A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

Effy Sayre is happy to be at college away from her neglectful mother.

She only wishes she was able to study literature. Women are not allowed in the literature department, and she is the only woman accepted to the architecture school.

When a contest to design the house of recently deceased Emrys Myrddin is open to all architecture students, she applies, never thinking a first year student will be chosen.

Emrys Myrddin is her literary hero and a national hero to Llyr for his epic novel, Angharad. When she is chosen, she impulsively heads to Hiraeth.

She had no idea that she would encounter a spooky, decrepit house, that Emrys’ son Ianto would make her very uncomfortable, and that another student would be there working on a book about Myrddin’s greatest work.

Preston Heloury asks Effy to assist him with his writing when he discovers her prolific knowledge of Angharad.

Effy has always believed the Fairy King from Myrddin’s stories is real and has had hallucinations of him since she was a child. As the house, the sea, and the weather become more threatening will they discover what is real and what is a fairy tale?

This book is part gothic mystery, part fantasy, and part romance. I think it will appeal to older teens and adults, especially fans of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.

Spooky and romantic, scary and beautiful, I enjoyed this book and look forward to the sequel.