A Study in Drowning

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Part scholarly mystery, part dark fairytale, Ava Reid’s first young adult novel is, at its heart, a coming-of-age story about survival, about believing women—about giving them the place they rightfully deserve, against men who take and take and take. I’m not sure the dark academia label really fits, but I know these things are muddy, and my personal experience with dark academia makes it harder for me to recognize it when the story doesn’t involve queer characters and messed-up relationships’ dynamics, so this opinion may vary. Who cares, really, though, when the book is wonderful? 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. But stories were devious things, things with agendas. They could cheat and steal and lie to your face. They could crumble away under your feet.” Amidst an excellent gothic atmosphere, A Study in Drowning gave me glimpses of untapped potential that left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. Unfortunately, I think this is my least favorite Ava Reid so far. I will probably stay away from any of their future YA releases but I would happily read more books along the lines of Juniper and Thorn. I would highly recommend this book to fans of Divine Rivals.

Effy used both hands to smooth the paper flat, then squinted at the curling script. Handwritten, it was smeared in several places. It was further obscured by a water stain of no discernible shape, like a birthmark or a growth of mold. Bestselling author Ava Reid makes her YA debut in this dark academic fantasy perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Elana K. Arnold. Ava Reid is the author of critically acclaimed adult fantasies Juniper & Thorn and The Wolf and the Woodsman, as well as the forthcoming A Study in Drowning, her young adult debut. After obtaining her degree in political science from Barnard College, she moved to Palo Alto, where she continues to haunt university libraries. Ava Reid specializes in crafting powerful stories of female trauma and rage. A Study in Drowning captures the many conflicting ways that women are treated by society and the tendency for their voices to be lost. Effy proves that there is strength in softness and perseverance. Her experience was so raw and emotional and I know that it will resonate with many readers. I was really impressed by how Ava Reid presented these complex topics for a YA audience.Why is this pitched as Dark Academia? Because they’re both college students? Because it's a popular genre? I don’t think I even understand what “Dark Academia” is anymore—but my friend jokes that is when PhDs engage in knife fights with each other over who’s getting that sweet grant money. I’ll take that over whatever this trend has become.

Swollen with atmosphere, A Study in Drowning is sure to sweep its readers off their feet and into a fantastical world of fairytale. Continuing the thread I mentioned above, the drowned city also symbolises the corroding effects of colonialism. The word hiraeth, from which the manor in ASID takes its name, is a term the Welsh have to describe their longing for a Wales pre-English conquest. The sunken kingdom is such a haunting image that I think holds all of this emotional resonance within it. We’re thrilled to share the cover and preview an excerpt from A Study in Drowning, the young adult debut from Juniper & Thorn author Ava Reid—publishing September 19, 2023 with HarperTeen. this book has taken me over a month to finish, which is incredibly rare for me. i found this to be an odd book to review and rate, because from the perspective of a literature graduate with special interest in the Gothic in all its forms, this was layered and enthralling, clearly a lot of effort has gone into crafting this story. the gothic aspect was phenomenal, truly. but from a reader’s perspective? someone who just wants to sit and enjoy a book?

When she arrives at the dilapidated house, which is hardly affected by the last drowning and crumbling into pieces, she not only meets Myrddin's eccentric son, but she also finds out that a literature scholar, Preston Heloury, also works with the letters and manuscripts of the late author with a secret agenda. We follow Effy Sayre, an architecture student at the University of Llyr. But despite being an architecture major, Effy is a literature fiend. Or at least a fiend about one piece of literature in particular: Angharad by Emrys Myrddin, a beloved fairytale of a young woman abducted who falls in love with–and ultimately destroys–the fairy king. And Effy WOULD be dedicating her studies to literature if she could, but unfortunately women are not allowed in the literature college. One: She was the only female student at the architecture college. Even if the boy had never so much as glimpsed her in the halls before, certainly he had seen her name on the exam results, and then, later, on the college roster in the lobby. Three days ago, some anonymous vigilante had taken a pen and turned her last name, Sayre, into something lewd, preserving the last two letters.

It's an incredibly atmospheric book, every moment feels alive, as if the wind will wrench you from this world and place you anew upon the cliffs. Every creak of the dilapidated house, every lash of rain on the characters' cheeks, it was all so vivid. The writing was truly phenomenal.

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this is an dark academia story, set in a historical but different world than our own, where two regional factions (north and south) are at war with one another, and two students who are from different sides (and who attend the same university) are tasked with different academic missions at a very remote sea side manor that is falling into the sea. this is also a story about storytelling and finding safety and comfort and escapism in words and tales and myths. even if this story at the heart of this is about a fae king who will stop at nothing to take and take and take what his entitled self views as his. As always I loved Ava Reid's writing, and the way it perfectly set an atmosphere in relation to the settings—an old, crumbling mansion by the sea, where the boundaries between what’s real and what isn’t are blurry—was for sure one of the highlights of the story for me. Moreover, it happens rarely enough that I need to mention that the little “excerpts” at the beginning of every chapter were also very nice to read, whether they were poetry or academic papers. I love it when the world’s lore feels real and is genuinely interesting, because it enhances the immersive quality of the story and isn’t that the most important in Fantasy? Now, I’ve been dreading writing this review, as I am certain I need a reread to fully extract my thoughts on this book, because it has SO much to say and it feels hard to reflect upon the dazzling mosaic of its imagery after just one read. And... I won't lie, I’ve also kind of been dreading writing this review as this isn’t my favorite of Ava’s works, and though I LOVED it, I found this one a little bit harder to gush about. There’s a few narrative threads I felt weren’t incredibly strong, and I wish it had been a little longer, as some bits felt skimmed over or underutilized. I think perhaps this story would’ve worked better as a duology or an adult book. But on the other hand, this was some of Ava’s best writing. The quotes at the start of each chapter were especially enchanting, as I found myself poring over those words in an attempt to absorb them into my very being. At the end of the day, it is an Ava Reid book, and so it left me with some ineffable fullness and magic that cannot be pinned down or named in words. And that is something priceless and rare and more important to me than any small shortcomings.