisfaction of knowing that it's possible to prevail in any way shape or form that it takes.

My love for this book is deep and immense, and it is so, so special.

"𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯," 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘺 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬.
"𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦?" 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘺 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳.

This book pulled me under the water and DROWNED me.
Atmospheric and tragic in its beauty, A Study in Drowning was both a sharp knife in my chest and a balm against my skin.
Ava Reid is a master at creating wonderfully complex characters, Our heroine Effy is tender and traumatized, but she is not weak. Her unique outlook and growth throughout a book will speak to survivors and those who have been brought down and silenced by the world.

"𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨-- 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭, 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯."
A Study in Drowning is to me what Angharad was to Effy.

Thank you Harper a Collins for this arc. This books was beautifully written but sadly not for me. Ava Reid has a way of writing that is just beautiful and her characters really pull at your heart strings. This was no way a bad book, it just wasn’t the book for me

A Study in Drowning is a haunting tale of unraveling truths and survival. Part dark academia and part gothic fairytale, this book was at once romantic, disturbing, beautiful, and eerie. I felt like I was holding my breath the entire time and absolutely devoured it. As per any Ava Reid novel, the writing was perfectly atmospheric and lyrical — I never wanted it to end. They have written a beautiful ode to survivors everywhere.

Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

In A Study in Drowning, Ava Reid takes their writing to the next level, with atmospheric world building, lyrical prose, and gothic fairytale horror in their stunning YA debut.

This book, simply put, is utterly brilliant. I honestly don’t have the words to begin to do it justice in this review. The amount of themes and important messages Reid packed into the story while captivating readers with a compelling plot can only be compared to R. F. Kuang’s Babel. This is a story about the dangers of climate change, of colonialism, of preconceived notions. A world that subjugates women and silences their voice. This is a story of women who made themselves smaller for men and still were singled out and harassed for not fitting into the spaces set aside for them. This is a story of women fighting back, of reclaiming their voices, of forcing men to meet them on an equal battlefield. This is a story of learning to believe in yourself, of facing those doubts and setting them aside, of refusing to be silenced any longer. This is a story of drowning and finally learning how to swim.

Thank you to Ava Reid for not shying away from your inner demons, for showing us that you can look in the mirror and see the truth and say I love myself, even those dark and jagged bits, for showing us how to swim when we are drowning. For believing when all others doubt.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to dear Ava for sending me an early copy to blurb. Seriously, I love you.

A STUDY IN DROWNING was easily one of my most anticipated reads coming out in 2023. I’ve been a fan of Ava Reid since I read their debut as an advanced copy, and Reid never lets me down. Each book is so different, but all tackle difficult themes in atmospheric fantasy settings, lightened with a warm touch of romance.

A STUDY IN DROWNING follows Llyrian architecture student Effy Sayre as she wins a contest to design a new manor for the estate of the recently deceased author of the novel, “Angharad,” so well-known and beloved that he was named Llyr’s national author.

But designing the house proves more than just a simple challenge. The old manor is falling apart and sinking into the seaside day by day, lorded over by the volatile and domineering son of the author, and Effy meets a rival literature student who seems to have his own motivations for being there beyond his work organizing the personal documents of the author for a biography.

There’s a dark secret that haunts the decrepit manor, all tied back to the author himself and his famous novel, and though it is wrapped up in tales and warnings of the ominous Fairy King, Effy must work together with Preston to bring it to light.

I first read the entirety of this novel all in one night like a woman possessed, and it easily met and exceeded all my expectations and excitement. Then I read it again, and it did the same. It is a force to be reckoned with.

A STUDY IN DROWNING was the perfect atmospheric fall read. I adored its overall tone, to the point it became one of my favorite features of the book. Ava Reid is a master of atmosphere and settings for all of their novels. You pick them up, sink in, and can’t come up for air until you’re done. A STUDY IN DROWNING proved just as immersive and carefully constructed as their previous adult novels, and Reid’s crystalline clear vision is evident from not only the gorgeous prose, but also this novel’s striking setting and vivid imagery. From the university life and cozy libraries to eerie crumbling estates on seaside cliffs that hide long-lost diaries and waterlogged chests and dark figures lurking in shadows, and the persistent damp and creeping threat of destruction in a land where its people fear a great flood they call the Drowning.

