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A review by gillian0231
A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 stars
I was so excited but also so dreading reading this book, just because A Study in Drowning was possibly my favorite book of last year. I absolutely adored Effy and Preston and was so excited to return to their world and see how their relationship develops. However, I have been burned by sequels before and it would have just broken my heart if this one did the same. While I can admit that this book was maybe unnecessary to the overall story, I was definitely glad I was able to return to this world. Reid is an amazing writer and she proves it once again in this book. The prose is beautiful, the atmosphere and world she creates is so vivid, and the characters are so complex. I enjoyed how we saw much more of Preston’s motivations and was able to see why he is the way he is. We also see how complicated healing can be and how Effy struggles so hard with it, even when she has so much support from her friends. It was also very interesting to see how much Reid was connecting this world’s political struggles to our (specifically the USA’s) real life struggles. Sometimes I think she hit the nail on the head a little too much, but I do enjoy seeing real life struggles in fantasy books because it gives me hope that if these characters can figure out how to fight against their oppressors, than maybe we can too.
However, as I mentioned before, this book was completely unnecessary. There were threads of a bigger plot, but ultimately it turned into nothing. This book was really just about Effy and Preston dealing with the personal aftermath of the first book and there really wasn’t much of a story or plot. It was very interesting seeing the politics of the this world and its complicated history, but it was kind of just surface-level and I really wish we got more of it. This could have easily been a very fleshed out, complicated story, if Reid had just made this book just a little longer, or made the ending more open. Instead she decided to tie it up into almost too neat of a bow. As it stands now, this seems like a complete series, but that’s also what I thought after reading A Study in Drowning, so who knows. If she’s not continuing this story, I don’t know why she just didn’t make this a little novella.
Overall, if you enjoyed A Study in Drowning, this is definitely a must read and of course Reid knocks it out of the park with her writing, but if you’re looking for a complete fantastical adventure like the first one, you might be a bit underwhelmed.
I was so excited but also so dreading reading this book, just because A Study in Drowning was possibly my favorite book of last year. I absolutely adored Effy and Preston and was so excited to return to their world and see how their relationship develops. However, I have been burned by sequels before and it would have just broken my heart if this one did the same. While I can admit that this book was maybe unnecessary to the overall story, I was definitely glad I was able to return to this world. Reid is an amazing writer and she proves it once again in this book. The prose is beautiful, the atmosphere and world she creates is so vivid, and the characters are so complex. I enjoyed how we saw much more of Preston’s motivations and was able to see why he is the way he is. We also see how complicated healing can be and how Effy struggles so hard with it, even when she has so much support from her friends. It was also very interesting to see how much Reid was connecting this world’s political struggles to our (specifically the USA’s) real life struggles. Sometimes I think she hit the nail on the head a little too much, but I do enjoy seeing real life struggles in fantasy books because it gives me hope that if these characters can figure out how to fight against their oppressors, than maybe we can too.
However, as I mentioned before, this book was completely unnecessary. There were threads of a bigger plot, but ultimately it turned into nothing. This book was really just about Effy and Preston dealing with the personal aftermath of the first book and there really wasn’t much of a story or plot. It was very interesting seeing the politics of the this world and its complicated history, but it was kind of just surface-level and I really wish we got more of it. This could have easily been a very fleshed out, complicated story, if Reid had just made this book just a little longer, or made the ending more open. Instead she decided to tie it up into almost too neat of a bow. As it stands now, this seems like a complete series, but that’s also what I thought after reading A Study in Drowning, so who knows. If she’s not continuing this story, I don’t know why she just didn’t make this a little novella.
Overall, if you enjoyed A Study in Drowning, this is definitely a must read and of course Reid knocks it out of the park with her writing, but if you’re looking for a complete fantastical adventure like the first one, you might be a bit underwhelmed.