i always trust my instincts when it comes to new fall releases because i know deep down i'm a sucker for gothic fiction. when a study in drowning was announced, i knew i needed to read it and boy did i have a good time with this story 🖤🔎🏛️

a study in drowning is actually a new adult in my opinion because of the curses and intimate (almost explicit) scenes that was included. it's definitely not young adult. so bare that in mind, in case you pick this book up. it follows the story of effy sayre who's the first female student to get into the architecture university program. her main goal was to get into the litterature program but she got rejected since it's a male body program (the fkg audacity). so she settles for architecture while still daydreaming about her favorite author's book, myrddin. he wrote a phenomenal story about a mortal girl who gets kidnapped by the faery king and fall in love with him just to destroy him in the end. amidst her messy life and unhealthy family, myrddin's words are truly keeping effy's afloat.

when they announce a project to redesign the author's manor after his passing, effy take advantage of this opportunity to show everyone's that she's capable. effy think it's destiny when her application is accepted but when she arrives there, she realizes how of an impossible task it is to recover the crumbling manor standing near the cliff. she meets a literature student, preston héloury, who's also there for a personal project and both of them team up when they start recovering clues about myrddin's legacy and expose him as a fraud.

i know they marketed this book as dark academia but i don't quite agree with it since the majority of the book is set in a haunted decrepit manor near the cliff. i think it's more of a gothic romance with fantasy elements inspired by the welsh folklore. i though this book was fantastic and perfect for autumn. honestly, effy was such an amazing character. her strengh and struggles were relatable and i loved how brave she was despite the odds. this book is about mental health and toxic abuse done by men in power (teachers). it was filled with female rage and feminism. honestly, i felt so much for the women in this story (except effy's mom, she deserves jail). as a gothic fan, i loved the gothic vibes, the haunted manor, the eerie atmosphere, the weird shady host and all the ugly secrets that were slowly being revealed.

preston as a love interest ? 10/10. he was our typical grumpy smart guy but so soft for his girl. i loved how he was ready to have effy co-write his thesis with him and help her get what she wants. their banter and secret midnight meeting to uncover the clues were my favorite. i love them so much. this story was also filled with fantasy elements and the faery king was quite present throughout the book.

this book wrapped up so nicely and it pushed me to set my eyes on ava reid's other works.



rating: 4 haunted stars.




thank you again to HCC Frency & HarperCollins Canada for sending me an e-arc my way 🖤

Effy is not our typical girl. She has visions of the Fairy King. See, Effy has believed in fairy tales all her life, a life that hasn’t been great to her. Once she finds out the family of her recently deceased favorite author wants a student to redesign the estate, she thinks it’s a dream come true. Somehow the fates align and Effy gets picked.

Once at the estate she meets an insufferable student there, Preston, who is there because he is writing his thesis on the late author and needs to gain access to what his life was truly like.

The two find themselves working together to piece together the life of their beloved author. They start to uncover some dark secrets and there are people, and things, out there that don’t want the truth uncovered.

R E V I E W:
I thought this was great. I loved the world that we were thrown into. I loved the character. The writing was great, tragic yet hopeful. There are definitely some dark themes going on throughout this book but it was all blended together so perfectly.
Definitely worth the read.

10/10 Ava Reid does it again! They know how to craft a book. The settings, characters, and plot are all great

Though no fault of this book, I just could not get into it. I am in *another* reading slump and this one just couldn't hook me enough to keep going.

3.5 rounding up to 4
Enjoyable but pretty predictable. Definitely my least favorite Ava Reid story to date but (as always with Reid) its beautifully written and v atmospheric.

Effie Sayre is the only girl in her university architecture program. She wasn’t allowed to attend the literature program because girls aren’t allowed in. Her favourite book is Angharad, the famous book by Emrys Myrddin about a girl who falls in love with the Fairy King and then destroys him. When Myrddin’s son creates a contest for an architecture student to redesign the late Myrddin’s home, Effie enters and wins. She goes to the estate, where she meets Preston, a literature student who is researching Myrddin’s documents to prove he was a fraud. That goes against everything Effie has always believed about her favourite author, but she can see some truth in it. Effie and Preston have to discreetly look for evidence to prove Myrddin was a fraud, while his estate crumbles around them.

This was such a powerful story about women finding their voice. Effie had experienced so much sexism and misogyny at school. She wasn’t believed at home or school because she was a girl. I liked the theme of history repeating itself. Effie’s story was universal, because at some point in every woman’s life they have heard comments like this or experienced horrible acts simply because of their gender. This story also addresses what happens when the author of your favourite book, that you’ve always believed in, betrays you. It’s very difficult when someone you’ve admired for your whole life turns out not to be the person you thought you were, but unfortunately that happens.

A Study in Drowning is a thought-provoking story!

Thank you Frenzy Books for providing a digital copy of this book.

Content warnings: sexual assault, misogyny, sexism, drowning, death of parent (off page)

A Study in Drowning follows Effy, a student who is given the opportunity to redesign a decrepit manor owned by her favorite author. She discovers that the manor may be even more dangerous than it appears on the surface.

I thought that the first half was incredibly boring, and while the writing was beautiful at times, it also sometimes felt overwritten, with info dumps that felt stilting and unnatural to the flow. I did not feel the "so what" for a very long time and was very close to DNFing until about 50% through the book. At about 50%, the plot _really_ picked up and the danger felt much more immediate. The writing style and plot also seemed to meld much more nicely at this point.

While we got a lot of Effy's backstory, her character on its own did not stand out and instead felt like a mechanism for just getting us into the manor. Preston grew on me throughout the book, but was not a favorite character. What I really cared about was the manor and the gothic aspects and not the MCs themselves.

