A review by sydapel
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Another author I would do anything for. This book is a gothic, feminist, dark academia, rivals to lovers fantasy DREAM. Ava Reid blends the eerie and foreboding atmosphere of Hiraeth Manor with a story about how women are treated as both too seductive and too silly to be taken seriously in any - but particularly academic - settings. Effy as the main character brings you so fully into your own head that you like her, begin to question your own sense of reality and sense, and slowly we begin to understand how the monsters in our heads, though not entirely real, come from genuine places of trauma, abuse and mistreatment. I read this mostly in one sitting, and now desperately want Mike Flanagan to adapt for TV. 
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