DNF Early Review – A Theory of Dreaming (A Study in Drowning, Book 2) by Ava Reid (2/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Length: 416 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: July 29, 2025
ASIN: B0DC5SZ9VL
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the A Study in Drowning series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for review
Rating: 2/5 stars
“Effy learned that when she defeated the Fairy King. Even though she may never know exactly what happened at Hiraeth, she is free of her nightmares and is able to pen a thesis with Preston on the beloved national fairy tale Angharad. She has finally earned a spot at the literature college, making her the first woman in history to enroll.
But some dreams are dangerous, especially when they come true. The entire university—and soon the entire nation—is waiting for her to fail. With the Fairy King defeated and Myrddin’s legacy exposed, Effy can no longer escape into fantasy. Who is she without her stories?
With Effy under threat, Preston is surprised to discover a rage simmering inside him, ringing in his ears like bells. He begins to dream of a palace under the sea, a world where he is king—visions that start to follow him even in waking.
As the war between Llyr and Argant explodes, Effy and Preston find themselves caught in the crossfire: Effy losing her dreams and Preston losing himself in his.”
Series Info/Source: This is the 2nd book in the A Study in Drowning series. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley for review.
Thoughts: I loved the other worldly setting and darkly lyrical writing of the first book in this series “A Study in Drowning”. Unfortunately, this book I didn’t like at all. “A Theory in Dreaming” has the same beautiful dark lyrical writing style as the first book but lacked everything else I loved about the first book. I ended up setting this aside at 50% of the way in because I found it boring and depressing. Prior to read this, I had also read “Juniper & Thorn” (liked it), and “A Theory in Dreaming” (liked it).
This is supposed to be Preston’s book. Effy and Preston are back at school. Effy is struggling to keep her head down and fit in while Preston is back to being a student aide and struggling to deal with his professor. The story alternates between the two. Preston starts to enter a dream world and hear bells again and is trying to figure out what that all means.
I found this book depressing. After making progress and gains in her self esteem and self respect, Effy really backslides in this book. Effy spends most of the book trying to hide from her problems and keeping them secret from Preston. She does this either through her use of sleeping pills or by actually hiding. It was sad and depressing to see, especially when she is supposed to be living the life she’s dreamed of for so long. Preston is super concerned about Effy’s safety, almost oppressively so. Preston is constantly lying by omission to her about what is happening in his life. It ends up being a very toxic relationship that I found sad to read about.
Additionally, nothing is happening. Effy is trying to go to class but keeps her head down after being humiliated the first day. Effy is trying to dodge reports and Preston’s worry. It is tedious to read about. Preston keeps accidentally entering a dream world where he hears bells, but he wanders about it multiple times without many revelations. He is also trying to placate his professor with these jaunts and dodge reporters as well. It got very repetitive, and in the end I just found myself wishing I had left these characters where they were at the end of the last book. I couldn’t read about the sad situations they had gotten themselves into anymore.
“A Theory in Dreaming” should have stayed a stand alone novel, and this sequel should have never happened. I should also mention Reid’s incredibly negative opinion of nearly all men…most of her male characters are downright despicable, and it makes the story feel unbalanced. This is a two-way street; the female characters (Effy in particular) need to demand some respect. I also find it hard to believe that all the female characters are willing to put up with this behavior and that the majority of male characters are this sleazy. Definitely not a world I would want to be forced into and not one I really love reading about either.
My Summary (2/5): Overall I did not enjoy this… in fact I quite disliked it and stopped reading the book about half way through. The directions our characters went is very depressing, and the story is repetitive and boring. This is written in Reid’s very beautiful and darkly lyrical writing style, but aside from that there wasn’t anything I liked here. In general, I love Reid’s lyrical writing style but have struggled some with some of her themes and the pacing of her stories. I don’t think she is an author I will seek out in the future.
