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A review by ceruleanheather
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
"I wish I had fought..."
"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."
"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."
Content Warnings
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, however she does stand up to him and the system in the end. And she wins. It is quite satisfying.