Reviews with content warning for Drug use - A Study in Drowning

Gothic style mystery of suspense as students investigate the origins of fairy stories. Epic poetry and historic accounts that may have been credited to the wrong person looking to uncover the true author. They find themselves in danger and must deal at the threats of both the house that's falling apart. The family that is obscuring information and the question of if they're hallucinating or really seeing fairies and other things at the gothic mansion...

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hal00alex's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Fantasy take on a very interesting time period with dark academia vibes. The characters did very well with the enemies to lovers as it didn’t seem rushed and the dialogue was actually funny.

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ceruleanheather's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

"I wish I had fought..."
"Oh no, Effy. That's not what I meant at all. You don't have to take up a sword. Survival is bravery too."

Effy is a smart, pretty architectural student who is probably Emrys Myrddin's biggest fan. So when she gets the chance to redesign Myrddin's home it seems like a dream come true. However Effy has to share this dream with a smug literature student named Preston, who is bent on proving that Effy's idol is not deserving of the praise he receives.

This sounds like a rom com at first glance, but there are sinister secrets everywhere. Old magic, curses and sacrifices, and a journey of healing and self discovery. It is tough to get through at times, just like any real grief and healing journey.

In the end I absolutely adored this book, but it took me time to get there. I really struggled to sit down and read it. At first I thought it was because I couldn't connect to the characters and the story. However as the story continued, I realized that I in fact connected too much with Effy. And that is the beauty of this book. Just like Angharad was a lighthouse for Effy, A Study in Drowning is a lighthouse for any girl or woman (or any person for that matter) who has been through something and had no one believe them. Yet the story is told in such a way that you don't realize it is helping you heal until you battle through it.

Effy's journey from a lost, self-doubting, girl who thinks she isn't capable of being loved to the girl who survives and uses the strength she found along the way to make a stand is just beautiful.

Also a side note: I picked this book as the last one in my Taylor Swift Eras reading challenge, to go with the Tortured Poets Department. It ended up fitting pretty well. Who's Afraid of Little Old Me? You should be.

*************

Some of my favorite lines/parts:

"Love is a fire that cannot burn alone."

"My apologies if it wasn't clear to you, Mr. Marlowe." (It makes sense in context!)

"Miserably, and against her will, Effy realized that she was in a Romance after all."

"Are you scared?"
"Of drowning? Of the dark? Yes. Those are very reasonable things to be scared of."

"And everyone thinks that I started it but I didn't. I never got anything from him..."
"...I believe you." ❤️❤️❤️

"One must know before loving."

"The only reason anything matters is because it ends."

"The Fairy King was all of them...every wanting man..."

"I wanted just one girl, only one, to read my book and feel that she was understood, and I would be understood in return." ❤️❤️❤️

"If you can learn to love that which despises you, that which terrifies you, you can dance on the shore and play in the waves again like you did when you were young. Before the ocean is friend or foe, it simply is. And so are you."

"Survival is bravery too."

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reddeddy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.75

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daydaybookbay's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.75

I rated this book a 5.5 out of 10. There are many elements to this novel I enjoy, but I wish each had been explored more. By dropping the adolescent romance, more effort could be dedicated to expanding the settings and main plotlines.

Ava Reid writes beautiful phrases and sprinkles them throughout the chapters. Her artistic metaphors rest on the boundry of remaining applicable. The wording captures the reader, but any further, the intention would be lost. She uses imagery to convey emotion and the characters' mindsets.

The characters fell a bit flat for me. Each character was one dimensional and served only one purpose throughout the book. Preston exists to be an on-paper protective love interest. Effy is constantly reminding you how misogyny, sexism, and her beauty overshadow her genius. Every other character means nothing to me.

Effy's low-key racist. Her xenophobia is front and center, but we are
overlooking that? Why?! Time and time again, she shows her
academic rivalry" is really just her prejudice against Argantians.

I wanted more from the fairy-tale.

We are to believe the Fairy King is real, so why are there literally ZERO other elements involved? Everything points to Effy actually having mental health issues where she has "episodes." If Angharad was a ghost/spirit or if Effy would have seen an alternate reality through the hagstones, these would be easy places to incorporate fantasy aspects.

Is Effy a reliable narrator? Honestly, I'm left thinking the fantasy aspect is really part of Effy's imagination. She experienced great trauma from her mother, and her obsession with Myrddin's novel plays a role in her coping. I'm left to feel she really has mental health issues, and maybe the pink pills are good for her.

I know that's not the conclusion I'm "supposed" to reach, but...

I wish there had been more development in the setting and the characters. The countries, the North and South, the school, the house, the land... I could never picture them. The only thing I was able to imagine was the door to the basement. There is this whole world Reid introduced in this book, but we never get a clear picture of what it's like.

I really wanted to love this book. Part of me feels I would have enjoyed it more as a physical book because I would get bored listening to it. I never got the feeling of being immersed in the story.

I love the moody vibes Reid is able to create. The feel and the way she conveys emotion is beautiful. I wish the attention to the setting had matched. I want to visualize where the characters are and how the North/South/Bottom Hundred look and compare to each other. I wanted to pull more from the text.

Content Warnings

amyalwaysbooked's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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