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lucyhoneychurchreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
4.0
I very much liked the atmosphere of this book. A drizzly dark academic landscape filled with coffee and tweed. The writing is beautiful, evocative and lyrical at times. Overall the tone of the story is very melancholy and dark, dealing with trauma, abuse and inequality.
It’s marketed as young adult and while our protagonists are the correct age and maturity the rest of the story, writing and themes did not strike me as YA.
I found rating this very difficult- much of the story made me angry and sad but Effy’s character development was gorgeous and overall I’m so glad I read this even if I can’t quite say I enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
sfeldmann's review against another edition
The plot really goes everywhere in this book. I tried to read it after DNFing it last year to give it another shot. I just can’t get into it. The atmosphere is great but all the themes and messages of the book are heavy handed and leave little room for the action of the characters and the plot to show the readers of just tell them. The romance isn’t bad either but it is a little bit insta-lovey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism
anewton's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
4.75
Beautifully written book that explores deep concepts and trauma in a poetic, meaningful way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Bullying
kaiaconstantinides's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
cadimy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.25
I get what the author was trying to do with the heavy misogyny and how it affects the MC deeply, so I did appreciate that at times. Unfortunately I had no connection to any of the characters- they fell so flat and there was no chemistry to be found.
Also, little to no backstory on the fairy king?? Why was he hanging around? He was apparently “stuck” on the estate because of the trees and berries everywhere but that doesn’t explain how he escaped to almost steal the MC? She said she saw him all of the time, but how? Not much story building, and the backstory of the north vs south seemed unnecessary other than to sprinkle in some racism for the characters.
I listened to the audiobook on a road trip, and the fact that I finished it gives it 2 stars, maybe 2.5. I was kind of hoping for a dark ending where her love interest was over taken by the fairy king.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Mental illness, Death, Car accident, Bullying, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Animal death, and Gaslighting
Minor: Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
writingwithcaitlin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
“You don’t have to take up a sword.
Survival is bravery, too.”
A Study in Drowning is a story that sets itself apart from other YA Fantasies for its gothic and suspenseful atmosphere as well as for its lyrical prose. This book was marketed as a rivals to lovers dark academia read. While there is romance, be warned that the romance is not the main premise if that is what you seek. However, there is so much more importance to the storyline that makes this book worth the read!
Effy is character that can be relatable to many for her love for stories and belief for fairytales. She really had no choice in whether or not to believe in these fairytale stories and magic given that she has haunted visions of the Fairy King. She finds her comfort in the book Angharad written by her favorite author- Emrys Myrddin. In being a student at the architecture college, she’s determined to prove those who often underestimated her ability wrong.
This story is about the reality of women’s voices being suppressed by men- specifically in the literature world when it relates to this book. The writing is persuasive in the idea that stories that we’ve grown up with and have given us comfort are often the ones that save us.
The romance in the story was pretty minor and I would have liked to see more of it. But I love the idea that Effy and Preston are not people that see eye to eye on things all the time. It makes their relationship more realistic given their unique circumstances and background.
The world building had a ton of potential but I think overall fell flat. The majority of the story took place at Myrddin’s house but the book starts with the mention of a war between the North and South and it’s not really mentioned again. It doesn’t really add anything of importance to the story so had that been taken out, I don’t feel like it would have changed the story. I could see where the tension is needed to add on to Effy and Preston’s history but to say that there’s a “war”- it just didn’t feel like anything was happening to consider it as such. Maybe this will be touched on more in the sequel. (Which I found out about after finishing the book and looking it up on Goodreads)
One of the main things that I found most intriguing was the idea of the Sleepers. So the Sleepers are essentially corpses of very important people in history that are preserved in the Sleeper’s museum and they have magic that is suppose to keep the north at bay but nothing really comes of this. Again, I wonder if this is something that will be prevalent in the sequel but I would have loved for the Sleepers to be incorporated more into this book and be continually built on in the sequel.
Throughout the entirety of my read through, I was going back and forth between a 3 or 4 star rating and I think the stories message along with the writing kept it closer to 4 stars.
Overall, I really enjoyed this read! I do see myself picking up the sequel and I’m interested to see where Reid takes Effy and Preston moving forward. I would also love to read her other works!
Survival is bravery, too.”
A Study in Drowning is a story that sets itself apart from other YA Fantasies for its gothic and suspenseful atmosphere as well as for its lyrical prose. This book was marketed as a rivals to lovers dark academia read. While there is romance, be warned that the romance is not the main premise if that is what you seek. However, there is so much more importance to the storyline that makes this book worth the read!
Effy is character that can be relatable to many for her love for stories and belief for fairytales. She really had no choice in whether or not to believe in these fairytale stories and magic given that she has haunted visions of the Fairy King. She finds her comfort in the book Angharad written by her favorite author- Emrys Myrddin. In being a student at the architecture college, she’s determined to prove those who often underestimated her ability wrong.
This story is about the reality of women’s voices being suppressed by men- specifically in the literature world when it relates to this book. The writing is persuasive in the idea that stories that we’ve grown up with and have given us comfort are often the ones that save us.
The romance in the story was pretty minor and I would have liked to see more of it. But I love the idea that Effy and Preston are not people that see eye to eye on things all the time. It makes their relationship more realistic given their unique circumstances and background.
The world building had a ton of potential but I think overall fell flat. The majority of the story took place at Myrddin’s house but the book starts with the mention of a war between the North and South and it’s not really mentioned again. It doesn’t really add anything of importance to the story so had that been taken out, I don’t feel like it would have changed the story. I could see where the tension is needed to add on to Effy and Preston’s history but to say that there’s a “war”- it just didn’t feel like anything was happening to consider it as such. Maybe this will be touched on more in the sequel. (Which I found out about after finishing the book and looking it up on Goodreads)
One of the main things that I found most intriguing was the idea of the Sleepers. So the Sleepers are essentially corpses of very important people in history that are preserved in the Sleeper’s museum and they have magic that is suppose to keep the north at bay but nothing really comes of this. Again, I wonder if this is something that will be prevalent in the sequel but I would have loved for the Sleepers to be incorporated more into this book and be continually built on in the sequel.
Throughout the entirety of my read through, I was going back and forth between a 3 or 4 star rating and I think the stories message along with the writing kept it closer to 4 stars.
Overall, I really enjoyed this read! I do see myself picking up the sequel and I’m interested to see where Reid takes Effy and Preston moving forward. I would also love to read her other works!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Medical content, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault and Violence
marywollstonecraftshelley's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
HOLY SHIT. this book is my heart torn out and exposed by another. Truly fucking fantastic. Do not listen to the haters. Run don’t walk.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Misogyny
tori_borialis's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
emilybacher's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
sukhb_48's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book has an undercurrent of darkness/uneasiness and it is really interesting to see the effects of that on the characters and their ability to overcome that through the story. The world building is quite good for a book of this size, but it flowed well with the story, it wasn’t just thrown at you. It also analyses sexism in academia, which is still prevalent in modern society. Effy (the female main character), has so much growth and shifts the power imbalance of her society.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault