A Study in Drowning

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But Effy’s descent into Myrddin’s world is nothing like what she expected: Hiraeth is a crumbling house on the edge of the sea, where boundaries between reality and fantasy blur all too easily and dark creatures lurk in the forest that surrounds the house. In this desolate place, it’s easy to embrace old ways — iron protectively strong across doorways, hag stones to help humans see more clearly, ash trees growing along the edges of the grounds—-and seek otherworldly protection from a nameless danger. More importantly, she slowly begins to understand that the man she spent so long mythologizing within her own mind had plenty of all too human flaws. We ask that the proposed structure—HIRAETH MANOR—be large enough to house the surviving Myrddin family, as well as the extensive collection of books, manuscripts, and letters that Myrddin leaves behind. I still had a great time reading it : in the end, it didn’t truly matter if I guessed everything, because I enjoyed the journey anyway. Ava has crafted THE YA gothic fantasy, complete with dark academic elements, fae realms, sharp commentary, and a heart-melting romance at its center.

I'm incredibly excited to read Ava Reid's other works (I've been wanting to read Juniper and Thorn for so long)! I'm interested to see how much this book differs from their usual writing and storytelling as A Study in Drowning is YA whereas their other works are adult. I can see how a lot of the themes within this book could be taken and explored in darker and more gory ways. I absolutely cannot wait to read more! i can see Reid’s vision, i know what she was trying to do here but… sadly it just wasn’t executed effectively therefore i had little to no interest in the story.the plot really has no sense of urgency, no real action for the most part. there’s a loose plot there, but nothing substantial that pushes you forward, where one event links to the next and you can follow the thorough thread tying the story together. Reid seems to want to maintain the mystique of the story, to create an ominous dark-academic atmosphere throughout, and in doing so withholds so much information that i could never truly get to the nitty gritty depths of this story (and i think it�

It was very beautifully written, very poetic. I loved the dark atmosphere and the gothic horror vibes. It was very refreshing especially in this weather 🫶🏻 i liked the plot of the story it was very predictable but the massage behind it was very important and touching. It left me aching for effy and Angharad and everyone else involved ❤️‍🩹 the misogyny and the way men was treating women in here was very provoking and real i wanted to to kill all the men on earth. I was very satisfied and proud with how everything ended. Her studio professor, Master Parri, was running through his usual introduction, only in Argantian. It was a new policy at the university, instituted only at the start of her first term, six weeks ago. Officially, it was out of respect for the university’s few Argantian students, but unofficially, it was out of a sort of preemptive fear. If Argant won the war, would they impress their language upon all of Llyr? Would children grow up shaping its vowel sounds and verbs instead of memorizing Llyrian poetry?

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Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. Haunted by visions of the Fairy King since childhood, she's had no choice. Her tattered copy of Angharad--Emrys Myrddin's epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him--is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin's family announces a contest to redesign the late author's estate, Effy feels certain it's her destiny. His shoulder was pressed against her chest, their faces close enough that Effy could see the muscle feathering in his jaw." However, there is also another theme of bigotry and prejudice that runs throughout the book that was not handled well at all and left me feeling very uncomfortable and unable to rate this book higher. Effie the fmc references the conflict between her country of Llyr and the neighboring country of Argant early in the book in and it's repeatedly emphasized that she feels extreme animosity for this other race of people. Cruel magic was the currency of the Fair Folk as they appeared in Myrddin’s books. She had read them all so many times that the logic of his world was layered over hers, like glossy tracing paper on top of the original.

We ask that the designs reflect the character of Myrddin and the spirit of his enormous and influential body of work. Effy focused on the words, committing them to memory before the ink could run beyond legibility. If she squinted until her eyes watered, she could almost forget the boy’s whispered slur. But her mind slipped away from her, running through all the reasons he might have scoffed and sneered at her. this book is perfect to read during fall. i'd recommend it to anyone that is looking for an atmospheric and immersive read that touches on some heavier subjects while also having loveable characters and an engaging plot/mystery. But stories were devious things, things with agendas. They could cheat and steal and lie to your face. They could crumble away under your feet.” She wondered if you could love something out of ruination, reverse that drowning process, make it all new again.The dedication to this book reads: “This is a love story” and, respectfully, no it's not. I am not one to complain about a fantasy book having too little romance, but this dedication really sets the wrong expectations for the book. Effy and Preston’s romance is incredibly underdeveloped and is certainly not “rivals to lovers.” The entire conflict between them is Effy’s one-sided anger over something kind of stupid. Then she gets over it, they have a few scenes that were probably supposed to have romantic tension, and suddenly they're together. Otherwise, the romance is more substantial than the one in Juniper & Thorn, but another big problem for me is that Preston just seems so vague and lifeless - I never really felt a true sense of what made him distinct or complex or interesting as a character at all. He’s a cynic who loves talking about his academic theories and he is kind and respectful to Effy when literally every other man in the book is a lascivious slobbering monster. There is one scene where he tells Effy about his father’s death, and that’s pretty much the most significant spotlight moment that he gets throughout the book. I love you.” Effy pressed her forehead against his. “I love you,” Preston said, voice wavering. “I’m so sorry it’s ruined us both.” It’s never not infuriating to read about how these famous intellectual men espoused progressive values while wretchedly mistreating their wives. And it is almost impossible to talk about the archetypal “tortured male genius” without talking about the real women who they themselves tortured.