A Study in Drowning

A love letter to stories - and to everyone silenced or forgotten in their retelling.

Allison Saft

As merciless as a rising tide and as beguiling as a fairy's bargain.

Melissa Albert

A spell-binding mix of magic, myth, and mystery.

Rory Power

A lyrical examination of stories told, cherished myths, and an unravelling of truths held dear. Darkly romantic and unsettlingly eerie.

Erin A. Craig

Lyrical, incisive, and tragically beautiful, this book will haunt your dreams. Reid delivers in every way - from the atmospheric house by the sea to the achingly hopeful romance to the examination of power, gender, and control, A Study in Drowning ruins and rebuilds you.

Vaishnavi Patel

Full of myth and superstition, and heavy rains that fall upon crumbling old houses. A rewarding, romatic read, with much to chew on.

Kendare Blake

A wonderfully written, tense and moving novel that offers its audience an endlessly readable mix of historical fiction, gothic mystery and fantasy romance that will draw you in again and again.

CultureFly

Reid wields lyricism, dark academia, and fairy-core elements to eloquently imbue the narrative with originality and depth that ferries themes surrounding grief, gender, and the value of folklore.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A dark and gripping feminist tale.

Kirkus Reviews

One of those books that makes you remember why we read in the first place. A Study in Drowning takes dark academia to magical new heights. Reid is a singular, extraordinary talent

Sasha Peyton Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Hunt

In A Study in Drowning, Reid questions the idea of stories, who writes them, and who they are for. Between heart-wrenching discoveries, lush worldbuilding, and prose as beautiful and cruel as the sea, she delivers an answer I won’t soon forget. I could read this book again and again - absolute perfection.

Courtney Gould, author of The Dead and the Dark

Both haunting and tender. Set amongst crumbling cliffsides and a raging sea, this atmospheric story will settle in your bones. Romantic, beautifully written, and powerful.

Rachel Griffin, New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches

Lyrical, moving, and sensitive, A Study in Drowning is a magically romantic tale, filled with writing that will sweep you into a whimsical and gothic world. I’ll recommend this beautiful and thoughtful book over and over again.

Isabel Ibañez, author of Together We Burn

Incandescent, tender, and fierce. A Study in Drowning is a deftly woven mystery, brimming with lyrical writing and compelling characters who will steal your heart. This is a story that lingers, long after the last word.

Rebecca Ross, bestselling author of Divine Rivals

A Study in Drowning is everything: a dark fairytale, a tender romance, a haunting historical mystery, and a quietly furious tribute to the people whose stories have been stolen from them. I absolutely loved it.

Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Once and Future Witches

A Study in Drowning is a stunning book in every way. From one phenomenal book to another, Ava Reid is an author I am obsessed with . . . A masterclass in pacing, characterisation and tension, with a beautiful meditation on stories and who gets to have an authorial voice.

The Nerd Daily