Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for allowing me to read this book for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars. I loved this so much. I’m so obsessed with anything that has to do with fairies and fae lore, and my favorite movie is Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, so a book about a girl getting pursued by the fairy king was bound to catch my attention.

Effie Sayre, a first year architecture student, is chosen to redesign the manor that belonged to the late Emrys Myrdden, her favorite author. Angharad, his book about a girl who is taken by the fairy king and then defeats him, has been a comfort to Effie her whole life. When she gets to the cliff side house, she realizes that it’s a much more formidable job than she expected. It’s falling apart, and the sea is quickly threatening to swallow it up. She also learns that there’s another student from her university there, a smug boy name Preston Héloury, hoping to find proof that Myrdden is a fraud. But there’s something dark happening at this crumbling house by the sea, and the two will have to work together if they want to avoid drowning. Because the sea is not the only enemy they’re facing.

One thing that I loved about the story was that Ava Reid did such a good job of creating a fleshed-out fictional universe that still has so many parallels to our own. The rules of fairies in Llyr are the same rules you hear told in Celtic folklore, and their technology is similar to ours in the 1920s or 30s. Unfortunately, Effy’s world shares some of the nastier aspects of ours as well, including sexism. In fact, that’s really what this story is about; women and the men who want to have power over them.

Effy was such a good main character, flawed but relatable so many ways. As the first woman in the architectural college, she faced formidable misogyny from students and faculty. She second-guessed herself constantly, but she also knew deep down that she had the strength and capabilities that everyone in her life had done their best to gaslight her out of. We’ve all felt like we weren’t good enough at times, and I don’t know one woman who hasn’t experienced sexism. Preston, the love interest, was also amazing, as her support and as a fully developed character with flaws and trauma of his own.

The only issue I had with the book was that a very important climactic scene (that I won’t spoil here, except to say that it involved a glass shard) felt a little rushed. I would have liked more time spent in that moment. But other than that, I really loved A Study in Drowning. ( )

This book immediately grabbed me, and I read the first half super quickly! It didn't turn out to be the book I thought it would be. I thought there would be a lot more of the house itself being the evil, but it ending up being what it was was very interesting. Overall a pretty good YA read. ( )

So this book was such a strong book for me. I think this book had the right mix of dark academia, romance and mystery. This book had a really great fall setting as well. This was such a quick read but it also dealt with harder topics like SA and abuse and it has had some really intresting topics about authors and arists and how they can ler you down!! This was a rather quick read and def a new faorite in the genre!!

Merged review:

So this book was such a strong book for me. I think this book had the right mix of dark academia, romance and mystery. This book had a really great fall setting as well. This was such a quick read but it also dealt with harder topics like SA and abuse and it has had some really intresting topics about authors and arists and how they can ler you down!! This was a rather quick read and def a new faorite in the genre!! ( )

So this book was such a strong book for me. I think this book had the right mix of dark academia, romance and mystery. This book had a really great fall setting as well. This was such a quick read but it also dealt with harder topics like SA and abuse and it has had some really intresting topics about authors and arists and how they can ler you down!! This was a rather quick read and def a new faorite in the genre!!

Merged review:

So this book was such a strong book for me. I think this book had the right mix of dark academia, romance and mystery. This book had a really great fall setting as well. This was such a quick read but it also dealt with harder topics like SA and abuse and it has had some really intresting topics about authors and arists and how they can ler you down!! This was a rather quick read and def a new faorite in the genre!! ( )

I'm not sure if this book was really predictable or if I've just read too many books, but I figured everything out very early on. Still, the story itself is enjoyable and I didn't mind watching it play out - that is, I didn't mind much... ( )