This book was not for me.

I wanted a more dark academia feel. This was slow, and I did not like the main character. She felt a little bit annoying and flat at the same time. I found I wasn't rooting for her at all.

Overall, the story was bland, not very dark academia, not very much magic, and the romance had no chemistry to ut.

A perfect book for the hozier, dark academia, fantasy girlies! I love the folklore woven throughout and how Ava Reid masterfully depicts the feelings for love and girlhood and mental health throughout.

This book was wonderfully atmospheric and mysterious, though I do wish it had been more obscure and dense regarding the house, the fairy king, and the curse, and more detailed and forthcoming regarding Effy’s roommates/friends and their involvement in her life, as well as more exploration of the pain she suffered at the hands of her mother.

A Study In Drowning drew me in instantly and hooked my from the stary with its atmospheric setting and entrancing plot and characters. I really enjoyed being captured by the vibe and feel of the book and emotions of the characters!

A magically Gothic story. This is one I will definitely read at least once a year! I heard the author is doing her own retelling of Lady Macbeth and I think she'll do an excellent job with it

This was my first book by Ava Reid and let me just say that it has convinced me to read Ava's other books. I could not put this book down.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. This book made me feel a lot of things. It gave the impression that one who has lost their power and fighting to get back all done with the background of a dark academia setting. A large house on a cliffside. There are a lot of "relationships" going on in this book. Effy comes off a bit to timid for me in the beginning and I did not care much for Preston. He came off a little to close minded for me.

This book had everything I loved. Dark academia, spooky vibes, enemies to lovers. Even with all of this it fell a little flat. I struggled getting into it and when I finally did the main character annoyed me. The cover is beautiful and it was written very well, though.

I really really enjoyed this book. This was right up my ally and was executed perfectly! This is definitley a book I would recommend to others.

I love Ava Reid, so I am very thankful to the publisher for the arc of this novel!
I very much enjoyed being immediately introduced to the world of this book. Ava Reid has a fantasy way of being able to weave in a totally new magical world in with one that feels familiar, by doing that it makes it easy as a reader to just sink into the story and go along for the ride. The blending of surreal magic and reality of the book gave this a very moody/mysterious feel that I was totally into.

I’m so sad. I was holding onto this book because I was SO excited about it.

In theory in was perfect for me.

✏️ Dark Academia
✏️ Enemies to lovers
✏️Spooky magic


The good: the ambience was THERE. I could hear the creaks of the house and feel the mist in the forest. That was excellent.

The bad: The story fell really flat for me. It didn’t feel like enemies to lovers. It was just a girl being rude to a nice guy for no reason ?

Overall, the story was just so boring. 😔 I didn’t even care what happened which is the ultimate deal killer for me.

The ugly : the fantasy element of this was so weird to me. Not in a good way. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it wasn’t for me.

Thank you netgalley for this copy !

This was a fun and inventive fantasy, if a little tough to get through. The world building was great and the concept was fantastic. I think it was just the heroine, Effy, who I didn't get along with as well as I would have liked. Overall a fun read that I think my fantasy loving students would enjoy.

This needs to be talked about more! The story was so simple. But it was written so well that the simplicity was very effective. I loved Effy and Preston so much!

I was so excited to read this book but it was a complete let down. The only reason I am giving it 2 stars is because I was able to finish it and not DNF it. I can not count the number of times I wanted to put this down and not go back, or the number of times I found myself nodding off while reading it. It was long, drawn out, and extremely boring. I understand the underlying themes but it did not achieve them at all.

The main character is supposed to be a strong woman, who is willing to go after what she wants, instead she is a people pleaser, who is whiny, has no backbone to stand up to anyone, and has no idea what she really wants in life.

The descriptions in the book take forever to get through, and most of the time the descriptions are of things that mean absolutely nothing plot of the book. Yet, important details are skimmed over and thought of as nothing.

I want to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins for an ARC of this book.

4.5/5 Stars

Thank you to Harperteen and Netgalley for providing me with an arc.

I absolutely love Ava Reid’s writing, it is always captivating and just sucks you in. I was worried about how her writing would transfer to YA as what I have read from her is very dark and YA normally isn’t quite as dark but this was somehow one of the most confusing things I've read and one of the best spooky books. Reid manages to create an environment you feel safe in and twists it in a completely unique way that even if you guess what is going to happen it still feels surprising and will make you question what you just read. I never thought a book could be confusing in a good way but Reid did it.

Effy has always loved literature but the university doesn’t allow women into the program. When she gets an offer to go help design renovations for one of her favorite authors' estate she can’t say no even if she probably should. There she meets a man that flips what she knows upside down and they team up to figure out the truth.

Honestly other than knowing that this book is spooky and gothic I would say go in knowing nothing if you think you can handle it. There is a very interesting mystery element paired with a slight romance that is pretty minor. This book is perfect for a cozy day or to get you in the spooky mood.

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid is an excellent YA historical fantasy. 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. Ava Reid made a great first impression on me with this book and I know that I'll absolutely need to read everything thing else she has written or will write in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of A Study in Drowning! This was an incredible read and a great one to fit in before the end of the year. I absolutely loved the twists and turns as Effy tried to navigate the fine line between reaity and the stories we tell, especially when they are so engrained in our culture and lifestyle. I especially loved the inclusion and focus on the reality of a woman navigating academia. Despite this being a fantasy book, the feelings and experiences of Effy were far too real. Can't wait to read what else Ava Reid writes!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this novel. Check it out! It is worth picking up and taking home for the weekend! #NetGalley #AStudyInDrowing

Ava Reid’s writing is so atmospheric, beautiful, and mesmerizing. I loved the eerie and especially the spooky vibes. A Study in Drowning is a book about fairytales, mental illness and keeping the stories we love alive. I really enjoyed reading about our main character Effy. She's a soft and anxious girl who has been emotionally hurt multiple times by her family. Effy is also a young woman trying to prove that women should have spaces in academia. All her life she has been having visions of the Fairy King that has caused her to question her own reality. This book was absolutely perfect. The love interest Preston was absolutely amazing and I loved their chemistry together. Thank you NetGalley for giving me this amazing opportunity.

"And to Zelda: I remember you. I believe you."

A Study in Drowning was atmospheric, feminist, and academic in a way that I couldn't get enough of. Without spoiling, A Study in Drowning was an amazing standalone novel about folklore, individual growth, and women's plight in academics, life, and literature. Mix that with some great atmospheric writing and two characters that I loved, related to, and wanted to protect, and I fell wholeheartedly into the world created by Ava Reid. Think dark academic and folklore mixed with realistic academic and life plights.

I was pleasantly surprised by A Study in Drowning, mainly because it is being marketed as a Young Adult novel and I felt that the characters and plot were anything but. A Study in Drowning tackles issues that young adults face, but also people of all ages. For those of you (including myself) who do not generally enjoy reading YA, don't let the Young Adult genre tag scare you - this novel does not read like it is meant for teenagers.

I will definitely be picking up more novels by Ava Reid in the future - she has sold me on her world-building and character creation. I recommend this novel to readers who enjoy darker fairy tales, dark academia, English majors, and novels with feminist undertones. Thank you, NetGalley, Ava Reid, and HarperTeen for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 4/5 stars.