Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - A Study in Drowning

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

61 reviews

alexklop's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

2.0

2 Stars

I wanted to like this book so bad. I just kept finding myself more confused the more I read and then found myself not really even caring at all about what would happen next. Also not a fan of the obscure ending.

Content Warnings

justinekorson's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I have mixed feelings about this story. On one hand I thought the world building was very interesting and I enjoyed the setting of this crumbling house by the ocean. On the other hand.... I could not stand Effie and all her contradictions. So let's get into a few of them.

1. Racism??? Effie "othered" Preston SO HARD. (I was listening to the audio book so I'm unsure if the narrator was saying Preston was Argatian or Argentinean. The reason I'm unsure as well is because the language that Preston spoke did not sound like Spanish but I don't know all the dialects of it so I could be wrong.) Regardless, she talked about Preston and his ethnicity USING ALL OF HIS ETHNICITY'S STEREOTYPES against him. In fact, everyone in the novel did so and when other people spoke about Preston like that Effie would get offended AS IF SHE HADN'T ALSO THOUGHT THE SAME THINGS. Preston was the only decent character in this novel and I hated the way Effie talked about him and how she said that she "always wanted him". No you didn't girl. You romanticized him so hard you forgot that you were being unfairly judgmental of a boy you barely know.

2. Effie is such a damsel in distress and is not, in her own words, a "survivor". She went through some truly awful things from men in power but in that final scene where she defeats the Fairy King and then when she attempts to save Preston from drowning... she's not doing any of the actual work. The mirror she holds up does all the work in my opinion and then when she's trying to save Preston it's not even HER that does it. She has help from (I don't know how to spell her name) the wife. She was going to GIVE UP! Tell me how that is survivalist behavior? She was going to let herself and Preston drown if the wife hadn't come along. Which is why I don't think she had much of a character ARC at all. Even at the end when she, with the help of Preston, confronts the Dean of the university, I don't believe her when she decides to argue with him. It all falls so flat for me.

3.WHY WERE THERE NO TRIGGER WARNINGS IN THIS BOOK. It talks HEAVILY about the abuse women suffer at the hands of men AND YET THERE WAS NO TRIGGER WARNINGS PAGE AT THE BEGINNING?!?! Make it make sense. I had no idea the book would talk this much about SA and if I had I could've prepared myself for that kind of mindset. As it stands, I struggled to get into this story and at some points I stopped paying attention.

I thought this book would be a five but unfortunately I was mistaken. I don't think I'm going to read anything else by this author if this story was such a disappointment.

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lila_still_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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folkofthebook's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.5

"i will love you to ruination."
"yours or mine?"

ava reid is just one of those authors where i feel like i'm falling slowly into the book, enveloped by my own senses as the her masterful imagery illustrates her story. it's a slow lull that draws you in, like waves rising on the shore that before you know it, you've reached high tide.

"it began as all things did: a girl on the shore, terrified and desirous."

effy sayre is timid, unassuming, and afraid. she desperately wants to break out of her shell, to spill out the words and dreams inside her, but is paralyzed by fear. she yearns to be a writer, but is resigned as a woman to study architecture instead (as the only woman in her college, it was enough of a fight for that alone). reid cleverly likens the dissociation one may experience post-trauma to being underwater - effy struggles to swim, and her anxiety comes in waves.

the story is about her finding her voice again and breaking to surface, learning to not let herself drown.

the only enemy is the sea.

"it's terrifying."
"most beautiful things are."

reid's use of the sea as a supernatural force, an ever-present threat, a means of escape, and, later, a symbol of peace is poetic and powerful. the storms make for an ominous atmosphere, with saltwater's ability to erode land, ships, and man. but there is also a mystical element, a way of cocooning or stepping out of reality when effy disconnects. the idea of drowning - how one can suffer, silently. "it can take 10 minutes to drown" ianto tells her. that sometimes people pass away weeks later from the aftereffects of drowning. but some people drown for a whole lifetime.

i didn't know how to do anything but wait and drown.

she wondered if you could love something out of ruination, reverse that drowning process, make it all new again.

perhaps a romance is a story with no end at all; where the end is but a wardrobe with a false back, leading to stranger and more merciful worlds.

the romance between effy and preston was a delightful surprise for me. i went into this book as blind as i could be, though i had some preconceived notions about the tone and vibes from art and just seeing posts around. but i hadn't realized there would be such friction between the two of them from the start, effy rebuffed at being stuck in proximity with a literature student (and the envy she felt, only doubled by the fact he borrowed all the books she wanted lol). their banter was delightful, the small seeds and buds of effy effortlessly blooming back into herself. she's never afraid to speak up around him, and the gentleness preston provides her lets her continue to grow and build trust with him. he's the only character who really sees her.

"you'd be surprised how much cognitive dissonance people are capable of."

he hadn't touched her, but saints, she wanted him to.

"you took away all other wanting from me."

ava loves motif and imagery. preston and his glasses, the indents. his cigarettes. the fairy king's dark hair, echoed on master corbenic's arms, as well as ianto's. corbenic's large hands to preston's slim, smooth fingers. angharad's blond hair mixing into the fairy king's dark locks. clear eyes, murky eyes. and water, the ever-present sea. the ceilings leak. the water rises. effy's stomach churns like a violent riptide. reid leaves breadcrumbs for you to trail and mull over. the wavering connection between reality and fable keeps you guessing at what is the truth - and what exactly is truth.

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

it's very hard to believe something when it feels like the whole world is trying to convince you otherwise.

at the heart of this story is a feminist commentary on academics, literature, and society as a whole. women are expected to be meek and unassuming, they are thought to be too capricious and silly for deep thinking, philosophizing, and even storytelling. they are not listened to and when they are, not believed. they are thought to be too childish, but also too tempting. this is a fantasy piece that follows in the footsteps of the #MeToo movement and its lasting effects during the years since.

effy and her story is one that resonated greatly with me. after ASID and lady macbeth, reid is well on their way to securing themselves as a spot as one of my favorite authors.

but if fairies and monsters were real, so were the women who defeated them.

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micaelamariem's review against another edition

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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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gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? No

5.0

This book is about a lot of things, but all woven together seamlessly to creat a tapestry of feminist storytelling.

this is a dark academia tale of a young woman dealing with misogyny, being barred from the college she desperately wants to be a part of. this is also about the legacy of an author she loved, tying into this author’s mysterious home that is drowning on a cliff by the sea. She is driven to enter a contest to help redesign the estate, but she bites off way more she can chew.

There is also though, the threat of a faerie king who may or may not exist only in the edge of reality in this sea soaked world.

I was very moved by this story of the legacy of stories, who wrote them, who gets attributed to them, who gets believed.

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lana_taylor23's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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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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erwikka's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-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

5.0

I loved it. This book rewired my brain chemistry . I feel like it was written for me and Effy is my whole heart. There were lines and thoughts that Effy had that just made me feel so seen I cried. This book means so much to me.

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abbief's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I enjoyed this book greatly and immensely. In the midst of exams this book got me to finish it within a day (do not try this on your own, please evaluate the risk yourself.) Once I've picked it up, I simply could not put it down until it was 3 am in the morning and I really need to go shower and clean myself and be a responsible adult. The highlight in this book is definitely the depiction and discussion on institutional sexism in academia or in general, on sexual consent and how Effy who is the female main character navigates herself in such a female-unfriendly world. Effy had gone through many traumas, so much that in the middle of the book I started to suspect if all those were really necessary-- but in the end it all came around and made sense. I really like the mystery element in this book, the journey following Effy to uncover the truth of her favourite character was intriguing, intense, and the final reveal was definitely worth the journey. The author gave clues and foreshadows for the plot twists, which all of the questions raised were answered at the end. However, I think that some of the things did not need to be spelt out to the readers for us to explicitly understand that "this sentence corresponds to this thing." It would be much more fun if something was left to our interpretation.

I really like Effy though I would understand why some people wouldn't. But to me she is really neurodivergent-coded. She struggled with understanding the social norms, the unwritten rules. She took everything very literally. She had sensory issues and would be easily overwhelmed. All this on top of being a woman made her feel like she was drowning all the time. As someone who also has quite a lot of neurodivergent traits, this felt very valid to my experience. As for the male main character, he is your textbook fictional boyfriend. He is cold and frigid on the outside, but he saw Effy as who she was, not her pretty appearence or not as "just a girl." He respected her when the whole university did not, and he stood by her side all the time. However the secondary characters were less memorable. Some of them only appeared once and never mentioned again. The villains were interesting though. They represented how certain men would exploit women, manipulate them, put them in a helpless position and have all the glory and wealth to themselves.

However, I wish there would be more to the fantasy element. It was largely explained by folklore and superstitions. Also, the Drowning was a big thing for people in that world, but except for knowing that it was a big flood, we knew almost nothing about it. Also the setting where two countries were at war didn't do much except to set up Effy and the MMC as somewhat enemies-to-lovers. But yeat this was just a few nitpicking of mine. I still very much enjoyed reading this book and if any of these things that I mentioned appealed to you, I am pretty confident that you won't be disappointed!

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