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exc3lsior's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Child abuse
chrisnotfromorlando's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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’ll be thinking about this book for a while, I think. It touches on so many things at once, despite it being a story that feels very small for a fantasy, no dragons or great quests.
It touches on the way men wield their power over women, the way grief and trauma takes hold and slowly etches away at you, what it’s like to live your life in survival mode and feel alone in the world, and much more.
It also has absolutely beautiful prose without ever feeling purple, and some of the most tactile descriptions I’ve ever read. You’ll find yourself lost in the dark academia, gothic setting as if you too were walking through the slowly decaying mansion, wondering if the Fairy King is lurking around the corner.
Oh, and the romance is the cherry on top. A sweet, slow burn that adds just enough warmth to the story.
It touches on the way men wield their power over women, the way grief and trauma takes hold and slowly etches away at you, what it’s like to live your life in survival mode and feel alone in the world, and much more.
It also has absolutely beautiful prose without ever feeling purple, and some of the most tactile descriptions I’ve ever read. You’ll find yourself lost in the dark academia, gothic setting as if you too were walking through the slowly decaying mansion, wondering if the Fairy King is lurking around the corner.
Oh, and the romance is the cherry on top. A sweet, slow burn that adds just enough warmth to the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Body horror, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Injury/Injury detail
crispinophurs's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As usual, a book by Ava Reid is phenomenal. But I think it’s the weakest of her current books, for one reason only: I think the demographic rating actually held her back a bit. If she’d been allowed to delve into it the way she went into Juniper & Thorn, this book would have been a masterpiece.
And that isn’t to say that the contents of this book were too “adult” for the YA genre or some other nonsense— as a mentally ill, Jewish SA survivor myself, Ava’s writing and handling of such topics means the world to me— but I know that she could’ve pulled out all the stops for such a story with no limitations placed upon her.
I also guessed the puzzle pieces of the mystery early on, but this was written like a good mystery: it allows the reader to figure things out for themself and the conclusion makes them feel like an intellectual instead of annoyed by a sudden rug-pull.
And that isn’t to say that the contents of this book were too “adult” for the YA genre or some other nonsense— as a mentally ill, Jewish SA survivor myself, Ava’s writing and handling of such topics means the world to me— but I know that she could’ve pulled out all the stops for such a story with no limitations placed upon her.
I also guessed the puzzle pieces of the mystery early on, but this was written like a good mystery: it allows the reader to figure things out for themself and the conclusion makes them feel like an intellectual instead of annoyed by a sudden rug-pull.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Ableism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Classism, Rape, and Medical trauma
storyoflife's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
cha_len_novels's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
“I was saving myself. What you think of as recklessness, I think of as survival. Sometimes it's not pretty”Ava Reid-A Study in Drowning
A dark Academia novel of mystery and faerie tales (and some romance). Cast a story of folklore and reality, of idols and truth, or prey and predictor. We follow our protagonist in a wicked tempest where instead of fighting her way through the storm, she survives it
A dark Academia novel of mystery and faerie tales (and some romance). Cast a story of folklore and reality, of idols and truth, or prey and predictor. We follow our protagonist in a wicked tempest where instead of fighting her way through the storm, she survives it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, and Drug abuse
morton_aj's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An incredible novel. This should be a book on required reading lists. Reid conveys the experiences of survivors so intensely, making the reader question what is real and what is not until the last pages. The experiences of Effy shine a light on the stories of women and survivors in a world that does not wish to believe them, much like our own.
Much like Angharad tells Effy at the end of the novel, “You don’t have to take up a sword. Survival is bravery too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
leonormsousa's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? No
3.5
Interesting concept but I thought the execution was a bit meh.
Quite an atmospheric book with a nice setting but the plot was very very predictable.
Totally my fault on this one, but read way too much YA for me.
Thought the main character was a bit insufferable some times.
The topics of sexual assault and feminism were well woven and explored in the story, especially considering the target audience. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the romance, which I felt had a very weird progression and didn't feel natural.
Finally, would have loved if we had left the fantasy part more as an open ending, where we got to doubt the MC pov and make thr story more universal in a way.
Just a fun thing: some others can't stop mentioning blue eyes, apparently Ava Reid has an obsession with crown bones.
Rant with minor spoilers regarding something I didn't enjoy: I specifically thought that the scene where the MC and LI kiss for the first time and then immediately move on to having sex felt very out of character for the MC (and not because she is a SA victim). also why do they never kiss again in the entire book?! Also, can we have better sex representation in books?! I think the fade to black was a good decision for this book, but then did we have to mention how they only just had penetrative sex and it hurt a bit and then it was pleasurable?! Can we start showing young adults good examples, that focus on other types of stimulation as well, especially for women?!
Quite an atmospheric book with a nice setting but the plot was very very predictable.
Totally my fault on this one, but read way too much YA for me.
Thought the main character was a bit insufferable some times.
The topics of sexual assault and feminism were well woven and explored in the story, especially considering the target audience. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the romance, which I felt had a very weird progression and didn't feel natural.
Finally, would have loved if we had left the fantasy part more as an open ending, where we got to doubt the MC pov and make thr story more universal in a way.
Just a fun thing: some others can't stop mentioning blue eyes, apparently Ava Reid has an obsession with crown bones.
Rant with minor spoilers regarding something I didn't enjoy:
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Abandonment, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence
n2k1p1's review against another edition
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
A story about a Fairy King without a court, but it is also a story about manipulation, abuse, and victim blaming.
I didn't like the characters, or even the plot, but I still finished the story without any issues or wanting to give up on it, because it is a well written book.
I didn't like the characters, or even the plot, but I still finished the story without any issues or wanting to give up on it, because it is a well written book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Child abuse
agnela's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Some important themes are explored, or rather, involved in this story, such as being a sa victim, mental health, taking advantage of women and stealing their work, gatekeeping women from education. I think readers will appreciate that these heavy topics where either just mentioned in plot or used lightly, while you still can see the impact that it made on the female characters.
The other good thing about this was it's world building. Yes, at times it was confusing, and I still don't know what was the bottom 100, as it was used interchangeably with places, people, higher-ups and the bottoms of the social hierarchy. Still, the author weaved in nature with folk tales, and sprinkled with some gothic old house placement and academia. That being said....
This story was all tell and no show, the last 50 pages were just annoying and unnecessary in my eyes. The characters were flat, more like plot devices than a being on their own, and relationships moved and changed depending on the plot but not the story itself.
I've heard good things about this book but I can't see why exactly, I'm not even sure I'll continue reading more of this author.
The other good thing about this was it's world building. Yes, at times it was confusing, and I still don't know what was the bottom 100, as it was used interchangeably with places, people, higher-ups and the bottoms of the social hierarchy. Still, the author weaved in nature with folk tales, and sprinkled with some gothic old house placement and academia. That being said....
This story was all tell and no show, the last 50 pages were just annoying and unnecessary in my eyes. The characters were flat, more like plot devices than a being on their own, and relationships moved and changed depending on the plot but not the story itself.
I've heard good things about this book but I can't see why exactly, I'm not even sure I'll continue reading more of this author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Bullying, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Misogyny, Death, Sexual content, Child abuse, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, and Cursing
Minor: Rape
snopes's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders