A review by 5aru
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

The story was beautifully crafted; you could understand what the truth was, not because it was a predictable twist but because it was properly foregrounded. Effy and Preston were likeable protagonists, though the development of the romance felt a little lacking for my taste. In fact, I think the major problem is that the book should've been longer, or else differently paced: as it is, the last quarter is too packed with information and so it feels like too many things happen at once. If some of the reveals
(especially the Fairy King being real)
happened earlier, the final confrontation would've been better set up and thus more satisfying to lead up into the reveal.

I still enjoyed it immensely, though. I liked the worldbuilding and felt very close to Effy's experiences, particularly one which I'm sure is almost universal (esp. as a woman) — that of finding out your favourite author, in fact, sucks.
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