My other favorite feature was the novel within the novel, “Angharad.” We get to read quotes as headers for new chapters, and see bits and pieces the many times Effy references it in ASID. The eponymous heroine of the novel was kidnapped by the Fair Folk and forced to wed the evil Fairy King, then tricked and evaded him through various tests and trials until she was able to escape. A love story and a fairy tale and a romantic epic and a tragedy, all in one. “Angharad” was so popular the author was given national acclaim and entombed with honor as a legendary Sleeper, dead figures meant to protect their country from ruin. To Effy, it carried a meaning all its own. “Angharad” was the beating heart of A STUDY IN DROWNING, with everything revolving around it: Effy’s past, the Myrddin estate, Preston’s theories, and even publishing’s dark history. Effy’s love of the novel easily translated off the page, making me wish I could read the whole “Angharad” with a worn, tear-stained copy too. Utilizing stories within stories has become an Ava Reid trademark, and the precision in which Reid uses them to shape, direct, and reflect the heroines of all their novels never fails to blow me away.

And importantly, the newest Ava Reid love interest: Preston Héloury, the literature student who has something to prove. I admire how Ava’s love interests are so starkly different from one another, because of how easy it is to fall into specific types across books. Evike and Gaspar from The Wolf and the Woodsman were enemies to lovers, Marlinchen and Sevas from Juniper & Thorn were forbidden loves, and Effy and Preston were academic rivals to lovers. Preston was a blushing, flustered, driven, argumentative rival with terrible vision. Reading as their exchanges of arguments and bickering grew to understanding and love caused me to make all the delighted titters and chortles. It was tender and gentle and felt so genuine, I was not immune and grew misty-eyed at their declarations and acts for one another. Preston is a Good Boy(TM) and Effy being in a Romance with him was so immensely enjoyable to read.

Reid never shies away from writing about hard topics and important messages, always done with great care and with purpose. A STUDY IN DROWNING tackles a great multitude of things, namely: men taking advantage of women, propaganda, and buried truths regarding the real-world history of the publishing industry. ASID had an off-page Teacher-Student relationship between Effy and one of her professors. It caused a scandal at the school, and made her the target of further bullying aside from her being the only female student. This had ended by the time the book starts, but is referenced in her thoughts on page, as she feels the effects of the incident, bullying, and slut-shaming. Both compelled and coerced by men in positions of power, Effy saw herself within Angharad. ASID also dissects the use of literature as nationalist propaganda, which is what war-torn Llyr uses the Sleepers and their works for, and quite literally upends it within its contents. And beyond that, it triumphantly unearths and exposes the publishing industry’s dark history in regards to women. All of these topics were handled with unwavering conviction, only adding to the long list of this standalone novel’s accomplishments.

A STUDY IN DROWNING was a brilliant novel that was part fantasy, part dark academia, part modern gothic, part horror fairytale, and altogether too gripping to put down. A gothic that manages to be both breath of fresh air and the familiar claustrophobia of the walls closing in around you (or the pressure of the water as you’re pulled under), A STUDY IN DROWNING is an undeniable testament to Ava Reid’s mastery of their trade.

I will continue to think about this novel long after I’ve read it, imagining that decaying, drowning manor and seeing the King of the Fair Folk in the shadows, and remember exactly how much of an impact novels can make upon our lives.

Ava, this is your signal back. May your works always be lighthouse beacons.

Finally, and absolutely needless to say, I will be first in line for Ava Reid’s LADY MAKBETH (2024)

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid is a beautifully written dark academic fantasy novel that will leave readers spellbound from the very first page. Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales and has been haunted by visions of the Fairy King since childhood. Her only solace is her tattered copy of Angharad, a book about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King and destroys him. When Myrddin’s family announces a contest to redesign the late author’s estate, Effy feels certain it's her destiny.

Effy faces an impossible task with the musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor and its unwelcoming residents, including Preston Héloury, a young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin's legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them, and the truth may bring them both to ruin.

The novel's intricate world-building and magical realism elements are skillfully interwoven into the story, making it a perfect read for fans of Melissa Albert and Elana K. Arnold. Reid’s writing is achingly atmospheric and beautifully sharp, immersing the reader in a haunting, dreamlike atmosphere.

Part historical fantasy, part rivals-to-lovers romance, part Gothic mystery, A Study in Drowning is an impressive YA debut that lures readers in with its powerful storytelling and evocative imagery. This is a must-read for anyone who enjoyed The Atlas Six, House of Salt and Sorrows, or Girl, Serpent, Thorn.