Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - A Study in Drowning

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

115 reviews

amyalwaysbooked's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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hello_kara's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

0.25

This is the longest review I have ever written, mostly driven by rage as I hated this book and the more I think about it the more I dislike it.

“Midnight was a fairytale thing. She didn’t know if Preston had been thinking about that when he promised it. But Effy was remembering all of the curses that turned princesses back to peasant girls as soon as the bells struck twelve. Why was it always girls whose forms could not be trusted? Everything could be taken away from them in an instant.”

“I suppose that’s partly why I don’t have much faith in the notion of permanence. Anything can be taken from you, at any moment. Even the past isn’t guaranteed. You can lose that too, slowly, like water eating away at stone.”

I liked those quotes, that’s about it.

World building was a bit confusing, and it was difficult for me to pin down a time-setting. Advertised as “Part historical fantasy, part rivals-to-lovers romance, part Gothic mystery.” It’s set in a fantasy UK inspired world, maybe from the 60s? 🤷🏼‍♀️ There’s trains, cars, universities, tanks and guns, CT scanners, phones, but also folk magic and changelings. Their country in the South is at war with the one in the North, for unknown reasons. Universities admit women, but they really only go to get husbands and aren’t allowed entry into the one discipline reversed above all others that Effy actually wants to study: Literature. Her scores were so good she should have gotten in, but because of misogyny she wasn’t admitted. She goes and studies Architecture instead (apparently the second most prestigious discipline.) As it so happens she is the ONLY woman in that college.

Effy has a woman roommate, who attends the music college and has a girlfriend, which is never addressed again after the first chapter. But also there’s major purity culture. Effy is always being hit on by the men at college, who are simultaneously aroused and disgusted by her, calling her whore. Why? Oh the Dean of her college has sexually assaulted her, so obviously she must’ve slept her way in to the college.

It’s not all bad though! (🙄)She sees a poster for a competition to design a remodel of her (late) favorite author’s home. The author in question is now instated as a Sleeper, one of seven revered national storytellers believed to have magic that protects their country. There’s a museum with the corpses of the Sleepers on display, which is the countries biggest tourist attraction, (and yet belief in Sleeper magic is 50/50? Is it real or not?! If it’s just an old wives tale then why do the bodies not rot, why would they induct a new dead guy onto the roster?)

But I digress, Effy goes to the university library to do some research on the author (even though she knows his works ‘better than anyone’) and finds that all the books have been checked out by a Literature student. She’s pissed, and very jealous. He has a “Northern” name, and she wonders why he gets to study her Southern hero author and not her. Thus begins the “rivalry.” She also thinks to herself that none of the other architecture students would be worthy of winning, because she’s the only one who truly loves that author’s works, despite him being a national treasure.

And suddenly she wins! A first year student who’s failing half her classes and hates architecture! Her roommate calls her out on this and says don’t you think that’s kind of weird? Nope! She’s like 18/19 years old, with no support from family (her mom like actually hates her and basically tells her to never call again), and decides what could possibly go wrong?! She gets approval to take time off of school to go to the end of the world to work on designs for this house (but wait, I thought you had to submit your design plan for the competition??) Once she gets to the house ~SURPRISE~ she meets the Lit student who borrowed all those books! Preston. So she hates him right away and is downright mean to him. The homeowner/son of dead author starts talking to her about the plans and construction etc.(SHES NOT A FUCKING GENERAL CONTRACTOR) He’s really weird about her being around Preston, but also makes suggestive remarks towards her.

If the book wanted me to think “men are trash,” it succeeded. It was so misogynistic. Effy is not allowed to study literature on account of women’s feeble and trivial little brains. Annoyingly, just about every man Effy comes into contact with tries to make a move on her because she’s just so ‘otherworldly beautiful,’ but in the same breath call her whore. Preston is the love interest, but he gives major “I’m just brutally honest!” vibes. He gets brownie points from Effy because he didn’t immediately come on to her (ladies, the bar is SUBTERRANEAN.) But at one point even Preston was basically like ‘yeah I totally would’ve ducked you already if I didn’t actually like you’ (wtf?)

There was a definite creepy vibe, with the setting being a decrepit manor that was falling apart and into the sea. And yet… Water had overtaken the foundation, but it’s also up on the cliffs? So that was confusing. And the whole architecture competition, but she didn’t have designs drafted or finished? How did she win? Oh never mind, it doesn’t matter because it was all a plot by the Fairy King to claim her.

I read a lot of fantasy, so I can generally adjust my sense of realism accordingly. But this one just didn’t land for me, the inconsistency in whether or not magic of any kind was real in this world really bothered me. For a while I thought we were going to get to the end and find out she had hallucinated the whole thing!

Effy has been on meds for most of her life, due to nightmares and visions of the Fairy King. She is a changeling, her mother left her for dead by the river, and the Fairy King came to claim her. But her mother came back a took her before she could fully be claimed. In the process she lost her ring finger from fairy magic. So she found comfort in the fairy tale, feeling ‘not like the other girls.’ She knew the story in and out, loved it, saw herself in it. It was her entire personality.

But why is this story the country’s national treasure? This fairy tale about a woman who is stolen away by the Fairy King and forced to marry him, written from a woman’s POV? This story that got the male author credited with writing it into like the National Hall of Fame of a country that won’t allow women to study literature because it is ‘beyond their capacity to comprehend.’

~spoilers~ it was written by a woman. A hidden truth that would never have been uncovered if it were not for Effy. She and Preston write up their findings to present to the college. She gets into the college of Literature for her contribution, and simultaneously gets her former Dean fired.

Effy sees the true author of the story. She asks her to autograph her well worn copy of the book, they smile, triumphant. The end.

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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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underhill's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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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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sperpe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? No

3.75

I enjoyed the writing style (as i did for juniper and thorn), even thoigh i found it yet poetic, which i guess was a better fit for the themes of this book. As usual, i loved the feminist themes of the book, and i found the love story engaging and believable. Nonetheless, the plot itself was a tad predictable (especially due to the heavy foreshadowing). I enjoyed reading the book and I found the wordbuilding quite well constructed and believable. And as usual, a lot of great one-liners.

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gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is about a lot of things, but all woven together seamlessly to creat a tapestry of feminist storytelling.

this is a dark academia tale of a young woman dealing with misogyny, being barred from the college she desperately wants to be a part of. this is also about the legacy of an author she loved, tying into this author’s mysterious home that is drowning on a cliff by the sea. She is driven to enter a contest to help redesign the estate, but she bites off way more she can chew.

There is also though, the threat of a faerie king who may or may not exist only in the edge of reality in this sea soaked world.

I was very moved by this story of the legacy of stories, who wrote them, who gets attributed to them, who gets believed.

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