Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

31 reviews

malisac16's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Abandonment and Bullying

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

3.5

Def look at trigger/content warnings.
Overall, I appreciated reading this, but it wasn't a favorite. It was pretty slow at the beginning, and if I didn't also listen to the audio, I think I wouldn't have liked it as much. I appreciate the discussions on sexism and abuse of power/power dynamics with a backdrop of magic, but I feel the magic was a little throw away. I also could've done without the romance aspect of this.
This is the first book from this author I've read and I will plan to read more from them it's just this one wasn't amazing for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism

Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Medical content, Bullying, Classism, Racism, and Rape

deetabz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, and Sexual content

jos_haunted_library's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Classism

Moderate: Death of parent, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Violence, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Blood, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

achay91's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying

azrah786's review against another edition

4.25

 **I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

CW: misogyny/sexism, parental abuse/neglect, emotional abuse, gaslighting, adult-minor relationship/grooming, sexual harassment/assault, toxic relationship, domestic abuse, violence, injury, blood, death, death of parent, bullying, xenophobia, grief, mental illness including hallucinations and delusions, suicidal ideation and self-harming behaviors; post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety
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This was my first Ava Reid book and it definitely won’t be my last!

A big reason for this is Reid’s writing, which is phenomenal and perfectly encapsulates the haunting and mysterious atmosphere of this story and setting.

A Study in Drowning follows Effy, a young woman who is an architecture student who grasps the opportunity to design the house of her now late favourite author, Emrys Myrddin as it also means escaping the misogyny and harassment at her institution. Upon arriving at Hiraeth Manor, Effy meets the author’s son who unsettles her with his demeanour and Preston another student who is out to prove Myrddin as a fraud.
Effy’s connection to Angharad, Myrddin’s famous book is more than just sentimental and so she falls in with Preston as a means to uphold Myrddin’s legacy but they both begin to realise that there is more to the house and the author than they expected.

I don’t actually recall reading the synopsis so discovering that the protagonist was an architecture student (albeit reluctantly, as women aren’t allowed to study literature in this world) was such a surprise! There is definitely a niche for more Dark Academia with an Architecture / Engineering focus and I have a mighty need!!

That being said the book does eventually diverge from architecture and despite the study of literature being a big part of the story I feel like genre-wise this leans more towards gothic fiction. Though there is still much commentary on the prejudice women face in academia and in society overall which was really well addressed.

On immediately finishing the book I enjoyed so many things particularly how immersive and vivid everything was and the mystery aspect to the plot. The rivals to lovers aspect did start off a little flat but I liked how it eventually developed.

I do think that the magic side of things wasn’t as fleshed out as I expected by the end, it felt more like it was there to add to the overall ambiance and was overshadowed by the themes of agency and power. Then again I am also a reader who isn’t the biggest fan of fae elements in books so this could have just been a me thing.

All that aside I did enjoy this book and i'm glad I finally picked up Reid's work!
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Death

lisztaffe's review against another edition

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

Moderate: Bullying, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Rape, and Self harm

krisglomb's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Things about this book that hit and hit HARD: atmosphere, a sense of doom, romantic descriptions of nature and people so heavy they feel positively gothic. This is the type of book I love however, there were some parts I felt could’ve been better. 

First, the overall mystery. I liked the interplay of a haunted house/person, the ugly realities of Effy’s (and others’) day to day, and the main mystery of Angharad’s authorship. I feel like the 3 didn’t come together to make each story line stronger, however. I think it became obvious to the reader the solution to the main mystery halfway through. And while sometimes its ok for a reader to have information our MCs don’t, in this case it didn’t make much sense. And then, even though we had known the answer to the question for about half the book, we get to the end and instead of a clarity of pieces being put together in an event or revelation, its all revealed in an info dump. It wasn’t very satisfying. There was also a distinct tie between Effy’s “haunting” and her daily atrocities, but by the end they feel so far separated. Their combined resolution make her a stronger person able to step into her life more fully, but it felt like the author couldn’t quite decide if she wanted to keep her worlds separate/the consequences separate/etc. 

I love this book for the potential for discussion and while sometimes the prose hit you over the head (yes, not only the sensation of drowning, but the word drowning is used HEAVILY in the book), it didn’t end up taking away from the atmospheric quality overall. 

QUOTES

The solitude that had once comforted her had become an enormous empty space where so many bad things could happen.

She was tired, tired of trying so hard for something she didn’t even want.

It was an eternal feeling, this sense of being unwelcome.

There was an intimacy to all the violence, she supposed. The better you knew someone, the more terribly you could hurt them.

She wasn’t a Southerner, but she knew what it was like to drown.

“No one owns the right to tell a story.”

As if stories were not spoils of war.

“You don’t have to love something in order to devote yourself to it.”

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” “It’s terrifying.” “Most beautiful things are.”

“They didn’t think to fear the Drowning until the water was lapping at their door […] It’s the fear we have to learn. The fear keeps the sea from taking us.”

She was not afraid of the ghost. But she was horribly, wretchedly afraid of whatever had killed the woman it had once been.

“You’d be surprised of how much cognitive dissonance people are capable of.”

Anything can be taken from you, at any moment. Even the past isn’t guaranteed. You can lose that, too, like water eating away at stone.

Even though she was afraid of living, she didn’t want to die.

“Survival is bravery, too.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Bullying

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Sexual assault

Minor: Classism and Confinement

vagrantheather's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was such a delight all the way through. It really shines in the setting - rainy, craggy coastal cliffs. Would recommend for anyone missing the Scottish isles or the Irish coast. The interwoven literature and mythology - fictional though it is - felt real and lovely. I was utterly charmed by the slow development of feelings between our MC and her chosen.

Some readers may roll their eyes at how much crying and feeling helpless the MC does. I found it fitting and loved reading her empowerment / development of a spine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Gaslighting

Minor: Bullying, Xenophobia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

hailslynn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

This is the book I will reference whenever I talk about dark academia from now on. Poignant with beautiful prose and tough conversations. This book is heartbreaking and healing, leaving me feel seen and heard and giving me hope. Effy is strong and brave and brilliant and also fragile and scared. Preston is thoughtful and kind and the perfectly flawed male love interest to the perfectly flawed main character. This book is as real as it is fiction, and I loved getting to escape into it. Here’s to Effy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Drug use, Violence, Sexism, Rape, Mental illness, Death, Bullying, Alcohol, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: War