A Study in Drowning Hardcover – 19 Sept. 2023

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid is gorgeous, lush, dark fantasy that deals with academic rivals, Welsh mythology, mental illness and hallucination, female hysteria and period misogyny, all combined in the beautiful metaphor of the sea. This one gets 5⭐️ from me and is my best read of 2024 so far.Effy Sayre is struggling. She longs to study literature, but women aren’t allowed at the literature college – so instead she’s the only woman in the architecture college, and after sexual assault by a professor and the subsequent treatment by her peers she’s at the point of giving up. But when her design wins a competition to design the new manor house for the estate of the late Emrys Myrdden, national treasure and Effy’s favourite author, it’s a chance both to escape the university and immerse herself in the birthplace of her favourite literature. But when she arrives, her longtime controlled mental illness seems to be rearing its head, as she’s seeing things that aren’t real – and there’s a foreign student there from the literature college, trying to prove that Myrrdin’s works weren’t all his own…Genuinely I absolutely adored this book. Best thing I’ve read in 2024 so far. It has everything – fantasy, academia (including some gorgeous literary discussion), a creepy forgotten end of the world, the power of the sea, Effy’s declining grasp on reality, menace from every angle, old school portrayal of misogyny and female hysteria, and a really tender romance. I absolutely adored it.Effy is a fantastic character. Strong enough to be the only woman in the architecture college and certain in her love and literary appreciation of Myrddin’s works, but with a realistic response to a power dynamic sexual assault, and so little trust in her own perception of reality. She’s flawed: jealous of Preston; scared by her own attractiveness rather than confident in it; completely upended by the challenge to her favourite author whose work has been a rock for her in hard times. But how she develops as a character is just beautiful to watch and feels very raw, tender and emotional.I can’t say strongly enough how much I love the way fantasy is dealt with in this book. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the edge between reality and unreality and trust in your own perception of that edge is a major theme of the book, and the fantastical is part of that and handled incredibly well.The relationships Effy has are beautifully juxtaposed – the professor who assaulted her, Iantro and the spectre of the Fairy King on one side, who view her as a beautiful thing to possess, versus Preston, who I genuinely adore and think might need to be added to my list of book boyfriends. Again, like Effy, he’s not perfect – but he is so genuine and full of wonder of her, and provides strength when she needs it but also stands back and lets her shine. He’s just wonderful, and not your typical hunky brooding powerful male lead which I love.This is sweeping, gothic, dark, touched with madness and the beauty and far reaching effect of words on a page – and I loved every minute of it.This book is for you if you like academic rivals-to-lovers like Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross, gothic romance like One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig, sweeping fantasy like The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White, the Welsh influence of The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones, or dark portrayals of madness like House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig or Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge.

Of both mythical power and mortal licentiousness, this is a wanton tale of deceit, letchery, abuse, and victimisation. These are juxtaposed by hope, perseverance, endurance, and faith, of both the human spirit and a survival instinctAll qualities are bound together in an intriguing and beguiling tale of mysticism and fable, folklore and prose, the end result of which is something thoroughly absorbingI loved the characters - all of them, and found that whilst the story cracks on apace at times, there is enough thought and time given to each of them, that their development builds in line with the story, and enhances the sense of intrigue as you readThe setting is perfect, even if its world is a little underdeveloped, and whilst there’s not quite the depth to the magic and mysticism, I did find myself entering the same headspace I have when reading Frances Hardinge

Although an enjoyable read I found the story rather disjointed and there was a distinct lack of chemistry between Effy and Preston. The time period was confusing, both gothic and modern at the same time and therefore failing to give a truly atmospheric experience. Effy was irritatingly pathetic and only came to life in the last few pages. There were many beautiful passages especially those quoted from Angharad, in fact I enjoyed the 'story within a story' far more than the complete book.

A Study in Drowning is a tempestuous, ambiguous, feminist novel set in a world reminiscent of ours in decades past.We begin with Effy who is the only girl studying Architecture at the University on Caer-Isel. She, in turn, wishes she was studying Literature due to her obsession with the author Myrddin and his novel Angharad. Alas, girls are not permitted to study Literature.Effy is then given the opportunity to travel to Myrddin’s tumble-down manor to help redesign it from the ground up as part of her coursework.Here she meets Preston Héloury (a student at the Literature college) who is also researching Myrddin for his thesis.But not all is at it seems…the manor is literally falling into the sea, Preston is secretive, the owner is strange and there is a general sense of wrongness here. Can Effy uncover Myrddin’s secrets before it’s too late?Immediately after finishing it last night, I had this very clear idea about what I thought about it - I wasn’t bowled over.That all changed when I lay on my pillow that same night unable to stop thinking about Ava Reid’s prose, characters and how the book made me feel.The plot was expertly constructed and reasonably paced. Every word on the page did a fantastic job of evoking emotions whilst also moving the story along.In fact, it was so well done that I was questioning everything at every turn – much like Effy – and I feel like this was intentionally done on Reid’s part. It immersed me so completely.Effy is a complex traumatised character who has been struggling to keep her head above water her whole life. Equating drowning to her experiences brilliantly characterises her emotions. In fact, the whole book has this sinister oppressive feel throughout which only enhanced my connection to Effy. I could feel the impending doom leaking from the pages. It was sublimely done by Reid - creating this atmosphere made it a 5 star read for me.The only bone of contention for me was the development of Preston’s character and motivations. I understand that he took a backseat in favour of deep diving into Effy’s psyche, but he could have been a bit more three-dimensional in my opinion.Plot-holes? We don’t know what those are here. Perfect ending. This is where the feminist elements come in to shine a light on Effy.If you love dark academia, fairy tales, great characters and beautiful prose this is the book for you.

