Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy!

A Theory in Dreaming by Ava Reid
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Just. WOW!

A Theory in Dreaming brought back the haunting literary prose from ASID and delivered a whole new type of atmosphere!! Although, if you go into this expecting an ASID sequel, that won’t be exactly what you find. 

The plot of ATOD centers around Preston, and brings the last line of ASID far more clarity. This is a book about Preston growing into a man, and his journey walking the thin line between truth and the unbelievable. 

Effy, on the other hand, gets a lot of character based storyline, without much plot moving her along. We see her suffer more with her mental illness and her sudden loss of the Fairy King. I have seen a lot of people say they disliked the way Effy’s part of the story was handled, but I disagree. As someone who has been unable to get out of bed for days at a time, I See Effy. I love her and I See her and I get it. For her to walk hand in hand with a world of magic for her entire life and have that suddenly ripped away is DEVASTATING! I think it was really cool for Reid to explore that fallout. Do I wish I got to see her more involved in Preston’s story? Absolutely.

One thing I also wish we got more of is the work of Angharad and the newest addition to the literature of the Sleepers: Antonia.

At this point, all I can hope hope HOPE for is for Ava to release a full edition of Angharad and the Neiriad! Their journals and stories are my favorite part of possibly both books in this duology!! Maybe one day 🫠

The big question that I’m left with, that warranted the removal of a ⭐️ on my rating is this: Did ASID need a sequel? 🧐 My answer, I think is that it did not. Am I happy to have it anyway? YES! But I do think that the vague ending of ASID is so so SOOO powerful on its own! The line of Preston hearing the bells, to me, meant that one day he would believe the Fairy King existed; that magic was real. That was the thread of hope I was left with. ATOD really dispels the mystery which is both a good and bad thing. Less powerful in hindsight, but I got a whole book of Effy and Preston! Well worth it, I think.

Again, don’t walk into this one expecting a continuation of the story in ASID. Expect a whole new story with our new fave characters :)

SPOILERS IN THE FORM OF TRIGGER WARNINGS BELOW!! 🚨🚨 Read ahead at your own risk!

🚨suicide/suicide attempt
🚨abuse of prescription drugs
🚨vivid and possibly triggering descriptions of mental illness

just realized i have no desire to read this book in any capacity. not even interesting enough for a hate read of it. i have better things to do with my time. 

Effy and Preston my loves !!! I loved spending more time with my favorite literature students and getting more insight into how they dealt with the aftermath of the last book. Although I wished we delved more into their other relationships (I really loved Lotto and Rhia!!) it was great exploring their dynamic and how they both deal with the repercussions of taking down Myrddin and the prejudices the each endure in this academic world. Both their struggles resonated with me and I just wanted to hug them both. Overall I loved being back in this world and will never say no to reading Ava Reids beautiful words. Big thank you to Harper Collins and Net Galley for the advance reader copy!

Netgalley ARC

I loved A Study in Drowning SO much as a standalone. So, I was a bit worried the sequel could not compare. However, I may have loved A Theory of Dreaming even more!

Effy and Preston are such REAL and relatable characters. Their struggle is familiar to many readers: why face reality when you can live in your dreams?

The writing style is lyrical and atmospheric. This book is for the readers that don’t require constant action and can live on vibes, emotion, and character development.

I’ve preordered the Deluxe Limited Edition hardcover to match my copy of A Study in Drowning. I can’t wait to see them together on my bookshelf!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

After being disappointed by Lady Macbeth last year I was a bit nervous to reenter the world of ASID, but luckily my fears were misplaced. 
Overall this was a wonderful addition to the story, especially getting so much from Preston’s POV. I am always struck by how well Ava Reid handles mental illness and its effects on romantic relationships. It feels very true to life, and is very important and refreshing to see represented. The tone was also enthralling, and kept me turning the pages. 

My one critique is that since the Sleepers lore still feels a little undefined, the ending was slightly confusing. The line between so much information that you ruin the mysticism and so little information that you don’t know what’s happening is a really hard one to toe, but it was just missed by a bit here. Not so bad that it ruined the whole experience, just enough to pull me out slightly.

But once again, this was a great conclusion! ASID and ATOD are definitely in line to be one of my favorite series.

My expectations were high, as A Study in Drowning has been one of my favorite books in recent years. And my expectations were met. The writing is lush as ever, with the depictions of mental illness being woven into fairytales so expertly as to be seamless. Somehow, even though this book takes place far from the ocean, it still managed to saturate the pages. (Both books should come pre-waterlogged, in my opinion.) And I love the conclusion that still left enough questions as to be satisfying and not tidy enough as to be stifling. 

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advanced copy in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Effy knew it would not always be so simple. She would need one pill or another. She would hear the siren song of an oblivious, dreamless slumber. She would need books and fairy tales to build a seawall around her, to hold against the vicious, rising tide. And she would need a hand, a voice, a promise— something from the outside to pull her from the darkness.

If you know me, I am a believer of "the right book will find you at the right time" and this duology truly did. Didn't think I'd cry reading this book, but here I am, crying at almost 11pm on a saturday night (who am I kidding, every single book that I finished in 2025 made me cry at some point). From now on, this duology will have a special place in my heart and will definitely be one of my comfort read. I found comfort seeing pieces of myself in Effy as someone who found strength to navigate the real life through fiction. My heart hurts reading this book seeing how out of place Effy feels now that Angharad is "tainted", add to that the harrassment she receives as an aftermath from ASID's ending. I just want to wrap her in a big hug and tell her that she is not a burden to the people who love her.

Effy and Preston's dynamic in this book reminds me so much of the quote "I'll take care of you"/ "It's rotten work"/ "Not to me. Not if it's you." which has been one of my favorite quote since a certain movie changed the trajectory of my life back in November 2021. I've been looking everywhere for the same dynamic and I found it in EffyPreston. Throughout the story, you can see how much Preston wanted to help Effy, but if she doesn't want that help and would rather hid it because she doesn't want to burden him, he wouldn't be able to. In this book, we see Preston's struggle just like Effy did in the first book to make sense of his "new ability" as it was established from the first book that he didn't believe in these kinds of stuff. Oh how the table has turned....

I wished that there's a chapter or two before the epilogue just for Effy and Preston to talk about their respective experience because they really really need to talk about it. I hope there will be more works from this universe because I simply demand to see more EffyPreston. More of them communicating, more of them living their hard earned happily ever after. Please with a cherry on top?

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins and NetGalley for this gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review.