Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
"...she understood Angharad on a level that was almost inarticulabThank you to the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
"...she understood Angharad on a level that was almost inarticulable: it was as primal and unconscious as her lungs pumping and her heart beating."
Swollen with atmosphere, A Study in Drowning is sure to sweep its readers off their feet and into a fantastical world of fairytale.
Ava has crafted THE YA gothic fantasy, complete with dark academic elements, fae realms, sharp commentary, and a heart-melting romance at its center.
We follow Effy Sayre, an architecture student at the University of Llyr. But despite being an architecture major, Effy is a literature fiend. Or at least a fiend about one piece of literature in particular: Angharad by Emrys Myrddin, a beloved fairytale of a young woman abducted who falls in love with–and ultimately destroys–the fairy king. And Effy WOULD be dedicating her studies to literature if she could, but unfortunately women are not allowed in the literature college.
So when the opportunity arises for Effy to redesign Myrddin’s estate, she jumps at the job. But upon her arrival, all is not as expected: Hiraeth Manor is literally crumbling into the sea, and it's filled with some mysterious and unsettling inhabitants. Effy finds herself living amongst Ianto Myrddin, Myrddin’s son and the head of the estate, Myrddin’s wife who is mysteriously absent and unavailable, and Preston, a fellow student at Effy’s university.
This book–like all Ava Reid books–is overflowing with metaphor, symbolism, and historical and literary references. It is a story inspired by and about Welsh folklore, history, and language. It is about sexism in academia and sexual harassment and exploitation. It is about ableism and classism and xenophobia in society and the fantastical lengths people will go to in order to justify those isms. It, like all of Ava’s works thus far, thematically explores the relationship between self and narrative. It’s about decay. It’s about nationalism. It’s about authorship, and the connection between writer and reader. But it’s mostly about holding a mirror to ancient falsehoods that uphold oppressive institutions.
Now, I’ve been dreading writing this review, as I am certain I need a reread to fully extract my thoughts on this book, because it has SO much to say and it feels hard to reflect upon the dazzling mosaic of its imagery after just one read. And... I won't lie, I’ve also kind of been dreading writing this review as this isn’t my favorite of Ava’s works, and though I LOVED it, I found this one a little bit harder to gush about. There’s a few narrative threads I felt weren’t incredibly strong, and I wish it had been a little longer, as some bits felt skimmed over or underutilized. I think perhaps this story would’ve worked better as a duology or an adult book. But on the other hand, this was some of Ava’s best writing. The quotes at the start of each chapter were especially enchanting, as I found myself poring over those words in an attempt to absorb them into my very being. At the end of the day, it is an Ava Reid book, and so it left me with some ineffable fullness and magic that cannot be pinned down or named in words. And that is something priceless and rare and more important to me than any small shortcomings.
I absolutely without a doubt, recommend this book. Effy's story is so emotional and meaningful and will touch the hearts of so many readers, and the text is adorned with such evocative atmosphere and prose. Ava Reid has been a force to be reckoned with since their first release, and I am oh so certain we’re going to be witnessing a glorious career.
CW: sexual harassment/assault, sexism, ableism, mental illness, abusive parent, death , parental death (past), bullying, classism, xenophobia, violence, gun violence, war, child abandonment, drowning, alcohol consumption, colonialism, animal death, grooming, blood/injury, trauma, PTSD, dismemberment, child sacrifice, hallucinations...more
Bleeding with folklore, adorned in the atmosphere of a sentient forest, and hung with tension and yearning so thick you can feel it like a mist curlinBleeding with folklore, adorned in the atmosphere of a sentient forest, and hung with tension and yearning so thick you can feel it like a mist curling around your heart, A DARK AND DROWNING TIDE is the Jewish, sapphic romantasy of my dreams.
Call me delusional but I’m convinced Allison Saft wrote this book for me. (Sapphic, check! Jewish MC, check!! Folklore-heavy, check!!! Discusses antisemitism in fairytales as a major theme, check?! Sentient forests, check!! Dark academic elements, check!!!!)
A DARK AND DROWNING TIDE has been luring me in like a siren song since its announcement, calling my name as it pulled me into its alluring tide. And as soon as my toes hit the water, I was torn beneath the surface and down into its depths by my ankles. My lungs swelling with rich atmosphere, my eyes burning with the salty sentimentality of the characters, and my throat singing with the reverberations of gorgeous prose as this story swallowed me with a gulp.
We enter a world of fantasy, of fairytale, and of mystery, as Lorelei Kaskel—a folklorist—sets out on an expedition with six nobles to seek out a fabled magical body of water for the king. But when she finds her mentor—who is also the expedition’s leader—dead in the middle of the night, tensions grow high. Lorelei must work with her academic rival, Sylvia von Wolff, to solve her mentor’s murder, all while taking over the leadership of the expedition and dealing with political and emotional turmoil of her own. Not to mention the dangers that lay beyond in the forest ahead and in the court back home. Oh, and all of her peers hate her. As she makes her way through the thick foliage of a political and literal landscape, Lorelai has to decide what risks are worth taking and who is worth trusting.
The melody of this book’s themes soothed me like a monster’s caress: its tender yet sharp exploration of fairytales and the prejudice that lies within them. I felt so seen by our main character that it ached. Her Jewishness and her experience with antisemitism profoundly colors her worldview and therefore the entire book. Its pages are saturated with the hues of hatred I’ve grown to know all too well, as Lorelai struggles with the way she’s been painted as a villain or a witch or a monster just for existing as herself. As a Jew. And the grief and survivor’s guilt and fear and pain that comes with that existence.
But the bloody and fatal sting of this book’s siren’s kiss was its romance. Alexa, play Abstract (Psychopomp) by Hozier. There was so much heart-wrenching angst and the characters burned with such yearning and desire, they left scorch marks in my heart. I found myself making noises that were far too inhuman (maybe some of the wildness of this book worked its way down my throat and into my vocal chords). I’ve been craving a sapphic romantasy that gets the tension just right, and Allison Saft absolutely delivered on this front.
I’m not sure I’ve quite emerged from Saft’s taloned and tranquilizing grasp. And if I ever do find my way back to the surface, my water-logged heart will never quite be the same.
If you’re looking for a sapphic Jewish story with the perfect blend of fantasy, folklore, dark academia, and romance that will seize your heart and tear your hair out and linger like a ghost long after you’ve left it behind, run and do not walk to pick up A DARK AND DROWNING TIDE. (The alp will get you if you don’t.)
Thank you to the author for sending me an ARC! This is my honest review!
CW: death, murder, antisemitism, eugenics, colonization, grief, loss of sibling, blood & gore, violence, dead body, injury detail, drowning, drugging, fire, emesis, alcohol consumption...more
She kissed me with a martyr's agonized desperation, like I was the only sword she ever wanted to fall on. I kissed her right back like the cutting edgShe kissed me with a martyr's agonized desperation, like I was the only sword she ever wanted to fall on. I kissed her right back like the cutting edge of a blade, trying to inflict as much damage as possible.
Thank you SO MUCH to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
IF WE WERE VILLAINS meets A DOWRY OF BLOOD in this scrumptious sapphic dark academia novel by S.T. Gibson.
This is less of a retelling of Carmilla and more a reincarnation. Gibson takes these beloved characters and pumps fresh blood into them so that they can live a life anew. And in this incarnation, Laura and Carmilla find themselves in New England as poetry students under the fierce hand of Professor De Lefontaine, a vicious academic force with a dark past. De Lefontaine doles out her praise selectively, setting students at each others' throats as they vy for her attention. But Laura and Carmilla can't tell which they want more of: attention from their elusive professor, or attention from the talented and ferocious girl they've been set at the throat of.
There's a specific type of romance dynamic—often reserved for the tragic achilleans—that always captures my heart. The Hamlet and Horatio kind of vibe. The king and the poet kind of vibe. And it's something I've NEVER been able to find in sapphic romances. They always fall short, lacking that chemistry and tension and absolute world-shifting passion. And I think this book has FINALLY done it. It has finally replicated that absolutely soul-crushing romance dynamic that I live for but with sapphics. Thank you S.T. Gibson for blessing us.
I gorged myself on this book, sucking the ink from its pages with fervor and reckless abandon. I constantly had to remind myself to slow down and luxuriate in its prose. In all honesty, reading this book almost began to stress me out with its richness. I was reading it faster than I could process it, and I have a laundry list of scenes I want to illustrate burning a hole in my notes app. It's absolutely ripe with gorgeous prose, a rich dark academic atmosphere, sexual delicacies, and heart-wrenching romance.
My only issue with the book is with the second half, where that I found that a lot of the stakes were told rather than shown. It made the climax of the story feel a bit out of nowhere and unearned despite the time spent building up to it. I think the story deserved to be even longer (I think this could've easily been an absolutely tome) and that would've given more space to build that plot up.
But I'm absolutely OBSESSED with this book and its incredible characters, and will not be shutting up about it for quite some time. It contains so many literary rarities, some I knew I was starving for and others I didn't even know I was craving. S.T Gibson is out for blood with this story and she can have mine by the gallon.