This book has such potential to be a 5 ⭐️ read but it just falls short. The Gothic descriptions and the metaphor of the sea are stunning - but the story as a whole feels somewhat disjointed and dragged out in points.

Llegó en muy buen estado y nada maltratado

This was everything 😭😭😭 and it’s now one of my favourite books of all time. Here's my spoiler free review:A Study in Drowning is a dark academia novel that delves into the theme of women in literature, exploring how their contributions are often forgotten as they are perceived to have frivolous minds by the men in society. The novel features beautiful writing, and the use of water as a symbol is executed phenomenally.The author does a great job in exploring this theme through the main character, Effy, who has always believed in fairytales. Due to this belief, she greatly admires the work of Emrys Myrddin, particularly his book: Angharad. When Myrddin passes away, Effy is invited to redesign the author's estate. In the course of this project, Effy meets Preston, a literature student working on a thesis to prove that the work attributed to Myrddin is not his own. As the plot unfolds, these two begin to uncover various pieces that they must fit together to get closer to the truth.The plot in this book is a chef's kiss. I was hooked from the beginning to the end. One of the main reasons this book resonated with me is because of the main character: Effy. Throughout the entire reading experience, I felt like I was her; I connected with her on a deep, personal level. Even after finishing the book, I couldn't stop thinking about this book. I sat down and thought this was everything and so much more, so I decided to annotate it. There’s so many good quotes in this book that I highlighted, scenes with Effy and Preston together were so cute and wholesome. I have so much love for these two that I can't even explain. This book owns me and is now officially my favorite standalone ever. Going to end this review by giving it infinity stars. The whole entire book is my favorite but I thought I would share some of the quotes:“There was an intimacy to all violence, she supposed. The better you knew someone, the more terribly you could hurt them.”“When men fall into the sea, they drown. When women meet the water, they transform. It becomes vital to ask: is this a metamorphosis, or a homecoming?”“The only enemy is the sea.”“But I'll fight for you, Effy, I promise.”"I have faith in you-in both of us.”

I've found my comfort read. I realize this is a strange thing to say since this book delves into some heavy topics and isn't the easiest of reads. However, there's something oddly comforting in reading a book where the FMC struggles and fights not only with the people around her but also with herself. Especially if she comes out victorious.The plot of 'A Study in Drowning' is so unique; it tricks your mind and immerses you in a world of everyday struggles intertwined with magic and love. It's like savoring salted caramel covered in chocolate - it's a mixture of salty, bitter, and ultimately very sweet, with an unforgettable aftertaste. As for the writing style, it's precisely what every reader wishes for: magical, whimsical, dark, and complex.I fell in love with Effy from the very first second. I admired how genuine she was, how raw her pain felt, and how relatable certain aspects of her character were - the need to finally take control of her life and prove to herself that she's strong and capable.Preston was a different story. @vi and @the know I wasn't his biggest fan (I think Effy and I were on the same page about him), but I gradually started to like him and ended up blushing every time he spoke. Far from the typical MMC one usually falls for, but his intelligence, witty and dry sense of humor, and even his nervousness made him the best of the best.I almost feel like A Study in Drowning is Effy's own Angharad - as Preston said about Angharad, “It’s an odd book. Genre-wise, it's hard to classify.” It's not purely a romance and not just a fantasy book. Still, it's a book I wholeheartedly recommend everyone to read.

Arrivato nei tempi previsti e in ottime condizioni. Mi sta piacendo.

I think this five stars aren't enough for how good this book was! I didn't expect it to be as good as it turned out. I had seen this book way before it was published and got famous! Even then it intrigued me. I was drawn by its cover. It was mysterious, dark and compelling you to look at it. I love when a cover draws you in. They hype is so worth it. I felt this story like my own story. it inspired it so much. The author has a wonderful talent of words which gripped up and holds hostage of your attention. Its beautiful. It is dark gothic academia story with hint of romance. At times, it was scarry too and if the words made you look back at the wall in horror it has done its work! I always believed you can only see horror but this book made me feel it to. At times, I couldn't read at night for I was sacred of the stories written in this story. It talks a great deal about inequality among the two genders and mental health. I loved how the character of Effy grew till the end. I want to be her so badly. I feel even if you end up not liking the book, you will get inspired and feel connected by women's emotions, superstitions, magic and great divide between the borders. it felt like author was also writing problems, political problems we are facing currently.In its entirety, this book is definitely worth a read. Recommended for mature YA.