Review of A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

I went in excited about this book due to hearing a lot of great things about Ava Reid and her writing style. I usually am not much of a fae person, but I really enjoyed this book.

The setting and overall vibe of the book were very enchanting. This was a dark fantasy book with creepy vibes that had dark academia elements to it. The writing is what really brought this book together. It was cinematic how Reid described some of the settings. This book played out like a movie in my head while reading.

The female main character Effy, is what all ya female protagonists should be. She has strong morals and is very flawed, but she is not depending on a male to save her or make decisions for her. When she is introduced to us she has a lot of dark trauma that gets developed throughout the story. She really grows as a character and as a young woman.

When it comes to the romance subplot of this book, I ate it up! I really did love Preston. He is such a gentleman, and every chapter, you are just dying for them to admit their feelings to each other. I wouldn't really say it's an academic rivals to lovers because they become friends/companions pretty quickly in the story.

The mystery aspect of the plot was an intriguing part of the book. I did like the end of the book and was very happy with it. The only thing I would nitpick was that the lore dumping of the world all in one chapter was a bit confusing. Although, as you continue to read on, most of it comes together.