Scan barcode
A review by kat42
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really wanted to like this book and am sad I didn't. The one thing it did well, in my opinion, was tackle the misogyny in academia. The abuse women face at the hands of men, the assumption that women cannot compete intellectually with men, and the common occurrence of men stealing women's work. I also loved the setting of a crumbling house falling into the sea.
However, the characters and romance were dull to me. Effy's prejudice is somehow okay now that she's fucked Preston? Also the sexual abuse she has dealt with is pretty key to her character, but then when she has consensual sex with Preston, the word Reid chose to describe it was "assault"??? My other issue is that everything happened so easily for the characters at the end. The conflict gets resolved in like two pages, and someone literally just tells Effy and Preston all the answers to everything instead of the two of them having to piece it together on their own.
However, the characters and romance were dull to me. Effy's prejudice is somehow okay now that she's fucked Preston? Also the sexual abuse she has dealt with is pretty key to her character, but then when she has consensual sex with Preston, the word Reid chose to describe it was "assault"??? My other issue is that everything happened so easily for the characters at the end. The conflict gets resolved in like two pages, and someone literally just tells Effy and Preston all the answers to everything instead of the two of them having to piece it together on their own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse and Mental illness