Up until the final chapters, this was sitting at a 3.75 for me. Upon competition I bumped it up to a solid 4.0.

It was everything I loved about the first book, dark academia vibes, with love of literature at the heart of it all. This sequel is way more character driven, and I really enjoyed that the fallout of the events of the first book are addressed.

At the end of the day this is a beautiful exploration of literature, love, legacy, and mental illness. Ava Reid’s writing style alone gets this book to 3.5 stars for me. Looking forward to her next release, thank you for showing this world Ms. Reid, I’m excited to see where you’ll go from here. Xx

I kinda feel the same way I felt about the first book in this duo. Intrigued but a little lost. I enjoyed getting to see more of Preston’s side but it was hard to read how Effie was going downhill. This book is emotional and deals with some difficult mental issues. I think the author did a great job with that difficult task. I just didn’t love the book unfortunately but I’m thankful that NetGalley and Harper Collins provided an eARC for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I just love this duology (well trilogy if you include the novella coming out later this year (!!)). Ava has done it again with this enchanting book. I just love their worldbuilding, and the blurry lines between dream and reality. I also really enjoyed the budding love story between Effy and Preston that we see in this book.

I will say that the first half was a bit slow, and most of the action takes place in the second half. But the setup we get of the setting and characters was not lost on me, and the writing is beautiful.

4.5/5 stars!

A Theory of Dreaming solidified this duology as my favorite duology I’ve had the privilege of laying my eyes on thus far in life.

I wish that I could bottle up this romantic, ethereal, academia-riddled feeling and drink it whenever I need an escape.

Book two feels entirely different from book one tone and plot-wise, which has me fully believing that Reid could turn this into a full-blown series if she truly wanted to (I truly want her to).

Book one has that gothic, paranormal, academic rivals, rickety-house-by-the-sea vibes. Book two has more of a dark academia/magical realism feeling with much stronger romance in my opinion.

I could not throw enough accolades at this book, nor could much else compete with how much fun I had reading it.

(Booktok review coming)

Beautifully written as always, the characters stood out, the atmosphere was wonderfully done. Loved this!

This is a very solid sequel staying close to the winding mysteries, beautiful writing, and exploring blurred lines between reality and story that readers fall in love with in the first book while building on it.

I love that this book brings our characters back to the school where we get to see their interactions with their peers and professors. I really enjoyed Rhia, Maisie, and Lotto and thought they all brought some fun new dynamics into the story. This book overall helped the world feel more lived in and built out.

I really enjoyed that this book dealt with the impact of what happened in Book 1 not only on the world that they live in but also for the characters involved. I think that made this book feel even more so like a natural continuation. We also got Preston's point of view which I was so happy about! I think exploring his past more was a treat for readers.

While I loved the winding mysteries that Effy and Preston were unraveling, I did wish that they interacted more and collaborated more in this book. It felt like that would've been a natural growth for them to lean on each other more, but they seemed to spend a lot of time drifting apart into their own worlds and problems. I still did find their romance to be sweet though and like to think that after all of this they'll lean on each other more to heal.

That all being said though Reid has a way of weaving together fairytales and reality so beautifully in this duology with gorgeous writing to match that I can't help but recommend it! Such a wonderful series!

I think the thing I like most about Preston and his story is his balancing between rationality and accepting things that aren't rational. Good continuation of the first book!

I loved A Study In Drowning when I read it in 2023, so I was so excited to find out that Ava Reid would be releasing a sequel! A Theory of Dreaming continues Preston and Effy's story in the aftermath of A Study In Drowning. Where ASID focused mainly on Effy & her story, this one mainly focuses on Preston.

Ava Reid's writing is so captivating. It's immersive and meaningful. The themes and messages within this one are very on the nose, very important, and heavy. The plot, as expected, is intriguing & left me waiting for the next shoe to drop or the next twist. Reid does a great job letting you into the minds of her characters & it makes it so easy to love them & root for them.

Preston & Effy's romance is tender & heartwarming. Two broken people who are afraid to say they're broken, but need each other all the same. I love them & their love story so much. They're just so sweet, so gentle with each other!!!

My only regret as a reader was not reading or rereading A Study In Drowning closer to this release. I felt a bit disconnected from the story & the characters at first and it took me a bit to find my way in that regard. However, that's absolutely no fault to the book itself, that's my own fault & why I couldn't give this book 5 stars!

So much love for Ava Reid, Preston & Effy and this beautifully crafted story!!!

4⭐️ this book was just as beautifully written as all of Ava’s books are. I love her ability to blend fairy tale & fantasy world with the real world and infuse political and social commentary about today’s society along side it.

