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A Study in Drowning

A Study in Drowning

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But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin's legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them--and the truth may bring them both to ruin. When she arrives at the dilapidated house, which is hardly affected by the last drowning and crumbling into pieces, she not only meets Myrddin's eccentric son, but she also finds out that a literature scholar, Preston Heloury, also works with the letters and manuscripts of the late author with a secret agenda. It took me a little while to become immersed in this book, but once I did I fell in love with the characters and the gothic world. The writing is beautiful and very lyrical. The plot was interesting and engaging, although it was predicable. I loved the gothic and dark academic vibes, it's the perfect read for a rainy fall day. The world building was very interesting, but it was confusing to me at first. I enjoyed the incorporation of a fairy tale into the story. The author did an excellent job of discussing misogyny and showing that women are not treated fairly compared to men. This book's message of inequality is very important and relatable in the real world. I really enjoyed the ending, it resolved the story and made me proud. I appreciated how the author discussed anxiety, several people in my family have anxiety and the author showed it in a realistic way.

My biggest complaint lies with the way the mystery was crafted : in my opinion it relied on happenstance too often and the clues could have been less obvious. I’m willing to be lenient though because even though I *ahem* guessed almost everything, But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin’s legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them—and the truth may bring them both to ruin. Literal and metaphorical drowning is, of course, the main theme of A Study in Drowning , and the notion of a sunken land was always central to the story I wanted to tell. There are the socio-political and economic connotations that harken to real-world climate change: the idea that the most deprived people suffer the most when nature takes an unnatural course. There is the deep sense of grief, of loss, of disconnect and severance: the feeling that Effy is trapped in an unreal reality, unmoored from her fellow humans, akin to living in this ruined city beneath the waves.I actually didn’t have very much more of it written than what appears in A Study in Drowning . I tried not to be overly indulgent with my in-world lore, because I wasn’t sure how much patience people would have for reading academic discourse about books and authors that don’t exist. But writing the excerpts and epitaphs were some of my favorite parts of the book. I loved building a canon from scratch and imagining what sort of literary traditions this fictional world would have. She wondered if you could love something out of ruination, reverse that drowning process, make it all new again.

Pixieltd on Reading The Wheel of Time: Taim Tells Lies and Rand Shares His Plan in Winter’s Heart (Part 3) 2 hours ago Why is this pitched as Dark Academia? Because they’re both college students? Because it's a popular genre? I don’t think I even understand what “Dark Academia” is anymore—but my friend jokes that is when PhDs engage in knife fights with each other over who’s getting that sweet grant money. I’ll take that over whatever this trend has become.

I'm incredibly excited to read Ava Reid's other works (I've been wanting to read Juniper and Thorn for so long)! I'm interested to see how much this book differs from their usual writing and storytelling as A Study in Drowning is YA whereas their other works are adult. I can see how a lot of the themes within this book could be taken and explored in darker and more gory ways. I absolutely cannot wait to read more! That’s quite a specific definition of hiraeth! It doesn’t have a direct translation into English, and although used often for the Welsh diaspora, it’s a nostalgic feeling or emotion for a place in time you cannot return to, a deep longing for one’s home and being amongst those of a shared identity; whether for a Welsh person no longer living in Wales and speaking about their home, or someone who has never left the country but misses the summers of their childhood spent in their mamgu’s garden. The prose is expertly crafted, giving a murky feeling to the story, and easily showing what I imagine to be the feeling of drowning. My senses were overwhelmed with the descriptions from the start until the end. A Study in Drowning is a masterclass in pacing, characterisation and tension, with a beautiful meditation on stories and who gets to have an authorial voice.

Our main character, Effy, loves the book 'Angharad' more than anything, it connects with her on a level deeper than the male scholars could ever possibly understand. It's a story that sings to her truth, it provides her shelter and comfort from the storm of her reality, and it gives her courage to rewrite her own history. I think every book lover can relate to the feeling of having that one book that speaks to you, that one story that feels like it was written just for you (mine is He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan).A Study in Drowning also deftly mixes Effy’s mental health struggles and recurrent PTSD with the themes at work in Angharad , as she desperately tries to determine what is real and what isn’t in the world around her. Though her slow-burn rivals-to-lovers romance with Preston is telegraphed from very early on in the book, it’s nevertheless incredibly satisfying to watch unfold, as both parties are forced to confront their internalized prejudices about each other’s cultures and pasts. it just confused me and ruined any potential attachment to the characters, but specifically Effy that i craved. i can see Reid’s vision, i know what she was trying to do here but… sadly it just wasn’t executed effectively therefore i had little to no interest in the story. The ending got tears in my eyes and do you know? I’m so, so happy this book exists. It’s not devoid of flaws, but the way it made me feel? Perfect, and I already know I’ll reread it. Recommended.



  • Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
  • EAN: 764486781913
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