Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - A Study in Drowning

This was everything!!! Am I Ava Reid’s biggest fan now?!?? Yall were right!! Absolutely the best book to finish while in the dark and with no power for 3 days after a hurricane the vibes could not be more perfect I fear. Literally in the second drowning as we speak!!

As an aside I didn’t really like Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross and I know the plot doesn’t match up at all but this was kind of exactly the vibe I was wanting and missing from that!

This book like it literally has EVERYTHING that I have ever wanted in a book please read this my moody dark academia girls who love the cruel prince and women destroying shithead men in power!! DO IT DO IT

Content Warnings

embersbooknook's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.25

This book was really good.
Not what I expected, in a lot of respects - but thoroughly enjoyable.
While I was able to predict some of what would occur

Angharad being the author, Ianto being the fairy king, Myrddin being not awesome, etc.

, that didn’t make it any less of a good read.

Effy was initially slightly dislikable in a really relatable way - nervous, anxious, unable to trust herself, processing substantial trauma. Thus seeking a tad flaky at first. However after about 50 pages her character growth really started.
I really enjoyed seeing her character grow throughout this book.

Preston was a really good match for her - overly sensible perhaps, which I enjoyed seeing soften a bit throughout.
It was really nice to see Effy’s degrading options about Argantians slide away as she got to know him.
A reminder that when humans get to know people who are different from them, they are less prone to dehumanize an entire group of people. A reminder we need in the world as often and as much as possible. 🥺🫶🏽

This book was a good exploration of how sexism affects a society in every level, personally, professionally, intimate relationships, etc. I also appreciated how small mentions of colonialism and sexist intellectualism, and militarism/war made it into the book. Ava set up a fascinating world and I very much hope more of these themes and its history are explored in book 2! Overall a good read that I’d recommend and will enjoy revisiting.

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wickan2010's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.25

A bit more world building earlier in the book would have been helpful, but otherwise a great read. I couldn’t put it down.

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sherylkay's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

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witcheep's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I can see why so many people have enjoyed this book, but to me, it is a miss.

This is very dark story due to the worldbuilding! The world the characters live in is very misogynistic, and the main characters find it hard to fight against, which made the reading experience very uncomfortable – as it should. However, the plot didn't offer enough either mystery or romance, so besides uncomfortable, the book was also boring. The hints towards the mystery made the ending too predictable.

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poetsofsweetpea's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

3.5

A Study in Drowning was a lengthy look into how superstition is just the ugly side of magic. This is a dark and icky world where female characters have no agency. It felt like a cross between Rebecca and the Magicians. A devotee of a book discovers what it's like to understand her hero. It's a little soggy.

Well written though, this novel was filled with beautiful descriptions. The characters were multi-faceted. The world building was rich and filled with minute details.

I don't love the way Reid handles SA and its been present in all of her novels I've read so far. Which I also don't enjoy.

There were a few times when the characters' decisions seemed too convenient and not fully in character. But for the most part, it's a good book.

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shamaramill's review

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-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

3.5

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