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Cover of A Study in Drowning

A Study in Drowning

by Ava Reid

🥛clean·spoiler·A Study in Drowning #1·Ongoing Series

Why Read This?

A meditation on how women's stories are stolen, erased, and rewritten by men - wrapped in lush gothic prose that will haunt you

Synopsis

Effy 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 - a beloved epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, and then destroys him. Effy's tattered copy is all that's keeping her afloat through her stifling first term her prestigious architecture college. So when the late author's family announces a contest to design his house, Effy fells 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 favourite 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.

At a Glance

3.70 ★ Goodreads
Spice Level🥛clean
Endingspoiler
PairingM/F
Romance Pacingslow burn

Top Tropes

academic rivalsacademy romancecompetition romance

Mood

atmosphericdarkmysteriousbroodingtense

Book Details

Goodreads Rating

3.70 ★

Primary Genre

Young Adult

Pairing

M/F

POV

Dual POV

Romance Pacing

Slow Burn

Cliffhanger

spoiler

Tropes

RomanceMagicActionAngstWorld
Theme Constellation

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Mood & Vibe

Mood

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Characters

FMC: the anxious dreamer sign in to unlock

self-harmdeathtraumaemotional abusechildhood traumaparental deathreligious traumamental illnessanxietypanic attacksgaslightingdrowninggriefhallucinationssexismsuicidal ideationabandonmentobsessive behaviorbody horrorclaustrophobia / confined spaces

World & Setting

gothic sign in to unlock

Reading Context

cathartic sign in to unlock

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