Book Review: A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

Title: A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

Publication Date: 19 September 2023

Publisher: Del Rey (division of Penguin Random House)

Australian RRP: $32.99

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Synopsis:

Effy has always believed in fairy tales. She's had no choice. Since childhood, she's been haunted by visions of the Fairy King. She's found solace only in the pages of Angharad - a beloved epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, and then destroys him.

Effy's tattered copy is all that's keeping her afloat through her stifling first term at her prestigious architecture college. So when the late author's family announces a contest to design his house, Effy feels certain this is her destiny.

But Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task: a musty, decrepit estate on the brink of crumbling into a hungry sea. And when Effy arrives, she finds she isn't the only one who's made a temporary home there. Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar, is studying Myrddin's papers and is determined to prove her favourite author is a fraud.

As the two rival students investigate the reclusive author's legacy, piecing together clues through his letters, books, and diaries, they discover that the house's foundation isn't the only thing that can't be trusted. There are dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspiring against them - and the truth may bring them both to ruin.

Review:

It’s been a few weeks since I finished the novel, but I’m still thinking about the events that unfolded in the book and the characters that I’ve grown to really love and miss.

I was mostly expecting to be blown away by the writing and the haunting vibes of the book because that’s what people have been raving about when it first came out, and they were definitely not wrong! I did however feel that there was a lot more to the book than just a dark academia enemies to lovers story. There was a fantastical sub-plot that (in my opinion) felt a little out of place in the story. I often forget that it’s the whole focus of the book, and the dark academia themes are just the background of the whole story. I found this jarring contrast a little disorientating, especially when I first picked up the physical copy. I had to put it down a few times, thinking that I needed to pick it up at the right time and at the right setting to get sucked into the story, but nothing worked.

So I tried to give the audiobook a try and finally things started to click into place! The narrator did such an amazing job narrating the story. The tone was what shifted for me, and I think that it’s an important aspect of the story that needed to be captured to be invested in the book. I pretty much devoured the audiobook in two days - visualising myself as a student in a gothic manor alongside an intelligent bespectacled man going through stacks of books and letters trying to find the missing puzzle piece to an important story - all while doing dishes on a Thursday night 😅 The vibes were impeccable. I sorely wished I listened to this book while I’m cozied up in bed with thick blankets and a lit candle.

Despite the unconventional mesh of themes and slow start to the book, I loved that some characters and conversations made me feel uncomfortable. I was cringing a lot at all the lustful references made in the book about the main character, but I can appreciate a book that makes me feel some type of way - whether it’s comfortable or not. There was a lot of cringe but also awe - from the atmospheric setting, the eccentric characters, and the gentle romance that blooms between the MC and her love interest.

A unique and memorable dark academia novel indeed.

Thank you to Penguin Books Australia for sending over a copy in exchange for an honest review!