I liked that we got to know Preston more as a character and go along on his journey with him. My biggest gripe with the story is that both Preston and Effy’s stories, while happening simultaneously, feel very much separate from one another. Following the events in ASID I figured they would work together more and lean on one another more but instead they almost shut each other out. Because they don’t want to burden the other person/they want to protect them they both end up suffering in silence until they both hit a breaking point. (Which I guess is kinda the point, it just wasn’t what I was expecting out of the characters)

Overall I did enjoy the story that was written and loved learning more about the folklore of the world and how it tied into this book.

A Theory of Dreaming was hauntingly beautiful. No one writes atmospheric, dreamy prose like Ava Reid. It gave us a dark, intense, emotional continuation of Effy and Preston’s story, and examined how nationalism, the high-pressure world of academia, and mental health struggles impact romantic relationships and personal identity.

Effy is at once strong and fragile. She’s been through so much, and she wants to give up, but she continues to fight for the life she wants and the love she deserves. Preston is tender, protective, vulnerable, and broken. As the war between Llyr and Argant gets worse, he feels the hatred and suspicion of his college peers, and retreats to his dream world to cope. If you want a dark, gothic, academia with elements of romantasy, mental health struggles, the duality of a dream world vs the horrors of waking life, and a sweet & supportive romance, you should definitely read this. I adored this duology, and can’t recommend it enough!

Thank you to Epic Reads, HarperCollins Children’s Books, HarperCollins, Ava Reid, and NetGalley for the ARC.

📔A Theory of Dreaming
✏️ Ava Reid
📆 July 29, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

READ IF YOU LIKE:
🌊 dark academia
🌊 gothic romantasy
🌊 dream world vs waking life
🌊 mental health struggles
🌊 sweet & supportive romance
🌊 dual POV

This sequel picks up immediately after A Study in Drowning and delivers the academia aesthetic many of us craved: campus life, dorms, lecture halls, professor offices, and cozy libraries. It also gives us more of those tender, intimate moments between Preston and Effy, the kind where we get glimpses into their inner thoughts and quiet longings. Seeing more of Preston’s perspective was especially interesting, given how emotionally guarded he tends to be. That said, I’m starting to notice a trend with books marketed as “Dark Academia” that often emphasize mood and aesthetic over plot. While there were beautifully written, atmospheric moments, I struggled to stay engaged, and by the time the major conflict and resolution arrived, I didn’t feel truly invested in the newer characters or stakes. Something meaningful felt missing.

A Theory of Dreaming does a good job as a follow-up to A Study In Drowning. It continues to be this gothic, atmospheric story with varying levels of emotional depth. Our MCs are back, but this story feels different from its predecessor. I think a huge reason for this is that it feels like the majority of the book is about the MCs recovering from the "trauma" of the first book. The first half is very slow to the extent that the pacing makes it feel like nothing of importance happens. The first half of the book sets the tone for the second half of the book. I have mixed thoughts about this sequel. I'd still recommend it to others, but it wouldn't be a book that I'd want to re-read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange doe a honest review.

In #ATheoryofDreaming by #AvaReid we dive back into Preston and Effy's world.

The final book in the duology focus's largely on Preston. Now that Effy has defeated the Fairy King he thought he could relax but he is still the only one who can hear the bells ringing beneath the water. Everything that he has believed has crumbled around him and he can no longer deny that magic exists. The Llyrian-Argantian conflicts have escalated and war has been declared making things so much harder for Preston an Argantian student. His Professor Gosse has decided that somehow Preston is able to access the realm of Dreaming and he plans to use him to control it.

As Preston tries to understand how it is that he has access to this realm and how to control it his worry for Effy continues to grow especially when a statue of her is in the underwater palace beginning to show signs of deterioration, leaving him with uncontrollable worry that something is wrong with Effy. Over time the dreaming world and the waking one begin to overlap causing Preston to be perpetually tired.

Thank you to #Netgalley for the chance to read #ATheoryofDreaming by #AvaReid in return for a fair and honest review

This is a great follow up to A Study in Drowning. Unlike the first book this one follows Preston much more than Effy. Both return to university where Effy is the first female in the literature program. She has so many people thinking she is going to fail. But she was born to prove them wrong and Preston will do anything to help her succeed as well.

I was worried this sequel wouldn’t live up to expectations with the first book A Study In Drowning, but Ava Reid plunged me into yet another 5/5 mystical academia story which had such important themes underlying it all.
Our favorite duo is back in their academia setting facing the repercussions and struggles of questioning and disproving important beliefs of the Angharad that shapes their country of Lyr.
Effy and Preston face their own struggles seperately from eachother. While Effy is fighting the suppression of being the only female in the literature academy, Preston is fighting the racism of his Argantian origins in the thick of the war between Lyr and Argantia.
Another literature piece is the spotlight of this story and how it is woven into the plot of the story is so intricate and the revelations towards the end left my mind reeling with how thoroughly Ava wove this literature piece into everything.
This story we get see more of Preston’s backstory as he struggles to accept the belief of magic and how it relates to him in the mystical dreamlike scape he has found himself in.

