A Study in Drowning
An instant Indie and #1 New York Times bestseller!
“Achingly atmospheric and beautifully sharp, A Study in Drowning will draw you in from the first page.” —Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls
Bestselling author Ava Reid makes her YA debut in this dark academic fantasy perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Elana K. Arnold.
Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. Haunted by visions of the Fairy King since childhood, she’s had no choice. Her tattered copy of Angharad—Emrys Myrddin’s epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him—is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to redesign the late author’s estate, Effy feels certain it’s her destiny.
But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin’s legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them—and the truth may bring them both to ruin.
Part historical fantasy, part rivals-to-lovers romance, part Gothic mystery, and all haunting, dreamlike atmosphere, Ava Reid's powerful YA debut will lure in readers who loved The Atlas Six, House of Salt and Sorrows, or Girl, Serpent, Thorn.
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Community Reviews
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The constant references to Effy's beauty and the insta-lust effect she had on men got tiring, I never believed Ianto really had an interest in her, and the Preston relationship felt rushed (when he was like "I want you," I was like "Really?") and its consummation super gross after what she'd gone through with her professor and her panicked flashbacks through the rest of the book. Let's be real for a sec, you don't go from an experience like that to one single kiss with a guy you like, an "I'll be gentle" two seconds later, and then banging like it's all good. It made me feel like the author didn't do her research into what it's really like to be a survivor of sexual assault.
I also felt like the last 25% of the book was too rushed and a giant exposition dump, the great big mystery was obvious from about 40% in, and for all its marketing of being "dark academia," this book spends so little time in an academic setting that it feels mislabeled.
Sigh. I'd toss this one in the sea.
like it was happening in real time. Also, the vague time period was a cool element. Was this in a dystopian future or a plutonian past?
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