A review by val_theburrowofstories
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

dark mysterious 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

2.0

 
  • My hatred towards stories with girls who are sexually assaulted / raped will always influence my rating in a book :( I’m sorry but I just can’t handle it. Maybe if the campaign of this book wasn’t just “oh sweet YA with faeries and mystery” and people mentioned what happened to her as a trigger warning then MAYBE I would not have picked up this book.
  • This poor girl has NO ONE rooting for her and she doesn’t stand up for herself. She might as well be all alone in the world because her mother is an alcohol addict who doesn’t care about her at all, she’s the only girl studying architecture and every man or boy looks at her like she doesn’t belong there. She only has this one girl friend but they don’t see each other that much.
  • I hated her fucking mother so much you cannot even imagine 😭
  • In general I would say is a very simple story and despite the things I hated (what happened to her, her asshole mother and how women are treated) I was entertained with the audiobook and I liked listening to it while I was doing house chores (then I discovered that was influenced by the fact that the narrator is one of my favorites and has narrated some of my favorite historical fiction books)
  • I don't think this book was enough for me to want to continue whatever book is next in the series and honestly I do not want to pick up another book of this author either. I think every single one of her books include rape or sexual assault and I do not like to read books with those “elements”.
  • So yeah, 2 ⭐ and that ending was very underwhelming.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings