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A review by steimerr
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
A Study In Drowning is unique and intriguing. I feel we so often see YA fantasies written with the same similar tropes, ideas and themes time and time again and with this book I didn’t feel that way. Ava Reid’s writing is beautifully executed in my opinion. She incorporates lots of wonderfully mature vocabulary and all of her figurative language was intricately related back to the dark, wet and drowning mood of the book.
The included themes of misogyny and institutional sexism in this book were not too overbearing, yet still prominent, relatable and provoking. I enjoyed the incorporation of another story (Angharad) within this story, it added a distinctive and engaging aspect to the novel.
The pacing in this book is a mess. The beginning was mainly mundane world building then the rest of the book, until about maybe the 70% mark, was super slow paced and uneventful. Then the end of the book felt rushed and smashed together. It was so fast paced and jam packed with numerous last minute half ass explanations that ultimately only made the story more confusing rather than clearing up any confusion.
The world building in this book was strong when it came to the actual setting and descriptions. But when it came to the politics and folklore, certain things could have been explained further. Some of which seemed pointless to the story without further context. Such as the war between Llyr and Argant (neighboring countries) that was mentioned then never referenced again. I felt like there was a lot of telling of what or how things were without any actual detail or explanations as to how or why.
It was also nearly impossible to connect with either character in this book. Our FMC Effy is not a likable character. She is judgmental, stubborn and pessimistic and always unsure of herself. She is also rude to Preston from the start, especially regarding his ethnicity. Whereas Preston (MMC), is a total gentleman. From what I could gather, he is extremely cautious, respectful, and thoughtful towards Effy. I would have liked to have had Preston’s pov included, since he was actually a likable character and had lots of potential for more.
Furthermore, this book is labeled as a Fantasy Romance but I found the romance in this to be quite disappointing. It’s barely there until the very end of the book. The lead up to the turning point in the relationship of the two main characters’ is very bland. It would have been nice to see a little more obvious flirting or more in-site and clues on their thoughts and feelings towards one another. Since it’s a single pov from the FMC perspective, it is difficult to get any grasp of what our MMC is feeling or thinking in certain situations, which (being difficult already without his pov) made it even harder to analyze his character. Therefore, the romance ended up feeling kind of insta-lovey and thrown in there.
Overall, the writing and general ideas in this book were great but there were so many parts of this book that left me feeling like they needed a tad bit more explanation. Reid had so many great ideas incorporated in the story, yet they weren’t elaborate enough. I would have preferred less ideas with more explanation rather than such an abundance of ideas that lack enough context. This book could have almost been split into two much more in depth books within a series if Reid would have spent more time explaining the plethora of things lacking context.
The included themes of misogyny and institutional sexism in this book were not too overbearing, yet still prominent, relatable and provoking. I enjoyed the incorporation of another story (Angharad) within this story, it added a distinctive and engaging aspect to the novel.
The pacing in this book is a mess. The beginning was mainly mundane world building then the rest of the book, until about maybe the 70% mark, was super slow paced and uneventful. Then the end of the book felt rushed and smashed together. It was so fast paced and jam packed with numerous last minute half ass explanations that ultimately only made the story more confusing rather than clearing up any confusion.
The world building in this book was strong when it came to the actual setting and descriptions. But when it came to the politics and folklore, certain things could have been explained further. Some of which seemed pointless to the story without further context. Such as the war between Llyr and Argant (neighboring countries) that was mentioned then never referenced again. I felt like there was a lot of telling of what or how things were without any actual detail or explanations as to how or why.
It was also nearly impossible to connect with either character in this book. Our FMC Effy is not a likable character. She is judgmental, stubborn and pessimistic and always unsure of herself. She is also rude to Preston from the start, especially regarding his ethnicity. Whereas Preston (MMC), is a total gentleman. From what I could gather, he is extremely cautious, respectful, and thoughtful towards Effy. I would have liked to have had Preston’s pov included, since he was actually a likable character and had lots of potential for more.
Furthermore, this book is labeled as a Fantasy Romance but I found the romance in this to be quite disappointing. It’s barely there until the very end of the book. The lead up to the turning point in the relationship of the two main characters’ is very bland. It would have been nice to see a little more obvious flirting or more in-site and clues on their thoughts and feelings towards one another. Since it’s a single pov from the FMC perspective, it is difficult to get any grasp of what our MMC is feeling or thinking in certain situations, which (being difficult already without his pov) made it even harder to analyze his character. Therefore, the romance ended up feeling kind of insta-lovey and thrown in there.
Overall, the writing and general ideas in this book were great but there were so many parts of this book that left me feeling like they needed a tad bit more explanation. Reid had so many great ideas incorporated in the story, yet they weren’t elaborate enough. I would have preferred less ideas with more explanation rather than such an abundance of ideas that lack enough context. This book could have almost been split into two much more in depth books within a series if Reid would have spent more time explaining the plethora of things lacking context.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexism and Death of parent
Minor: Mental illness