Ava Reid has a wonderful writing style. I loved her previous book, Juniper and Thorn, and while A Study in Drowning is very different, it’s just as good. The worldbuilding just seems so natural, and the relationships between the characters were uncomfortably realistic at times (I’m thinking particularly of Effy and her mother). I want to read it all again.

Thank you to the publisher for this gorgeous ARC, I don’t know what to say, this was absolutely stunning, It was magical, compelling, captivating. I loved the lyrical, mystical air and atmosphere surrounding Effy and Preston. Honestly, this is infinite stars for me.

A beautiful, haunting story that I didn't want to end.

Effy has been haunted by visions of the Fairy King since she was a child, with only the fairy story Angharad and sleeping pills to get her through the night.

When she's offered the chance of a lifetime to design a new home for the author's widow and son, she jumps - especially as it gets her away from the Architecture college where whispers follow her footsteps. But when she arrives at Haereth, she finds a house half-drowned and in ruins on a crumbling clifftop. Water seeps through the wallpaper and entire floors are submerged by the dark sea. Rebuilding Haereth would be an impossible task for an accomplished architect, let alone a first-year student. But with nothing to return to, and an opportunity too good to refuse, Effy is drawn deeper and deeper into a murky world where nothing is as it seems and water pours through the cracks of her memories, her mind and her sanity.

Steeped in fantasy and magical realism, this book was utterly impossible to put down, but at the same time I didn't want it to end. Effy was a protagonist it was easy to root for, although I was never quite sure how her story was going to end.

I loved the mystery elements to the plot, and Reid keeps tension high throughout with unsettling and uncertain visions and the constant threat of the sea. Snippets of literature add to the dark, Gothic atmosphere, and there are lots of interesting discussions about authorship, and how the personality and actions of writers can affect our responses to their works.

This is the first novel I've read by Ava Reid, but it definitely won't be the last.

“But stories were devious things, things with agendas. They could cheat and steal and lie to your face.”

I love stories about stories. A Study in Drowning happens to be an excellent one. The atmosphere, the magic and the mystery were all tied together perfectly in this world that Reid created. Our main character, Effie, lives in this fantastical world, but her problems and her fears were so real. It’s very special when a YA book handles darker topics and still manages be so entertaining. I will be thinking about this one for a while.

Wow. This is a story about women, truth, academia, and survival, wrapped inside a cloak of Mystery, Fantasy and Romance. It is everything it needed and wanted to be and more.

Her fear had transfigured the entire world. Looking at anything was like trying to glimpse a reflection in a broken mirror, all of it warped and shattered and strange.

This story truly grabbed me by the collar and dragged me along from chapter one. The narration is very purposeful in the way it makes the reader feel, especially negatively. I felt uncomfortable reading most of the book, deeply touched by its writing and topics, only for the end to tie everything together in a flawless manner.

It's a story about trauma and fear, patched by the idea of obsessive Fantasy, and it was everything. I can't wait to see more people picking this up!

You don’t have to take up a sword. Survival is bravery, too.

PS: I would categorize this book as New Adult rather than Young Adult due to the topics discussed. I strongly recommend looking at a list of trigger warnings before reading, if you are sensitive to such topics.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

"A Study in Drowning" was one of my most anticipated releases of the year an I was so happy to have gotten this arc. My hopes were high and I was not dissapointed! The Fairy King had me in their thrall too.

Ava Reid takes us along in dark academia, rivals-to-lovers fantasy interwoven with a gloomy, haunting mystery. At times I felt like I was unraveling the mystery along with the characters. We follow Effy Sayre, a determined architecture student, who is chosen out of many for a prestigious project to rebuild the home of her favorite author. Yet, upon arriving at the residence, the stark reality of the challenge become readily apparent. The estate and it's surroundings are rapidly decaying and the boundries between tangible reality and fantasy blur quickly, leaving Effy and us wondering what is real.

Pulling things further in question is Preston, a literary student keen to prove the author of fantastical myths and stories, and Effy's personal hero was a fraud. Together they learn more about Myrddin, the house and themselves they ever bargained for.

This book was such a deep immersive and atmostheric read, with hauntingly detailed and engrossing descriptions you can't help be pulled in. I could taste the salt, hear the creaking of the manor and feel the sharp tallons of the Fairy King in my mind.

In short, this is the perfect book for the upcoming autumn weather. Crawl under a blanket and let yourself be swept away. Just be careful not to drown.

I don’t know what i expected going into this books but wow… the tensions on all aspects was intense!

Favorite character: Preston
Three words: atmospheric / gothic / mysterious
Favorite quote: You don’t have to take up a sword. Survival is bravery, too.

