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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well I'm a bit conflicted about this book, I can't say I hated it entirely neither loved it wholly. With that being said I had high hopes for this since a lot of people seems to love it and the author, although I wasn't a big fan of the wolf and the woodsman I still gave it a try. I liked the atmosphere, the prose, I sympathised with effy and liked her character growth at the end but other than that the book fell flat for me, I wanted more from the plot, some aspects of the time frame of when the book was set left me confused, I didn't know where to place the events as in what time period. Also the plot felt at times slow and I was literally pushing myself to finish it and be done with it. I know now that there's a sequel so maybe some of my questions will be answered but I'm not going to read it, if I gave Ava Reid another chance it will be with Juniper and thorn.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
3.5 Stars
Vague spoilers ahead - nothing major but if you want to go into this book blind then don’t read this.
A Study in Drowning is a fantasy fiction novel that follows Effy, who is the only female student in her architecture university. However, Effy’s true calling is literature - specifically the famous author Emrys Myrddin, recently deceased - but because she is a woman, she wasn’t allow to attend the literature college. She is the architecture student chosen to rebuild the author’s manor. With the chance to finally connect with the author in some way, and try to escape her own past, Effy travels to Hiraeth Manner and finds herself pulled into an investigation of the author’s life with a literature student named Preston. The two of them reluctantly work together to try and uncover the dark secrets and mystery of the manor and his books in a magical story that bends the worlds of reality and fiction.
I picked this book up in the Waterstones boxing day sale. I was drawn to the cover and a quote on it, describing the book as a love letter to stories themselves. This book’s strong point was the atmosphere of it all. Reid has a way of painting such a dark and magical picture with her words and imagery. I found the world building fascinating and very unique compared to some other books that have been released in recent years. This paired with the theme of dark and, in this case folklore-based, academia really drew me into this novel. Anything related to that dark academia pinterest vibe, especially literature, and I am there! I also liked that the protagonist, Effy, didn’t fall into the trap of being a ‘not like other girls’ YA main character. Her character is much more developed and interesting to read about, which is definitely something to appreciate given the current climate of YA protagonists.
However, this book did have its problems that unfortunately lowered my personal rating of it. Despite being overflowing with gorgeous metaphors, imagery, and overall ‘vibes’, the actual plot was lacking in several areas. Usually this isn’t a problem. Some of my favourite books, like this one, are character driven. However, with the mystery surrounding this story, I expected the plot to be more present within the story than it was. This made the experience of reading it slightly boring at times where the atmosphere just wasn’t enough to keep me going anymore, I was sat there thinking ‘when is something actually going to happen to move this story forward’. This paired with the slow burn romance made the book feel slow despite it being less than 400 pages. In all fairness, this could just be a me problem. I’ve been so focused on A-Level revision at the moment and that may be why I struggled to engage with it. Either way, I finished it feeling kind of disappointed.
I don’t know if I’d recommend this book to people, but I wouldn’t warn them away from it. I definitely think that there are people out there who will fall in love with this book the way I just couldn’t. If you’re looking for a slow burn romance, a dark academia historical setting, a sense of magic paired with themes of literature, and a gorgeous edition to your bookshelf, then this book is for you.
Favourite Character:
Effy. I enjoyed reading this story from her perspective as she comes across as a very relatable and human character. I liked that, in this fantasy story, she deals with mental health problems and PTSD and they aren’t glossed over but actually talked about (which is something rare in current fantasy YA books).
Favourite Line:
‘How terrible, to navigate the world without a story to comfort you.’
3.5 Stars
Vague spoilers ahead - nothing major but if you want to go into this book blind then don’t read this.
A Study in Drowning is a fantasy fiction novel that follows Effy, who is the only female student in her architecture university. However, Effy’s true calling is literature - specifically the famous author Emrys Myrddin, recently deceased - but because she is a woman, she wasn’t allow to attend the literature college. She is the architecture student chosen to rebuild the author’s manor. With the chance to finally connect with the author in some way, and try to escape her own past, Effy travels to Hiraeth Manner and finds herself pulled into an investigation of the author’s life with a literature student named Preston. The two of them reluctantly work together to try and uncover the dark secrets and mystery of the manor and his books in a magical story that bends the worlds of reality and fiction.
