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witcheep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This is very dark story due to the worldbuilding! The world the characters live in is very misogynistic, and the main characters find it hard to fight against, which made the reading experience very uncomfortable – as it should. However, the plot didn't offer enough either mystery or romance, so besides uncomfortable, the book was also boring. The hints towards the mystery made the ending too predictable.
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
poetsofsweetpea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Well written though, this novel was filled with beautiful descriptions. The characters were multi-faceted. The world building was rich and filled with minute details.
I don't love the way Reid handles SA and its been present in all of her novels I've read so far. Which I also don't enjoy.
There were a few times when the characters' decisions seemed too convenient and not fully in character. But for the most part, it's a good book.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
zoer03's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
aleilvandrea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Dementia, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Infidelity, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
terrastrial's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Gaslighting
Minor: Domestic abuse
edilyaaang's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Got really confused about everything at first especially because there were lots of gaps in the beginning. There were times that that I rolled my eyes hard at some parts but in the end I felt like those things married the story together in a way that gave it more depth.
But whew, I did not expect the story to turn that way. Though I have already guessed some parts of the story, the plots twists blew my mind off.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, and Violence
hspfost's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, and Car accident
ceruleanheather's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"Oh no, Effy. That's not what I meant at all. You don't have to take up a sword. Survival is bravery too."
Effy is a smart, pretty architectural student who is probably Emrys Myrddin's biggest fan. So when she gets the chance to redesign Myrddin's home it seems like a dream come true. However Effy has to share this dream with a smug literature student named Preston, who is bent on proving that Effy's idol is not deserving of the praise he receives.
This sounds like a rom com at first glance, but there are sinister secrets everywhere. Old magic, curses and sacrifices, and a journey of healing and self discovery. It is tough to get through at times, just like any real grief and healing journey.
In the end I absolutely adored this book, but it took me time to get there. I really struggled to sit down and read it. At first I thought it was because I couldn't connect to the characters and the story. However as the story continued, I realized that I in fact connected too much with Effy. And that is the beauty of this book. Just like Angharad was a lighthouse for Effy, A Study in Drowning is a lighthouse for any girl or woman (or any person for that matter) who has been through something and had no one believe them. Yet the story is told in such a way that you don't realize it is helping you heal until you battle through it.
Effy's journey from a lost, self-doubting, girl who thinks she isn't capable of being loved to the girl who survives and uses the strength she found along the way to make a stand is just beautiful.
Also a side note: I picked this book as the last one in my Taylor Swift Eras reading challenge, to go with the Tortured Poets Department. It ended up fitting pretty well. Who's Afraid of Little Old Me? You should be.
*************
Some of my favorite lines/parts:
"Love is a fire that cannot burn alone."
"My apologies if it wasn't clear to you, Mr. Marlowe." (It makes sense in context!)
"Miserably, and against her will, Effy realized that she was in a Romance after all."
"Are you scared?"
"Of drowning? Of the dark? Yes. Those are very reasonable things to be scared of."
"And everyone thinks that I started it but I didn't. I never got anything from him..."
"...I believe you." ❤️❤️❤️
"One must know before loving."
"The only reason anything matters is because it ends."
"The Fairy King was all of them...every wanting man..."
"I wanted just one girl, only one, to read my book and feel that she was understood, and I would be understood in return." ❤️❤️❤️
"If you can learn to love that which despises you, that which terrifies you, you can dance on the shore and play in the waves again like you did when you were young. Before the ocean is friend or foe, it simply is. And so are you."
"Survival is bravery too."
Graphic: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content and Blood
Thee protagonist is taken advantage of by a superior. This causes many issues for the protagonist, howeverescapethewonderland's review against another edition
- 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
Female rage unraveled in an intense storytelling about injustices, women's voices brutally silenced, distorted, taken advantage of and greedy men abusing their power.
Rich atmospheres and a wild nature that reminded me of that in Wuthering Heights, beautiful prose, a story of overcoming hurt, trauma, grief, the impossible, the disbelief of people.
A story of resilience that feels like the first sun beam after a brutal storm.
Thank you Angharad and Effy.
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Classism
haley_mil_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Xenophobia