This book is just perfect for the autumn months! It's so atmospheric, so gloomy, I could literally feel the wetness of the endless rain and fog dripping from the pages! If you like old crumbling manors, secretive owners, academic rivals and folklore about fairies, you should read this book!
Effy is a really interesting fmc, even although there exists a lot of folklore and stories about magic in her world, nobody really believes in it but her. She keeps seeing the fairy king, doesn't she? Her mother and her doctors say she's just hallucinating and her mind is not quite right, so she takes pills for it. They don't really work, so Effy is constantly wondering what's real and what's just her imagination. Did she want to be touched inappropriatley way by her superior? Effy just can't be sure. Her weirdness and anxiety make her quite the loner, and additionally she's the only girl at her architecture college. She actually wants to be a writer, but girls aren't allowed to attend the literature college. When the owner of her favorite author's manor searches for an architect, Effy jumps at the chance and despite everyone's advises, she travels alone to what feels like the end of the world.
Effy quickly questions her decision when she finds herself in the dilapidated and damp guest house, and the main house isn't in a better condition, standing in the constant fog and rain at the edge of an unstable cliff. Not only is the owner and son of her favorite late author kind of creepy, Effy isn't the only temporary guest at the manor. Preston, a literature student, wants to prove her adored author is a fraud. Unfortunately, Preston has some convincing arguments, things that just don't add up. Together they search the manor for clues, letters, diaries and books, which the owner seemingly desperately wants to keep secret.
I get why Effy didn't like Preston in the beginning at all. He is condescending, stubborn, allowed to study literature, which she is denied, and he's against her favorite author. On the other hand, Effy is full of prejudice just because Preston is from an enemies country, and she doesn't see that he is just as much an outsider as she is. That side of Effy wasn't likable and while she had a decent character development, I wished her change of thinking had been addressed more in depths. I feel the same about the actual dark background information you get about Effy; family trauma, misogyny, assault ... it's all mentioned quite a lot, but only as her inner monologues. She never talks about it with someone else. Will she stand up for herself in the future? Will it ever get better? Apart from a glimpse into her future, you'll never know.

A Study in Drowning shows the impact that stories and books can have on a person's life, which I loved, and I think many other readers will too.

This book was kindly provided to me as a reviewers copy by Netgalley and Random HouseUK.

I feel I should have liked this more than I did. It has a dreamy otherworldly feel which I liked, but I couldn’t seem to care about the characters or the storyline. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

This book was more romance than her other ones, I think it is my favourite. I really loved effy.
As always the atmosphere and writing was beautiful.

Tell me why this book reads the way any given song by The National sounds

The writing is so captivating, this is my first Ava Reid book but I will definitely be picking up her others as her style is just so good. It’s descriptive and delicious without being too pretentious or flowery, and the way this book was written just sucked me in. It was so atmospheric.

I also loved the characters, I loved Effy’s storyline and I loved how the narrative had even her questioning her own reliability as a narrator, and I was rooting for her the whole time. Her trauma is so vivid and realistic and was so well handled. I also loved Preston. I loved it all what can I say!!

The plot had me gripped - at no point did I think it was poorly paced or I got bored. I was on the edge of my seat.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Group for the Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for an honest review.

☑ Beautifully written and eerily atmospheric, this is a coming-of-age story (part mystery, part dark fairytale) about survival, believing women, and giving them the place they rightfully deserve
☑ Gothic setting in a secondary fantasy world based on mid 20th-century England/Wales, and influenced by Welsh mythology (there’s a crumbling mansion by the sea…)
☑ Addresses themes of religion, superstitious folklore and academic agnosticism, but also, and most important, misogyny and sexism, authorship, own agency and survival (some TW are mental illness, parental abuse and sexual assault)
☑ It is marketed as an academic rivals to lovers, but I felt it is more strangers (with a one-sided grievance) to lovers, and a slow-burn romance
☑ Tears, a lot of them: I screamed more than I cried, but this story is very heartbreaking at times
☑ I don't want to spoil the ending, but as a whole this book is wholesome

Thank you Netgalley and Random House UK for sending me a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

3,75 stars

Effy Sayre is a first-year architecture student, who rather wants to be in the literature programme, but isn’t accepted because it doesn’t allow women. One day, a competition is announced by the family of Effy’s favourite author to redesign his house and Effy decides to join. After she arrives at Hiraeth Manor she’s met by a house that’s beyond repair. Also present in Hiraeth Manor is Preston Héloury, a literature student, who’s convinced the late Emrys Myrddin was a fraud, and Myrddin’s son Ianto, who’s very mysterious. Things only get worse after reality slips away more often, and the Fairy King appears to visit her more frequently. Effy finds herself teaming up with Preston to uncover the truth of Emrys Myrrdin and the mysteries of Hiraeth Manor.

I found this book very uneasy to rate. While I really enjoyed the themes and the gothic aesthetic, I really struggled with getting into the story. I think I had to get used to the long chapters. However, the second half of the book was more interesting and enjoyable for me. I also really liked the dynamic between Preston and Effy. I can definitely recommend this book if you like a gothic and dark academia fantasy.

