Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - A Study in Drowning

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

78 reviews

amelianotthepilot's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

A gothic fantasy full of feminine rage.

It has everything of a classic gothic novel: a female who’s maybe mad or uncovering something, a spooky house with a spooky man, and a mystery to keep her there with a sprinkle of romance.

I overall really enjoyed this story. I loved the characters and the spooky gothic house. The water and drowning imagery was also delicious. I loved the feminine rage and depictions of the female experience.

The plot was a bit obvious towards the end and the last two chapters of wrap up were boring. There were a lot of quotable lines but also an equal amount of cringey pompous lines. I loved the world building but at the same time for a stand alone novel it seemed unnecessary for a personal success plot. It followed the main character and her struggles not a political or societal change.

It follows Effy who is the first female architecture student at this university. She enters a competition to build a house in memorial for her favorite author who has recently passed away. She is invited to the house to discuss and finalize her plans only to get there and see how truly messed up and spooky the current house is. The house is on the cliff which could be swallowed by the sea at any moment. Will Effy, the creepy man owner of the house, and the other male student researching there survive or succumb to the house?

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btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

A Study in Drowning is an impeccable study in world building - the writing is atmospheric and full, while also filling you full of dread. It was definitely one of those books where you think, "I'm not happy to be here, but I'm intrigued. Proceed." The uncomfy feeling that sat on my chest through this story made it harder to read, but the writing made it hard to look away. It was an interesting reading experience for sure.

While I loved the premise of the story and the tidbits of magic and horror that we get, I feel like much of the problems the characters run into are solved too easily. Need to find proof of something? Go from point A to point B and tada - it's right there waiting for them. A lot of things felt too convenient which often pulled me out of the story.

Additionally, the romance felt too quick. Effy is so rude to Preston when he, objectively, has done nothing to actually offend her. They weren't rivals, really, Effy was just a classist B who needed someone to yell at since everyone else was a misogynistic a-hole. I didn't like her a lot because of that, and their declarations of feelings came much too fast when that was the base of their relationship. It was not for me, honestly.

I did love the overall message. It didn't feel preachy - in fact, it felt magical and I loved that. The way Ava Reid weaved together the story and connected all the dots at the end was absolutely brilliant and I almost wish we could've scrapped the whole romance plot for more depth into the magic of the world.

All in all, this was a solid read, but the stakes for the obstacles they faced (other than a few obvious big ones) felt so low and too easy. I wish there was a bit more meat to those aspects, but enjoyed the book as a whole.

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3.5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Pacing: 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5

TW: misogyny, sexism, sexual harassment, sexual assault, grief, injury detail, PTSD, mental illness, emotional abuse, blood; mentions death of a parent, abandonment, adult/minor relationship, xenophobia

eARC gifted via NetGalley by HarperTeen in exchange for an honest review.

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rebekah_t's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious fast-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

4.75

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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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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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colwellcat's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective 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

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ashthigs7's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.5

There was just something missing for me in this book. I don’t know if it’s the weird mix of pre-modern (years like 191 AD, horse drawn carts, faeries and “Sleepers”) and modern (Effy’s pink pills, coffee, cars) or what, but it was like the book couldn’t make up its mind. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia did a much better job of marrying more modern aspects with pre-modern (only way I know how to describe it). I just don’t know what was missing here. I did love Preston’s character. There were some darker/sadder moments with Effy. I understand what Ava Reid was trying to accomplish, I just don’t know if her style of accomplishing it is my taste.

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deetabz's review against another edition

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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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sam_appa's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

The story is of a young girl, Effy, who gets chosen to redesign the house of the late Emrys Myrddin, her favorite author. She has been having visions of the fabled Fairy King ever since she was little, the same Fairy King detailed in the Myrddin’s book ‘Angharad’. We follow along as her and the other collegiate guest of the house, Preston, uncover the mysteries of the book, questioning both it’s authorial origins and how much truth it’s words hold.

I enjoyed it, I thought the romance was really well done, the dark academia vibe was exactly what I was looking for, and the plot kept me interested. I did wish that either the magic was more complex and fleshed out (since I went into this thinking it would be fantasy driven) or Effy’s madness fully realized. I also wished that the triumph at the end was more.. triumphant?

This magical Fairy King that had been tormenting Effy her whole life was defeated in a single page with his own reflection in a shard of glass. It felt rushed and a bit unsatisfying. The way in which her sexual assault was handled in the end also felt unfinished, though I appreciated that it was consistently validated as sexual assault. It never glamorized the relationship between an older man and a teenage girl, instead, using Angharad’s story as fuel to further validate the assault.

But it was nice to see Effy’s development as well as Preston’s. As a whole, although it’s predictable at times, I thoroughly enjoyed it. From the gorgeous writing to the lovable characters, this was a great read.

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hexedmaiden's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

3.75

I spent a good chunk of this book not being sure if I even liked that our female main character, Effy. Between her xenophobia against our male main character (which takes a bit to resolve) and that even confronted with the facts that her favorite author is a creep she wont accept it until almost the end.
I get why it takes her a while to come to terms with all that I think some of us have been confronted with something similar be it finding out your fave is racist, transphobic, xenophobic, etc. And maybe it's just easy for me to kick those bitches to the curb than others, but Effy come on!

Now I can't be 100% negative about this book because despite the times I wanted to pick Effy up and shake her like a coconut tree, I did enjoy this story I genuinely couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the gothic, dark academia vibes of this book. I loved our main male character, Preston and his backstory. Despite me initial unlike for Effy I did find her to be complex and interesting.

Ava's writing is chef's kiss and I can't wait for more from them. I read their previous novel, Juniper & Thorn and loved it and while I'm sad I wasn't as in love with this novel as their first work I still enjoyed my time in this world they created.

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adina98's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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