A review by jo_bee
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

Really enjoyed the mix of mystery and folklore, two students trying to get the bottom of a potential literature fraud. It's about author legacies, fairies and prejudices and the characters are quite lovable. I was even sold on the romance, which is hard to do. It becomes a bit tiring to constantly hear how beautiful Effy is, though since that is the point and she is also tired of hearing it I won't fault the writing for that.
The book begins a little awkward and it feels like one chapter is skipped entirely, there is a strange time jump between Effy getting a task and then being accepted right next chapter, where I would have liked to see her thought and work process, especially since it is something so personal to her. The big reveal was obvious to me in the first half, which made it a little frustrating that it drags on until the very end, especially since the two main characters are supposed to be two smart and well-read people.
It is especially strange in Effy's case, whose dream it is to be an author and who despises how men believe women are not capable of the eloquence and fantasy required to be one - strange then that even in a letter she rightfully deduces is written to a woman she already knows about and mentions "your main character" in it, she never once brings up the possibility that this very woman could be an author, until she is told at the very end by that same woman. There are hints that she doesn't dare to bring a specific theory up, which is probably this, but it is still strange that she specifically would not be more outspoken about it, especially towards Preston, who made it very clear that he hates these outdated beliefs on women. It also struck me as weird that she considered the main character of her favorite novel the villain for "betraying" her kidnapper, when she also mentions again and again how much she relates to her, though this could of course be part of her particular trauma.

At its very core it is a story about a girl finding the strength to realize how she has been wronged and how she can move on from that, dressed up in a mysterious fairytale setting, which made for a quick and enjoyable read.
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