Brittany Smith's Reviews > A Study in Drowning

Thank you to dear Ava for sending me an early copy to blurb. Seriously, I love you.

A STUDY IN DROWNING was easily one of my most anticipated reads coming out in 2023. I’ve been a fan of Ava Reid since I read their debut as an advanced copy, and Reid never lets me down. Each book is so different, but all tackle difficult themes in atmospheric fantasy settings, lightened with a warm touch of romance.

A STUDY IN DROWNING follows Llyrian architecture student Effy Sayre as she wins a contest to design a new manor for the estate of the recently deceased author of the novel, “Angharad,” so well-known and beloved that he was named Llyr’s national author.

But designing the house proves more than just a simple challenge. The old manor is falling apart and sinking into the seaside day by day, lorded over by the volatile and domineering son of the author, and Effy meets a rival literature student who seems to have his own motivations for being there beyond his work organizing the personal documents of the author for a biography.

There’s a dark secret that haunts the decrepit manor, all tied back to the author himself and his famous novel, and though it is wrapped up in tales and warnings of the ominous Fairy King, Effy must work together with Preston to bring it to light.

I first read the entirety of this novel all in one night like a woman possessed, and it easily met and exceeded all my expectations and excitement. Then I read it again, and it did the same. It is a force to be reckoned with.

A STUDY IN DROWNING was the perfect atmospheric fall read. I adored its overall tone, to the point it became one of my favorite features of the book. Ava Reid is a master of atmosphere and settings for all of their novels. You pick them up, sink in, and can’t come up for air until you’re done. A STUDY IN DROWNING proved just as immersive and carefully constructed as their previous adult novels, and Reid’s crystalline clear vision is evident from not only the gorgeous prose, but also this novel’s striking setting and vivid imagery. From the university life and cozy libraries to eerie crumbling estates on seaside cliffs that hide long-lost diaries and waterlogged chests and dark figures lurking in shadows, and the persistent damp and creeping threat of destruction in a land where its people fear a great flood they call the Drowning.

My other favorite feature was the novel within the novel, “Angharad.” We get to read quotes as headers for new chapters, and see bits and pieces the many times Effy references it in ASID. The eponymous heroine of the novel was kidnapped by the Fair Folk and forced to wed the evil Fairy King, then tricked and evaded him through various tests and trials until she was able to escape. A love story and a fairy tale and a romantic epic and a tragedy, all in one. “Angharad” was so popular the author was given national acclaim and entombed with honor as a legendary Sleeper, dead figures meant to protect their country from ruin. To Effy, it carried a meaning all its own. “Angharad” was the beating heart of A STUDY IN DROWNING, with everything revolving around it: Effy’s past, the Myrddin estate, Preston’s theories, and even publishing’s dark history. Effy’s love of the novel easily translated off the page, making me wish I could read the whole “Angharad” with a worn, tear-stained copy too. Utilizing stories within stories has become an Ava Reid trademark, and the precision in which Reid uses them to shape, direct, and reflect the heroines of all their novels never fails to blow me away.

And importantly, the newest Ava Reid love interest: Preston Héloury, the literature student who has something to prove. I admire how Ava’s love interests are so starkly different from one another, because of how easy it is to fall into specific types across books. Evike and Gaspar from The Wolf and the Woodsman were enemies to lovers, Marlinchen and Sevas from Juniper & Thorn were forbidden loves, and Effy and Preston were academic rivals to lovers. Preston was a blushing, flustered, driven, argumentative rival with terrible vision. Reading as their exchanges of arguments and bickering grew to understanding and love caused me to make all the delighted titters and chortles. It was tender and gentle and felt so genuine, I was not immune and grew misty-eyed at their declarations and acts for one another. Preston is a Good Boy(TM) and Effy being in a Romance with him was so immensely enjoyable to read.

Reid never shies away from writing about hard topics and important messages, always done with great care and with purpose. A STUDY IN DROWNING tackles a great multitude of things, namely: men taking advantage of women, propaganda, and buried truths regarding the real-world history of the publishing industry. ASID had an off-page Teacher-Student relationship between Effy and one of her professors. It caused a scandal at the school, and made her the target of further bullying aside from her being the only female student. This had ended by the time the book starts, but is referenced in her thoughts on page, as she feels the effects of the incident, bullying, and slut-shaming. Both compelled and coerced by men in positions of power, Effy saw herself within Angharad. ASID also dissects the use of literature as nationalist propaganda, which is what war-torn Llyr uses the Sleepers and their works for, and quite literally upends it within its contents. And beyond that, it triumphantly unearths and exposes the publishing industry’s dark history in regards to women. All of these topics were handled with unwavering conviction, only adding to the long list of this standalone novel’s accomplishments.

A STUDY IN DROWNING was a brilliant novel that was part fantasy, part dark academia, part modern gothic, part horror fairytale, and altogether too gripping to put down. A gothic that manages to be both breath of fresh air and the familiar claustrophobia of the walls closing in around you (or the pressure of the water as you’re pulled under), A STUDY IN DROWNING is an undeniable testament to Ava Reid’s mastery of their trade.

I will continue to think about this novel long after I’ve read it, imagining that decaying, drowning manor and seeing the King of the Fair Folk in the shadows, and remember exactly how much of an impact novels can make upon our lives.

Ava, this is your signal back. May your works always be lighthouse beacons.

Finally, and absolutely needless to say, I will be FIRST in line for Ava Reid’s LADY MAKBETH (2024)