Averaging how I felt throughout the whole book, I don't regret reading this, but I don't think I would recommend it because there are other gothic stories I liked better. If you wanted to like this but didn't, I recommend THE LAST HEIR TO THE BLACKWOOD LIBRARY by Hester Fox.

This was very slow and atmospheric, but ultimately very weird and creepy. I loved when pieces finally revealed themselves, though I would have left this place immediately.

DNF @25%

I really tried to get into this (for months its been in my currently reading) but I'm just not feeling it right now! As this was an anticipated read, I'm really sad about that but have not completely given up on this book. Hopefully, I'll definitely get back into reading ASID once I'm in a better reading mood!


Thank you Harper Collins Canada for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am obsessed!
When it comes to life, anything goes. A dark academia tale where women are viewed as naive and frivolous, and the battle to distort that world view. A great read and with every minute of my time.

I'm in love with this book. A Study in Drowning is for the girls who just want to drown in a cold, dark, misty, spooky, mysterious, fantastical atmosphere, maybe with a cup of tea by their side on a stormy night. This coupled with the slowly unraveling mystery, the feminist themes of the story, and the tender romance made it the perfect book for me.

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid is a fantasy story about Effy Sayre. Effy enters a contest to redesign her favorite author's estate. When she arrives, she realizes she'll be working with Preston, a scholar who is not exactly a friend. This story was beautifully written and very atmospheric, and I really enjoyed it. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

This was such a beautiful book! The writing style was so whimsical and unique. Although the pacing was a bit slow, I was never bored and thoroughly enjoyed the entire plot.

This was a really interesting dark academia YA fantasy novel!

I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher

Effy Sayre reluctantly joined the architecture department of a prestigious college, since she is a woman and therefore could not join the literary department. So, when there is an application to become the architect of her favourite author's (Emrys Myrddin) estate she jumps at the chance (even if there is little hope of a first year student being chosen). To her delight, and then anxiety, she is chosen. But, upon arriving she is met with a crumbling manor which is close to falling off the cliffs into the sea. As well, a fellow student is there trying to do a piece on the recently deceased author (possibly scathing). Something is wrong at Hiraeth; Myrddin's son seems too eager to be near Effy, the author's wife if nowhere to be found, and the student Preston Héloury bothers her. What is Effy to do?

This might end up being my favourite read this year. The writing is so beautiful, it felt as though I fell into a poem. Into the world of Effy and Preston, into the world of the Faerie King and all the horror he represents. This book reminded me of a romance novel that has been placed inside a folk/fairytale of old (where there is blood and fear and death). It was lyrical, the atmosphere lifelike (Hiraeth Manor itself is a character), the world dripping from the page like the sea lapping at the shores near Hiraeth. I was enchanted, even as the story reflected such a bleak and terrible reality in Effy's story.

The story had so much depth too, with it's own language, with two warring countries (one subjugated and relegated by the affluent other). And wow, the words that Preston says to Effy, I would have been swooning too. Not to mention the story that lives within this story (Angharad) of a young girl who defeats the mighty Faerie King with her wit. I mean, I would love to read that novel in itself. As well as the poetry. There was so much thought and knowledge, so much poetry and prose, so much hidden meaning and overt meaning that this novel had everything I could hope for in a dark academia, gothic, horror, romance novel. I soaked it up in a day! And I recommend especially listening to the audiobook so you can hear the words, so they can seep into your mind and paint a vivid image of the world that Reid created.

Effy and Preston were written so well. Effy is not your strong heroin, she is fragile, fearful, meak, but she still fights for herself. After everything she has been through, she does not give up and she then pushes back. Preston is honest, he is also oblivious to the reality of what women go through and has prejudices of his own to work through (which he is honest with himself about near the end). However, he is a kind man, a thoughtful man, one who knows he has no right to take what is not willingly and explicitly given. I love a man who offers space as comfort, who asks permission, who knows when not to touch, and when not to stare. He is a prize!

This novel is also so enraging, but not the book itself, but the circumstances in the book and all the truths that come to light (which I figured out with all the hints, but was aghast at how easy it was). What men were (and are) able to get away with, how the Faerie King is able to take control. The lack of care for young women. I was so glad when Effy was finally able to find her voice and fight back. That instead of Preston standing up for her she stood up for herself, which I would say is sometimes the hardest thing to do.

This book is a hard read, as much as it is beautiful and imaginative, because of the very real subject matter. There are moments of utter disgust and dread for Effy. Moments of fear and panic and anxiety, which many who have been victimized by men have faced. Effy must face constant doubt about her own emotions, her own misgivings about people, wondering if it is her past abuse that has made her think this way or if yes she is once again being put in a situation that is dangerous for her. She also has very little support in her life, having a mother that cares little for her. Preston comes to her at a time when her own self worth is so minimal, that having someone else notice her and actually care for her is vital to her being able to rebuild herself and protect herself from the evils around her.

Honestly, I feel I could talk about this book for hours, days, years. It has embedded itself in my heart. I urge you to read this book if you love fairy tales, inventive world building, charming bookish nerds, and gothic dark academia.

Beautifully written and emotionally charged. Ava Reid has a gift for prose that pull you in and soak you to the bone. I made sure to buy this for my library, hoping our patrons will be drawn into such a beautiful and Gothic story

I really like this atmospheric read! Great for fall and as a good introduction into dark academia. I will be buying a physical copy!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

This was a wonderfully atmospheric read. The gothic environment lent itself well to the intricate story that was told. I felt like there was a critical piece missing from the story but I couldn't put my finger on it.

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be phenomenal. Phenomenal characters, phenomenal writing and I loved the way the author tackled the struggles of mental health in this book. It made me connect to the characters even more. The story itself was very complex and I think that’s where I struggled a little bit because it took a little longer for me to fully grasp what was actually going on. Overall, definitely a book I would recommend!