A review by drearyletters
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I’m not mad, just disappointed. 
This book was packaged as a “dark academia” book, and I guess what I want out of dark academia is different than everyone else. I’m looking for mystery and intrigue, mixed into the halls of academia. In this book, it is just the general backdrop for a romance, most of the book not even taking place on the university (Which is FINNNEEEE, just not what I want out of this book). I feel similarly of A Study in Drowning as I do of Divine Rivals and What the River Knows, an interesting fantasy world that is subjected to a basic romance. There was an interesting thematic discussion of rationality vs mythic belief, represented by the two love interests, and some explorations of the legacy of authorship that gave the book more depth. 

I did come around to like the two main characters(I found Effie’s struggle with past trauma and identity well thought out), but even then, I found myself rolling my eyes at the contrived romantic tropes (rivals at first, only one bed, situations that force the girl to take off her clothes—conveniently). The main mystery was pretty obvious from the first, and all I hoped for was more complexity and mystery.  
I need to stop reading YA Romance and being surprised that I don’t like it. 

Content warning: suggestions of sexual assault, one mildly explicit sex scene. 
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