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beefthedwarf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
No Spoilers:
"A Study In Drowning" was captivating, magical, and mysterious. I typically am not drawn to romances, but the relationship between the main love interests was compelling and sweet. I often see the book marketed as Enemies to Lovers or Rivals to Lovers, but I'd moreso call it Disagreement to Lovers or perhaps simply Opposites Attract.
Act 1 is quite slow to pick up, Act 2 does a good job building the tension, and Act 3 is exhilarating -- until it's not. It seems like the author lost some confidence that her work would speak for itself and added 30-ish pages of exposition that essentially explained the whole book and then some. A lot of it would have been more rewarding sprinkled through the earlier parts of the book. Nonetheless, it is very well structured.
Overall, the book was an amazing read and extremely rich in both prose, world building, and themes surrounding misogyny and sexual assault (both literal and metaphorical).
Spoilers:
Something I thought was interesting about the book was that Reid created this entirely new world of fantasy realism just as the backdrop for her academic mystery. It could have just as easily been set in the irl 20th century United Kingdom. This isn't a gripe -- it's a fascinating choice that I found myself enjoying immensely. The faintly magical history, the cultural views of the characters, the fake excerpts from fake scholarly critiques and essays, the vague implication that this is a post apocalyptic fantasy future following the impact of irl climate disaster... -chefs kiss-
Act 1 was slow to start, as if the author wasn't quite sure where to begin. In her effort to avoid giving away Effy's character and history too quickly, the beginning was just too vague and I found myself almost DNF-ing. I just didn't feel compelled to care about any of the characters yet.
Ava Reid did an excellent job finding ways to push her characters to engage with the plot. This was especially important considering Effy as a character is described as an escape artist -- always running away from difficult problems. The plot really starts when Effy has no way to go back to college OR go back home. While her psychosis ends up just being the "Magical Psychosis" trope (booooo), I feel like her other mental illness is very real. The splitting, the assumptions, the black and white thinking, the urge to escape, the lack of identity colliding with the urge to know how other people view her, etc. All very common for folks with C-PTSD (or, if I were to armchair diagnose her, BPD). I feel like the author was very well versed in Effy's style of trauma response and handled it well.
I don't know how many times Effy was described swallowing her pills dry. Folks -- DO NOT DO THIS. I don't know how this poor girl did not develop an ulcer.
The book glosses over a lot of the characters' bodily functions. As far as we can tell, Effy's guesthouse has no bathroom, and the only bathroom we see in Hiraeth Manor is dilapidated and Ianto doesn't allow Effy to use it. Where does she piss?! Where does anyone piss?! No one ever seemed to eat breakfast or dinner either, except the one time at Blackmar's mansion. While there is a degree in which an author shouldn't be expected to elaborate each and every human maintenance, this was a very noticeable exclusion.
I loved the artificial history and scholarship surrounding Myrddin and literature as a whole in Llyr. It really made the world feel big and real, even if it was just a backdrop for the mystery. It made the characters feel big and real -- the world matters to them. However, I was disappointed that there was a brief descent into the politics of the warring countries, their respective settler colonial history, and which of them could actually be considered the aggressor, only to have it dropped entirely without a single additional mention.
I often see the book marketed as Enemies to Lovers or Rivals to Lovers, but I'd moreso call it Disagreement to Lovers or perhaps simply Opposites Attract. Effy got annoyed at Preston for petty reasons and Preston was more or less minding his business. There was a moment of conflict upon Effy discovering the truth of Preston's thesis, but an alliance formed quickly. It was well done and great to read, but not exactly what I'd call Enemies/Rivals to Lovers.
The changeling reveal for Effy was a bit sloppy, in my opinion. While the book was clear there was a secret to Effy, it would have been more interesting and rewarding if the concept of changelings and their naming conventions had come up earlier in the book.
The book deals heavily with Effy's sexual assault trauma and her responses -- escaping, escapism, anxiety, lying, splitting, emotional responses, etc. I also feel like the book was not-so-subtly hinting at the affects of childhood sexual trauma as well, thought less explicitly described. This can be seen in the way Effy both admires and vilifies Angharad (the character), and fears and fantasizes about the Fairy King. It makes sense -- even if the Fairy King did not touch her the same way her human assailant did, knowing that an adult wants to take you as a child bride is incredibly distressing.
Act 2 does a good job building the tension, and Act 3 is exhilarating -- until it's not. It seems like the author lost some confidence that her work would speak for itself and added 30-ish pages of exposition that essentially explained the whole book and then some. A lot of it would have been more rewarding sprinkled through the earlier parts of the book. It was incredibly boring sitting and reading Angharad reveal the answers to all the mysteries to our protagonists who'd almost died trying to solve them. Most of the evidence they managed to uncover was lost entirely, which was disappointing -- but I suppose they needed that information as the big push to go into the basement and find the box, which did survive. Given that Reid gave an acknowledgment to Zelda (presumably Fitzgerald) at the end of the book, I suppose Angharad's long winded exposition was the spirit of every female writer whose work secretly bolstered a man's career. Still, it was just not very fun to read after the excitement of the climax.
