Reviews tagging 'Classism'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

62 reviews

kelseydaffodil's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Why was it always girls whose forms could not be trusted? Everything could be taken away from them in an instant."

wow. WOW. what a book. i loved so much of this. the vibes, the setting, how it was clearly not in our world yet held some of our own things (cameras, cars, phones). the fact that the fairy king was not romanticised, not like other books. the constant guessing. preston. oh wow, what a sweet guy. exactly what effy needed to ground her. and effy. what an incredible protagonist. i loved her so much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

elisha002's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

Moderate: Death

Minor: Classism

moonchild_cos's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

embersbooknook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book was really good.  
Not what I expected, in a lot of respects - but thoroughly enjoyable.  
While I was able to predict some of what would occur

Angharad being the author, Ianto being the fairy king, Myrddin being not awesome, etc.

, that didn’t make it any less of a good read.  

Effy was initially slightly dislikable in a really relatable way - nervous, anxious, unable to trust herself, processing substantial trauma.  Thus seeking a tad flaky at first.  However after about 50 pages her character growth really started.  
I really enjoyed seeing her character grow throughout this book.  

Preston was a really good match for her - overly sensible perhaps, which I enjoyed seeing soften a bit throughout.  
It was really nice to see Effy’s degrading options about Argantians slide away as she got to know him.  
A reminder that when humans get to know people who are different from them, they are less prone to dehumanize an entire group of people. A reminder we need in the world as often and as much as possible. 🥺🫶🏽  

This book was a good exploration of how sexism affects a society in every level, personally, professionally, intimate relationships, etc.  I also appreciated how small mentions of colonialism and sexist intellectualism, and militarism/war made it into the book.  Ava set up a fascinating world and I very much hope more of these themes and its history are explored in book 2!  Overall a good read that I’d recommend and will enjoy revisiting.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism

The themes mentioned as trigger warnings are mostly minor mentions. Ava doesn’t write out the full

sexual assault that happened to Effy, or the full extent of abuse that Angharad suffered from Myrddin, as the Fairy King took him over especially.

As I always say, I am a sensitive reader and was able to handle this book’s themes.

witcheep's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I can see why so many people have enjoyed this book, but to me, it is a miss.

This is very dark story due to the worldbuilding! The world the characters live in is very misogynistic, and the main characters find it hard to fight against, which made the reading experience very uncomfortable – as it should. However, the plot didn't offer enough either mystery or romance, so besides uncomfortable, the book was also boring. The hints towards the mystery made the ending too predictable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

mrsjoellebell's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault and Classism

Minor: War

aleilvandrea's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Dementia, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Infidelity, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

edilyaaang's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Reading this book felt like a rollercoaster ride. 

Got really confused about everything at first especially because there were lots of gaps in the beginning. There were times that that I rolled my eyes hard at some parts but in the end I felt like those things married the story together in a way that gave it more depth.

 But whew, I did not expect the story to turn that way. Though I have already guessed some parts of the story, the plots twists blew my mind off.

Especially how the Fairy King was real. I did not see that one coming. And that bed scene came out of nowhere LMFAO.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Confinement, and Violence

escapethewonderland's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

4- stars ✨
Female rage unraveled in an intense storytelling about injustices, women's voices brutally silenced, distorted, taken advantage of and greedy men abusing their power.
Rich atmospheres and a wild nature that reminded me of that in Wuthering Heights, beautiful prose, a story of overcoming hurt, trauma, grief, the impossible, the disbelief of people. 
A story of resilience that feels like the first sun beam after a brutal storm.
Thank you Angharad and Effy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Classism

incefloscen's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

1.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism