Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

116 reviews

grace_koalateareads'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

“didn’t all drownings begin with a harmless dribble of water?” 

A Study In Drowning by Ava Reid was a mysterious, magical, dark academia read. I went in not knowing much about the story, only that it was a fairly hyped book, and I wanted to jump in the bandwagon. I loved architecture of the world building, how it could have been set in the past or present, with mentions of cars, phones and televisions, as well as typewriters, letters and candlelight. 

“Her only enemy was the sea.”

It was definitely worth the read, however, it fell slightly flat for me. The predictability of the plot was a big factor, I like having a few more twists and turns to keep me engaged. Also the characters didn’t feel as real as I would have liked. They definitely had backstories and a “life” off the page, but there was just something about Effy and Preston that irked me slightly. Still a solid four star read though. 

“The trick of any good lie is just finding an audience who wants to believe it.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Sexism, Mental illness, Drug use, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Violence, Death, Abandonment, and Blood

rbash2391's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual content, Death, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Classism

dawn_chen's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

3.5

I really like the writing, it's absolutely gorgeous. And the themes of women being silenced in literature spheres, also the nature of storytelling. The ending especially struck my core and made me teary eyed. But the pacing is really slow and for most of the book not much happened to be honest for me to care about the plot until the very end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Mental illness, Rape, and Sexual assault

vaindesi's review against another edition

mysterious tense

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

This is trying to do too much: aftermath of SA, academic integrity (death of the author), misogyny, mental health, climate change.. then there's the whole politics and war between two nations.. Ghost story and Fairy King, is it fantasy or just Gothic? Some terms are super modern in an anachronistic way to the historical-feeling setting. Also, Effy keeps calling Preston pretentious but it never shows in the actual portrayal. Maybe I would be more irritated in his agnostic disbelief if she wasn't so annoyingly flighty and overdramatic. Changeling child as "not normal". And childhood trauma of being abandoned to death, frostbite, loss of a finger. Still has church in "fantastical" country. Arguing over coffee.. so modern. And now there's television. What even is this world building? 
Good heavens, why does every little thing need to be explained to the readers in the end like they're idiots. Leave something for interpretation or discussion. Yikes. Ability to write a good phrase does not a good book make. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Death of parent

Minor: War

a_paper_mess's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Misogyny, Sexism, and Abandonment

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: War, Bullying, and Colonisation

grey_poppy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Abandonment and Sexual violence

daylajane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Abandonment, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse

grace_b_3's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

Just a heads up that

sexual assault

is a major theme of this book, as it isn’t mentioned in the book description.

This book is very atmospheric. I can definitely see a Gothic influence, as well as a Romantic one. I enjoyed the atmosphere, but where the book fell flat for me is thematically. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the focus on

sexual assault and misogyny

surprised me. That’s not a theme that I particularly enjoy reading about, so that affected my experience with the book. Even if I wasn’t very interested in the themes, I can appreciate the craft of this book.

I’d reccomend this if you are a fan of Ninth House. I could see V. E Schwab fans enjoying this as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny

Moderate: Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Sexual content

tadah's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, Death, Blood, and War

rachelmay15's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

Without an explanation and without hesitation, my ship on the horizon signals back to the safety of the lighthouse.
I love Effy with my whole heart and I loved discovering Hiraeth with her. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Bullying

Minor: Abandonment