I picked this book up in the Waterstones boxing day sale. I was drawn to the cover and a quote on it, describing the book as a love letter to stories themselves. This book’s strong point was the atmosphere of it all. Reid has a way of painting such a dark and magical picture with her words and imagery. I found the world building fascinating and very unique compared to some other books that have been released in recent years. This paired with the theme of dark and, in this case folklore-based, academia really drew me into this novel. Anything related to that dark academia pinterest vibe, especially literature, and I am there! I also liked that the protagonist, Effy, didn’t fall into the trap of being a ‘not like other girls’ YA main character. Her character is much more developed and interesting to read about, which is definitely something to appreciate given the current climate of YA protagonists.
However, this book did have its problems that unfortunately lowered my personal rating of it. Despite being overflowing with gorgeous metaphors, imagery, and overall ‘vibes’, the actual plot was lacking in several areas. Usually this isn’t a problem. Some of my favourite books, like this one, are character driven. However, with the mystery surrounding this story, I expected the plot to be more present within the story than it was. This made the experience of reading it slightly boring at times where the atmosphere just wasn’t enough to keep me going anymore, I was sat there thinking ‘when is something actually going to happen to move this story forward’. This paired with the slow burn romance made the book feel slow despite it being less than 400 pages. In all fairness, this could just be a me problem. I’ve been so focused on A-Level revision at the moment and that may be why I struggled to engage with it. Either way, I finished it feeling kind of disappointed.
I don’t know if I’d recommend this book to people, but I wouldn’t warn them away from it. I definitely think that there are people out there who will fall in love with this book the way I just couldn’t. If you’re looking for a slow burn romance, a dark academia historical setting, a sense of magic paired with themes of literature, and a gorgeous edition to your bookshelf, then this book is for you.
Favourite Character:
Effy. I enjoyed reading this story from her perspective as she comes across as a very relatable and human character. I liked that, in this fantasy story, she deals with mental health problems and PTSD and they aren’t glossed over but actually talked about (which is something rare in current fantasy YA books).
Favourite Line:
‘How terrible, to navigate the world without a story to comfort you.’
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 i think (edited: the more i rmb the first third of the book the more i wanna jump back down to 3..) - def got more into it as it went on. rlly liked all the imagery and worldbuilding stuff from the start but for some reason the intro third of the book felt a little clunky in how it was put together. also the whole arc of her being super prejudiced toward preston and the chunk where she tries to leave the house as soon as she gets there was soooo poorly executed and a bit of a slog to get through. i ended up liking effy more as the book went on but god at the start she just kind of sucks. but ended up liking it and i am excited for book 2 preston i love u
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book. Reid did a great job foreshadowing the twists at the end. I got a little bit of whiplash when a television was mentioned though. It didn’t really fit with the vibe of everything else. Other than that, I really liked the world building. It felt like perfect dark academia where everything is mysterious and hazy, perfectly underscored by light horror tones.
It seems like a lot of people don’t like Effy but I did like her. She’s dealing with a lot of trauma and I thought it made a lot of sense that she initially lashed out at Preston. He lacks privilege just like she does- though his is xenophobic rather than sexist- which lets her feel free to speak out more which leads to her personal growth. Preston was sweet though and I love that he always tried to put her at ease by giving her physical space, unlike some other men Effy knew.
I’m excited to read the second book soon!
It seems like a lot of people don’t like Effy but I did like her. She’s dealing with a lot of trauma and I thought it made a lot of sense that she initially lashed out at Preston. He lacks privilege just like she does- though his is xenophobic rather than sexist- which lets her feel free to speak out more which leads to her personal growth. Preston was sweet though and I love that he always tried to put her at ease by giving her physical space, unlike some other men Effy knew.
I’m excited to read the second book soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia
Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Death of parent