I really enjoy Ava Reid’s writing and the worlds that she creates. I like that she writes stand alone novels, and I love the genre niche her stories land in. I absolutely adored the vivid imagery in this book. Every scene is so beautiful and dark and decaying, the language is captivating and lyrical.

In addition to the gothic mystery and romance, this story serves as an exploration of feminism within academia. Reid does a great job carrying these themes throughout the book, it’s clear that she writes very intentionally.

The concept and atmosphere are just so good. Think Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell x The Bell Jar x Crimson Peak. Finishing this book left me hungry for more gothic literature.

Side note: I also love the cover art for this book, the illustration is lovely and it captures the energy of the book perfectly.

I definitely prefer A Study in Drowning to the other book by Reid I read this year, Juniper & Thorn. The romance in this book is much more to my taste- it’s more of a slow burn and the primary focus remains on the mystery and magical elements of the plot.

It pains me to say that while I had a wonderful time reading this book, the ending was not my favorite.

To me, the ending felt too happy and neat for the genre. While gothic stories don’t necessarily need to end in tragedy, the tension that Reid does such an excellent job cultivating throughout the story seems to resolve so suddenly and completely by the end of the book that the stakes which initially seemed dire have lost their weight. The final conflict feels rushed compared to the build-up, resulting in this “perfect” ending feeling unearned.

I also wish that the psychological horror element of the book played a stronger role in the climax. I wanted more of that The Bell Jar-esque claustrophobia, with the emphasis remaining on mystery and haunting ambiguity. (view spoiler)

What I would have liked better:

1) Have Preston be unconscious when Angharad comes to help save him, have her stay in the house as it collapses and have Effy be the only one to see her, leaving Effy to discover her story only when she opens the box revealing the original manuscript. This brings back the tragedy and bitter sweetness that suits the atmosphere. Effy cannot save her hero, but she will save herself and tell Angharad’s story. Additionally, without Angharad to verify the existence of the fairy king, Effy can remain an unreliable narrator.

2) If we don’t kill off Angharad, preserve ambiguity in some other way. Let the conflict between Effy and Myrddin suggest that he really could be the fairy king without confirming it directly. Even if Effy sees him as the fairy king, he could die by getting stabbed with a shard of the mirror, or glimpse his reflection before falling to his death. Something that would kill both a human and fit the legend.

3) Remove Effy’s reunion with her roommate in favor of extending the final conflict. I wasn’t particularly attached to the roommate character after hearing nothing about her for the majority of the book, and would have perfected having those pages dedicated to adding more action and excitement to the finale.

My favorite aspect of the ending was

Preston mentioning hearing the underwater bells, the one element of the superstition that Effy never experienced

. This detail leaves the reader with at least a bit of uncertainty, blurring the line between definite magic and individual experience once again.

This was ultimately still a very enjoyable read and I look forward to seeing what Ava Reid does next.