Speaking of the climax -- at some point, I totally lost track of how Ianto was doing anything. How was he grabbing Preston AND shackling him to chains AND hammering a stake into a wall AND holding a musket to his chest? Totally took me out of the scene trying to figure it out.
Overall, the book was an amazing read and extremely rich in both prose, world building, and themes surrounding misogyny and sexual assault (both literal and metaphorical). The Fairy King as a stand in for sexual trauma and grooming, paired with the recurring symbol of green representing victimhood, was very gratifying.
"A Study In Drowning" was captivating, magical, and mysterious. I typically am not drawn to romances, but the relationship between the main love interests was compelling and sweet. I often see the book marketed as Enemies to Lovers or Rivals to Lovers, but I'd moreso call it Disagreement to Lovers or perhaps simply Opposites Attract.
Act 1 is quite slow to pick up, Act 2 does a good job building the tension, and Act 3 is exhilarating -- until it's not. It seems like the author lost some confidence that her work would speak for itself and added 30-ish pages of exposition that essentially explained the whole book and then some. A lot of it would have been more rewarding sprinkled through the earlier parts of the book. Nonetheless, it is very well structured.
Overall, the book was an amazing read and extremely rich in both prose, world building, and themes surrounding misogyny and sexual assault (both literal and metaphorical).
Spoilers:
Act 1 was slow to start, as if the author wasn't quite sure where to begin. In her effort to avoid giving away Effy's character and history too quickly, the beginning was just too vague and I found myself almost DNF-ing. I just didn't feel compelled to care about any of the characters yet.
Ava Reid did an excellent job finding ways to push her characters to engage with the plot. This was especially important considering Effy as a character is described as an escape artist -- always running away from difficult problems. The plot really starts when Effy has no way to go back to college OR go back home. While her psychosis ends up just being the "Magical Psychosis" trope (booooo), I feel like her other mental illness is very real. The splitting, the assumptions, the black and white thinking, the urge to escape, the lack of identity colliding with the urge to know how other people view her, etc. All very common for folks with C-PTSD (or, if I were to armchair diagnose her, BPD). I feel like the author was very well versed in Effy's style of trauma response and handled it well.
I don't know how many times Effy was described swallowing her pills dry. Folks -- DO NOT DO THIS. I don't know how this poor girl did not develop an ulcer.
The book glosses over a lot of the characters' bodily functions. As far as we can tell, Effy's guesthouse has no bathroom, and the only bathroom we see in Hiraeth Manor is dilapidated and Ianto doesn't allow Effy to use it. Where does she piss?! Where does anyone piss?! No one ever seemed to eat breakfast or dinner either, except the one time at Blackmar's mansion. While there is a degree in which an author shouldn't be expected to elaborate each and every human maintenance, this was a very noticeable exclusion.
I loved the artificial history and scholarship surrounding Myrddin and literature as a whole in Llyr. It really made the world feel big and real, even if it was just a backdrop for the mystery. It made the characters feel big and real -- the world matters to them. However, I was disappointed that there was a brief descent into the politics of the warring countries, their respective settler colonial history, and which of them could actually be considered the aggressor, only to have it dropped entirely without a single additional mention.
I often see the book marketed as Enemies to Lovers or Rivals to Lovers, but I'd moreso call it Disagreement to Lovers or perhaps simply Opposites Attract. Effy got annoyed at Preston for petty reasons and Preston was more or less minding his business. There was a moment of conflict upon Effy discovering the truth of Preston's thesis, but an alliance formed quickly. It was well done and great to read, but not exactly what I'd call Enemies/Rivals to Lovers.
The changeling reveal for Effy was a bit sloppy, in my opinion. While the book was clear there was a secret to Effy, it would have been more interesting and rewarding if the concept of changelings and their naming conventions had come up earlier in the book.
The book deals heavily with Effy's sexual assault trauma and her responses -- escaping, escapism, anxiety, lying, splitting, emotional responses, etc. I also feel like the book was not-so-subtly hinting at the affects of childhood sexual trauma as well, thought less explicitly described. This can be seen in the way Effy both admires and vilifies Angharad (the character), and fears and fantasizes about the Fairy King. It makes sense -- even if the Fairy King did not touch her the same way her human assailant did, knowing that an adult wants to take you as a child bride is incredibly distressing.
