Review by booksofjades - A Study in Drowning

booksofjades 's review for:

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

3.0

adventurous dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

A true academia novel, this tale is intricate and layered as we follow effy the architecture student and Preston a literature student in an enemies to lovers arc full of mystery and magic.

Set away from their university, they are at Hiraeth Manor, the famous home of late author Emrys Myrdinn. Famed for a novel titled Angharad, their time at the manor sees them discover new layers to the tales history, never previously known.

Within the tale males are often seen as oppressors, with the penultimate example being the fairy king from our famed novel. Untangling a web of lies they couldn’t have imagined, our academic duo discover there was a lot more to the story.

Overall I was pretty happy with the tale and its ending, we got to see extracts of Angharad which I felt gave more depth and context as well as had a good ending. Reading this I know there is a sequel coming out but I cannot quite tell where there is to go from what I’ve finished so I’m intrigued to see where it continues.

Though hard to read as someone who is AFAB at times due to brutal sexism, there is an oddly poetic way to the writing and more than a few quotes stuck with me.

“Love is a fire that cannot burn alone”

“For the only true end is death - and in this way, is romance not a rebuke of mortality?”

While poetic, they almost give love a life of its own with its very own beating heart, and with the struggles experienced in this tale I can understand why.

Content Warnings