I was a girl when he came for me, beautiful and treacherous, and I was a crown of gold in his black hair.
A Study in Drowning
by Ava Reid
Genre: YA Fantasy
About: The Fairy King has always been more than a story to Effy. Both fear and fascination lure her to take up an architectural project at the house of the author who made The Fairy King infamous in a book she's read a thousand times. But she isn't the only new person invited into the house. A literary scholar is determined to upturn Effy's dreams and unravel the truth of just who really wrote the story of legend. And in doing so, he'll bring The Fairy King out into the daylight...
Thoughts
The atmosphere of this novel is perfect. It's dark and unsettling and creeps up on you like the sea is licking at your feet and pulling you into its depths. I loved the mood and thought it fitted perfectly with our main character, Effy. Her previous trauma and the way people treat her gives the impression that she's nearly always suffocating and the world around her has this exact feel to it.
The world-building gave this novel so much depth. It was so well thought out. From the two warring countries, to the divide in the North and South, to reality vs superstition... there were so many layers and they created this believable prejudice in many of the characters that added to this sense of unease.
I also really loved Effy and Preston's relationship. Preston doesn't have much competition because literally every other male in this book is a giant red flag. I think more balance could have been given as I don't know that it was necessary to paint all men (besides Preston) as potential sexual assaulters, but it did give a clear sense of the misogyny in this world and Preston was a really great ally to Effy as she began to see her path forward.
The only issue I had with this novel that stops it being a 5 star favourite read, was the ending. When I think of the books that this novel reminds me of; The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, The Marriage Portrait and Jane Eyre, what they did so well that this one unfortunately doesn't, is that they keep the ambiguity of the supernatural elements. The uncanny is allowed to exist in their worlds without making the story a straight-up fantasy. Reality is very slightly blurred. But in A Study in Drowning, the ending unblurs it and I don't think it did it in a successful way.
Overall, I loved the mood of this novel, it's gothic and eerie and set in a very interesting world. However the plot was quite predictable and the ending slipped off the dream filter in a jarring way for me.
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