Act 2 does a good job building the tension, and Act 3 is exhilarating -- until it's not. It seems like the author lost some confidence that her work would speak for itself and added 30-ish pages of exposition that essentially explained the whole book and then some. A lot of it would have been more rewarding sprinkled through the earlier parts of the book. It was incredibly boring sitting and reading Angharad reveal the answers to all the mysteries to our protagonists who'd almost died trying to solve them. Most of the evidence they managed to uncover was lost entirely, which was disappointing -- but I suppose they needed that information as the big push to go into the basement and find the box, which did survive. Given that Reid gave an acknowledgment to Zelda (presumably Fitzgerald) at the end of the book, I suppose Angharad's long winded exposition was the spirit of every female writer whose work secretly bolstered a man's career. Still, it was just not very fun to read after the excitement of the climax.
Speaking of the climax -- at some point, I totally lost track of how Ianto was doing anything. How was he grabbing Preston AND shackling him to chains AND hammering a stake into a wall AND holding a musket to his chest? Totally took me out of the scene trying to figure it out.
Overall, the book was an amazing read and extremely rich in both prose, world building, and themes surrounding misogyny and sexual assault (both literal and metaphorical). The Fairy King as a stand in for sexual trauma and grooming, paired with the recurring symbol of green representing victimhood, was very gratifying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Xenophobia, Alcoholism, and Pedophilia
Minor: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Animal death, Bullying, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Blood, Car accident, Classism, Addiction, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, War, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Child death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
jordanreads24's review
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, and Mental illness
Minor: Xenophobia, Sexual content, and War
ghostlyprince's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Death of parent, Rape, Car accident, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Addiction, Body shaming, Racism, Death, Physical abuse, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, and Child abuse
Minor: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, and War
treatyoshelvesxo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I want to give it a higher rating due to the underlying theme of the struggle of women being labeled and discriminated against; unfortunately it just did not deliver the punch I wanted. There is a line that tugged at my heart, “survival is bravery too”. This theme was an undertone that came forward in the end and that part I enjoyed. It started off a bit ambiguous and pieces came so close to pushing it over the edge of diving into a read I couldn’t put down but it just didn’t reach that level.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
kaiiyo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Such a beautiful and respectful depiction of trauma and healing. Came at a very fitting time in my life and provides a powerful message about grief and the ways it manifests. The way dissociation and anxiety are written feel like one of the most accurate and compassionate portrayals I've seen.
Yes sometimes overcoming trauma is all bloody knuckles and determination but just being alive is also a testament of great strength ❤️
Yes sometimes overcoming trauma is all bloody knuckles and determination but just being alive is also a testament of great strength ❤️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Sexism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Sexual content
sydapel's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
Another author I would do anything for. This book is a gothic, feminist, dark academia, rivals to lovers fantasy DREAM. Ava Reid blends the eerie and foreboding atmosphere of Hiraeth Manor with a story about how women are treated as both too seductive and too silly to be taken seriously in any - but particularly academic - settings. Effy as the main character brings you so fully into your own head that you like her, begin to question your own sense of reality and sense, and slowly we begin to understand how the monsters in our heads, though not entirely real, come from genuine places of trauma, abuse and mistreatment. I read this mostly in one sitting, and now desperately want Mike Flanagan to adapt for TV.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
Minor: Abandonment
deetabz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, and Sexual content
kendal_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Mental illness
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
aksmith92's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
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? Yes
3.0
Setting the stage: we have Effy, the only woman in the Architecture School at her college, and she is only there because women aren't allowed in Literature School. So, instead of researching, reviewing, and reading her favorite poet, Effy is doing half-hearted design work. One day, she finds a flier at the School noting that her favorite poet's son is asking for Architecture students to submit a proposal on how to redo their falling-apart-at-the-seams home in the Southern part of the country. She knows she has to apply and go. As you can imagine, she gets the winning proposal and heads down south - what I would imagine is a much more "peasant" part of the country as the north, where the College sits and where Effy is from.
When Effy arrives, she realizes she will not be completing coursework alone - Preston Helrouy (sorry if that spelling is wrong - I returned my book) is also there but on behalf of the Literature College. He is apparently investigating the great works of Effy's favorite poet - what Effy wanted to do forever. There was obviously built tension, including the fact that Preston is apparently from another country (well, his father is) that Effy's country hates. Therefore, we have this odd clash between two people from different countries.
Here is what I liked: I enjoyed the atmospheric nature of the writing; the prose was lovely. It was readable and interesting. This brings me to the next thing I liked, which was the major plot point of Effy and Preston working together in this cold, dark, and rainy place. They teamed up to find the truth, and that was an interesting and fun ride. For about 80-90% of the book, even though it was young adult which I struggle to read sometimes, it felt a little bit more mature.
