Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

260 reviews

tokaylamockingbird's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

annatl4's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I love the detail of Ava Reid’s books. The two characters were wonderful and the plot was perfectly paced. I enjoyed the feministic theme of the book and how Effy defied the societies norms. I appreciated preston’s kind heart and the way he fought for Effy to be seen as a woman in the literary world. The story was spooky and dark at some points but was well balanced with the romantic atmosphere and seriousness of literature. I also appreciated the depiction of mental health as well, it made Effy seem so real and allowed the reader to be empathetic. In addition to Effy’s struggle with mental health, Reid did a great job at tying both Effy and Preston’s childhood trauma into the story to create depth to their character. I loved this novel almost as much as I loved Reid’s Juniper and Thorne. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Gore

pandorasxbox's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

reddeddy's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

I think this story will stay with me for a bit.

For most of the book I was unsure how reliable Effy was as a narrator but I think think that might reflect more on me than it does on the book. It really is beautifully written, I just have one issue: Everyone mentions how smart and brave Effy is and of course, yes, she is, but whyyyy did you not go talk to the secretive and reclusive widow of your favorite author when you had the chance? Like you literally did everything including destruction and theft of property and nearly dying in a drowned basement instead of trying to communicate with people that are there and have not explicitly told you to fuck off yet. I was just waiting for them to get to that for nearly half the book so that was incredibly frustrating. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

chasinggrace's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

Upon reflection, this book lived up to its positive social media reputation. I was not expecting the darker themes that are woven throughout the story (abandonment, PTSD, sexual assault, adult/minor relationships) nor did I expect the consistent use of water and architecture analogies. While the FMC character arc was slightly predictable (

a damaged, meek woman finds her voice through further trauma 👍🏼

), I think it was done well, especially when compared to

Angharad’s story

. 

I thought the setting was beautiful and the world building was not overwhelming at all. The themes of colonization, classism, & religious separations were touched on, but were not overbearing. The mystery & folklore kept me intrigued, and I thought the romance was sweet (even though Preston will not be a favorite book boyfriend of mine). 

Unfortunately, I needed to dock .5 stars for the writing, especially in the first 100 pages of the book. While I think similes are helpful literary tools and can be beautiful, they are completely overdone in this text. The author cannot write one singular page of this book without comparing two things and using the word “like.” Try it - flip to any page and you will find a sentence that uses this structure. While I’m not a style critic, I could not ignore it and it tainted the opening of the story. I also found Effy to be quite insufferable, before I understood her trauma. Finally, while I know Preston is self-described as unromantic,

I wish their physical intimacy could’ve been sweeter. This could have been a deliberate choice from the author to denounce the romanticizing of losing one’s virginity, or it could’ve reflected Preston’s stoic nature, but I still wanted a little more from that scene.

All together, I think this is a beautiful story that weaves dark themes with stunning comparisons to the relentlessness of water. It teaches you that you are the only one who constructs the house in which you live, if you can be strong enough to hammer the stakes yourself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

maresuju's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Xenophobia

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Confinement, and Abandonment

writingandwhimsy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I thought this was a pretty simple plot. The story opens with Effy who attends the Architecture College at the University she attends. She did test high enough to attend the literature college however the school has an archaic rule that states women are not allowed. After entering a competition she is awarded an opportunity to stay at and design her favorite authors home who is recently deceased. It is through this opportunity she meets the love interest Preston and uncovers secrets that will have the potential to rewrite history. 

Ava Reid is a really descriptive writer. I think she did a really good job of exploring some of the more triggering topics in this novel in a very age appropriate way as this is a YA novel. I also really enjoyed how she described the anxiety that Effy was feeling every day. There was only one scene between the love interests Preston and Effy that seemed to toe the line a little, seemed more like adult content. 

I only have a few critiques. First, I thought the pace of this story was a little slow and very predictable. Once you get to the end the twist (if you could call it that) was not a surprise more of a confirmation. The ending seemed to also drag a little for me as well. I found myself skimming. Secondly, based on the cover and title I thought this book would have dark academia vibes, but this doesn’t quite hit the mark. While the overall atmosphere does seem pretty bleak. The university has a very minor role and I just don’t get the prestigious atmosphere like I have gotten in other dark academia novels. 

Overall it was a great break from my usual tastes, but I will probably never think of it again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Stalking

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia

Minor: Death of parent

paradicsomleves's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexual assault

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment