Initial Thoughts:

I thought about giving this 3 stars, but the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth.

I had so many issues with Effy's rampant xenophobia towards Argant, which conveniently went away when Preston said some pretty sounding words in Argantian.

And then after Effy falls in love with Preston, her shitty attitude towards Argantians just went poof. Someone make it make sense....

Review:

This was one of my highly anticipated reads because of all the hype on booksta, but in the end, I don't know if Ava Reid is right for me. Which doesn't make sense because I love all the themes and tropes in this novel (and Juniper and Thorn too): dark academia, misogyny in academia (and life in general), women's lack of agency, strict gender roles, mental illness stigmatization.

But somehow, I'm not really meshing with the author's books. I'm not someone who needs a happy ending, but with Ava Reid's novels, everything is bleak and terrible and there's barely even a hint of hope or happiness at the end.

I think that's one of my huge issues with this novel. Effy's moments of happiness are based on her relationship with the love interest (and this only occurs in the last third of the novel).

Because absolutely nothing in her life is going well. Her mother is abusive. All of the men are disgusting creeps. She's doing terribly in the architecture college. Even with meds, her mental illness is debilitating. (Girl needs major therapy.)

The only solace she finds (before major plot point reveals) is in a book about Angharad and the Fairy King.

Sure, she becomes the first woman in the literature college and her abuser is fired, but these wins read like throwaway lines at the end of the novel. I honestly almost forgot that these two things happened.

I know this is some people's lived realities, but I'm that kind of person who has major issues with women only finding happiness with a man. Or women having zero friends (of any gender) and having the love interest be their be-all and end-all.

Thematically, nothing was explored on a deep enough level for me to be fully satisfied with the characterization. The main plotline was the only thing I enjoyed.

For example, Effy's xenophobia towards Argant. Sure, you can excuse this as fiction, but her xenophobic attitudes towards Preston just disappeared halfway into the book because she started falling for him. There's no self-reflection or introspection on why she had a deep-seated hatred towards Argant in the first place (unless I missed it?) when that was such a huge part of the novel in the first half.

Maybe it's because I'm a WOC, but if an author wants to include this huge plot point, it better have a satisfying conclusion. Sadly, it didn't.

Oh, and the fact that Effy honed in on Preston's nationality? (ethnicity?) when she found out that an Argantian student borrowed the library books she wanted? And that was pretty much all she focused on? That made me really uncomfortable.

In the end, Effy's character felt very damsel in distress and unrelatable. Sure, she lives in a very sexist world where a woman practically requires a man to get by in the world, but shouldn't she at least have one positive interaction with another woman? Effy literally has no friends other than throwaway characters at the end that barely even count.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just being a hater.

Thank you to HarperTeen and NetGalley for this arc.

There are not many dark academia books in YA that I would be able to hand sell honestly. Study in Drowning is different enough that it is easy to talk to customers about.

A Study In Drowning is a dark gothic tale mixed in with some fairytales. I loved the combination of the two but felt the execution of it just didn’t hit. It dragged from chapter one all the way to the end. Shorter chapters might of helped, but I might just be nitpicking.

I wanted to like Effy but I tend to prefer stronger female leads and she just wasn’t it. Effy spent the majority of the book either fighting tears or sobbing during almost every interaction with another character. I understand she had been through some trauma but it was just tiring how weak the author made her. I wanted more from Effy as a female lead but the final conflict did finally deliver something satisfying. I just wish we had gotten some more spark of Effy’s strength throughout the book versus the very end.

The story also mildly covers some racism between the two different counties in the book. Southerners and Northerners. Effy does an incredible job at being a hypocrite when she meets Preston. Preston himself wasn’t memorable and felt underdeveloped along with their romance. It was sudden and felt forced.

The final conflict as well was so sudden and wrapped up so quick I was kind of left thinking “all that for this?”. The mystery in the story was so glaringly obvious to me I wish there was more suspense to it. I absolutely loved the mix of gothic academia and fairy tales I just wish we got more of that.

This was my first novel by this author and though it wasn’t something I overly enjoyed I’ll probably still try other books by her. I liked the narration for the most part, and loved the genre.

Setting this book down for now as it wasn’t for me. Might try the authors books again in the future but this one wasn’t for me.

While the synopsis of this book was intriguing the story did not live up to the hype. I found the FMC to be more adolescent that someone at the age to be going to university, she was also hypocritical. There was also very minimal romance if that's what you are looking for. This book was just not for me and I felt like I had to keep trudging along to get through it. 2.5 stars

I had really high hopes for this one, unfortunately it did not live up to them. It was slow, tedious, I failed to root for the characters... I just did not have a good time. I did like the setting, as it was perfect for the fall weather. The ending felt rambling and like it could have been all said in an epilogue instead of dragging it a couple of more chapters. Good idea, poor execution.

Oh gosh, I wish I loved this more, but I really didn't like it at all! I wish I had seen the trigger warnings but it's hard when reading an arc copy, because I probably wouldn't have requested this. I'm a big fan of Welsh mythology, but this was a confusing book to get through. It's like I was a distance from Effie forn90% of the book and it just felt like a slog to get through. I am probably not the ideal person for this book because of the triggers, but I can see how other people could take this book and feel seen and heard

Thank you Frenzy Books for the eARC! I loved Juniper & Thorn, so I was quite excited to read her newest release. It’s got dark academia vibes, which I love, and there’s also some horror mixed in too. There’s also mentions of sexual assault in the plot, so keep that in mind before picking up this book. Regarding the characters, I was glad that Effy experienced some character growth and changed her racist views about Preston and Argantians. I wasn’t a huge fan of her romance arc with Preston because I didn’t get any feels for them, and I think they would’ve been fine as friends. I think that bit was mostly just there to help Effy heal from her SA experience. On a side note, I was so confused with where her missing ring finger came from, because it just randomly comes up in the middle of the book and then readers get an explanation. There wasn’t really any suspense built up. Also, I totally called the ending around halfway through the story. The one thing I absolutely loved was the world-building. I loved the atmosphere of the cliffside and the decrepit, spooky house. I loved all the chapter headings, and I thought they were so realistic, like the texts actually existed. I loved the Faerie King arc of the story as well. Overall, I loved the vibe and aesthetic of the story, but I think the characters needed some work, and the romance needed more chemistry.

Wow was I blown away and sucked into this story. It was heartbreaking and too many can identify with it. I loved the story arc and the ending has left me reeling with theories. This story will not be leaving me anytime soon. Effy is the survivor in all of us. I loved that the romance was a subplot and didn't overshadow the other elements in the book. There are so many take aways that I could reread this multiple times and walk away with a different felling, and to me that's what makes a good story exceptional. Very well done.

I've deeply enjoyed everything I've read by Ava Reid, so when I saw A Study in Drowning I knew I had to read it. It's a story about waterlogged secrets that can never be drowned. About houses with terrible chilling wind that brings forth shadows in lingering glances. It's both heartbreaking and inspiring in the ways it tackles sexual assault and women's voices as well as love and speaking out. All the tears were shed and I couldn't stop reading even when I was waiting for my laundry to dry.

This is a hard one for me to review. I'm of two minds of when it comes to A Study in Drowning.

First, atmospherically? Love it. I love the dark, gothic, overgrown estate in a region with a deep lore and link to the sea. I love the dark academia vibes. I love the almost heartbreaking undercurrent of misogyny and the maybe "never meet your heroes" story line, which is especially relatable when it comes to literary figures. A Study in Drowning truly has a lot going on within it and there are so many good components and messages. But.....

The second part of me, didn't find the story enjoyable as a reading experience to the point that I wanted to keep coming back. I wanted to blame that on some of the heavier subject matter but at the end I didn't really find it satisfying either. Yes, I liked the ending but there's so much going on in this book that it felt like it streamlined to an ending in a way that left me feeling a little hollow. I also found components of the dueling regions (north and south) awkward and a little uncomfortable in how it was presented in the main characters, I either wanted that part of the story line to just naturally fade away or there to be more conflict because of it.

Maybe I went in with expectations set too high but as much as I wanted to love the book, I didn't. I can, however, appreciate the story for what it was and how many good components went into it. While I didn't love it, I do keep seeing other fantastic reviews for it by other readers and do think it's worth a read if you love dark academia.

I really enjoyed this book. I hope the author continues to write more books in the future. I can't wait to see what this author releases in the future.

These kinds of books are my favorite. I loved the dark academia/gothic feel of this book. I loved the old crumbling house in the damp forest on a cliff. I loved the world building, the characters, the way they grew, and the challenges they faced. I loved the premise, which was full of fairy tales that existed within the world Ava Reid built.

