A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's for sending me an advanced copy of this book! I'll try not to give away too much before publication.

A Theory of Dreaming takes us back to the fictionalized version of Wales, Llyr, we so came to love in A Study in Drowning. Only this time with a twist. I don't know about you, but I love when the point of view changes in the second book of a series. While still told in third person, this story now zooms in on Preston Héloury, the love interest of Effy Sayre, as he navigates the scrutiny of their highly publicized thesis in addition to the blatant prejudice against his homeland, Argant. Before anyone worries, we still get Effy's POV as she too tackles the new academic world of literature and a life without the Faerie King.

Alrighty, where did we leave off from A Study in Drowning? Effy has been admitted into the literature college at the University of Llyr. She is the first female to be allowed to study literature. Having published a thesis proving that one of Llyr's acclaimed authors Emrys Myrddin did not in fact write his most famous work, Effy and Preston are now receiving unwanted attention from the media. For Effy, the terror is now all in the real world. Without the Faerie King around, she has no demons left to face other than her own and the blatant academic sexism. Her depression is her new foe. Preston, the ultimate "unbeliever", now straddles the veil the between what is real and what is not. Listening to the bells, Preston discovers he is able to "slip" into the world straight from the nation's folklore. There, Preston is king, Effy is safe, and most shockingly, Preston's father is alive.

What follows is a story that makes the reader question what is real and what is not in the same way Preston is. When his folklore world begins seeping into the real one, the lines become terribly blurred. As I read, I kept thinking that if it is so hard for me, the reader, to tell separate the two worlds, it must be impossible for Preston. He'd feel like he's going insane. then you tack on his worries about Effy and bigotry toward his being Argantian, and you have a supremely stressful environment that makes for lots of character growth.

Outside our beloved main characters, we get more of a cast of side characters in book 2. We have Rhia, Effy's roommate who was introduced in book 1, and her girlfriend Maisie, who was also introduced in book 1. We get the privilege of seeing how they are such great friends to Effy as she figures out how to survive herself. Additionally, we get my favorite side character, Lotto. Lotto is Preston's privileged roommate who is a player with a heart of gold and perpetually on the brink of failing out. While Lotto has his flaws like depending too heavily on Preston to help him in his studies, he also has plenty of pros. He is a staunchly loyal friend to Preston and, as a result, Effy.

Honestly, I just read the first half of this story. What I mean by that is I was able to set the book down and not give it another thought. When I crossed that 50% mark, the pace ramped up. The emotional stakes became too high to ignore. The fantasy world bled too much into the real. So much happened that I had to keep reading. By the time I got to 75%, I had to finish. Without spoilers, the last part of this book had me WORRIED and gasping with my hand over my mouth. For that reason alone, people should read it. You'll care because at the pulse of this story is two university students struggling with real life problems and real mental health. We can all recognize at least a bit of ourselves in them.

If you liked this review, add A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid to your tbr when it's published on August 5, 2025. Check back here for more book reviews! In the meantime, keep reading.