This was amazing! I absolutely loved it. This was just the fantasy book I was looking for. I was hooked from the very beginning.
I just reviewed A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid. #AStudyinDrowning #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I have never so badly wanted to be besties with a FMC as badly as I do with Effy. She is so incredibly loveable and I see so much of myself in her. (I would indeed die for and protect her regardless of the cost).

The pacing of this book was PHENOMENAL - I typically read majority adult. However, I was pleasantly surprised! This is tagged as a young adult but it reads more closely to new adult. There were even some vocabulary I wasn't familiar with and this does take place in a college-style academic setting with some topics that dive into mass amounts of anxiety, being S.A.'d by someone in power over Effy, struggles with self-worth, racism, and so on.

The story was spectacular, the characters are to die for, the academic rivals to lovers did not overpower the main plot/mystery of the story. I have no notes. 5 stars.

3.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
Effy, refused entry to the faculty of literature because of her gender, is a reluctant and distracted architecture student instead. But when a chance comes to design a museum for her beloved, recently deceased, and nationally treasured author Emrys Myrddin, she jumps at it. If only her visions of the fairy world didn't keep getting in the way..
Review
Normally, the word ‘fairy’ diminishes my interest in a book considerably. I like the concept well enough; I’ve just seen it applied poorly far too many times. But the title of this book caught my eye, and the description intrigued me. Plus, I’m always on the lookout for new authors.
The result was a somewhat mixed success. I liked Reid’s prose well enough, but there was just too much about the story that felt familiar – too many tropes that we’ve seen before, reused without much innovation. This is a book whose path you know fairly well from the early pages, and the solution to its central mystery is evident from the halfway point, yet its protagonists somehow fail to see it. There are some new elements here – sexual abuse by an authority is a recurring theme, but to me a little too much seemed to be rote emulation of other stories. The romantic pairing of the story is so familiar that the author makes little real attempt to justify it, relying on familiarity to carry us through.
I don’t mean to downplay the book’s strengths – Reid is an able writer, if with a tendency (like, but with a very different tone from, K.J. Parker) to take her metaphor and let it wash over and over us like the tide – and I’m a fan of metaphor. The characters are engaging and interesting, if a little too stock to really take to heart. And the heart of the story is strong. I just wish Reid had taken a little more time to make familiar tropes her own.

Ava Reid really set out to write a story that somehow captures the terrifying power of myth, the reclamation of stolen stories, the ways that women not only escape but transform when confronted with the unthinkable, and the most gorgeously moody setting I’ve found in a book recently.

And she makes it look easy.

This book was everything I wanted and more, and I know it will be one of my top books of the year. As much as I enjoyed and appreciated Wolf and the Woodsman and Juniper and Thorn, this book for me, is Ava’s tour de force. It captures so much of what I like best about her writing, her themes, and her characters and distills it all into the perfect story.

One thing about an Ava Reid book is that it’s going to have voice and style and something to say, and I think that’s why I’m going to always be such a fan. Ava shoots straight for the style and topics that they want to discuss, without hesitation.

Ok onto our heroine, Effy, who is a girl with yearning and desire for something she can’t quite name. As a child she believes she was given over to the Fairy King, and as a result, even though she was rescued from his clutches, she believes she sees him in her dreams and occasionally in her everyday life.

At university, Effy wants to be a literature student and study the works of Emrys Myrddin, whose seminal work tells the love story of the Faerie King and a mortal woman, Anghorad. However, women aren’t allowed to be literature students, so Effy does the next best thing and accepts an offer to investigate Myrddin’s home and belongings, in the hopes of finding a deeper connection to his work.

If this sounds a bit convoluted, I promise it’s my fault, as the narrative establishes all of this quite quickly and succinctly. Effy is also an immediately sympathetic character with stories to tell and a desire for what she can’t have.

Probably my favorite part of this book was the lore. I love Welsh mythology, and Celtic mythology in general. Ava draws on a rich tradition of both mythology and medieval romance style in order to build the construct of her narrative (Effy’s quest) and the narrative within the narrative (Anghorad).

While building both stories, she also weaves the story of her fictional (welsh based) world of Llyr, and it’s just stunningly beautiful. The crumbling houses on the cliffs, the crushing waves of the sea, the fears of drowning, the mysticism of places where land and humanity are at an impasse between forces of nature…masterful is an understatement.

I would read 10 more books set here, or in the stories within this story. Or just Effy at university studying literature with a certain fellow student with glasses. I would take alllll of it because I was so fully engaged in this story.

I think it would be possible (and disturbingly easy) for me to write 10 more paragraphs about all the how’s and why’s of my love for this book, so I will attempt to cap it here with this very SHORT and CONCISE review, and just say that I think this is Ava’s best book yet and you should BUY IT.

This was an addictive read! I always expect some good atmospheric writing from Ava Reid and she never disappoints. Our female lead, Effy, is a strong-headed, witty woman with a lot of sass and determination to prove herself as the first ever female literature student at her college but she is stuck in architecture. Preston, our male lead, is a sophisticated scholar whose opinion is settled and leads a very curious mind. The two embark on a journey to uncover secrets of Effy's favorite author for a chance to write a joint thesis in the Literature college, but the process is a lot darker than they anticipated. Overall I really enjoyed this novel and will be purchasing it when it is published. Only trigger warning is passive recall of a Sexual Assault experience between a student and professor.

A Study in Drowning is a haunting tale of the dark secrets even your own heroes have. The eerie, dark academia vibes of this story was so strong. Ava Reid does a really good job of making you feel on edge while Effy and Preston are at Hiraeth Manor. This story mainly tells the story of victims and survivors of sexual assault & harassment, grooming, and child sexual abuse, and how society treats victims over the abusers themselves. My heart hurt for Effy at the way she was treated by the faculty and student body at her school, as well as her own mother. Seeing Preston and Effy find each other through this nightmare of an academic project, might I add, was beautiful. The supernatural element of the Fairy King and the lore behind this creature was also so chilling. If you love haunting, gothic tales in a dark academia setting, definitely pick up A Study in Drowning!

I don't even know how to begin talking about this book. A Study in Drowning is. Incredible. It touched me so deeply, I will need 7-10 business days to process my emotions and what this story means to me. A brilliant and sensitive exploration of survival and love - this one is special.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC!

A Study In Drowning is a hauntingly beautiful tale which I am sure to come back to over and over again.
ASID follows a girl, Effy, as she navigates her life around her first term at her architecture college. Her fairy tales and her damaged copy of Angharad are the only things keeping her upright. After a while, an opportunity presents itself to redesign the house of the famous and loved late author Myrddin and Effy gives it a try. As soon as Effy arrives at Hiraeth Manor, there's something off about the place which she is determined to uncover.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish, the magic system was definitely very new to me and highly delightful. From the start there was this atmosphere and this dreamlike environment which is one of the reasons I loved this book! The atmosphere was so perfectly suited for the nature of this book. The MC was one whose story I was willing to read and let her leave an effect on me. The love interest was so cute and sweet, loved him a lot! The characters were very well thought of and I quite enjoyed how different they were from each other. And of course I have to address the fact that I loved how the MC took control of her own mind and body, no matter how difficult it was for her. The lies, secrets, suspense and danger had me at the edge of my seat throughout the book and I could not have asked for a better ending. ASID is a haunting and magical tale which has left a permanent mark on me.

Rating: 4 stars

This book isn’t what I was hoping. The story is slow moving and confusing. The characters lack depth and nothing really happened. I’m not sure what to believe and not in the good way

This book was very slow paced. It’s set as a story within a story and those are very fine lines to walk because if that inner story is dull then the entire book will as well. Sadly, I could not connect with the fantasy story that was going on within to enjoy the book. Now the book is well written and the characters likeable, so this could very well be up someone else’s jibe.

This is Ava Reid’s best work, which says a lot, because Wolf and Juniper are hard to beat. They just keep getting better and better.

Drowning is a sweeping story full of mystery and romance, with a main character who is captivating and interesting to read from beginning to end. Effy is a character we can understand and root for, and she’s a character many readers can see pieces of themselves in. I will always trust Ava to write about themes of SA and cohesion. Their stories are raw and honest—Drowning is no exception. Seeing Effy come to terms with what happened to her and letting it go, taking back control of herself, is beautiful.

My only critique here is that Drowning does not feel like YA. This belongs on a shelf beside Wolf and Juniper. There’s nothing inappropriate for a teen reader, but it’s pretty dense and ambiguous for YA. Effy is 19 or 20? She’s in college. The vocabulary is more advanced than what is typically found in YA, and the plot is probably too slow to maintain the average teen reader’s interest. I love a slow burning, character driven novel, but I find myself a bit frustrated with Drowning because it is slim pickings for YA books that are actually written for teens. I have no doubt Drowning will do very well and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in at least one book box, and while I love this book and want it to succeed, that is also a bummer because it will take up space where YA written for teens could be.

*4.5 stars*

part horror, part fantasy and part romance, Ava Reid’s “A Study in Drowning” is an immersive, nuanced story about monsters that hide in plain sight — and the ways power is reclaimed despite them.

*thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.*

This fascinating gothic mansion/haunted house theme has a twisty mystery and powerful feminist vibes! 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! This is also a thought-provoking, bold, profound, and empowering story about women with #MeToo movement representation. That's what makes it unique, brave, and more powerful! I devoured it in a few hours! The execution of the story was well-crafted. The myths, folklore, urban legend parts, and shocking, challenging backstory make the book extra captivating and unputdownable!

