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artmuseam's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
bookthief404's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Sexual harassment
starlesscircus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Physical abuse and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
wooblatoober's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i really loved some aspects of this book but was really bothered by others—i loved the imagery & the metaphors really made me feel the way i believe the author wanted me to feel. parts were very cozy in ways i haven’t felt since i was probably 14. i LOVED the love interest & i had a huge crush on him because he’s so perfect. whenever there was a scene without him, i wanted him to come back, & i believe reid did a good job of making him incredibly caring while still empowering the female lead. the book covered serious topics regarding misogyny & sexual assault very well,
my complaint is this: effy’s fucking racist. & i love a problematic character who grows & learns lessons & changes, BUT SHE FUCKING DOESN’T!!! it’s just not dealt with well & leaves a bad taste in my mouth. she even calls him slurs at one point and i don’t think she ever took accountability for that at all??? like it seems like she got an argantian boyfriend so she’s absolved of all racism against argantians. it really just gives, “i can’t be racist because my boyfriend’s argantian (or insert any race/ethnicity/nationality in place of that).” book is also hypnotically caucasian, which, like, i know it’s set in a fictional place based on wales & england, but it’s a FICTIONAL PLACE so do all these characters really gotta be beans and toast ass motherfuckers?? last complaint, she throws her long blonde hair into a messy bun 👎
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Racial slurs, Rape, Violence, Kidnapping, and War
edilyaaang's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Got really confused about everything at first especially because there were lots of gaps in the beginning. There were times that that I rolled my eyes hard at some parts but in the end I felt like those things married the story together in a way that gave it more depth.
But whew, I did not expect the story to turn that way. Though I have already guessed some parts of the story, the plots twists blew my mind off.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, and Violence
hannahlikesbooks_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence
hspfost's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, and Car accident
skyebrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Violence
ceruleanheather's review against another edition
- 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
"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."
Graphic: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content and Blood
Thee protagonist is taken advantage of by a superior. This causes many issues for the protagonist, howevershellbell_04's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content