Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - A Study in Drowning

Def look at trigger/content warnings.
Overall, I appreciated reading this, but it wasn't a favorite. It was pretty slow at the beginning, and if I didn't also listen to the audio, I think I wouldn't have liked it as much. I appreciate the discussions on sexism and abuse of power/power dynamics with a backdrop of magic, but I feel the magic was a little throw away. I also could've done without the romance aspect of this.
This is the first book from this author I've read and I will plan to read more from them it's just this one wasn't amazing for me.

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deetabz's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

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aksmith92's review against another edition

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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!

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lizzye33's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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lisztaffe's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

3.5

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hailslynn's review

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adventurous challenging 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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is the book I will reference whenever I talk about dark academia from now on. Poignant with beautiful prose and tough conversations. This book is heartbreaking and healing, leaving me feel seen and heard and giving me hope. Effy is strong and brave and brilliant and also fragile and scared. Preston is thoughtful and kind and the perfectly flawed male love interest to the perfectly flawed main character. This book is as real as it is fiction, and I loved getting to escape into it. Here’s to Effy.

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