Publishers Weekly
★ 07/31/2023
Reid (The Wolf and the Woodsman) blurs the lines between reality and fantasy in this stunning tale. Effy Sayre, the only female architecture student at the country of Llyr’s most prestigious college, is an avid fan of late author Emrys Myrddin. She especially loves Angharad, Myrddin’s epic about a cruel fairy king and the mortal woman that broke his heart. When Effy is selected to design a house in Myrddin’s honor, she travels to his estate, Hiraeth Manor, in the seaside town of Saltney. Once there, she discovers that her academic rival, pedantic and handsome Preston, has arrived to prove that Angharad was not authored by Myrddin. Preston enlists Effy to help him; she agrees, believing it to be her chance to gain entry into the male-only literature program. But as the two delve deeper into Myrddin’s history, strange happenings begin to occur around Hiraeth Manor. Reid wields lyricism, dark academia, and fairy-core elements to eloquently imbue the narrative with originality and depth. The rivals-to-lovers romance is swoonworthy, and the seaside crags and fetid gothic mansion render a deeply evocative setting that ferries themes surrounding grief, gender, and the value of folklore. Major characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sarah Landis, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
“Reid wields lyricism, dark academia, and fairy-core elements to eloquently imbue the narrative with originality and depth that ferries themes surrounding grief, gender, and the value of folklore.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Piling invention upon invention, Reid conjures a bleached-bone jewel box of a tale, full of strange treasures and captured bits of dangerous lore. A Study in Drowning is as merciless as a rising tide and as beguiling as a fairy’s bargain.” — Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood
“Achingly atmospheric and beautifully sharp, A Study in Drowning will draw you in from the first page. A spell-binding mix of magic, myth, and mystery.” — Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls
“A dark and gripping feminist tale.” — Kirkus Reviews
"Lusciously evocative and dripping with verbal texture." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“As always, Ava Reid's worlds feel lived-in and rich in history. This one is also full of myth and superstition, and heavy rains that fall upon crumbling old houses. A rewarding, romantic read, with much to chew on.” — Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Three Dark Crowns
“Haunting and elegantly rendered, A Study in Drowning is a lyrical examination of stories told, cherished myths, and an unraveling of truths held dear. Darkly romantic and unsettlingly eerie, I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come.” — Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows and Small Favors
“Drenched in atmosphere, and as wondrous and haunting as a dream half-remembered. A Study in Drowning is a love letter to stories—and to everyone silenced or forgotten in their retelling. Effy and Preston are spectacular leads, tenderly drawn and sure to win readers’ hearts as they’ve won mine.” — Allison Saft, New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic
“This is one of those books that makes you remember why we read in the first place. A Study in Drowning takes dark academia to magical new heights. Reid is a singular, extraordinary talent.” — Sasha Peyton Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Hunt
“In A Study in Drowning, Reid questions the idea of stories, who writes them, and who they are for. Between heart-wrenching discoveries, lush worldbuilding, and prose as beautiful and cruel as the sea, she delivers an answer I won’t soon forget. I could read this book again and again - absolute perfection.” — Courtney Gould, author of The Dead and the Dark
“Lyrical, incisive, and tragically beautiful, this book will haunt your dreams. Reid delivers in every way—--from the atmospheric house by the sea to the achingly hopeful romance to the examination of power, gender, and control, A Study in Drowning ruins and rebuilds you.” — Vaishnavi Patel, New York Times bestselling author of Kaikeyi
“Both haunting and tender. Set amongst crumbling cliffsides and a raging sea, this atmospheric story will settle in your bones. Romantic, beautifully written, and powerful.” — Rachel Griffin, New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches
“Lyrical, moving, and sensitive, A Study in Drowning is a magically romantic tale, filled with writing that will sweep you into a whimsical and gothic world. I’ll recommend this beautiful and thoughtful book over and over again.” — Isabel Ibañez, author of Together We Burn
“Incandescent, tender, and fierce. A Study in Drowning is a deftly woven mystery, brimming with lyrical writing and compelling characters who will steal your heart. This is a story that lingers, long after the last word.” — Rebecca Ross, bestselling author of Divine Rivals
"A Study in Drowning is everything: a dark fairytale, a tender romance, a haunting historical mystery, and a quietly furious tribute to the people whose stories have been stolen from them. I absolutely loved it.” — Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Once and Future Witches
New York Times bestselling author Melissa Albert
A Study in Drowning is as merciless as a rising tide and as beguiling as a fairy’s bargain.”
School Library Journal
★ 10/01/2023
Gr 10 Up—A dark academia standalone for fans of Holly Black and Erin A. Craig. In her YA debut, Reid has created a world steeped in mythos with a timeless historical feel. Reluctant architecture student Effy Sayre would rather be in the literature college studying the late Emrys Myrddin, whose fairy tales have anchored her through dark times—especially the Angharad, about an evil Fairy King who marries a mortal. When Effy wins the contest Myrddin's family holds to redesign his famed estate, she heads to the strange land that is the Bottom Hundred, and Myrddin's even stranger estate. At the manor, Effy finds a crumbling legacy and Preston, a skeptical student of the literature college who doesn't believe Myrddin wrote his most famous work. Even though Effy and Preston find themselves immediately at odds, Preston offers to put Effy's name on his thesis if she helps his investigation. Soon the strange happenings of the house mean Effy can no longer convince herself the Fairy King isn't real—and if Myrddin's greatest villain is true, what else is hiding here? Reid's evocative writing builds a gothic fairy tale on the bones of family history, casting an incisive look at grief, oppression, and consent through Effy, whose unreliable narration brings further tension to the story. The romance simmers slowly and is put in direct contrast to the other relationships. Main characters are white. VERDICT Make space for this in your collection; Reid's dark and lyrical writing will hold readers captive even after the story ends.—Emmy Neal
NOVEMBER 2023 - AudioFile
Saskia Maarleveld's brisk narration sweeps listeners into an atmospheric setting that blends fantasy and reality. Maarleveld portrays the dissatisfaction and resentment of literature-loving Effy Sayre, whose gender is holding her back at architecture school. Maarleveld shows Effy's pride and passion when she's selected to design a manor home honoring her favorite writer, who has recently died. Arriving at the remote crumbling estate, she is filled with regret and fear. Her feelings worsen when the malevolent Fairy King appears. Maarleveld animates all the characters, whether human or fairy. Most notable is her portrayal of Effy's caring fellow student, Preston, who partners with her in a literature project involving mysteries about the past. Maarleveld builds their attraction as it blossoms into romance. S.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2023-07-13
A young woman faces her past to discover the truth about one of her nation’s heroes.
When Effy Sayre, the only female architecture student at her university in Llyr, wins the competition to design Hiraeth Manor for the estate of the late Emrys Myrddin, national literary figure and her favorite author, it is the perfect opportunity to leave behind a recent trauma. She arrives to find the cliffside estate is literally crumbling into the ocean, and she quickly realizes things may not be as they seem. Preston, an arrogant literature student, is also working at the estate, gathering materials for the university’s archives and questioning everything Effy knows about Myrddin. When Preston offers to include her name on his thesis—which may allow her to pursue the dream of studying literature that was frustrated by the university’s refusal to admit women literature students—Effy agrees to help him. He’s on a quest for answers about the source of Myrddin’s most famous work, Angharad, a romance about a cruel Fairy King who marries a mortal woman. Meanwhile, Myrddin’s son has secrets of his own. Preston and Effy start to suspect that Myrddin’s fairy tales may hold more truth than they realize. The Welsh-inspired setting is impressively atmospheric, and while some of the mythology ends up feeling extraneous, the worldbuilding is immersive and thoughtfully addresses misogyny and its effects on how history is written. Main characters are cued white.
A dark and gripping feminist tale. (Fantasy. 14-18)
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