A Study in Drowning
An instant Indie and #1 New York Times bestseller!
“Achingly atmospheric and beautifully sharp, A Study in Drowning will draw you in from the first page.” —Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls
Bestselling author Ava Reidmakes her YA debut in this dark academic fantasy perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Elana K. Arnold.
Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. Haunted by visions of the Fairy King since childhood, she’s had no choice. Her tattered copy of Angharad—Emrys Myrddin’s epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him—is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to redesign the late author’s estate, Effy feels certain it’s her destiny.
But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin’s legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them—and the truth may bring them both to ruin.
Part historical fantasy, part rivals-to-lovers romance, part Gothic mystery, and all haunting, dreamlike atmosphere, Ava Reid's powerful YA debut will lure in readers who loved The Atlas Six, House of Salt and Sorrows, or Girl, Serpent, Thorn.
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Ava Reid
Ava Reid writes the kind of fantasy that feels like folklore rediscovered, as if her stories have been whispered through centuries before finding their way to the page. Her novels, steeped in myth, faith, and the weight of identity, blur the line between the magical and the political, the personal and the historical. With her blend of dark beauty and emotional precision, she has become one of the most distinctive contemporary voices in literary fantasy.
Born in Manhattan and raised across the river in Hoboken, Reid studied political science at Barnard College, focusing on religion and ethnonationalism. That academic path shaped the moral and cultural tensions running through her fiction. Her debut, The Wolf and the Woodsman, draws on Hungarian history and Jewish folklore, exploring nationalism, belonging, and faith through the lens of myth. It established her as a writer unafraid to confront brutality or tenderness, often in the same breath.
A Study in Drowning
A Study in Drowning consists of two primary books, and includes one additional book that complement the series but is not considered mandatory reads and considered as a complete series. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
