A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

By Kate     date 15th August 2024

Published: 13th June 2024

Rating:4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0

Genres:  Myths & Legends, Fantasy Romance, YA, Gothic

Age Rating: 14+ Years

My Review

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed the last review and will enjoy this one as well. I have enjoyed reading “A Study in Drowning” by Ava Reid. I had heard some really great things about this book and was super excited to read it. It definitely lived up to my expectations. It was so good, especially with a good playlist in the background, and I was sad when it was over. It’s also the first book I’ve properly annotated, so that’s pretty cool. Without further ado, let’s get onto the review.

What’s it about?

Since childhood, Effy Sayre has believed in fairy tales. Well, she had no choice. She was haunted by visions of the Fairy King. She only found solace in the pages of Angharad by Emrys Myriddin. It tells the tale of a mortal girl falling in love with the Fairy King and ultimately destroying him.

She is a student at a prestigious architecture academy, and her tattered copy of Angharad is the only thing keeping her afloat. However, when the deceased author’s family opens up a design competition for their house, Effy knows this is exactly what she’s meant to do.

However, the dusty, decrepit estate called Hiraeth Manor, which is on the brink of collapse into the starving sea seems like an impossible challenge. She also discovers that she is not the only one making it her temporary home. A literature student named Preston Héloury has also opted to live there to investigate Myriddin’s papers and prove that he is a fraud.

Why this book?

A while back, I kept seeing A Study in Drowning all over my social media feeds and it piqued my interest. Welsh fairy tales, fantasy, and romance? Count me in! I was especially excited to see Welsh folklore included in the book, as books incorporating Wales are not that common. I had also heard great things about it both online and from people I know. So, when I spotted it in a store recently, I bought it and read it in one go. The gold foiling on the cover was a nice touch too. I mean, who doesn’t love that?

General thoughts?

I went into this book with high expectations, and it didn’t disappoint. The world-building is excellent, and I enjoyed learning about the backstory of the main character, Effy, and the world she lives in. The descriptive language is well-crafted and kept me engaged throughout. I particularly liked the quotes from Angharad and other sources within the world at the start of each chapter, which provided additional insight and gave me pause for thought. The writing, including the dialogue between Effy and Preston, is strong. The pacing is good, and there were moments when I felt genuinely concerned for the characters and found myself on the edge of my seat. I also enjoyed the development of the story and how the fairy king played such a huge role in the story. We find out so much about Angharad and the people who wrote it alongside Preston and Effy, and at moments it was almost like I was there. I also really liked the way the ending was written and I feel like it was exciting and well-written, with the book ending at the perfect moment.

The world created by Reid in the book was incredibly captivating. I enjoyed learning more about the characters and their world through the historical events that shaped them. Although similar to our own world, it was also significantly different, featuring family conflicts, human struggles, and catastrophic events. The book also addressed real-world issues such as gender discrimination, illustrated when Effy was barred from the literature academy due to her gender. I appreciated how the book explored this in the context of its own history.

I was particularly intrigued by the process of how “Angharad” was written and whether it was truly written by Myridden, or if there were darker forces at play. Overall, I was very satisfied with the conclusion of this mystery.

Characters?

When it comes to the characters in this book, I either loved them or hated them, and I think that’s a good thing. Let’s start with Effy Sayre. She’s the main protagonist and a character that I loved. I find her backstory fascinating, and her love for literature is brilliant. She is relatable, and her struggles have helped shape her into the person she is. Effy is intelligent, and strong, and doesn’t let much get in her way despite her struggles with the visions she has. She is independent and doesn’t let men get the better of her. She’s also very brave and will do things for others, making sure that justice is served in the end. I also absolutely loved the development of her relationship with Preston. I thought the relationship was very sweet and perfectly written. They go from academic rivals to lovers, and I for one was there for it (as you’ll see with my favourite quotes).

So I suppose that brings me to Preston Héloury, my favourite character. At first, he’s a stodgy literature student who doesn’t seem to care for anything or anyone except for his studies. He’s competitive and infuriating; intelligent and determined. At first, he and Effy don’t get along and Effy is wary of him for wanting to destroy her beliefs about her favourite book. However, as the story progresses, we can see that Preston is kind and caring, protective. It’s clear from fairly early on that he cares for Effy, from bandaging her knees to dragging her out of the flood. In the end, their relationship is just so wholesome and makes me really happy. I actually ran out my pen because I underlined sections about their relationship so much!

The other character I also liked was Angharad herself. In the story, she’s just a mortal girl who falls in love with the fairy king and then destroys him, but she’s so much more in real life. Intelligent, patient, kind. In the story, we go from thinking that she’s purely fictional, to thinking that she just doesn’t come out of her room, to thinking that she’s one of the most influential women of that world. She’s had to put up with a lot in her life but she did it all with such grace. She was the wife of Emrys Myridden and the daughter of Colin Blackmar. The men in her life were not great but she put up with it. I loved discovering her story towards the end of the book, but will not say more about it because I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t read it.

I didn’t like some of the characters as the story progressed, specifically Colin Blackmar (father to Angharad) and Emrys Myridden himself. I felt that this was mainly due to their treatment of Angharad, and they seemed off and sleazy for most of the book. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I highly recommend reading the book to find out more if you haven’t already.

The character I disliked the most was Myridden’s son, Ianto. At first, he was simply known as the son of the famous author, the son who had lost his father, one who had locked themselves away in the crumbling house. He then opens up the decoration competition, and it’s from there that it becomes apparent that he might not be who he claims to be. At first, I thought he was behaving oddly because of the grief at losing his father, but as the story unfolded it became clear that he was hiding a dark secret. He acted irrationally, even threatening Preston with a gun! And his treatment of Effy was also strange. However, a massive secret is revealed at the end, and those who have read the book will know what I mean and probably feel the same as I did. It was a twist but explained so much of his behaviour.

 Favourite quotes?

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not afraid to care about you, Effy.” – Preston, page 306

Effy laughed again. “I thought you weren’t a romantic.”
“I wasn’t,” Preston said, cheeks still pink. “Until you.” – Effy and Preston, pages 370 and 371

Final thoughts and rating?

Overall, I found the book to be very well written, with a unique premise and interesting characters. I enjoyed how the story developed, revealing more about the characters and their world as the book went on, and I thought the ending was brilliant. What I appreciated most about the book was its basis in Welsh fairy tales and the romance between Effy and Preston. I would rate this book 4 stars.

So that’s my review of A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid. It’s been on my TBR for ages and I’m so glad that I’ve finally gotten around to reading it. It was definitely worth the wait!

I hope you enjoyed reading it . I would love to hear what your thoughts are about the book if you’ve read it? If not, I definitely recommend this book and even better, to read it alongside this playlist – https://open.spotify.com/playlist/208hm5d7k9as5KfwQqM5lx. 

Have you read A Study in Drowning?

If not, don’t forget to add it to your TBR list.

Happy reading!

Kate x