Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - A Study in Drowning

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A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

15 reviews

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

5.0

"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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rbash2391's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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sappix's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

I’ve been waiting for a proper modern Gothic ever since I first read my all-time favourite novel Wuthering Heights (my own Angharad). It had everything I was looking for and more - and in a YA novel, no less! This was definitely dark enough to be a full adult book; it did not hold back.

However, there are a couple of things holding back .25% of a full five star rating got me:

Firstly, there’s this personal, nagging quote I didn’t like. One of Preston’s last lines: “I don’t believe in objective truth anymore”. Like, I understand this is also a fantasy novel in which myths and dark Fairy Kings are real (or is he?) and truth in fantasy is different. HOWEVER, in this age of rampant misinformation, anti-intellectualism, and diminishing of what “truth” means, it rubbed me the wrong way. Because there is such a thing as objective truth in real life, at least in most regards. I understand not everything is objective and for individual human lives and feelings things can be subjective. This quote just rubbed me the wrong way.

Second: I think Effy and Preston could have had more character development. I love that Effy is more quiet, introverted, and not externally / physically strong, but I did feel she wasn’t given much agency by Reid. Effy seemed to develop rapidly at the end and in the final moments at Hiraeth Manor she framed her developing sense of worth on Preston and his view of her instead of her own self. And to some degree it’s fine; we all need to be rescued and externally validated to grab a foothold in our lives and struggles sometimes. I just think there is a way to be naturally more meek and quiet, yet strong, without derivation of self worth coming from a man.

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leonormsousa's review

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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?!

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tired_cicada's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

There is something to say about a world and a magic system that feel lived in. And if there's one thing that I can appreciate it's an author who trusts her readers to be smart enough to figure things out. Reid doesn't waste unnecessary time on flowery exhibition about how her world works, you just get thrown into it and you sink or swim. Personally, I like that a lot. I don't need an author to hold my hand the entire time and so would an author just says "here you go, figure it out" I just know I'm going to have a great time. Particularly if it's a standalone that needs to be good on its own merit.

I think that this is magical realism at its finest. The world in "A Study in Drowning" is very similar to our own from the 50s and 60s. Many of us have a working knowledge of that time period so it's easy to fill in the blanks for what's going on. Furthermore, the magic system is so well entrenched into the culture that it feels like a natural part of the world. So often magic systems are slapped onto a world but don't seem to affect it down to a day-to-day.

Reid's writing is very poetic, almost to the point of being lyrical in some cases. In previous experience my main criticism with this writing style is that it seems the authors will get so attached to certain phrases that they're dialogue suffers. As in out of nowhere a character who was previously flamboyant and ridiculous is all the sudden preaching at a pulpit over tea. I do not have this criticism here. Each of Reid's characters have a distinct voice that they keep throughout the story. It's easy to know who's speaking as none of them sound the same.

anyway I'm glad that Mr Benett(I listen to the audio books I don't know how it's spelled) got fired or whatever but he deserved to go to jail at least and I'm so mad that he didn't

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wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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honuzbubbles's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

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sam_appa's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

The story is of a young girl, Effy, who gets chosen to redesign the house of the late Emrys Myrddin, her favorite author. She has been having visions of the fabled Fairy King ever since she was little, the same Fairy King detailed in the Myrddin’s book ‘Angharad’. We follow along as her and the other collegiate guest of the house, Preston, uncover the mysteries of the book, questioning both it’s authorial origins and how much truth it’s words hold.

I enjoyed it, I thought the romance was really well done, the dark academia vibe was exactly what I was looking for, and the plot kept me interested. I did wish that either the magic was more complex and fleshed out (since I went into this thinking it would be fantasy driven) or Effy’s madness fully realized. I also wished that the triumph at the end was more.. triumphant?

This magical Fairy King that had been tormenting Effy her whole life was defeated in a single page with his own reflection in a shard of glass. It felt rushed and a bit unsatisfying. The way in which her sexual assault was handled in the end also felt unfinished, though I appreciated that it was consistently validated as sexual assault. It never glamorized the relationship between an older man and a teenage girl, instead, using Angharad’s story as fuel to further validate the assault.

But it was nice to see Effy’s development as well as Preston’s. As a whole, although it’s predictable at times, I thoroughly enjoyed it. From the gorgeous writing to the lovable characters, this was a great read.

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jos_haunted_library's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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booksalacarte's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.75

A Study in Drowning- 2.5⭐️ 2.75🌶️

YA Fantasy

Magical realism

Mid century ambiance

Coming of age

College setting

Underdog FMC

Visions

Ptsd

Paranormal

War

One bed

A Study in Drowning is a gothic coming of age story where the lines of fairytale and reality are blurred beyond recognition. It deals with the ideas of trauma, misogyny, prejudice, survivalism, and love.

The setting of a moldy, crumbling manor on the very edge of the sea was so vivid and a character in and of itself. I really liked the romanticism of how it was crumbling into the sea and the presented problem of what could save it. I wish there had been a little more background and world building. While it seemed to play such a prominent part in the story… everything was just vague enough that I was left disappointed. I would have preferred over-explaining.

I was captured by the ptsd and trauma that crafted the FMC’s journey, sharpening her as she went through opening herself up and telling her story. I love the idea that survival is brave…

The MMC wasn’t your typical overbearing alpha whose only purpose is to save the day. But I was as annoyed with his explained intellectualism that ended up being his only personality trait.

The chemistry between the two main characters wasn’t as palpable as possible. I think that there wasn’t enough tension to make the chemistry believable. I didn’t feel the irritable pull that comes with the bickering that happened throughout. Instead it felt like the FMC was too distracted by her perceptions of reality and her trauma to understand what what’s genuine attraction or not… In the end, while the romance wasn’t the main focus of the book, it took up way more space than it needed to… or maybe not enough?

I didn’t enjoy the prejudice and bigotry that was represented in the FMC and played off as falling in love with someone who your society is against. It was so frequently brought up and used as an excuse for witty banter when she was really just disparaging the MMC for his race/ethicist…

I liked this book, but I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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