Reviews - A Study in Drowning

15.3k reviews for:

A Study in Drowning

Ava Reid

3.86 AVERAGE

kstallions's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

bzliz's review against another edition

4.0

dark 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

I really enjoyed this book. Reid did a great job foreshadowing the twists at the end. I got a little bit of whiplash when a television was mentioned though. It didn’t really fit with the vibe of everything else. Other than that, I really liked the world building. It felt like perfect dark academia where everything is mysterious and hazy, perfectly underscored by light horror tones.

It seems like a lot of people don’t like Effy but I did like her. She’s dealing with a lot of trauma and I thought it made a lot of sense that she initially lashed out at Preston. He lacks privilege just like she does- though his is xenophobic rather than sexist- which lets her feel free to speak out more which leads to her personal growth. Preston was sweet though and I love that he always tried to put her at ease by giving her physical space, unlike some other men Effy knew.

I’m excited to read the second book soon!

Content Warnings

samanthasorenson's review against another edition

2.0

dark fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: N/A

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I struggled because the characters read kind of flat on the page and the whole book felt a bit rushed... I kept waiting for the narrative to slow down and offer up more description, state of mind... something to help build the urgency. A great idea overall, but not quite what I was looking for/expecting when I picked up the story... it felt too easy, if that makes sense.

cheri13's review against another edition

3.5

This is a beautiful lyrical and dark fairy tale. I loved the early parts very much, but as the story went on I started to grow annoyed with Effy and the role she chose in response to the manipulation and gaslighting at the hands of nearly every man she encountered. To be fair her childhood trauma and the society fed into that but it edged the line of overly self-pitying at times.

I also struggled a bit with the world building. My brain kept trying to make this fit into a late 1800-ish time frame in an Enlgand-like world but there were things that didn’t fit that took me out of what I had imagined (mention of seatbelts in cars for one).

The metaphors and symbolism of the house and the sea in Hiraeth were beautiful and haunting but almost too much at times, especially around the middle of the book where things start to come undone both literally and figuratively around Effy and Preston. And the final conflict seemed to be resolved a little too quickly and easily.

Overall I enjoyed this very much for the first half, started to become a bit bored and annoyed around the middle but enjoyed the ending again. This ends with the hint of foreshadowing of the next book so I’m excited to see how things end up.

Content Warnings