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A review by tealattes
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Very unorganized review below. Semi spoiler-y.
Characters:
Effy and Preston are a little blah. The premise promises academic rivals. At this point I should know not to ever expect actual rivalries. Here the phrase an overstatement and they really are nice to each other. “Rivalry” lasts for 24 hours. How much dislike can one garner for a fellow student whom one must work with? But it’s unrealistic how quick things move along between them, and that I cannot ignore. I hate when things are told instead of exemplified, especially when relationships are told. What sticks is the between-the-lines, the tacit and implicit, when you have to think at least in the slightest to get the meaning. Unfortunately there was much telling in this book. Effy finds Preston’s paper with her name written over and over again on the THIRD day that she is there. It didn’t even seem like Preston wanted to talk to her and now the paper obviously indicates he likes her, romantically? Enough to think about her and write something like Cardan who was obsessed? Yeah, sure, he seemed wary of Ianto being around Effy because, well, Ianto has red flags all over him, but that’s just looking out with common human decency. Not romantic feelings this soon. Or maybe that’s just how he works??
And then, on the flip side, we have Effy who is arguing with Preston and nitpicking at this and that, judging him for being Argantian and for trying to debunk her favorite author in one moment, while thinking about his freckles and whether or not his glasses hurt his nose in the next.
Day 2 (since meeting)
“His skin was very lightly tan, and from this vantage point she noticed the faint scattering of freckles on his cheeks. She hadn’t seen them before. There were two red marks where his glasses had dug in, tiny nicks that winged the bridge of his nose. She wondered if they hurt. She almost wanted to ask. It was a strange thought, and she wasn’t sure why it had occurred to her.” (77)
Well, guess what. We’re not unsure at all. It’s been 48 hours.
Day 5
“Meeting his stare, she realized what she felt was closer to affection. Even- maybe -passion.” (176)
Passion? Where is this “passion”???? It has manifested overnight somehow. It makes no sense. Effy just met Preston and her initial pride and stubbornness just fell apart. Effy, you’re swooning, and what did you say just 50 pages before?
“I’ve never swooned in my life,” she said crossly.” (124)
I like their banter; it’s entertaining. But the fact that we have to be told that Effy feels passion means it wasn’t evident enough. Doesn’t “friend” come before “lover”? I’m just saying- the timeline makes no sense.
Besides that:
Effy’s psychology is definitely interesting. She is very simple but there is a background that is at least reflected in her nature.
Preston is very nice but very boring. Sorry. Just because he’s the only guy who doesn’t have bad intentions towards Effy doesn’t mean I will automatically him; the rest of his character was lacking.
The only reason why I kind of liked the characters at the end was because I had spent almost 400 pages with them.
General themes:
There is definitely academia. The main characters are university students and they talk about theses and writing papers and quote works of literature (within the world, not real references). I think the best part were these quotes from Myrddin’s poems or from the book Angarad that is mentioned in the description. They were poetic, and stood starkly against the writing style of the rest of the book.
In this world we also have fairies, which helps make this book feel more like dark academia. It’s not the happy, but child kidnapping type of fairy element. The lore is mixed in a little bit, but what is more important is the theme of the sea : both its allure and its danger as a natural, uncontrollable force. How it slowly causes decay, up until death. The main setting added to it: Myrddin’s house, a neglected, waterlogged building on a desolate, eroding cliff over the sea. The one thing that hit the mark from the premise was that it was atmospheric. Before each chapter was an excerpt from made up books and scholarly commentaries which helped push for the academic, mythical and oceanic elements and shaped the overall impression of the book.
It is interesting how the author portrays gender roles in this society. It’s very male-dominated and the viewpoint of the author is clear, but in the beginning, when the story had yet to be formed and meaning yet to be imbued, it was pushing it a bit, like the author was just voicing annoyances. (In the beginning Rhia remarks that she assumes all spiders are male to make it more satisfying to squish them…I didn’t think that was funny.)
All the men around Effy are misogynistic and see her only for her looks and physicality and are horrible people. It is a dark, unforgiving society. I respect the author empowering women through the main character’s experiences and growth, especially through Effy as a more unconventional character and not the typical strong FMC, making her more grounded and less fictitious and unreachable. Like I said, sometimes I felt the message was slightly stilted and unnatural, but the theme was consistent, and I think people would benefit from it.
The book also discusses prejudice and stereotypes between cultures through two country-like entities in the world, Llyr and Argant, prejudice which Effy is not exempt from, as well as prejudice and stereotyping within a country, between north and south, over intensity of religious beliefs, and economic, academic and political development. This aspect was thought-provoking as well.
Plot-wise, everything was solved very easily. Entire mysteries and ground breaking evidence uncovered by doing one step. Antagonist defeated in two sentences. Reminded me of Sorcery of Thorns in that aspect, such that it did not match the intensity of the themes in the book.
