Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

25 reviews

pandorasxbox's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Confinement, Bullying, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Mental illness

reddeddy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Sexism, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual content, Body shaming, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Classism, Confinement, Child abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Terminal illness, War, Animal death, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, and Deportation

chasinggrace's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

3.5

Upon reflection, this book lived up to its positive social media reputation. I was not expecting the darker themes that are woven throughout the story (abandonment, PTSD, sexual assault, adult/minor relationships) nor did I expect the consistent use of water and architecture analogies. While the FMC character arc was slightly predictable (

a damaged, meek woman finds her voice through further trauma 👍🏼

), I think it was done well, especially when compared to

Angharad’s story

. 

I thought the setting was beautiful and the world building was not overwhelming at all. The themes of colonization, classism, & religious separations were touched on, but were not overbearing. The mystery & folklore kept me intrigued, and I thought the romance was sweet (even though Preston will not be a favorite book boyfriend of mine). 

Unfortunately, I needed to dock .5 stars for the writing, especially in the first 100 pages of the book. While I think similes are helpful literary tools and can be beautiful, they are completely overdone in this text. The author cannot write one singular page of this book without comparing two things and using the word “like.” Try it - flip to any page and you will find a sentence that uses this structure. While I’m not a style critic, I could not ignore it and it tainted the opening of the story. I also found Effy to be quite insufferable, before I understood her trauma. Finally, while I know Preston is self-described as unromantic,

I wish their physical intimacy could’ve been sweeter. This could have been a deliberate choice from the author to denounce the romanticizing of losing one’s virginity, or it could’ve reflected Preston’s stoic nature, but I still wanted a little more from that scene.

All together, I think this is a beautiful story that weaves dark themes with stunning comparisons to the relentlessness of water. It teaches you that you are the only one who constructs the house in which you live, if you can be strong enough to hammer the stakes yourself. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Bullying, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Classism, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault

maresuju's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? No

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Xenophobia

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Confinement, Animal death, and Abandonment

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-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

1.75

I’ve been steadily chipping away at NPR’s 2023 favorite books list. Starting to wonder why. There seem to be more I dislike than like, including this one. Yeah, heroine is great, but a lot of it is too contrived for me, and most of the characters are really despicable.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Abandonment, Bullying, Confinement, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Stalking

purplesapphire's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

4.25

Crimson Peak meets All The Murmuring Bones. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

Moderate: Misogyny and Toxic relationship

Minor: Confinement and Emotional abuse

erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

This book is stunning, dark, horrifying, and visceral. Not for the faint of heart. Although it is classified as YA, it is not lighthearted or whimsical. Though Effy’s trauma is never explicitly laid out in a complete scene, the glimpses we get through memories and the description of her physical responses to those flashes are truly harrowing to read. Effy’s struggle to believe in herself and find her identity outside of her trauma made me really root for her from the beginning.

As for the prose, the reader is truly drowned in all the water symbolism (pun intended). The theme of drowning is truly hammered home in every sentence, which interestingly worked for me. The water everywhere truly permeated the feel of the book and the experience of reading it felt a bit like drowning, just like Effy felt in the story. 

I also liked that the fairy tale aspect of it morphs from being romanticized to being exposed and criticized but also appreciated for what it was. We learn along with Effy and Preston that you can believe in a story’s power while also looking at it and the world with a critical eye. There is balance to be found between Effy’s initial romanticism and Preston’s initial cynicism.

My small critiques would just be that the world itself isn’t very fleshed out, and that the protagonists are a bit slow on the uptake. The prejudice shown against Preston because of his heritage is just kind of vaguely mentioned and the reasons for the two countries’ animosity isn’t explained in any sort of depth. We are told that there are personal phones and televisions and cars but some things seem incongruous, such as Effy’s friends using hairpins to hold up banners instead of tape, and everyone writing letters to each other. I never really had a clear mental image of the world outside of the manor. However, that being said, it didn’t detract much from the reading experience as the characters and the mystery of Angharad were the main focus. As for the mystery, the answer to who wrote Angharad was pretty clear from the beginning, which made it a tad frustrating that the protagonists didn’t get it until the very end. I think it would’ve been more satisfying if the reader found out later on in the story. 

Read if you like dark, disturbing, fairy tale-esque stories with themes of overcoming trauma.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual assault, Racism, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Blood

milcahh's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

Moderate: Xenophobia, Death of parent, Car accident, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Abandonment

Minor: Grief, Vomit, Confinement, and War

kattila's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

Great atmosphere, a little bit predictable at times, but overall a great story. I liked how the book combined the real world and magic/fairy tales, although I was left a bit confused by certain things.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual content, Child death, and Colonisation

fraxica's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Confinement

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Car accident

The main character immediately shows distress over the micro actions her classmates, revealing slowly over the course of the story that they heard rumors of her having a sexual relationship with a school advisor. Eventually, she admits to herself that she didn't want the relationship to begin with and he exerted his power and control over her. There are flash-backs that show the relationship and abuse. At the end of the book, a newly revealed character has a very similar story and that is described as well. Although both characters take back a sense of agency in the finale, the entire book sits with the weight of their abuse, showing how powerful men use younger women. HEAVY SPOILER: the fictional fae book that drives the story is actually written by a young woman whose abuser bartered her father for the rights to her and her story. He claimed both for his own and succumbed to the Faerie King, which led to her abuse and captivity.