I must say, in general, I shy away from the very soft, docile female main character in fantasy-like novels such as this because I like a strong-willed and determined main character. Effy was NOT that. She had mental health problems and traumatic experiences and was generally anxious 90% of the time. Honestly, this felt very realistic. I believe that people didn't feel Effy as much in this book because it felt too real for the reader. She was so similar to someone we know (or ourselves), and I think sometimes that sentiment is hard to read. But I appreciated Effy. Sure, her childish behavior (and then her acknowledging it) was a bit annoying, to say the least, but she felt real to me.
Honestly, I didn't mind the romance at all. I've noted some reviews that said there was zero build-up and that Preston and Effy's relationship was boring. I disagree! While I think that Preston could likely have been a bit more layered or developed more, I thought there were cute moments between the two and thought the romance aspect was decently done.
Here is what didn't cut it for me and is why I am rating it 3 stars: I rated a whole star down because, in the end, Effy said: "She would simply DIE without Preston." Cue young adult dramatics and nonsense. It's a huge pet peeve for me. A book can read young adult but not contain corny stuff like that. Additionally, this is not rivals-to-lovers. There is a romantic component between two people with fundamentally different ways of thinking after growing up as "other." Effy is trying to make it in one of the misogynistic worlds, and Preston has genes from a place at war with their current location. There are belief systems and values tugged on here between the two, which make them different but not rivals. They aren't competing for the same thing, really, and if anything, they find a partnership sooner in the novel than I anticipated.
But here comes my biggest qualm: we don't really get the intricate world-building needed. Apparently, there is a war going on between Effy and Preston's countries. Never knew why or how. It seemed to be used as a tension plot point SOLELY for the romantic plot point. Additionally, we obviously have a world with some magical elements to it, but that wasn't explored nearly enough, especially for a standalone book. This book seemed to be about women's empowerment and a woman (barely, more like a girl) getting through really challenging times in a world that was not too dissimilar from our own. I would have been ok with the book like this, but adding in some other random elements, like war and magic, without really explaining it just a bit, made the whole thing seem disorganized.
Regardless, it was a decent read!
When Effy arrives, she realizes she will not be completing coursework alone - Preston Helrouy (sorry if that spelling is wrong - I returned my book) is also there but on behalf of the Literature College. He is apparently investigating the great works of Effy's favorite poet - what Effy wanted to do forever. There was obviously built tension, including the fact that Preston is apparently from another country (well, his father is) that Effy's country hates. Therefore, we have this odd clash between two people from different countries.
Here is what I liked: I enjoyed the atmospheric nature of the writing; the prose was lovely. It was readable and interesting. This brings me to the next thing I liked, which was the major plot point of Effy and Preston working together in this cold, dark, and rainy place. They teamed up to find the truth, and that was an interesting and fun ride. For about 80-90% of the book, even though it was young adult which I struggle to read sometimes, it felt a little bit more mature.
I must say, in general, I shy away from the very soft, docile female main character in fantasy-like novels such as this because I like a strong-willed and determined main character. Effy was NOT that. She had mental health problems and traumatic experiences and was generally anxious 90% of the time. Honestly, this felt very realistic. I believe that people didn't feel Effy as much in this book because it felt too real for the reader. She was so similar to someone we know (or ourselves), and I think sometimes that sentiment is hard to read. But I appreciated Effy. Sure, her childish behavior (and then her acknowledging it) was a bit annoying, to say the least, but she felt real to me.
Honestly, I didn't mind the romance at all. I've noted some reviews that said there was zero build-up and that Preston and Effy's relationship was boring. I disagree! While I think that Preston could likely have been a bit more layered or developed more, I thought there were cute moments between the two and thought the romance aspect was decently done.
Here is what didn't cut it for me and is why I am rating it 3 stars: I rated a whole star down because, in the end, Effy said: "She would simply DIE without Preston." Cue young adult dramatics and nonsense. It's a huge pet peeve for me. A book can read young adult but not contain corny stuff like that. Additionally, this is not rivals-to-lovers. There is a romantic component between two people with fundamentally different ways of thinking after growing up as "other." Effy is trying to make it in one of the misogynistic worlds, and Preston has genes from a place at war with their current location. There are belief systems and values tugged on here between the two, which make them different but not rivals. They aren't competing for the same thing, really, and if anything, they find a partnership sooner in the novel than I anticipated.
But here comes my biggest qualm: we don't really get the intricate world-building needed. Apparently, there is a war going on between Effy and Preston's countries. Never knew why or how. It seemed to be used as a tension plot point SOLELY for the romantic plot point. Additionally, we obviously have a world with some magical elements to it, but that wasn't explored nearly enough, especially for a standalone book. This book seemed to be about women's empowerment and a woman (barely, more like a girl) getting through really challenging times in a world that was not too dissimilar from our own. I would have been ok with the book like this, but adding in some other random elements, like war and magic, without really explaining it just a bit, made the whole thing seem disorganized.
Regardless, it was a decent read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Sexism, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Sexual content