Reviews with content warning for Violence - A Study in Drowning

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

100 reviews

micaelamariem's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book! The writing and word choice was beautiful. The character development impressive. The worldbuilding involves creating whole new myths and stories and studies which I always find impressive. I’m in love with Preston. But above all, I love the extended metaphor of what it’s like to be a trauma survivor and what is required to survive; especially for women who survive violence against them at the hands of men. This was absolutely beautiful. Full review on my blog to come tomorrow.

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madlysoph's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense

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

4.5

I loved this book. Ava Reid is so masterful at creating strong themes that are embedded in every piece of the story. Everything fits so well. I don't feel like I have the right words to describe this book and how beautiful it was.

I love Ava's style of worldbuilding, with this world being a new one for her and fascinatingly crafted. The intense connection Effy feels to Angharad is so relatable, being so in love with a book because it is both beautiful and makes you feel seen in a way nothing else has that you revere the author just a bit beyond reasoning.

I loved the symbolism throughout the story, the themes of drowning, water, and women are all woven together masterfully. I really enjoyed how everything unraveled. Effy and Preston have a tender romance that is so fun to watch slowly develop, a well-done rivals-to-lovers romance. This book is about wronged women, the men who have wronged them, and getting what they deserve.

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amandaaahyde's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Another book devoured in a day. I couldn't put it down and it has lingered in my dreams.

"I was a woman when it was convenient to blame me, and a girl when they wanted to use me."

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shreek's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Really interesting read! I zoomed through this one. I really liked the writing and how the author created the sense of atmosphere. I could truly see some scenes playing out like a movie in my head which helped me to get immersed in the story. The main characters were great too and I enjoyed their relationship. The themes explored such as mental health, trauma, and the significance of storytelling

and of course finding out your hero’s not what you thought they’d be

definitely added more depth to the story. For sure recommend checking any content warnings before reading this.

I did find the main reveal(s),

that Ianto was the fairy king and Angharad was written by Myrridin’s wife

to be kind of predictable. I guessed them very early on so it was a bit odd at times that the characters weren’t putting it together yet, though considering their context I guess it made sense. I also felt that not enough was done with the whole Llyr-Argant dynamic. The war and some geopolitics were introduced, but weren’t really delved into much, which was a little disappointing since that could have involved a discussion into some very important and relevant themes about colonialism, land/borders, and cultural/historical erasure. Maybe that would have been a lot to get into in a shorter book like this, especially since I think it’s a standalone, but it felt kind of odd that this aspect wasn’t addressed. Like I could be forgetting something, but I almost feel like the war could have just not been mentioned and the book would have stayed the same. I’m also not sure how I felt about the ending of the story, like it was fine, but I think I was expecting something more.

I honestly felt that they would leave the question of whether or not the fairy king is real a bit ambiguous at the end, so we’re not sure if what Effy has been seeing is real or not. I also thought that would help with the whole usage of the fairy king as a metaphor for abusers/predators. I do understand though that in the context of the story it was very important for women, like Effy and Angharad to be believed about their experiences. That’s why my feelings remain mixed. I also can’t decide if I would have wanted Angharad to be a ghost or real, it’s kind of odd that she’s been there all along and there was minimal interaction. It is nice that she got freedom at the end though, so there’s that.

I also saw a reviewer mention that for a book with heavy feminist themes there are very few women, and I kind of agree, but I think the story also made sense the way it was.

Wow that got long. Honestly probably because I enjoyed the story and the world building and would have loved a little more oomph. Great read overall!,

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bxnny's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.25

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chelbawamba's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

This is my second attempt with this author and sadly I don’t think I can be convinced to try again. Ava Reid relies heavily on simile and metaphor, to a point of excessiveness, does a lot of telling instead of showing, and everything happens to this main character “suddenly” or “for some reason.” Even when the reason was obvious to me as a reader, it happened “for some reason.”

Overall, the concept of the story was interesting, but the way it was executed was extremely predictable. I knew early on what most of the reveals at the end were going to be. In my opinion, there is a fine line between good foreshadowing and offering too much too early on.

A personal pet peeve of mine is when characters speak about each other as if they’ve known each other for a long time when it’s only been a few days, for example: saying things like “he’s always been kind to me,” or “I had never seen him this flustered” when the character only knew the other person for maybe a collective three hours. This happened frequently in the first half of the book.

I didn’t not enjoy it, but I also didn’t enjoy it. Would not necessarily recommend it, but it had its moments and kept me engaged through the end.

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tsegareads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

haileekaye's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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grace_koalateareads's review against another edition

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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.”

Content Warnings

jessamo19's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.0

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