This is my new obsession. Do you like folkloric stories where the line between real and imagined is blurred? Stories with women who face their fears and reclaim their agency? Where they can learn to fight the systems that bind them and face the future head on, taking strength from those who come before?

Do you like stories where the fae are to be feared and outwitted? Where the natural world has a life of its own and forms a haunting atmosphere surrounding a house straight out of the gothic. A dark academia with extracts from fictional academic texts and a rival who thinks our protagonist hung the moon?

If the answer is yes to any of the above, run don't walk to this book. Or just give it a go anyway, I certainly think it's worth a try. If the writing succeeds in hooking you in you're in for a treat. 10/10, so rarely is a book perfectly up my alley, I will read anything Ava Reid writes.

A delightfully mysterious dark academia tale of folklore with a little romance sprinkled in and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The themes of institutionalised sexism in academia explored throughout were difficult to read at times but an important topic to highlight. I loved Effy as a MC and how she developed throughout the book and found her voice

I did struggle to get into this book though as I got through the first 10 chapters I was flying through! A lovely ode to storytelling. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my eArc of this book.

A Study in Drowning is, above all, a fascinating book. Everything - from the lyrical writing, the book within a book, the worldbuilding, the themes - is expertly crafted. I found our two main characters compelling and their romance sweet, although I would've liked to spend a bit more time with them. The themes of misogyny in academia and the arts, though a bit heavy-handed, resonated with me and rightfully angered me. The plot itself lost me a couple of times, since there wasn't much urgency to it, and I occasionally wondered about the point of certain scenes. I suppose part of the reason for that was the vague worldbuilding. Ava Reid has crafted a truly interesting world, unlike any Fantasy that comes to mind, but I found myself confused at certain elements, and began to crave for a more in-depth exploration of the lore and politics of it all.

The best part of A Study in Drowning is definitely the atmosphere. The dark academia and gothic vibes are all there, and they're immaculate. I was completely immersed in the book and the book within the book, it all felt vivid and tangible, and for me that's a sign of a truly great storyteller.

Dark fairy-tale. Academic setting. Mystery to solve.
At first I was confused by the setting of this novel: was it in some not better specified, fantastical past? Was it a blend of modern and ancient thrown together? Further point of complexity was the protagonist: is she a reliable narrator? What has happened to her? And where is she going (in life, geographically...)?
All of these questions served to wonderfully set this murky, underwater kind of feeling that dominated the entire narration.
Effy, a young woman who sees the Fairy King lurking in the dark, is attending university to study architecture. The only woman on her course, unpleasant rumours circulate. She is failing her classes, this is not what she wanted to be studying, but women are not allowed to study literature which is the only thing that keeps her afloat. One day a call for students to submit a design for her favourite author's mansion drags her away from everything that is known to her down to the Bottom Hundred where superstition abounds and people seemingly patiently wait for the sea to reclaim the land.
The author 100% nailed the vibe of this book. There was no element that felt superfluous, no characters forgotten in the side-lines. Doubts beset the reader at each page, with very little clarity being shed until events start precipitating irrevocably.

Ava Reid tells amazing stories! This was a beautifully woven tale of myth, mystery and magic. I loved the world created. The story was captivating despite taking a little while to get into. Effy is a great character, I would have liked Preston’s character to be a little more developed but the story was wonderful and a unique take on the Fairy King.

"It began as all things did: a girl on the shore, terrified and desirous."

My most humble and ardent thanks to the Fairy King (by way of Random House UK, and Netgalley) for sending me an advanced copy of A Study in Drowning and for only asking for my true name and an unbiased review in return.

I am going to be haunted by this book for a while. I believe this to be true of most things Ava Reid writes, because I still sometimes get that weird fluttering panic in my chest when I think about Juniper and Thorn on the wrong day. But this is just so exceptionally beautiful that I think I will be going back and forth just to reread my favourite paragraphs for the foreseeable.

Effy Sayre is the heroine of my heart. She is anxious and cruel and aching to be loved. She is brave and fierce and clever. Her love for her favourite author, Emrys Myrddin, and in particular his most famous work, the Angharad - a tale in which a mortal girl falls in love with the Fairy King and then destroys him - haunts her and this narrative. For Effy the Fairy King is the nightmare lurking just out of sight, the creature in the woods. She has known he is real for years, and only through Myrddin's work does she feel heard.
It's a painful examination of what fiction can mean to us, and Effy is so relatable and so real that the effect was compounded.

As she finds herself drawn into redesigning the old house of her hero, surrounded by danger both seen and unseen, the narrative becomes both more overtly Gothic, but also more fascinating. It sinks its hooks in slowly, but by the time I was a third of the way in, you couldn't have paid me to stop.