Ava Reid is the author of A Study in Drowning, The Wolf and the Woodsman, Juniper and Thron, and her soon-to-be-released novel Lady Macbeth. She loves to write dark academia/gothic fantasy novels with a touch of romance, and A Study in Drowning encaptures all of those aspects.
A Study in Drowning follows the main character, Effy is the only female architect at her university. She wanted to go into the literature program, but girls weren’t allowed in, so she settled for the second most prestigious program.
Effy is obsessed with Emrys Myrddin, the most famous author in her country. Emrys Myrddin had recently passed away, but Effy gets light of an opportunity to ‘win’ the chance to remodel his old manor. Effy, who wants to be involved in anything to do with the author, enters with a blueprint/sketch inspired heavily by Emrys Myrddin’s most famous book “Angharad” and wins.
Effy is given 6 weeks leave from her university and goes to the old manor. When she arrives she meets Myrddin’s only son, widow, and another student digging through the manor. Preston, a literature student who is at the manor with his own agenda of proving Myrddin was a fraud.
Together, Preston and Effy piece together Myrddin’s legacy, mortal and magical dark forces work against them as they start to uncover the truth of what’s been happening.
There are some pretty heavy topics alluded to in the novel, such as the death of a parent (off page), sexual assault (off page), grooming and manipulation, mental illness (including hallucinations and delusions), suicidal ideation, and self-harming behaviors; post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. So if you were to start reading I would highly recommend checking the trigger warnings.
The title A Study in Drowning is a call to the phenomenon that the citizens of Effy’s country call “The Drowning” which was more thought of as a legend but Effy believed it to be true. As she works with Preston to unfold the truth of Myrddin’s life, new and newly confirmed knowledge of this phenomenon is discovered.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’ve dabbled in reading some dark academia novels before and always found myself to be lost- this time was no different- but the addition of the fantastical aspects held my attention and kept my interest.
A Study in Drowning is a stand-alone, so the book is concluded at the end. It’s not wrapped up in a perfect bow, but it lets the reader marinate in what they just read, pondering on the possibility of history repeating itself and revealing a mellow sadness.
The book is very well thought out, there are things left unsaid and the reader is left partially in the dark because the only information expressed is what Effy knows or believes.
The pacing of the book was enjoyable, the beginning did feel a bit slow but it picked up. The ending did seem a little rushed but not in a way that takes away from the story, more in the way that there was just so much happening in a short amount of time.
A Study in Drowning is very atmospheric. The way that Reid utilizes the descriptions of the creepy landscape and scenery draws the reader in and makes them feel like they are in a creepy mansion or that they are also discovering these dark forces working among them.
I also enjoyed the scenes where Effy and Preston were studying a text, it added to the ‘dark academia’ aspect and was a sort of wholesome aspect among the darkness.
There is a bit of romance between Effy and Preston, but that is a subplot. I liked that the plot didn’t take a turn towards a more romantic novel but stayed on the same track and added this little plot device to allow the characters to further understand each other.
Overall it was a very immersive and interesting read and is a good book to read on a rainy or snowy day sitting by a fire.