Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

391 reviews

whataqt's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.5

What I find unfortunate about A Study In Drowning is how the first half of the book is compelling, atmospheric, and eerie. The set up of the central mystery and the first couple of plot beats had me engrossed. After the halfway point, however, the romance becomes more of the central focus. This is acceptable, given the dedication boldly marks the novel as a love story, but what I didn't enjoy was the choice Reid made regarding the other males characters. Any man who isn't named Preston is a total piece of shit inside this world, which felt to me like a choice meant to aid in the romantic development, but ultimately undercuts the themes of the novel. Patriarchy is a system of oppression, and men uphold it in many ways, both obvious and subtle. I wanted my view of these men to be complicated the deeper into the story I went, and that did not happen. Another choice I couldn't get past was the choice to not have Effy spend a substantial amount of time around any female characters. Those interactions are pushed into the front and back of the book, and in a story about women reclaiming their stories, it felt like an oversight to not have another female character Effy could interact with. As the mystery was revealed and the book drew to a close, I found myself losing interest. Ultimately, though, I enjoyed the overarching metaphor of the sea, the dense atmosphere, and the epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter (which were better than a lot of the prose). I just was left wanting more from the back half of this book, but with my time with it, I can never say I wasn't intrigued and immersed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual harassment

kghunter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

“[…]the truth was very costly at times. How terrible, to navigate the world without a story to comfort you.”

If you were to remove all of the sentences in this book that described one of the characters blushing, it would probably be about half its current length. I don’t know if this is just a more common experience of fair skinned people or what but I think a group-read of this in which everyone took a shot every time someone blushes would be a pretty fun way to get absolutely shittered with your friends if they also happen to be into horny fantasy mystery novels that involve a lot of quivering and clenched fists. 

Blushing and quivering aside this was a truly enjoyable read. Reid is brilliant at capturing the “dark academia” imagery and I loved how she used such a beautifully painted, fantastical storyline to examine themes of misogyny, victim-shaming, childhood trauma, and isolation, as well as gender-based violence, bigotry, and oppression. As a reader who originally chose to read this book to scratch my annually occurring wintertime dark academia itch, its depth and sincerity came as a pleasant surprise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

eedle_cacleberry's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

How is this book getting so much hate? Someone get these romantasy and colleen hoover fans out of here

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Violence, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol

may4la's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

hannahdamigo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

kat42's review

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

I really wanted to like this book and am sad I didn't. The one thing it did well, in my opinion, was tackle the misogyny in academia. The abuse women face at the hands of men, the assumption that women cannot compete intellectually with men, and

the common occurrence of men stealing women's work.

I also loved the setting of a crumbling house falling into the sea. 
However, the characters and romance were dull to me. Effy's prejudice is somehow okay now that she's fucked Preston? Also the sexual abuse she has dealt with is pretty key to her character, but then when she has consensual sex with Preston, the word Reid chose to describe it was "assault"??? My other issue is that everything happened so easily for the characters at the end. The conflict gets resolved in like two pages, and someone literally just tells Effy and Preston all the answers to everything instead of the two of them having to piece it together on their own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content

Minor: Child abuse and Mental illness

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

thegabscast's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Misogyny and Gaslighting

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Stalking

jesssica_marie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

hollysreading's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny