Reviews with content warning for Rape - A Study in Drowning

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.

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cranberriqueen's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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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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distilledreads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

I did not realize how prevalent sexual assault was going to be in this book, and I think it’s imperative to know that before reading. The trauma that Effy experiences as a result of the sexual assault — from an older male in a position of academic power — is poignantly and painfully described. The self-doubt and bullying and voicelessness that stems from the rape felt incredibly realistic, so I will say that I appreciate how Reid treated an assault that can often become glossed over or treated as a throwaway in books. That said, I still wish there was some indication in the synopsis as to how integral it is to the plot.

For that reason, my experience reading this book was so-so. As was the case with The Wolf and the Woodsman, I love Reid’s descriptive writing. She has a true talent for focusing on the smallest details and successfully evoking a large reaction. I also enjoyed the dark academia atmosphere she created with a blend of old-school charm and otherworldliness.

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lovecraphtian's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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karly_rose_reads's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid is a gothic tale that has fantasy aspects. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but it had a lot of untapped potential. I strongly believe that this story should have been a duology.

Things I enjoyed:
- The gothic atmosphere and glimpse of this world surrounding Hiraeth Manor
- Ava Reid's writing style
- The relatable FMC
- The feminist themes
- The small romance subplot (I would not consider this tale a romance)

I struggled on how to properly rate this book because of all the untapped potential. There were so many interesting concepts introduced that weren't fully explained and were underdeveloped. I was left with too many loose ends at the end of this story. Some of these lose ends are:
- The world itself outside of the school and house
- The ongoing war
- The Fairy King's origin and world
- The Sleepers and Sleeper Museum
- The MMC's character development—it only really existed to build up the FMC and not his own

I will note that I was uncomfortable with:
- FMC's prejudice and ignorance towards the MMC that wasn't fully addressed or resolved
- The somewhat Stockholm syndrome of one of the characters and justification of it
- The lack of trigger warnings for this book (especially given the fact that it's YA), which should have included SA

The beginning of this book was extremely slow for me and the ending felt super rushed. I can see someone really loving this book, but it fell short for me, overall.

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agnela's review against another edition

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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.

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