Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

31 reviews

grace_koalateareads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

“didn’t all drownings begin with a harmless dribble of water?” 

A Study In Drowning by Ava Reid was a mysterious, magical, dark academia read. I went in not knowing much about the story, only that it was a fairly hyped book, and I wanted to jump in the bandwagon. I loved architecture of the world building, how it could have been set in the past or present, with mentions of cars, phones and televisions, as well as typewriters, letters and candlelight. 

“Her only enemy was the sea.”

It was definitely worth the read, however, it fell slightly flat for me. The predictability of the plot was a big factor, I like having a few more twists and turns to keep me engaged. Also the characters didn’t feel as real as I would have liked. They definitely had backstories and a “life” off the page, but there was just something about Effy and Preston that irked me slightly. Still a solid four star read though. 

“The trick of any good lie is just finding an audience who wants to believe it.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

tired_cicada's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

There is something to say about a world and a magic system that feel lived in. And if there's one thing that I can appreciate it's an author who trusts her readers to be smart enough to figure things out. Reid doesn't waste unnecessary time on flowery exhibition about how her world works, you just get thrown into it and you sink or swim. Personally, I like that a lot. I don't need an author to hold my hand the entire time and so would an author just says "here you go, figure it out" I just know I'm going to have a great time. Particularly if it's a standalone that needs to be good on its own merit.

I think that this is magical realism at its finest. The world in "A Study in Drowning" is very similar to our own from the 50s and 60s. Many of us have a working knowledge of that time period so it's easy to fill in the blanks for what's going on. Furthermore, the magic system is so well entrenched into the culture that it feels like a natural part of the world. So often magic systems are slapped onto a world but don't seem to affect it down to a day-to-day.

Reid's writing is very poetic, almost to the point of being lyrical in some cases. In previous experience my main criticism with this writing style is that it seems the authors will get so attached to certain phrases that they're dialogue suffers. As in out of nowhere a character who was previously flamboyant and ridiculous is all the sudden preaching at a pulpit over tea. I do not have this criticism here. Each of Reid's characters have a distinct voice that they keep throughout the story. It's easy to know who's speaking as none of them sound the same.

anyway I'm glad that Mr Benett(I listen to the audio books I don't know how it's spelled) got fired or whatever but he deserved to go to jail at least and I'm so mad that he didn't

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Car accident, and Abandonment

Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and War

natesalsbury's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

alexijai98's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

honuzbubbles's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: War

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and War

amelianotthepilot's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

A gothic fantasy full of feminine rage.

It has everything of a classic gothic novel: a female who’s maybe mad or uncovering something, a spooky house with a spooky man, and a mystery to keep her there with a sprinkle of romance.

I overall really enjoyed this story. I loved the characters and the spooky gothic house. The water and drowning imagery was also delicious. I loved the feminine rage and depictions of the female experience. 

The plot was a bit obvious towards the end and the last two chapters of wrap up were boring. There were a lot of quotable lines but also an equal amount of cringey pompous lines. I loved the world building but at the same time for a stand alone novel it seemed unnecessary for a personal success plot. It followed the main character and her struggles not a political or societal change.


It follows Effy who is the first female architecture student at this university. She enters a competition to build a house in memorial for her favorite author who has recently passed away. She is invited to the house to discuss and finalize her plans only to get there and see how truly messed up and spooky the current house is. The house is on the cliff which could be swallowed by the sea at any moment. Will Effy, the creepy man owner of the house, and the other male student researching there survive or succumb to the house? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

shakiral's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

Love it, but now I'm left with the knowledge that there's limited editions out there with different bonus content in each.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

hazychapters'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Third book by Ava Reid that I've read and it's another very pleasant reading. A small change of universe, with a dark academia world inspired by Welsh folklore.

The characters are very endearing, although I had a little difficulty at first differentiating Effy's voice from Marlinchen’s (Juniper and Thorn). Ultimately, Effy becomes a fully-fledged character, very interesting to analyse and follow. Preston is a very good love interest who touched me a lot. A little faded but that didn't bother me since for me, Effy is the main character, not him. Their romance was perhaps a little rushed but it was self-evident given Effy's narrative arc and her evolution.

Reid's prose is still as melodious as in his other books. The descriptions are imposing but they immerse us with the characters in their emotions and feelings.

However, I had a little more difficulty with the worldbuilding, which was a little vague at the start (I needed a map!!), and the pace of the story. This one is indeed quite slow, which didn't help my reading slump, and we progress very slowly until the half or even the two thirds of the book. The ending is much more accelerated but therefore causes an imbalance.

In conclusion, a very beautiful book with a powerful message: the invisibility of women in academic circles and of the victim of a toxic relationship and abuse. Ava Reid always manages to write beautiful stories that deal with dark and serious subjects.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment