A Study in Drowning

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Synopsis

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.

Synopses source: StoryGraph

Review

Genre(s): Fantasy, Young Adult, Dark Academia, Gothic
HB&W Rating: 4 stars
View on StoryGraph, Goodreads
Buy on Barnes & Noble, Amazon

This was one of those books I picked up on a whim. Actually, that’s a lie, I fell in love with the cover and the artwork on the edges. I may have picked it up for those reasons, but I bought it because the synopsis was compelling and I’m happy to say that the story did not disappoint.

I love a good atmospheric setting, and the deteriorating and moldering manor house perched upon the crumbling cliffs in a seaside town steeped in myth and lore hits that note perfectly. The pervasive feeling of unease and ruin of the setting was almost another character in the book.

I also love a good unreliable narrator, which we have in Effy, a woman who has been told her whole life that the things she’s seen and experienced, her very perception of events is false and all in her head. Whether the things she’s seen are real or imagine aside, Effy is every woman who has been dismissed, disregarded, put down, and gaslighted by those who would keep her in her place simply because she is a woman. Misogyny is evident in the book, from the casual disregard of women to the outright derision of them or the more violent entitlement men feel owed by them. I loved watching Effy grow as a character, question things she’s been told, decide for herself what she believes, and fight for herself and others.

The writing was as beautiful as the book itself–poetic and prosaic, with wisdom parceled out in resonant metaphors. I found the romance to be similar to that in Pride & Prejudice, with Preston cast as Mr. Darcy in this slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance. There is some on-page spice, but it is not very descriptive and I’d give it a 2 on my spice scale.

The audio was good, nothing OTT great or awful, just middling. The narration won’t make or break the story with this book. It allows the story itself to really shine and helps pronounce those strange fictional names and words.

All in all, if you enjoy atmospheric stories set in fantastical places with a dash of romance, you’ll like this one.

Until next time,

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