“No one can survive reality. We have to find our solace in dreams.”

The atmosphere of the dreamworld provided that mystical and ethereal tone which was a contrast to the dark and almost dreary tone of the academia atmosphere. I think this was a beautiful concept , showing how much more appealing it is to escape into the dreamworld.
While there are darker themes in this book, it has beautiful conclusions showing that sometimes we have to save ourselves and although escaping reality is nice , there are things worth fighting for and sacrificing for in the real world.

“I am seized by such love, I vow that I must come to ruin now.”

Now the romance between Effy and preston is soft and romantic and just so wholesome. Both have their own battles with opening themselves up to this love. Although their own fears with their love left me mentally screaming, their inner thoughts on how much they loved each other overfilled my heart with so much love for the two.

This was a 5/5 read for me. No spice in this , just beautiful old-fashioned romance. I am sad to see this story end. It had such a mystical yet gothic academia atmosphere I crave in my dark academia books. Thank you so much to netgalley and Harper Collins for the eARC. This was easily one of my top reads if the year.

I will say, it was my fault for not reading book 1. I have it on my shelf but have not found the moment to read it. With that being said, I do feel there were pieces of this book which would have been more clear had I read the first. So my review will be only on this one which I did enjoy.

Effy and Preston are well into their relationship as this book opens. They have also turned over the evidence disputing who wrote a famous literary work but they are not seeing the evidence being shared. they are only seeing their names being being dragged through the mud as though they are the ones trying to purposely destroy the legacy of Myrddin. Effy has moved from the college of Architecture to the college of Literature and she is the only woman among the ranks. Preston is working with his mentor, Professor Goss, but is finding himself in tense situations since he and his family are from Argant and the re is a war currently raging between the two countries.

My personal though with this book is there wasn't a great deal of action happening. There were quite a few personal issues we worked through with the characters but, I suppose, reading there was another realm and Fairy King in the first, I suppose I was looking for the same level of intrigue and adventure. As Preston works through some fantastical aspects in dreaming, we get glimpses into a palace under the sea, but I don't feel like much happens there. It's far more about the growing romance between Effy and Preston as well as the drama surrounding events from the first book and new drama with other characters. I do love the gothic, dark academia vibes of the story and nods to poetry, fairy tales, and folklore. I suppose I just wish there was a stronger plot to follow.

Ava Reid has done it again! I devoured this book in one day. Returning to Llyer and of course to Effy and Preston was well worth the time spent. This story continued the alluring world built in book one, but gave us more back story for Preston and why he is how he is.

*Received as a free ARC*
Overall, I liked this book. Exactly what was happening felt vague at times, but I think that was mostly a stylistic choice. I also thought the pacing was a little funky. Fairly slow then all at once the climax was over. All in all, the ending felt satisfying. Effy and Preston are in a better place and the world is looking a bit brighter.

3.75 STARS

I loved coming back to Effy and Preston in this sequel and I find Ava's writing so beautiful and intelligent. I honestly feel like I'm learning so much as I read her stories as she causes you to think about the thought-provoking ideas and conflicts the characters go through. Preston seemed to be a larger focus in this story and he really goes through so many conflicts, both internal and external, but it's centered around his connection and relationship to Effy (which I loved). Like the first book, there are some moments that can be a little slower and sometimes it's hard to stay in such heavy topics when it's slower, but that's the only reason I did not give a higher rating.

Loved the additional side characters (especially Otto and Rhia) and how they all interacted throughout the book. Would not be mad at future stories focused on some of these characters.

Tropes:
- Stories as power
- Stories to process trauma
- Author worship
- Dark academia
- Dual POV
- Blurring dreams and reality

Thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and the Author for the eARC copy!

was so excited to learn Ava Reid wrote a sequel to A Study in Drowning—and it didn’t disappoint. A Theory of Dreaming dives even deeper into the emotional and political fallout of Effy and Preston’s discoveries, with a darker, more introspective tone.

Effy’s struggle to find stability in a school that barely tolerates her, and Preston’s alienation as an Argantian student labeled a traitor, were heartbreaking to watch unfold. Their love is tested in new ways, especially as Preston becomes entangled in a dreamscape that blurs reality, and Effy teeters on the edge of escape through sleep.

While the literary focus felt a bit more distant than in the first book, I loved being back in this witchy, briny world. The diary twist was chilling, and the atmosphere? Pure magic. This sequel gave me all the emotions—rage, wonder, heartbreak, hope.

Read A Study in Drowning first, then dive in. You won’t regret it.