tobereadbookshelf 's review for:

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

3.5

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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3.5 stars. The world building felt a bit clunky to me. I slogged through the first 30% or so and could have easily put this down and never picked it back up again. I persevered and the next 60% did pick up and hold my interest. This is a high fantasy novel but it felt a little too much like historical fiction to me at times. I found myself thinking of it more like The Haunting of Hill House and kept having to reorient myself to their world. Gothic thrillers are not my preferred genre, but I did think the spooky aspects of this book were well done. The ending felt a little rushed and anticlimactic to me. I’m going to need someone to flesh out the full significance of “the drowning” and how it relates to the fairy king because I’m still confused. There was a lot of symbolism but I’m still struggling to connect all the dots.