Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - A Study in Drowning

Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

145 reviews

trippalli's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Gothic style mystery of suspense as students investigate the origins of fairy stories. Epic poetry and historic accounts that may have been credited to the wrong person looking to uncover the true author. They find themselves in danger and must deal at the threats of both the house that's falling apart. The family that is obscuring information and the question of if they're hallucinating or really seeing fairies and other things at the gothic mansion...

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mollieweitzman's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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 was everything!!! Am I Ava Reid’s biggest fan now?!?? Yall were right!! Absolutely the best book to finish while in the dark and with no power for 3 days after a hurricane the vibes could not be more perfect I fear. Literally in the second drowning as we speak!!

As an aside I didn’t really like Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross and I know the plot doesn’t match up at all but this was kind of exactly the vibe I was wanting and missing from that!

This book like it literally has EVERYTHING that I have ever wanted in a book please read this my moody dark academia girls who love the cruel prince and women destroying shithead men in power!! DO IT DO IT

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elanuruysal's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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poetsofsweetpea's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

A Study in Drowning was a lengthy look into how superstition is just the ugly side of magic. This is a dark and icky world where female characters have no agency. It felt like a cross between Rebecca and the Magicians. A devotee of a book discovers what it's like to understand her hero. It's a little soggy.

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.

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shamaramill's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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silly_snail's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.0

dragged soooo much at the end. Unfortunately I didn't care about the characters at all, Preston felt so flat and their romance ?? 0 chemistry. Effy hated him at first out of (straight up) racism, and then fell in love just as fast. She treated him so poorly, confronting him for no reasons it was so annoying. Preston would just let her use him as a doormat, before deciding to team up with her ??
Other than that. I was hooked for 70% of the book, I loved the fairy-tales, the myths, the gothic elements. Definitely don't regret reading it, despite it's flaws.

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vexderolo1993's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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amy_reading_23's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

This book is so good!! I really enjoyed it and read it in a few days. It was beautifully written snd I loved the academic background as well as all the fae elements. This is a book that masterfully talks about misogyny, SA and mental health in a sensitive way. I also liked how the protagonist was very aware of herself when the romance bits were cliche. Definitely check trigger warnings, as SA and PTSD is a topic that features throughout the book. As someone who lives in Wales, the use of some of the Welsh words seemed a bit random to me, especially as the book is set in some unnamed world.

I thought it was kind of onvious that his wife had written Angharad from early on in the novel so it frystrated me a little that it took them so long to come to that conclusion.

But overall a good fantasy dark-academia read!

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wooblatoober's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

this review is littered with spoilers so do not read it if you haven’t read the book yet. i’m spoiler tagging the most major spoilers but i am leaving things unspoilered that might or might not be considered spoilers depending on the reader

i really loved some aspects of this book but was really bothered by others—i loved the imagery & the metaphors really made me feel the way i believe the author wanted me to feel. parts were very cozy in ways i haven’t felt since i was probably 14. i LOVED the love interest & i had a huge crush on him because he’s so perfect. whenever there was a scene without him, i wanted him to come back, & i believe reid did a good job of making him incredibly caring while still empowering the female lead. the book covered serious topics regarding misogyny & sexual assault very well,

& the way effy was able to bond with angharad & angharad was able to get some sort of justice was really touching to me, not to mention how the symbolism of angharad (who lived much of her life under an entity that seems to represent, as a whole, misogyny, patriarchy, & predation) being able to help effy break out of that cycle for herself. i also liked that even though angharad is old, it’s not treated like she lost her entire life under the repression of a man twice her age who was also sometimes the fairy king. very empowering that it was treated like, despite what was taken from her, she still had life in front of her to live, & be strong, & be free.

lastly, i could identify with effy’s sexual trauma in poignant ways. i really enjoyed reading this book for most of my time reading it & i liked it enough that i’ll likely reread it, which i don’t often do.
my complaint is this: effy’s fucking racist. & i love a problematic character who grows & learns lessons & changes, BUT SHE FUCKING DOESN’T!!! it’s just not dealt with well & leaves a bad taste in my mouth. she even calls him slurs at one point and i don’t think she ever took accountability for that at all??? like it seems like she got an argantian boyfriend so she’s absolved of all racism against argantians. it really just gives, “i can’t be racist because my boyfriend’s argantian (or insert any race/ethnicity/nationality in place of that).” book is also hypnotically caucasian, which, like, i know it’s set in a fictional place based on wales & england, but it’s a FICTIONAL PLACE so do all these characters really gotta be beans and toast ass motherfuckers?? last complaint, she throws her long blonde hair into a messy bun 👎

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terrastrial's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

not my favorite of hers, I liked the plot tho and the strength of connection formed between young women who've been preyed on by older men. The resilience that sparks when someone finds another that has suffered the same trauma and validates its reality. I do feel like Ava Reid built up a whole fantasy world with political strife and two warring countries and then placed this story inside it, I think the xenophobia was unnecessary but I may have missed something.

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