Title: A Study In Drowning
Author: Ava Reid
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Gothic, Romance, Mystery
Rating: 5 Stars
Description/Synopsis:
Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. She’s had no choice. Since childhood, she’s been haunted by visions of the Fairy King. She’s found solace only in the pages of Angharad – author Emrys Myrddin’s beloved epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, and then destroys him.
Effy’s tattered, dog-eared copy is all that’s keeping her afloat through her stifling first term at Llyr’s prestigious architecture college. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to design the late author’s house, Effy feels certain this is her destiny.
But Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task: a musty, decrepit estate on the brink of crumbling into a hungry sea. And when Effy arrives, she finds she isn’t the only one who’s made a temporary home there. Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar, is studying Myrddin’s papers and is determined to prove her favorite author is a fraud.
As the two rival students investigate the reclusive author’s legacy, piecing together clues through his letters, books, and diaries, they discover that the house’s foundation isn’t the only thing that can’t be trusted. There are dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspiring against them – and the truth may bring them both to ruin.
WARNING – SPOILERS MAY ENSUE BEYOND THIS POINT – REVIEW BELOW
What a strange and beautiful book. The story had a gothic feel, with just a bit of Eldritch horror thrown in for good measure. The setting was an eerie mix of dark academia from another time, with its scholastic halls that seemed to be from another era – complete with the infuriating misogyny – and an otherworldly decaying and drowned manor that is slowly slipping into the sea. And of course, don’t forget the cruel but beautiful Faerie King lurking in the shadows like a boogeyman.
The book was a strange mix of ideals from a more patriarchal time, mixed with modern technology, horror, mystery, romance, and fantasy… and yet it worked.
I loved the characters, particularly Effy, and her story was a particularly powerful one. There are themes of sexual abuse, bullying, misogyny, and mental illness – and that barely scratches the surface. It is a powerful narrative that will leave a lasting impression on any reader, and I would absolutely recommend you give it a try.
Author Unpublished 