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

A story about stories, focused quite closely on our main characters, with vivid scenic descriptions of a drowning house. Ava Reid is certainly a good writer, and the visuals/vibe and some book quotes were great here.

I thought the dark themes were handled well, especially for a YA book. I do agree that Effie‘s xenophobia was forgiven really quickly though? Hopefully the next book will explore the political conflict more, including its impact on the characters - we‘ll see.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Effie and Preston, although the romance only really came through at the end for me and their feelings seemed a bit intense then compared to the rest of the book. I almost preferred them as friends/academic partners. The mystery was unfortunately pretty predictable to me, which was a bit of a bummer.

Based on some reviews, I had hoped to be more obsessed with this, but it was a solid read.

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valpyre's review

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

in a weird way, this was like a head empty all vibes book for me? like the writing was good, and the plot was fleshed out enough that it didn't put me off and i was just along for the ride.

i suppose a lot of the style of the book is meant to reflect effy's state of mind, especially considering her recent trauma, which seems to have exacerbated all her childhood trauma. i think all the water related imagery and metaphors were a little overdone, but obviously fit the theme of the book so im not complaining too much.

i guess i wished that this book was more magical than it ended up being? like were effy's hallucinations just that, or something more? i feel like the whole unraveling of the mystery at the end was a bit blown over, but perhaps that was to put emphasis on the women of the story (honestly, at one point, i was confused as to whether a certain character was even real or not).

i was also intrigued by the war between fantasy france (??) and fantasy wales but it didnt play much into the plot at hand, plus i could've done without the xenophobia throughout. i felt like preston was way too forgiving about that, but i guess that's reality in a way too.

the romance was very sweet, and at the same time, it didn't pull me in or make me feel too much. it just felt like a given of the story, so i enjoyed the beats as they came.

overall, this was a fine read, but i don't think it's a story that will stick with me. i might check out the sequel when it comes out as the very ending of the book holds intrigue in that sense, so i'm a little curious.

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schokineko's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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zonnestraal's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

Oh, this book was gorgeous. The worldbuilding, the atmosphere, the plot... everything was just perfect (okay, I did notice one tiny inconsistency concerning the language Argantian, but it really was minor and didn't obstruct my reading pleasure) I was on the tip of my seat and figured out the most of the truth at a reasonable time before the reveal (I hate it when I figure it out to early) I just loved the way I was kept wondering: is any of this reql? Are fairy tales real in this world or not?? Is it just Effy's mind making things sort of bareable? Anyway this book combined a lot of things I liked, fairy tales, literature and architecture. And did so in a beautifull way.

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sydresnik's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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av0universe's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Me ha encantado si soy completamente honesta. Es el primer libro que leo de la autora y creo que empezar por el juvenil que tiene ha sido una idea acertada.

Lo que me encanta de este libro es el desarrollo de personaje de la protagonista, Effy. Pasa de ser una "niña llorona y asustada" a una mujer empoderada con sus miedos y angustias (no me gusta ponerlo de esta manera, pero creo que se entiende la idea). Ese viaje que sigue Effy para encontrarse a sí misma y sobre todo aceptarse tal como y finalmente verse como Preston la ve, fuerte, inteligente y valiente. También adoro el mundo en el que se desarrolla la trama, me parece muy rico y creo que la autora lo conoce perfectamente (aspiro a lo mismo como future autore).

La única razón por la que no es 5 estrellas es precisamente porque a veces, especialmente al inicio del libro que no entendía ni mierdas, Effy me parecía demasiado redundante en sus miedos, que aunque reales y bienfundados, me desconcertaba bastante. Ahora, creo que es extremadamente realista, todo el mundo tiene miedos y me parece maravilloso que la autora haya elegido una persona así como protagonista, no lo cambiaría por nada.

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freyja_rilo87's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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tealattes's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Very unorganized review below. Semi spoiler-y.

Characters:
Effy and Preston are a little blah. The premise promises academic rivals. At this point I should know not to ever expect actual rivalries. Here the phrase an overstatement and they really are nice to each other. “Rivalry” lasts for 24 hours. How much dislike can one garner for a fellow student whom one must work with? But it’s unrealistic how quick things move along between them, and that I cannot ignore. I hate when things are told instead of exemplified, especially when relationships are told. What sticks is the between-the-lines, the tacit and implicit, when you have to think at least in the slightest to get the meaning. Unfortunately there was much telling in this book. Effy finds Preston’s paper with her name written over and over again on the THIRD day that she is there. It didn’t even seem like Preston wanted to talk to her and now the paper obviously indicates he likes her, romantically? Enough to think about her and write something like Cardan who was obsessed? Yeah, sure, he seemed wary of Ianto being around Effy because, well, Ianto has red flags all over him, but that’s just looking out with common human decency. Not romantic feelings this soon. Or maybe that’s just how he works??

And then, on the flip side, we have Effy who is arguing with Preston and nitpicking at this and that, judging him for being Argantian and for trying to debunk her favorite author in one moment, while thinking about his freckles and whether or not his glasses hurt his nose in the next.

Day 2 (since meeting)
“His skin was very lightly tan, and from this vantage point she noticed the faint scattering of freckles on his cheeks. She hadn’t seen them before. There were two red marks where his glasses had dug in, tiny nicks that winged the bridge of his nose. She wondered if they hurt. She almost wanted to ask. It was a strange thought, and she wasn’t sure why it had occurred to her.” (77)

Well, guess what. We’re not unsure at all. It’s been 48 hours.

Day 5
“Meeting his stare, she realized what she felt was closer to affection. Even- maybe -passion.” (176)

Passion? Where is this “passion”???? It has manifested overnight somehow. It makes no sense. Effy just met Preston and her initial pride and stubbornness just fell apart. Effy, you’re swooning, and what did you say just 50 pages before?

“I’ve never swooned in my life,” she said crossly.” (124)

I like their banter; it’s entertaining. But the fact that we have to be told that Effy feels passion means it wasn’t evident enough. Doesn’t “friend” come before “lover”? I’m just saying- the timeline makes no sense.

Besides that:

Effy’s psychology is definitely interesting. She is very simple but there is a background that is at least reflected in her nature.

Preston is very nice but very boring. Sorry. Just because he’s the only guy who doesn’t have bad intentions towards Effy doesn’t mean I will automatically him; the rest of his character was lacking.

The only reason why I kind of liked the characters at the end was because I had spent almost 400 pages with them.

General themes:

There is definitely academia. The main characters are university students and they talk about theses and writing papers and quote works of literature (within the world, not real references). I think the best part were these quotes from Myrddin’s poems or from the book Angarad that is mentioned in the description. They were poetic, and stood starkly against the writing style of the rest of the book.

In this world we also have fairies, which helps make this book feel more like dark academia. It’s not the happy, but child kidnapping type of fairy element. The lore is mixed in a little bit, but what is more important is the theme of the sea : both its allure and its danger as a natural, uncontrollable force. How it slowly causes decay, up until death. The main setting added to it: Myrddin’s house, a neglected, waterlogged building on a desolate, eroding cliff over the sea. The one thing that hit the mark from the premise was that it was atmospheric. Before each chapter was an excerpt from made up books and scholarly commentaries which helped push for the academic, mythical and oceanic elements and shaped the overall impression of the book.

It is interesting how the author portrays gender roles in this society. It’s very male-dominated and the viewpoint of the author is clear, but in the beginning, when the story had yet to be formed and meaning yet to be imbued, it was pushing it a bit, like the author was just voicing annoyances. (In the beginning Rhia remarks that she assumes all spiders are male to make it more satisfying to squish them…I didn’t think that was funny.)

All the men around Effy are misogynistic and see her only for her looks and physicality and are horrible people. It is a dark, unforgiving society. I respect the author empowering women through the main character’s experiences and growth, especially through Effy as a more unconventional character and not the typical strong FMC, making her more grounded and less fictitious and unreachable. Like I said, sometimes I felt the message was slightly stilted and unnatural, but the theme was consistent, and I think people would benefit from it.

The book also discusses prejudice and stereotypes between cultures through two country-like entities in the world, Llyr and Argant, prejudice which Effy is not exempt from, as well as prejudice and stereotyping within a country, between north and south, over intensity of religious beliefs, and economic, academic and political development. This aspect was thought-provoking as well.

Plot-wise, everything was solved very easily. Entire mysteries and ground breaking evidence uncovered by doing one step. Antagonist defeated in two sentences. Reminded me of Sorcery of Thorns in that aspect, such that it did not match the intensity of the themes in the book.

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