Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - A Study in Drowning

Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

133 reviews

chelbawamba's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

This is my second attempt with this author and sadly I don’t think I can be convinced to try again. Ava Reid relies heavily on simile and metaphor, to a point of excessiveness, does a lot of telling instead of showing, and everything happens to this main character “suddenly” or “for some reason.” Even when the reason was obvious to me as a reader, it happened “for some reason.”

Overall, the concept of the story was interesting, but the way it was executed was extremely predictable. I knew early on what most of the reveals at the end were going to be. In my opinion, there is a fine line between good foreshadowing and offering too much too early on.

A personal pet peeve of mine is when characters speak about each other as if they’ve known each other for a long time when it’s only been a few days, for example: saying things like “he’s always been kind to me,” or “I had never seen him this flustered” when the character only knew the other person for maybe a collective three hours. This happened frequently in the first half of the book.

I didn’t not enjoy it, but I also didn’t enjoy it. Would not necessarily recommend it, but it had its moments and kept me engaged through the end.

Content Warnings

loveat1stwrite's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark slow-paced

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? No

3.0

Content Warnings

salem99's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

I loved the ambiance of the book. Eddy's character was really hard for me to read. At times, it was too relatable and I hated the parts of her that I once hated in myself. Her progression was really beautiful. I don't know if I've ever read a book that spoke to this experience so well, so here are some of my favorite quotes:

"A friendly gesture, a bracing pat on the shoulder. But didn't all drownings begin with a harmless dribble of water?"

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

"The weight of a memory is one thing. You get very used to swimming with it dragging you down. Once it's loosed, you hardly know what to do with your body. You don't understand its lightness."

Content Warnings

haileekaye's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

k_han14's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark 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? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

darkhorse488's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

A Study in Drowning is in the rare category of books that touched my heart at a spiritual level, that makes me feel seen and understood and validated as a human being. I loved it in ways that are hard to even describe. If you’re a woman who has severe anxiety, who loves books and likes to live in dreamworlds, who has questioned your own sanity at times, who has dealt with assumptions made about you because of your sex, who has doubted yourself and your strength and your abilities over and over but has continued surviving anyway, you need to read this book. This being added to my top 10 list for sure, it’s that good.

Content Warnings

kattila's review against another edition

Go to review page

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