Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

15 reviews

sherylkay's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

poetsofsweetpea's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

sydresnik's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

xerosbeat's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

I really appreciated all the water metaphors when tackling trauma and mental illness in the book. I once told my brother than getting on antidepressants was like coming up for air after being submerged and Ava Reid totally captured that and then some.Misogyny, sexism in academia, survivor guilt, sexual assault, plagiarism, so much was tackled in this book. Thoroughly enjoyed it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

reddeddy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I thought this was a pretty simple plot. The story opens with Effy who attends the Architecture College at the University she attends. She did test high enough to attend the literature college however the school has an archaic rule that states women are not allowed. After entering a competition she is awarded an opportunity to stay at and design her favorite authors home who is recently deceased. It is through this opportunity she meets the love interest Preston and uncovers secrets that will have the potential to rewrite history. 

Ava Reid is a really descriptive writer. I think she did a really good job of exploring some of the more triggering topics in this novel in a very age appropriate way as this is a YA novel. I also really enjoyed how she described the anxiety that Effy was feeling every day. There was only one scene between the love interests Preston and Effy that seemed to toe the line a little, seemed more like adult content. 

I only have a few critiques. First, I thought the pace of this story was a little slow and very predictable. Once you get to the end the twist (if you could call it that) was not a surprise more of a confirmation. The ending seemed to also drag a little for me as well. I found myself skimming. Secondly, based on the cover and title I thought this book would have dark academia vibes, but this doesn’t quite hit the mark. While the overall atmosphere does seem pretty bleak. The university has a very minor role and I just don’t get the prestigious atmosphere like I have gotten in other dark academia novels. 

Overall it was a great break from my usual tastes, but I will probably never think of it again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Stalking

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia

Minor: Death of parent

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious 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

1.75

I’ve been steadily chipping away at NPR’s 2023 favorite books list. Starting to wonder why. There seem to be more I dislike than like, including this one. Yeah, heroine is great, but a lot of it is too contrived for me, and most of the characters are really despicable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

bxnny's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

the description of the book doesn’t say this but this book has HEAVY themes of sexual harassment, sexual assault & misogyny, also moderate racism. proceed with caution

campredwood's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment

Minor: Drug use and Emotional abuse

kobookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The writing in this book is beautiful. Story had me hooked - tense, mysterious, horror-ish, dark academia vibes. However, I felt like the character development as a bit shallow for MMC. Heavy references to SA. The fantasy aspect could have been more flushed out as well. But overall I enjoyed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Stalking, and Gaslighting