A Study in Drowning Collector's Deluxe Limited Edition

I'm crying now that this is over. This was a beautifully written book. The story has mystery, romance, and wonderfully developed characters. I loved every minute of reading and would highly recommend. As for the quality of the physical book itself, it is beautiful, good quality and durable! I love having it on my shelf, because the cover is just so unique.

1/5 🌶 Check the triggers before embarking. Technically this is considered YA, but I'd argue it's more NA for slightly more mature themes and situations. Moody, atmospheric book about fairy tales that may or may not be true. Magical realism, perhaps? It's unclear where/when this is set because it all seems to be made up? Yet the technology seems to be from the 1950s? Suspend disbelief here and just go with the flow. Overall this was enjoyable, but I docked a star because I felt the ending was obvious from the start of the book, and the metaphors about patriarchy and the sea bordered on trite. Some lovely writing, though, and I highlighted a ton of beautiful passages that spoke to me.

I find this book hard to review. It's a good story. I enjoyed the characters, the world, and the plot. It's spooky and atmospheric and fun. I loved all the quotes from the poet/author Myrddin and the story about the Fairy King. At the same time, I skimmed like 75% of the book (and missed all of nothing) because it was just so, so very slow and over-written. Such. Slow. pacing. So much time spent in Effy's head repeating things I already understood. So much page space going to drawn out descriptions that were ephemeral rather than concrete so that I got a 'feeling' of what things looked like rather than concrete details (talking of the house and landscape in particular - which was annoying.). So. Much. Theme. The theme was like a nail with every character, building, Myrddin-quote, Bit-of-action being a hammer beating that nail into a broken piece of wood. (And if you thought that a bad simile, this book probably isn't for you. The author *really* likes similes. I don't know that I've read a book before with so many of them, most of which were more odd than meaningful. I kept having to stop to make a connection between the simile and what the author was describing. At times the similes simply made no sense.) I did like the theme: powerful men using weak women for their own success, and the women learning to take their power back. I liked the world too, with the mythology, etc., but I never really understood it. It also had some huge holes. I picture it as 1940s UK (cars, telephones, woman in pants, women just pushing into higher ed). But then randomly more modern things (TVs) are thrown in. And the ideas all feel very modern. The plot had hole after hole after hole. The giant twist about the book Angharad was so, so, so obvious that I knew what it was from the very beginning. I also never understood why Myrddin's wife didn't just approach Effy when she first arrived and tell her what was going on. I never understood while Effy and Preston didn't just go ask the butler or any of the townspeople what was going on. (One townperson dropping one tiny, specific bit of information to Effy, a bit of info that every single person in 50 miles of Myrddin's house would absolutely would've known, and the book would've ended right there and then.) So it's kind of weird. Because all of the things I liked are also the things that didn't work. That said, I may give the author another chance. This story had a ton of potential. It didn't fulfill that potential for me, but maybe her next book will. ***Note, book came up as YA, but the themes/story are adult rather than YA.

"A Study in Drowning" by Ava Reid is the kind of book that can be put there with the classics. It's a read where every page has a subliminal message that you have to take a moment to think to understand what the author and her character are trying to convey. and for that, I do not think some people would appreciate it. This is not a true fantasy despite the made-up world This is not a romance despite having a romantic relationship in it This is a woman's journey towards regaining her power and control over her life when her choices were taken from her in so many different ways. The book is a captivating gothic fantasy that weaves a dark and intricate tale of mystery with elements of romance and the supernatural. Set against the backdrop of a Welsh-inspired cliffside estate, the novel follows Effy Sayre, a young architecture student, as she embarks on a journey to redesign the dilapidated Hiraeth Manor. The manor, with its decaying grandeur, and the water surrounding it become characters in themselves, mirroring the tumultuous emotions and hidden depths of the story's protagonists. Reid's narrative is a masterful blend of folklore and academia, challenging the reader's perceptions of reality through its atmospheric descriptions and hauntingly beautiful prose. We can argue that the book delves into themes of institutional sexism, the power dynamics within academia, and the struggle for one's voice against the silencing forces of society, however, it is Effy's personal struggle and Reid's exploration of the relationship between author and reader that picked my interest. ⚜Genre: Urban Fantasy??? ⚜Theme: Gothic with romance ⚜Targeted audience: 16+ (although this is stated as YA, it is not suitable for younger audiance) ⚜Characters: Effy, Preston, Ianto, Angharand, the water ⚜Representation: mental/emotional disorder ⚜Pace: medium ⚜TW: child abandonment/neglect - s€xual @ssault - attempted m¥rder - forced imprisonment ⚜ tropes: medium-burn, one bed ⚜ POV: one-sided third person ⚜ spice 🌶 ⚜ rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 ⚜standalone: yes ⚜Ending: resolved

Alles bestens

A Study in Drowning is a tempestuous, ambiguous, feminist novel set in a world reminiscent of ours in decades past. We begin with Effy who is the only girl studying Architecture at the University on Caer-Isel. She, in turn, wishes she was studying Literature due to her obsession with the author Myrddin and his novel Angharad. Alas, girls are not permitted to study Literature. Effy is then given the opportunity to travel to Myrddin’s tumble-down manor to help redesign it from the ground up as part of her coursework. Here she meets Preston Héloury (a student at the Literature college) who is also researching Myrddin for his thesis. But not all is at it seems…the manor is literally falling into the sea, Preston is secretive, the owner is strange and there is a general sense of wrongness here. Can Effy uncover Myrddin’s secrets before it’s too late? Immediately after finishing it last night, I had this very clear idea about what I thought about it - I wasn’t bowled over. That all changed when I lay on my pillow that same night unable to stop thinking about Ava Reid’s prose, characters and how the book made me feel. The plot was expertly constructed and reasonably paced. Every word on the page did a fantastic job of evoking emotions whilst also moving the story along. In fact, it was so well done that I was questioning everything at every turn – much like Effy – and I feel like this was intentionally done on Reid’s part. It immersed me so completely. Effy is a complex traumatised character who has been struggling to keep her head above water her whole life. Equating drowning to her experiences brilliantly characterises her emotions. In fact, the whole book has this sinister oppressive feel throughout which only enhanced my connection to Effy. I could feel the impending doom leaking from the pages. It was sublimely done by Reid - creating this atmosphere made it a 5 star read for me. The only bone of contention for me was the development of Preston’s character and motivations. I understand that he took a backseat in favour of deep diving into Effy’s psyche, but he could have been a bit more three-dimensional in my opinion. Plot-holes? We don’t know what those are here. Perfect ending. This is where the feminist elements come in to shine a light on Effy. If you love dark academia, fairy tales, great characters and beautiful prose this is the book for you.

Nice

I thoroughly enjoyed this, it really opened new doors for me as my first academia read

She’s so pretty, the edges are amazing! Cover is 10/10 story is amazing for us girlies who fell in love with Mr. Darcy or Roman Caver Kitt