Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - A Study in Drowning

This is not the book for me. The writing style is good, it allowed me to finish the book despite really struggling with the story.
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.

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mooreeg2's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

I had a very difficult time getting through this book; I had to put it down part way and then come back to it. The entire book is a very slow progression and it doesn't really start to pick up until you're at least 2/3 of the way through, which was really difficult for me as a reader.

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.

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jo_bee's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.5

Really enjoyed the mix of mystery and folklore, two students trying to get the bottom of a potential literature fraud. It's about author legacies, fairies and prejudices and the characters are quite lovable. I was even sold on the romance, which is hard to do. It becomes a bit tiring to constantly hear how beautiful Effy is, though since that is the point and she is also tired of hearing it I won't fault the writing for that.
The book begins a little awkward and it feels like one chapter is skipped entirely, there is a strange time jump between Effy getting a task and then being accepted right next chapter, where I would have liked to see her thought and work process, especially since it is something so personal to her. The big reveal was obvious to me in the first half, which made it a little frustrating that it drags on until the very end, especially since the two main characters are supposed to be two smart and well-read people.

It is especially strange in Effy's case, whose dream it is to be an author and who despises how men believe women are not capable of the eloquence and fantasy required to be one - strange then that even in a letter she rightfully deduces is written to a woman she already knows about and mentions "your main character" in it, she never once brings up the possibility that this very woman could be an author, until she is told at the very end by that same woman. There are hints that she doesn't dare to bring a specific theory up, which is probably this, but it is still strange that she specifically would not be more outspoken about it, especially towards Preston, who made it very clear that he hates these outdated beliefs on women. It also struck me as weird that she considered the main character of her favorite novel the villain for "betraying" her kidnapper, when she also mentions again and again how much she relates to her, though this could of course be part of her particular trauma.

At its very core it is a story about a girl finding the strength to realize how she has been wronged and how she can move on from that, dressed up in a mysterious fairytale setting, which made for a quick and enjoyable read.

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tarathompson1228's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

This was a good read but I don't think I would recommend it to anyone. It was very well written. I will probably read Reid's other works. However, the

focus on the sexual abuse theme was very heavy. The trauma felt real.

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hann_smc's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-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

3.25

I really wanted to love it, but some things fell a little flat for me.
To start, I really did love the prose and the vibes. It was beautifully written, and the descriptions were poetic. It felt like the setting itself was another character.
It was pieces of the plot that I had more trouble with. Not even plot holes, just like "oh, that's it?" moments.
Reid really did a great job setting up for a fantastic story. I think the initial plot line of

the widow being the true author

was predictable just from the theme of

men exploiting women

that was established very early on. I genuinely don't think a predictable plot is a bad one though, and I had thought that Reid had created enough going on alongside this plot-line to really create a captivating story.
But then, nothing else really happened. There were some super interesting side plot setups:

Effy having some other worldly beauty to the point that even a random boy at the college was annoyed with her until he saw her face then promptly asked her out. Sirens and selkies were even mentioned throughout the story alongside with Effy being a changeling child, but nothing ever came of it.

The war was mentioned quite a bit, but always in passing, like it didn't actually affect anyone we knew. It seemed like the only purpose was for the Sleeper Museum to have a function, and/or for Effy to make vaguely racist comments to Preston when she was mad, but it felt very underdeveloped.

I did like that for awhile we're really not sure if Effy is crazy like everyone thinks or if the Fairy King is real, because even she isn't sure.
Some questions I do still have that people might be able to answer for me:
1.

Why didn't the widow talk to them at all? Why/How did she escape the hall without making a sound if she wasn't a ghost?

The random sex scene felt out of place. It felt less intimate and more like the precursor to a 3rd act breakup

Why was the estate guy so cagey? He was helping Preston one minute, but suspicious of them the next.

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becalexa's review against another edition

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3.0

this book was like. incredibly okay. i was expecting more based on the recommendations i have seen but i know that not everyone will feel the same about every book. but yeah i enjoyed my time reading it for the most part. preston is my sweetie pie. there were some really good lines but idk the story as a whole doesn’t hit like i thought it would.

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deidrebrin's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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micaelamariem's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book! The writing and word choice was beautiful. The character development impressive. The worldbuilding involves creating whole new myths and stories and studies which I always find impressive. I’m in love with Preston. But above all, I love the extended metaphor of what it’s like to be a trauma survivor and what is required to survive; especially for women who survive violence against them at the hands of men. This was absolutely beautiful. Full review on my blog to come tomorrow.

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