The story revolves around young Effy Sayre, who is delicate and dealing with hallucinations of the Fairy King since her childhood. She is the only woman student in the architecture department, even though she dreamed of focusing her studies on literature: she can recite the entire words of Emrys Myrddin's Angharad. She is socially outcasted after rumors about her involvement with her adviser professor. She is so close to getting dropped from the faculty, failing from classes, and her neglectful, alcoholic mother has no intention of doing anything with her. Her favorite author, Myrddin's death, also affected her deeply. The book he has written is the only thing that can empower her to fight against her nighttime terrors.

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.

He rubs her the wrong way because this condescending, stubborn, pragmatic boy is a literature scholar even though he's Argentinean, while she was rejected from the same faculty because she's female! 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. The awkward manners of Myrddin's son, the ill widow who is locked in her room they didn't see, and the secret passages of the manor increase her suspicions as well. 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!

Overall, this book is scary, ominous, intense, moving, bold, and one of the best reads I've had lately!

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books/HarperTeen for sharing this amazing book's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Ava Reid writes for people like me— for the girls nobody believed. Her prose is beautiful, as always, and her characters are deeply compelling. This is a wonderful addition to the YA genre and I know countless people will feel seen by it.

3.5-4 stars
TW: SA, child neglect, violence, attempted murder, sexual harassment, bullying, rape culture, misogyny, sexism & mental illness.

I truly appreciate how this book was whimsical & philosophical.
Many young adults or teens are not given a chance or the benefit of the doubt that they can grasp any denser form of literature without the need for it to be thoroughly explained. Yet at the same time, they are expected to know this for university/college. So they are basically & constantly dealt a double edge sword.

I think this book does an excellent job of backhanding that thought. And respects the reader.

I don't think this book is entirely for me. y enjoyed it, but it was not what I was expecting.
This book has layers that paint a picture of a misogynistic society that would rather silence a woman and sell her as stock than give her a voice. We see this happen in the book with our main character and others. The sexualisation of women, young girls/children that is accepted is another disgusting layer too. The author doesn't do anything but make us take a hard look at the realities we have in our world as we explore this fictional one.

Every story has a heart in reality, and eacfactty holds a sense of fiction, and this book "A Study in Drowning" proves that.

Ava Reid does it again. I fell in love with her dark, fantasy storytelling in her adult novels, but her YA debut really solidified her as a favorite author for me. This book completely transports you and grabs you from the very first page. I loved the characters and the story and everything about this. If you enjoy dark academia, fantasy, beautiful writing, books about books, and a little bit of romance, you will love this book.

Ava Reid has this way of drawing you in within the first paragraph. The atmosphere of each of their books makes you feel like you are within the pages with the characters. A study in drowning was so vivid and filled with mystery, romance, and gothic horror. I’m in awe of Reid’s writing and will continue to read anything they write.

I adored this book just as I have adored all of Ava Reid’s books. This solidifies her as one of my favorite authors of all time. 10/10 stars from me. I am so grateful I got to read this book before it is released.

This book made me feel so many things. It was lyrical, eerily beautiful, captivating, clever and stunning. The world building was astounding, the gothic dark academia vibes were impeccable and our cast of characters hold a very special place in my heart. Ava Reid hasn't failed me yet.

It’s moments like these, having finished what I think is most likely going to be one of my favorite books of the year, that I wish I had better capacity to put into words how I feel and what I think. At least to be able to do so adequately and eloquently. Alas, I am but a mere humble girl who’s greatest talent is in fact, NOT writing, so I have no choice but to simply just say WOWOWOWOWOWOOWOWW and hope it encompasses my thoughts enough to convey that this book has moved me and impacted me and made me want to do a reread right away. I hope it encompasses the fact that I’m still reeling and lying here (in bed, writing this from my phone) thinking about the beautiful gothic imagery. That I thought the writing was absolutely stunning, lyrical, atmospheric and clever and the world felt SO REAL. That it made me want to write an essay (a thesis?) on all the parallels and allusions between so many aspects of the story. Especially about women and how they’re so easily dismissed. On all of the juxtapositions between Preston and the Fairy King and about the Fairy King being a reflection of all the nasty predatory men. And about the use of mirrors. And the use of the sea and water to portray grief and love and terror and death (or dying as one Preston Heloury would say). My only wish tonight is that my simple ‘wow’ translates perfectly to mean that this book was meant for me and that it’s stunning and beautiful and I will be undeniably devoted to it for the foreseeable future. Wow.



Goes without saying that I’m absolutely thankful to NetGalley and Harpercollins/Harperteen for the advanced reader copy!