Characters:
Effy and Preston are a little blah. The premise promises academic rivals. At this point I should know not to ever expect actual rivalries. Here the phrase an overstatement and they really are nice to each other. “Rivalry” lasts for 24 hours. How much dislike can one garner for a fellow student whom one must work with? But it’s unrealistic how quick things move along between them, and that I cannot ignore. I hate when things are told instead of exemplified, especially when relationships are told. What sticks is the between-the-lines, the tacit and implicit, when you have to think at least in the slightest to get the meaning. Unfortunately there was much telling in this book. Effy finds Preston’s paper with her name written over and over again on the THIRD day that she is there. It didn’t even seem like Preston wanted to talk to her and now the paper obviously indicates he likes her, romantically? Enough to think about her and write something like Cardan who was obsessed? Yeah, sure, he seemed wary of Ianto being around Effy because, well, Ianto has red flags all over him, but that’s just looking out with common human decency. Not romantic feelings this soon. Or maybe that’s just how he works??
And then, on the flip side, we have Effy who is arguing with Preston and nitpicking at this and that, judging him for being Argantian and for trying to debunk her favorite author in one moment, while thinking about his freckles and whether or not his glasses hurt his nose in the next.
Day 2 (since meeting)
“His skin was very lightly tan, and from this vantage point she noticed the faint scattering of freckles on his cheeks. She hadn’t seen them before. There were two red marks where his glasses had dug in, tiny nicks that winged the bridge of his nose. She wondered if they hurt. She almost wanted to ask. It was a strange thought, and she wasn’t sure why it had occurred to her.” (77)
Well, guess what. We’re not unsure at all. It’s been 48 hours.
Day 5
“Meeting his stare, she realized what she felt was closer to affection. Even- maybe -passion.” (176)
Passion? Where is this “passion”???? It has manifested overnight somehow. It makes no sense. Effy just met Preston and her initial pride and stubbornness just fell apart. Effy, you’re swooning, and what did you say just 50 pages before?
“I’ve never swooned in my life,” she said crossly.” (124)
I like their banter; it’s entertaining. But the fact that we have to be told that Effy feels passion means it wasn’t evident enough. Doesn’t “friend” come before “lover”? I’m just saying- the timeline makes no sense.
Besides that:
Effy’s psychology is definitely interesting. She is very simple but there is a background that is at least reflected in her nature.
Preston is very nice but very boring. Sorry. Just because he’s the only guy who doesn’t have bad intentions towards Effy doesn’t mean I will automatically him; the rest of his character was lacking.
The only reason why I kind of liked the characters at the end was because I had spent almost 400 pages with them.
General themes:
There is definitely academia. The main characters are university students and they talk about theses and writing papers and quote works of literature (within the world, not real references). I think the best part were these quotes from Myrddin’s poems or from the book Angarad that is mentioned in the description. They were poetic, and stood starkly against the writing style of the rest of the book.
In this world we also have fairies, which helps make this book feel more like dark academia. It’s not the happy, but child kidnapping type of fairy element. The lore is mixed in a little bit, but what is more important is the theme of the sea : both its allure and its danger as a natural, uncontrollable force. How it slowly causes decay, up until death. The main setting added to it: Myrddin’s house, a neglected, waterlogged building on a desolate, eroding cliff over the sea. The one thing that hit the mark from the premise was that it was atmospheric. Before each chapter was an excerpt from made up books and scholarly commentaries which helped push for the academic, mythical and oceanic elements and shaped the overall impression of the book.
It is interesting how the author portrays gender roles in this society. It’s very male-dominated and the viewpoint of the author is clear, but in the beginning, when the story had yet to be formed and meaning yet to be imbued, it was pushing it a bit, like the author was just voicing annoyances. (In the beginning Rhia remarks that she assumes all spiders are male to make it more satisfying to squish them…I didn’t think that was funny.)
All the men around Effy are misogynistic and see her only for her looks and physicality and are horrible people. It is a dark, unforgiving society. I respect the author empowering women through the main character’s experiences and growth, especially through Effy as a more unconventional character and not the typical strong FMC, making her more grounded and less fictitious and unreachable. Like I said, sometimes I felt the message was slightly stilted and unnatural, but the theme was consistent, and I think people would benefit from it.
The book also discusses prejudice and stereotypes between cultures through two country-like entities in the world, Llyr and Argant, prejudice which Effy is not exempt from, as well as prejudice and stereotyping within a country, between north and south, over intensity of religious beliefs, and economic, academic and political development. This aspect was thought-provoking as well.
Plot-wise, everything was solved very easily. Entire mysteries and ground breaking evidence uncovered by doing one step. Antagonist defeated in two sentences. Reminded me of Sorcery of Thorns in that aspect, such that it did not match the intensity of the themes in the book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content and Sexual harassment