I also really loved how the two main characters worked together to solve some big mysteries that would have an impact on the history of their world, and how they fell for one another. I couldn't put the book down because I had to know how it ended. The twists and turns along the way kept me hooked. I think any person who loves to read, who longs to know how stories are formed, who lives for slow burn romance and gothic settings will absolutely fall head over heels for this book.

If you love spooky atmospheric stories, this is your book. This book will be great for fans of Erin Craig and Melissa Albert.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher of A Study in Drowning for the arc copy.

Pros: You can totally feel the dark academia aspect with the university vibes. It does give bit of a creepy tone mixed with coziness as well. I really did enjoy that aspect of this book and that it was true to what the synopsis + other reviews described.

Cons : Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far in this story at all. I had gone into this with a mindset that I was going to love it and maybe that was my fault for setting expectations super high. That’s not to say this book is awful, but it’s just not my favorite with the pacing, the repetition and lack of spark that I needed it to have. I was only able to get about 32% in when I decided I just need to stop. I couldn’t force myself to try and get through it anymore. I did give it my best because it does seem promising and like it may take a turn to something beautiful but maybe it’s just not for me at this time.

Thank you again for an advanced copy and giving me this opportunity.

2.5/5

If you enjoyed Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries and An Enchantment of Ravens, I think you will like this one.

It contains a seemingly unreliable narrator, patriarchal structures, mental illness, a soggy, crumbling manor house, and lecherous old men and possibly fairies.

The writing is gorgeous, although occasionally it drowns in its own pretty prose.

It's a lovely commentary on exploitation, while also acting as a retelling—in a way–of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald. You know the tale. Man writes brilliant novels, gets awarded and lauded and held up as the literal paragon of virtue within his country's literary legacies...while his wife is locked into an insane asylum and vanishes from the historical record.

It's really not that big of a spoiler, because the whole time you're like "Effy. Kiddo. C'mon. You know who wrote this." But such is the way with patriarchy, where women are barred from entering the most prestigious of colleges (the literary college) because of their frivolity. Vertical integration is insidious.

Just as the ways women are taught to not trust their instincts. To submit. To be quiet and unassuming and good, always. And how the reader begins to doubt, too, because their own instincts are just as rusty and tarnished.

It's so easy to believe literally anyone over the unreliable, possibly schizophrenic teenage lead, isn't it?

Trigger warnings for sexual assault.

So I loved this book and the feminist vibes! It is absolutely perfect! Enemy to lovers with paranormal and thriller vibes! The mystery to this book captured my attention. I loved the FMC Effy! I felt she was very fleshed out as a character. The plot kept throwing twists at me and had me guessing constantly at how it was going to end.

4.5 stars

I loved A Study in Drowning! The vibes were immaculate and I loved the various settings, it felt like I was there because I was so immersed with all of the great descriptions. The settings were so moody and it was a perfect book to read in fall/Autumn. It can very easily be described as dark academia, but there is so much more than that.

Effy and Preston have to work together at the manor of a late literary “great” who is very well known for one specific novel he wrote. Effy loves the story and knows it front to back. Preston seems a little off to Effy at first and he seems to be keeping her at arms length.

Their working relationship develops and it’s so enjoyable watching the character development between them together, as well as each of them separately. I was so invested in the outcome for Effy, as well!

What a wonderful dark academia fantasy. Effy was such a relatable character and a nice change of pace for a YA protagonist. Loved the story!

3.5 stars. I ADORE dark academia. Especially when you throw in supernatural or murder/mystery elements. However, I am not entirely fond of fae elements. Sadly, I didn't love this book as much as I was hoping, especially once the fae elements were introduced. I loved reading about the creepy house. I'm not sure how I felt about the relationship, it kind of felt fake/forced maybe? I did like the end, however. All in all, the atmosphere was perfect but I didn't love all of the content.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First things first, can we hear a little commotion for this COVER? Gorgeous, atmospheric, haunting, a perfect little preview into this story. The book is a lot like this cover: gorgeous, atmospheric, haunting... a crumbling estate by the sea? A Fairy King who may or may not be real? Rivals-to-lovers romantic tension? Chef's kiss. While I did manage to predict most of the big reveals, I had a lot of fun reading on to see if my guesses were correct. The writing was also just so beautiful - I found myself highlighting so many quotes that resonated with me. This book is perfect for lovers of fairy tales (the original, dark, twisted versions of fairy tales, not the sanitized Disney versions), dark academia, books about books, and beautifully done takedowns of misogyny.