Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

181 reviews

becinneverland's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.0

I have a love hate relationship with Ava Reid. I love the descriptive language, and I love her characters (most of the time) - but I find that their books start off so incredibly slow and can be mind numbingly repetitive. Which is really sad, because I adored Juniper and Thorn, but Lady Macbeth and this have fallen flat for me. 

This was also wildly predictable. Like, within the first couple chapters I knew the answer to “who actually wrote the book” - and so the slow, repetitive nature of the story was exhausting at points. 

What pushed it from a 2 to a 3 was the ending - if only because it was cathartic and I enjoyed their relationship. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

brynn_books's review against another edition

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

5.0

It's been a while since I've submerged myself in the world of dark academia and oh boy was I missing out. This book was so intricate and provocative in the best way possible. This book deals with topics regarding fact vs fiction and truth vs deceit. I love the sea as a metaphor for death; death as a metaphor for eternity. Why fear death when eternity (the sea) is the real villain?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Sexual content

meldellima's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Menuda salvajada de libro. He tenido que parar más de una vez por lo intenso que es, pero a la vez no quería soltarlo. 
La asfixia, el ahogarse de verdad... Qué montón de sensaciones agobiantes y qué bien descrito y narrado. Qué guay, por favor.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Gaslighting

naomidanae's review against another edition

dark hopeful 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? No

4.75

This book is a love letter to women who were not believed. Reid speaks so carefully about the feelings surrounding assault and she does so in a way that’s validating and empowering all at once. She doesn’t flinch from the feelings that surround assault, and I’m so glad that this book exists. More young girls need to read stories like this, in my opinion. I think the only thing holding me back from giving it perfect marks is how easy the conflict is resolved. As a metaphor, I want to believe in it. But even as a metaphor, it’s hard to say that something so simple could sort of “fix” things at least a little.

Some Quotes:

“There was an intimacy to all violence, she supposed. The better you knew someone, the more terribly you could hurt them.”

“We must discuss, then, the relationship between women and water. When men fall into the sea, they drown. When women meet the water, they transform. It becomes vital to ask: is this a metamorphosis, or a homecoming?”

“Effy had never thought much about the lies she told—she didn’t feel good about them, but they didn’t rend her apart with guilt, either. Lying was a form of survival, a way out of whatever trap had been set. Some animals chewed off their own limbs to escape.”

“Survival is something you do, not something you are.”

“Survival is bravery, too.”

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

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

3.0

“[…]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

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

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

allisonsmith120's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

savanah's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis