Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - A Study in Drowning

This book was very dark, much darker than I expected. I really enjoyed the themes of old, dark, salty, small town that had a mysterious presence in an old manner on top of a cliff. The main character Effie has a difficult life being the only woman in the architectural college. She desperately wants to be a literature student, but women are not admitted to the literature college. She has a love for a mysterious author who has recently passed and whose family is holding a competition to redesign his manor. She excitedly submits an entry for the competition and is chosen.

Effie embarks on a journey to the manor and learns things about the town and the late author’s family who have been left behind. The characters Effie meets have dark past themselves; each character is their own mystery.

The concept of the fairy king was dark and had a nice air of mystery that kept me engaged between the shittiness that Effie experienced from less metaphorical characters . This book gave me a true appreciation for the author Ava Reid and I am excited to read her other works. She explores themes of darkness like this well. I found this book somehow simultaneously awful and comfy cozy; it made me want to curl up on the couch cup of tea. It is reminiscent of old Grimm fairytales.

Content Warnings

autumnrh's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

It wasn’t too bad. The writing was actually really good, especially the excerpts at the top of each chapter. I did find it somewhat unremarkable though. There really is no sound world building and all the big plot reveals are super underwhelming. BIG SPOILERS FROM HERE ON. Just a few things like the fairy king reveal was seen coming a mile away. I really expected a big showdown with some heavy growth but for her to just…hold a shard of glass up…and that was it. Also I believe Angharad could have played a bigger role rather than being in the literal last chapter or two. Could have made her presence more know, why say there is a mistress in the house if you aren’t ever going to show her. Also all the SKEEVY men were swept under the rug way too much. Hated that. Overall pretty good tho. Also that ending….please be serious what was that.

Content Warnings

emptzuu's review against another edition

Go to review page

Nowadays, it seems that getting glowing Goodreads reviews only requires creating a "relatable" character and including a mediocre romance. Reviews often justify five stars with comments like "it was entertaining" or "the vibes were there." Seriously, people?

This book is not dark academia or gothic, despite having a library and a manor. The writing did not convey the atmosphere associated with these genres. The author's flowery and lyrical style clashes with the book's marketing as gothic and dark academia.

It falls in the same category as "Lessons In Chemistry" where the author creates an old-fashioned world just to make social issues seem more significant. This feels like a lazy plot device. The book oversimplifies everything, portraying all men as evil and all women as innocent. Moreover, the author seems to have done little research. The book features cars and passenger trains, land-line phones and coffee, but also typewriters and mimeographs, and women aren't allowed in university. The constant focus on misogyny and sexual assault in a fantasy book feels excessive and unnecessary. Elements like war and racism are there but have no impact on the plot.

Effy is a highly problematic character, displaying overt racism, misandry, and a severe lack of depth. She is depicted as a weak, whiny, and fearful woman who is perpetually passive, often getting dragged around by men. Her character feels reduced to being defined solely by her trauma, which is portrayed without any nuance or complexity. Trauma does not excuse her behavior.

She would say and think the most outrageous and insulting things about Preston's heritage without even knowing him. She was incredibly prejudiced and judgmental. Considering she herself had faced judgment and been called slurs, you'd think she would understand how wrong it is to act the way she did, but she didn't. She never faced any consequences for her behavior. Preston even coddled her. Why are they even together? Why does Preston forgive her for everything she said and did? It feels like a toxic romance to me. The author spends almost the entire book preaching about misogyny, yet the female main character is ultimately saved by the love interest. Sex solves everything.

She was so entitled that she thought she deserved to be in the literature department, despite being unable to provide a coherent, logical, or evidence-based analysis of the works of her favorite author. In fact, she admitted she had never written a formal paper, even though she was in college.

The only thing she could boast about was memorizing lines from her favorite author's works. She also couldn't accept any criticism, which would make her struggle in a literature class. She just wants to do literature because she is obsessed with Myrddin's work.

She is supposed to be more intelligent than most literature students, yet she is struggling academically in architecture. She is on the verge of flunking out but wins a prestigious opportunity to design for a famous author, beating many competitors.

She is the only girl in architecture, solely because she is not allowed in the literature school, which is illogical. Historically, women have studied literature and languages extensively; it is math and sciences that have had lower female participation.

Additionally, the portrayal of architecture as mere doodling is unrealistic.

It's baffling that some readers find this character relatable. I hesitate to imagine what kind of audience appreciates such a portrayal.

I could easily write three pages detailing how bad this book is, but instead, I'll summarize my thoughts. The book is riddled with plot holes, tackles topics poorly, and features one-dimensional characters along with underdeveloped world-building. Despite its gorgeous cover and beautiful title, the book fails to live up to its marketing promises.

Content Warnings