CW: blood & gore, murder, sexual content, alcohol consumption, dead body, decapitation, death of mother (past)...more
Eat up babies, new Howl-coded love interest just dropped!
Thank you so much to the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
His heEat up babies, new Howl-coded love interest just dropped!
Thank you so much to the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
His heartbeat leapt under her palm; and she was Icarus, unwinding as he held her to his chest. How far would she go until it was too late? Until enough of her had melted off that she could no longer be reshaped?... Just burn me, she thought. Let both our wings be damaged.
MODERN DIVINATION is a haunting fantasy romance featuring a dark academia backdrop, a witchy mystery, a rivals-to-lovers slow burn, and a magical bookstore I would give my soul to visit.
Rivalry, like love, required some measure of possession.
More than anything, MODERN DIVINATION is absolutely dripping with atmosphere. The prose lifts off the paper like mist, lingering in your mind long after putting the book down. Agajanian conjures a vivid, precise tonal setting that allows the book itself to feel precious and mystical. It's a tale you easily get lost in, as you forget about the world beyond the one at your fingertips, instead imagining yourself amongst the patter of rain on cobblestone, with warmth radiating from a mug of tea coddled between your palms, and the smell of lavender and petrichor just wafting beneath your nose. I found myself creating entire settings in which to read, wanting to replicate the sensory experience: surrounding myself with lit candles, putting on a curated playlist, and certainly never without a cozy drink. (I highly recommend a london fog or mint chocolate tea!)
There were many burned bridges behind her, but she made a point never to look back at them, because she thought it would hurt — like a wound beneath stitches, still tender and raw. Like Orpheus damning Eurydice with his affection.
This is certainly a very character-driven story, and these characters are brilliantly raw and messy and relatable to a fellow floundering and emotionally guarded 23-year-old. I couldn't help but see myself in their hopes and in their fears. Even the times they are solidly in the wrong or delusionally crafting their own misery, I found them easy to understand and connect with. Aurelia is so wonderfully stubborn and dense and a fantastic character to carry us on this journey. Her development is so rich and her perspective is so fabulously flawed. I think everyone who has had to fight and claw their way forward in life will really see themselves in her. And though it isn't a major part of the story, I do feel as though I have to mention that she's Jewish, which of course, won her some points with me. And Teddy is SUCH a delicious love interest. I'm literally gay and yet... he's my new book boyfriend. He's so broody and whimsical, and such a haunted little bird boy. I'm desperate for more of his POV in the second book.
You’d be surprised by all the things that scare me.” “Like what?” “You. You terrify me. And torture me a bit too.”
And the romance was heart-wrenching, poetic, and timeless. Teddy and Aurelia mirror each other and play off their similarities, finding moments of contention and attraction in tandem. It was such a joy getting to watch them learn to take down their walls, bit by bit, and learn to look at each other a little deeper. I loved the way that they grow throughout the text, not just individually, but together. They bring about each other's growth through their poking and prodding and yet also through their love for each other. Their chemistry (and their banter!!!) are absolutely unparalleled. The Icarus metaphor absolutely gutted me like a fish.
“You say that like your affection is a rotten thing,” he said. Aurelia shrugged. “Because it is. Mine is. Like you said, it’s all diluted.” And it’s just you I’m rotten with.
I will say, this book had a slow start, and for probably about the first half, I felt that at times the prose got so tangled in its beauty it lost a bit of clarity. (It sadly was most definitely overworked.) But at some point along the way, it just hit its stride and balanced itself out and all of that fell away to blossom into a gorgeous piece of storytelling. And especially for an indie debut, a slow start is nothing to hold back my praise. It's been a while since I've been so entranced into a book that it forces me to stay up past my bedtime, but I had to stay up til 2:30 AM because I refused to rip myself from the clutches of this story. Even writing up this review, my fingers are itching to return to this book's pages and to fill its margins with annotations, unravelling the strings of Agajanian's narrative brilliance. And even more, I cannot wait for book 2.
To love something was to deface it—to give it a mark and change its identity forever.
MODERN DIVINATION is for the tea lovers, the Howl's Moving Castle girlies, the readers who annotate their books into oblivion, the romantics with trust issues, the underestimated academics, the purple-prose lovers, the gays, and anyone looking for a book to cuddle up with on a blustering winter night.
CW: violence, murder, blood & gore, injury detail, dead body, bullying, loss of loved one, grief, limb loss, abusive parent, sexual content, emesis...more
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