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star_charter152's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Racism and Child death
Minor: Animal death
aprilyang1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Abandonment, Sexism, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death and Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent
justinekorson's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Classism, Gaslighting, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Misogyny
folkofthebook's review against another edition
- 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.
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Blood, Toxic relationship, Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
dyanimae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
Minor: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, War, Death, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Dementia, Classism, and Abandonment
darlingmoira's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book is talked about as an enemies to lovers but once again hugely misses the mark! The “enemies” part relies on the main character being openly racist to her counterpart. For the majority of the book she talks and thinks about how her soon to be lover shouldn’t even be allowed to study at her school.
The plot could have been really well done if it removed that aspect of the story completely.
I have to acknowledge that the “feminist” aspects of this story are well done. How the main character handles a SA situation internally and then makes progress with dealing with it is portrayed very realistically. Everything about that part of the story is well done but otherwise book would have just been a 2 and nothing more.
Graphic: Colonisation, Classism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, War, and Xenophobia
mooreeg2's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
The main female character went through a lot of ups and downs and alludes to some events that happened before the book starts and how those events are influencing her now. She definitely had some growth throughout the book and I'm very glad by the last couple chapters The author did clear everything up so you got a better picture of what happened prior to the start of the book.
The main male character didn't have a lot of growth but I enjoyed his character. He added a little something different to the story and definitely had a different view on women than the other male characters of their time.
I started reading this with the actual book and then part way through I switched it to the audible. I definitely found it more enjoyable with audible, hearing their voices helps pick up the pace of the book a little bit.
There is nothing to graphic, but there is more than one references of assault by an older man to a younger woman. This whole story takes place in a time. Where women don't have as many rights and are viewed lesser than men.
Moderate: Sexual assault and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Death of parent, Addiction, Death, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Mental illness
hello_kara's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
“Midnight was a fairytale thing. She didn’t know if Preston had been thinking about that when he promised it. But Effy was remembering all of the curses that turned princesses back to peasant girls as soon as the bells struck twelve. Why was it always girls whose forms could not be trusted? Everything could be taken away from them in an instant.”
“I suppose that’s partly why I don’t have much faith in the notion of permanence. Anything can be taken from you, at any moment. Even the past isn’t guaranteed. You can lose that too, slowly, like water eating away at stone.”
I liked those quotes, that’s about it.
World building was a bit confusing, and it was difficult for me to pin down a time-setting. Advertised as “Part historical fantasy, part rivals-to-lovers romance, part Gothic mystery.” It’s set in a fantasy UK inspired world, maybe from the 60s? 🤷🏼♀️ There’s trains, cars, universities, tanks and guns, CT scanners, phones, but also folk magic and changelings. Their country in the South is at war with the one in the North, for unknown reasons. Universities admit women, but they really only go to get husbands and aren’t allowed entry into the one discipline reversed above all others that Effy actually wants to study: Literature. Her scores were so good she should have gotten in, but because of misogyny she wasn’t admitted. She goes and studies Architecture instead (apparently the second most prestigious discipline.) As it so happens she is the ONLY woman in that college.
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Mental illness, Abandonment, Death, Classism, Xenophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, War, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
"A Study in Drowning" follows Effy Sayre, a young woman who is an architecture student who wants to believe in nothing more than fairy tales. When she gets the opportunity to help design the remodel of Hiraeth Manor, she thinks it is finally her chance to make a name for herself. Preston Héloury is a literature student that is hellbent on disproving renowned author Emry Myrddin, who also happens to hold a very special place in Effy's heart. Effy and Preston get off to a rocky start, but they quickly learn that they will need to work together so they both can get what they desire.
This book was fine, and I see why everyone seems so enamored with it. The prose is beautiful and haunting, and the mental illness representation seen in Effy is great to see. Unfortunately, this book just did not land for me like I thought it would. The story felt very predictable and relied heavily on stereotypical Young Adult tropes. This is not a bad thing per say, but it made the story feel uninspired to me.
Rather than coming across as a meek, struggling student, Effy just felt like a very weak protagonist who needed more time to grow up. I empathize with her struggles, and her mother is awful towards her, but I did not enjoy reading from her perspective. Preston felt much more dynamic of a character, and I think I might have enjoyed the story more if we got his perspective instead, or just more of him in general.
I think this book has all of the right ingredients; it was just not executed well.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Kidnapping, Torture, Death, Toxic friendship, and Mental illness
micaelamariem's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, War, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Car accident, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Grief, Sexual assault, Classism, Death, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Addiction, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content