Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

27 reviews

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

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

lila_laune's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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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Content Warnings

Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

misslav20's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I feel like some details weren't very clear even at the end of the book. Effy wasn't the easiest character to like but I'm empathized with what she was going/went through. I think if your paying attention and asking questions while reading your going to get to a point very close to the end and feel like it's full of holes, or things that weren't explained but they become very clear I'm the last 2 chapters. The book has one very tame sex scene but multiple times it implies sexual acts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Domestic abuse

I think the most confusing part for me was if Angharad knew who Effy was before she came to Hiraeth. You'd assume she knew why he invited her after hearing from Ian to but did the Fairy King mention Effy before hand or that he found a new bride?

sophiarichter's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.25

I was really excited to read this book because I saw a glowing review on it. To be honest I was a bit disappointed by the quality of writing, even though the world and characters were well-developed I felt like I was being hit over the head with the same point. I loved the sea imagery and many of the lines were quite beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

star_charter152's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism and Child death

Minor: Animal death

lana_taylor23's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and War

unavezmas's review against another edition

2.0

"I will love you to ruination."
"Yours or mine?"
But the Fairy King didn't answer.

I enjoyed the consept of this book way more than the execution. It's just so painfully average. Plotwist can be seen miles away and everything is overexplained... 

I wish I could read Agharad instead.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Domestic abuse

erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

This book is stunning, dark, horrifying, and visceral. Not for the faint of heart. Although it is classified as YA, it is not lighthearted or whimsical. Though Effy’s trauma is never explicitly laid out in a complete scene, the glimpses we get through memories and the description of her physical responses to those flashes are truly harrowing to read. Effy’s struggle to believe in herself and find her identity outside of her trauma made me really root for her from the beginning.

As for the prose, the reader is truly drowned in all the water symbolism (pun intended). The theme of drowning is truly hammered home in every sentence, which interestingly worked for me. The water everywhere truly permeated the feel of the book and the experience of reading it felt a bit like drowning, just like Effy felt in the story. 

I also liked that the fairy tale aspect of it morphs from being romanticized to being exposed and criticized but also appreciated for what it was. We learn along with Effy and Preston that you can believe in a story’s power while also looking at it and the world with a critical eye. There is balance to be found between Effy’s initial romanticism and Preston’s initial cynicism.

My small critiques would just be that the world itself isn’t very fleshed out, and that the protagonists are a bit slow on the uptake. The prejudice shown against Preston because of his heritage is just kind of vaguely mentioned and the reasons for the two countries’ animosity isn’t explained in any sort of depth. We are told that there are personal phones and televisions and cars but some things seem incongruous, such as Effy’s friends using hairpins to hold up banners instead of tape, and everyone writing letters to each other. I never really had a clear mental image of the world outside of the manor. However, that being said, it didn’t detract much from the reading experience as the characters and the mystery of Angharad were the main focus. As for the mystery, the answer to who wrote Angharad was pretty clear from the beginning, which made it a tad frustrating that the protagonists didn’t get it until the very end. I think it would’ve been more satisfying if the reader found out later on in the story. 

Read if you like dark, disturbing, fairy tale-esque stories with themes of overcoming trauma.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual assault, Racism, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Blood

booklizard_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Mental illness

kattila's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

Great atmosphere, a little bit predictable at times, but overall a great story. I liked how the book combined the real world and magic/fairy tales, although I was left a bit confused by certain things.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual content, Child death, and Colonisation