Listen we need a Lotto stand alone like now. LIKE. NOW.

But what a beautiful story. Absolutely loved it. Ava writes so beautifully that I will read anything she writes.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

This is how you write a duology.
Absolutely stunning - a great sequel to the first book. Beautifully written and detailed - Ava’s writing is so unique - it almost feels like reading poetry. Effy and Preston’s character development was an incredible journey to go on.
5 stars!

All the stars to this. This is how a sequel is done. In the author note, Reid said she wasn’t sure if she had anything felt to say in this word but my god this book was full of plenty of things to say. My heart was so heavy reading this one. It broke for Effy and Preston. This book is not a fairy tale at all.

Though considered YA, there are some heavy topics and themes. All are done well and didnt feel forced. This book is meant for the poets, fans of TTPD, who might be a little sad on the inside. Who long for the simplicity of childhood and believing in fairytales.

I have no complaints, not feedback to give. This was perfect. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

DNF @ 56%

I recently found out that the author, Ava Reid, did not intend to have a sequel for A Theory of Drowning, and it showed in book 2. I liked her writing in a gothic style era and something similar to Rebecca Ross' Divine Rivals, but this one missed the mark for me. I was excited to read this book, but unfortunately, the writing was not as great, but the imagery was still well written. I struggled to get to the point on where I DNF'd because I felt like I was forcing myself to get through it.

Truthfully, it was hard for me to get through book 1 as Effy kept having stereotypes of Preston, but I enjoyed that we saw more of his story here. We follow Effy's story now that she's in the literature college but I was so frustrated with her at so many points in the book. She was borderline insufferable here. I unfortunately did not want to continue a reading a book I couldn't see myself enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for an honest review!

Whoooooo boy.

I loved “A Study in Drowning” so much. It felt so real to me. Effy felt like she was a mirror image of my own life, especially my childhood. It was like falling headfirst into Wonderland, and waking in a recurring nightmare of my own traumatic experiences, dancing like the Beethoven or Nutcracker sequences of “Fantasia” before my eyes. It was beautiful, terrible, great, and morbid. And I loved it so much for all of that.

“A Theory in Dreaming” hit equally close to home, as I have recently revisited my childhood trauma in the form of sexual assault as an adult by a friend. Once again, I was thrust into the role of Effy, one I was familiar with like how taking a familiar medication has similar side effects each time. I hesitated to take on the book so soon after the assault, but ultimately I’m glad I came back to this world. In the way that Effy had Angharad, I have Ava Reid.

This book was less like the beginning sequences of “Fantasia” and more like Rite of Spring. It was raw, emotional, yet equally compelling. I felt so glad to come back to Effy and Preston, but so unhappy to remember their struggle. Preston is faced with an unimaginable obstacle of magic being real; while Effy is now ripped from magic and forced into the real world for the first time ever.

They each feel so alone, so isolated in their adversity. It makes you want to shelter them from the consequences of the last book.

There is no way to save them from the truth, however.

This book is a perfect sequel. I loved it so much, but would not ask for more. I fear when stories get told too long. This world is beautiful but cruel. The characters are raw but real. I want nothing more than to revel in the stories that exist. In the sea, no matter how treacherous, and in dreams, no matter how deep.

Ava Reid is a powerhouse. I can only aspire to be as wonderful a writer as her.

The tone of this sequel is a cousin to the first but quite different in a few key ways. The setting difference, and more characters being present, really make for a different feel. That threw me off at first, but overall I quite enjoyed the change.

The novel explores deep themes of identity, the danger of dreams, and the collapse of idealized worlds. It is a poignant meditation on how we perceive ourselves through stories and the consequences of losing that narrative. Effy’s struggle with being more than the stories that have defined her is both heartbreaking and relatable, as she must confront who she is without the fantasy world she once inhabited.

It is incredibly hard to write a sequel to a previous standalone, especially when that first book is as exquisite as A Study in Drowning. But Ava Reid has done it. ATOD is both a continuation of ASID and a story in and of itself. It is about tragedy and despiar, but also the hope and love that carries us through.

Ava does it again! I LOVED A Study in Drowning so when I got the chance to read the sequel, I was so excited. The story picks up with our lovely main characters and I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop and how they tackle the problems thrown their way. What a fantastic fantasy! Ava Reid is an auto-buy author for me.

I am obsessed with how ava reid writes. Her prose and the way her sentences flow together in this create a melancholic and hazy setting that you can't help but be sucked into. I loved the first book, and while this book had way less action, I think it expanded on the characters of Effy and Preston more and we were able to see them as they struggled to find places for themselves at school post the events of the last book. I loved that we got Preston's perspective, he's such a compelling character and to see his thoughts as well as Effy's was really nice!

This is a very well-crafted novel, that pulls you into this dreamlike dark academia setting that you can't look away from. This book tackles many big emotions and complicated systems of grief and mental health that have you invested heavily into the world and the characters involved. Really enjoyed this, I love when a second novel gets a little more abstract and more intense in all the interesting ways!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advanced e-copy!

A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid is a spellbinding, melancholic masterpiece—an achingly lyrical exploration of identity, longing, and the fragile boundary between dreams and delusion. If A Study in Drowning carved out a space in your soul, this sequel will quietly, devastatingly flood it.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure this story needed a continuation, but within a few chapters, I was fully under its spell. Returning to Effy and Preston’s world felt like slipping into a dream that refuses to fade—lush, haunting, and threaded with the ache of unfinished thoughts. This is not just a continuation; it’s a deepening, a descent, a reckoning.

Getting more of Preston’s perspective was one of the most satisfying choices Reid could have made. His quiet devotion, his simmering anger, his descent into something darker and stranger—it made his character feel even more vital. His dreams of a palace beneath the sea mirrored Effy’s unraveling so perfectly that watching them try to tether one another in the midst of chaos was both beautiful and brutal.

Effy’s arc is full of emotional rawness—her guilt, her desire to be worthy, her desperation to prove herself in a world that wants her to fail. The pressure of being the first woman at her college, the weight of a country’s expectations, the way she internalizes everyone’s doubts—it all feels so real, so crushing. And yet, her journey toward embracing her own worth, toward allowing herself to be loved not in spite of her fragility but through it, is breathtaking.

Reid continues to excel at using fantasy to expose the very real horrors of misogyny, institutional cruelty, and inherited trauma. Themes of academic elitism, nationalism, mental illness, and the weaponization of belief systems all pulse beneath the surface, more nuanced and sharp than ever.

And the writing? It’s stunning, yes, but with a sharp edge—like poetry scribbled in the margins of a cursed book. Every sentence feels deliberate, every metaphor soaked in meaning.

A Theory of Dreaming is a love story, but not just between two people—it’s about the love we fight to give ourselves in a world that tells us we are too much or not enough. It’s about the danger of believing in beautiful lies, and the courage it takes to live without them.

This is not a sequel for spectacle—it’s a sequel for the soul. And I won’t stop thinking about it for a very long time.

I was so excited when I got approved for this arc because I thoroughly enjoyed the first book but this one just took forever to get somewhere. At the 45% mark I kept wondering when we were going to get some answers but it’s just so much of Effy and Preston not telling each other what they’re doing and meandering about their classes. I took several week long breaks while reading this because I just could not get into it. That being said the writing is of the same quality as the previous book and I really enjoy how she writes. I enjoyed Effys character development and you see her become stronger and more sure of herself as the book progresses. Overall I’d give this a 3/5, I just needed it to be a faster pace to hold my attention. The chapters were so long and again, I kept waiting and waiting for something to happen.

This is beautifully written, with a moody, dreamlike atmosphere that really sticks. If you’re already invested in Effy’s story, this will hit even harder.

It leans more literary than plotty, with a lot of time spent in people’s heads and memories, and not a ton actually happening. That said, it’s doing what it means to do. The emotional weight is there, the character work is solid, and the writing has that hazy, immersive quality that some readers will absolutely love.

There were moments between Effy and Preston that felt particularly well drawn—not dramatic or overly romantic, just quietly intense in a way that sneaks up on you. That emotional restraint is part of what makes the book feel so intentional.

If you’re into dark academia with big feelings and complicated grief and identity stuff, this will probably be a favorite. It didn’t totally click with me, but I can see how well it’s crafted.

3.5⭐️

Let me start off by saying I really, truly loved A Study in Drowning and did not feel that it needed a sequel. Having said that, there is a lot here to love!

Getting more of Preston’s POV in this book was such a delight. I very much enjoyed reading how much he loves Effy and just wants to protect her. I think their love is so evident here, and I loved seeing their relationship develop.

I also found the themes discussed in this book a good continuation of the established ones in A Study in Drowning. This book delved further into the topics of religion as a means of control, sexism (both in general and in academia), mental health, xenophobia, and more. I particularly resonated with Reid’s portrayal of mental health through both Effy and Preston’s storylines. Effy’s struggles with feeling like a burden and not being worthy of love were difficult to read, but her journey of allowing herself to be loved fully was beautiful.

The biggest drawback to this book to me was the way Preston’s dreams are handled. I found it difficult to parse through what was real and what wasn’t, which maybe was the point. I think the way Preston handled his dreams in regard to his relationship with Effy was a tad confusing.

The pace of this book was also much slower than its precursor. It took me a while to get through the first half of the book. The pace picks up a bit in the last quarter of the book, but there is a lot of Effy and Preston going about their routine repeatedly at the beginning. Speaking of their routine, was Effy in only one class for that semester? That confused me.

Overall, I do think this book added a lot and gave a more well rounded conclusion than A Study in Drowning. It’s not a perfect conclusion, but if you want to see more from the world and see more Preston and Effy, it’s worth a read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book. The above is my honest review.

Content warnings: suicide attempt, drug abuse, sexual assault (mentioned, not explicit)

I didn't love this as much as the first book. I appreciate the characters and their development but their emotional struggles seemed to be the main problem of the book. I'm glad others enjoyed. I do think maybe A Study in Drowning should've stayed a standalone as this wasn't super needed. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the E-ARC!

3.75 stars

Whatever way you think this story is going to go, I can promise you it's not.

While ASID has Effy and Preston working together, this book has them on their own journeys and kind of meeting up at the end of the story. Effy's side of the story was devastating and was not what I expected at all, but it makes so much sense for her character and the context of what she's going through. I just wish Effy's story wrapped up a bit nicer, particularly with more involvement from Preston since it felt like it was very quickly moved on from. I also didn't feel too attached to Preston's story and was confused throughout most of his journey.

Effy and Preston's relationship definitely takes more of a backseat in this one compared to the first and they both go through their own character arcs, but I think they both could've been involved in the others story a bit more.

TLDR: Effy deserves better, and I wish her and Preston just had a real conversation about what happened and actually talked about what was going on in Effys life!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins of the advanced e-copy!

I wasn't expecting Book #2, but I was happy to see it in NetGalley.

In her foreword, the author, Ava Reid, says there was never meant to be a book two but she caved due to the popularity of A Study in Drowning (Book #1) and outrage over its cliffhanger ending. I immediately thought that wasn't a good sign.

Ava Reid is an excellent writer, and her atmospheric, moody writing is a treat, but Book #2 was a miss for me.

Things I liked:
-the fantasy world (already built in A Study in Drowning (Book #1))
-the imagery
-the vocabulary that contributes to the above points and dark academic vibes
-the *potential* for a dark yet cozy story with Effy and Preston and, potentially, their friends.
-the many issues the characters had to confront (the war and prejudice, the aftermath/stigma/trauma of assault, school politics, academic competition, injustice, etc. )

Things I did not like (without spoilers):
-Um, where was the story? (Maybe the book was rushed?)
-The lack of communication that is never remedied.
-Preston and Effy's relationship and Effy's struggles.
-Lancelot, aka Lotto, lacks character development. The author writes about how loveable he is in her foreword and how she hopes we love him. How are we supposed even to know him when she only TELLS us (not shows us), very scant details and never rounds him out as a character?
-the heaviness of the many issues the characters had to confront (the war and prejudice, the aftermath/stigma/trauma of assault, school politics, academic competition, injustice, etc. )

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for providing me with a digital review copy.

4.5⭐️

Thanks to Netgallet and HarperCollins for the arc💕

I almost cried at the end because of how beautiful the book was—the epilogue was short but incredibly emotional.

I was afraid this book wouldn’t live up to my expectations, especially since I loved the first one. But Ava did it again. This book was magical—it makes you fall in love with love and with magic.

The way Preston loves Effy is just too beautiful.
They’re both my precious babies, and I will love and protect them until the end of the earth.

A Theory of Dreaming was a novel that lingers like the memory of a half-forgotten dream: its edges blurred, yet its emotions sharp and inescapable. Ava has crafted a world where dreams and reality tangle together, and at its heart is the mesmerizing, heartbreaking connection between Effy and Preston. Their relationship was raw and aching, a dance between yearning and self-destruction. Watching them try so desperately to care for each other while being trapped by their own self-criticism was agonizing in the most beautiful way.

Preston’s ability to walk in his dreams (?) was one of the most intriguing aspects of the novel; considering the title of the book I would hope so. The way he moves through the fabric of his dreams, stepping into a world that is entirely his own creation full of his greatest happiness and fears, adds an intoxicating, almost surreal atmosphere to the story. That being said, I did find myself craving more depth in <i>how</i> he was able to do it. While the lack of explanation added to the air of magic, it felt a little too convenient for a novel so embedded with purpose.

And then there’s Effy! My queen, someone I want to protect so earnestly. Effy, who feels like an embodiment of the way women have fought for the right to be heard. Through her, Reid captures the quiet, insistent power of a voice that refuses to be swallowed by expectation or doubt. Watching Effy struggle to claim herself, to push back against the forces that would rather her be insignificant, was one of the most gut wrenching aspects of the book.

Reid’s writing is, as always, was vivid and lyrical, wrapping around me in what felt like a fever dream. A Theory of Dreaming is a novel that aches—with love, with longing, with the desperate need to be seen. Even with its small imperfections, it’s a story that will haunt me in the best way.

4.5 stars!

Thank you Harper Collins & NetGalley for giving me an eARC to read in advance!

3-3.5 ⭐️

This is a story about the power of dreams in helping us escape our difficult realities, but the danger in leaning into this too much—trying to escape rather than truly living.

Honestly, I breathed a sigh of relief when I finally finished this story. To clarify, it wasn’t bad by any means…it was just heavy. The tone of the entire book was just really dreary and depressing. There were no small moments of comedic relief and not enough romance to soften it or lighten it up. It was in Dual POV and we expect Effy to continue to struggle with her mental health (since she already did in the first book) as she navigates being the first woman in a college that does not value her voice, but we didn’t get any break from this in Preston’s chapters either because he was really struggling too (between grieving the death of his father, the discrimination he faces as an Argantian, his love and concern for Effy, and the shifting of his world views). This resulted in the book feeling very tiresome overall. By the time it ended, I felt a bit weary. Though, at least it does end on a more hopeful note.

Perhaps it’s an odd comparison, but Preston’s obsession with truth, logic, and rationality as a way to make sense of his world and then him beginning to question everything he thought he knew reminded me a bit of Javert (from Les Miserables) , who was so obsessed with justice and the notion of good versus bad as a way to understand his world, that it shattered him to be confronted with Valjean, who was a shade of gray in what Javert had seen in as a black and white system/world , ultimately leading Javert to madness and despair and a tragic end as he questioned his outlook on the world and all he knew to be true. Similarly, Preston’s mind was shattering in this book as his entire worldview is shaken and he is forced to reckon with the unexplainable and unknown.

The little romance that there was in this book felt unconvincing to me. After the first book, I thought they seemed good together, but in this one, I was questioning that. I felt like I was told they love each other, but I really wasn’t given much to make me FEEL or believe the love between them. The interactions we got were mostly them shutting each other out, not communicating well, not being very attuned to each other’s struggles, and worrying about whether or not they actually deserve each other. Ultimately, I was a bit frustrated with them as individuals and as a couple. I had a hard time believing they were good together or that they were actually in love in this one.

Like ASID, this book is atmospheric with dark academia vibes and features lyrical writing and allegory. It features another literary mystery (though, admittedly, I was invested in the mystery in the first book a bit more because of its significance to Effy). It covers heavy themes such as institutionalized sexism, anxiety and depression, xenophobia and nationalism, bigotry and discrimination, abuse of power in an academic setting, and in my option probably should have had trigger warnings for: substance misuse and overdose, attempted suicide, and incestuous SA (or at least that’s what seemed to be implied in Antonia’s diary entries…but perhaps I misinterpreted that? Seems a bit dark for YA). Maybe I am not giving teens/young adults enough credit, but this book seems perhaps more suited to an older, more mature audience than “YA” would suggest. It feels a bit heavy, mature, and a bit lofty for “YA”, in my opinion.

I do want to say that I appreciated the mental illness representation…as a therapist, I will say that this book had probably the most accurate portrayal of severe depression that I’ve read so far (often, depression rep in books is just the character being stuck in a rut or feeling down for a while and is generally fairly mild, but in this one it was actually debilitating to Effy, made her feel like a burden, and affected her sleep, energy, motivation, personal hygiene, as well as her functioning in school and in her relationships.) It was just a lot to be stuck in it for the entire book from both POVs. (Though, I guess that may be part of the point….how anxiety and depression can both feel crushing and inescapable to those experiencing it?)

Anyway, I guess I am glad that I read it to be able to have more of a conclusion to Effy and Preston’s story and to have gotten to learn more about some of the areas that felt under explored in the first book (such as the war and the sleepers), but it is not one that I think I would want to read again because it’s just too depressing and heavy for me to consider it “enjoyable” to read. I would consider it pretty profound though. It does make you think about how fantasy can be a buffer against the harshness of reality and how in our most desperate times, the lines between real and unreal can blur as we lean on escapism and dissociation. I also really appreciated the author’s note at the beginning!

Thank you to Ava Reid, NetGalley, and Harper Collin’s Children’s for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.