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celery's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Body horror, Kidnapping, Blood, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicide, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
shaylee_reads's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Ratings:
Plot:⭐/5
Writing:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters:⭐⭐/5
Overall:⭐⭐/5
Romance:❤️/5
Diversity: Queer MC, Queer SC’s, & POC Characters.
Genre/Tropes: Adult Gotic Thriller, Dark Academia.
Content Warnings: Confinement, Experimentation (Human & Animal), Animal Cruelty, Suicide, & Death.
Catherine House by Elizabeth Thomas is a Adult Gothic thriller with dark academia aspect. It follows Ines, who is accepted into the prestigious University, Catherine House. Anyone accept into Catherine House, receives free school and housing in exchange for spending three year completely excluded from the outside world. During her schooling there, Ines starts to uncovers secrets about a exclusive circle of students and she is determined to figure out what Catherine House is hiding.
I’m a sucker for a good dark academia book so I had high hopes for this book but sadly this one just fell short.
I do think the author did a good job writing a dark academia book but the main downfall of the book was lack of plot. There wasn't a single plot point to be seen in this book which made it drag on, I would read twenty pages but it felt like I had read a million. This book was just the main character sleeping, studying, drinking, and having sex over and over again.
The few plot twists this book had where very predictable especially for those who read a lot of dark academia books.
The most interesting part of this book was the whole plasma thing, I was excited to learn more about that and see what it was but by the end of the book I still had no idea what it was and very confused by all of it.
One thing that can make or break a book for me is the characters. If a book has really strong characters that I can easily fall in love with and have a connection with, it doesn't matter how bad the writing or world building there's still a very good chance that I will love the book. But not only did this book not have a strong plot, it also didn't have strong characters. I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters nor did I feel like I really knew them. I honestly did not care what happened to the characters. There was also no character development, I felt as though the main character was the same in the end as she was in the beginning.
I will say that this book did do a good job of showing what type of people are more prone to falling into cults and how someone might find themselves in one.
Another thing that was enjoyable about this book was the writing style. It was well written and even though not a lot happened in this book, I was still interested in finishing the book and I think the main reason for that was the writing. Thomas does a really good job at writing the gothic dark academia aesthetic. Her writing has a very haunting feel to it which I did really enjoy.
I feel that one of things that lead its book to it's ultimate demise for me was the fact that it was often compared to The Secret History (which is one of my all time favorite books) and outside of being a dark academia book and having an unlikable main character, Catherine House didn't have any of the qualities that I loved about The Secret History. If you love The Secret History and pick up this book because of that, I ultimately feel like you will be disappointed.
Overall, I had high hopes for this book but with a lack of plot and character development, it left me feeling unsatisfied and disappointed.
Plot:⭐/5
Writing:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters:⭐⭐/5
Overall:⭐⭐/5
Romance:❤️/5
Diversity: Queer MC, Queer SC’s, & POC Characters.
Genre/Tropes: Adult Gotic Thriller, Dark Academia.
Content Warnings: Confinement, Experimentation (Human & Animal), Animal Cruelty, Suicide, & Death.
Catherine House by Elizabeth Thomas is a Adult Gothic thriller with dark academia aspect. It follows Ines, who is accepted into the prestigious University, Catherine House. Anyone accept into Catherine House, receives free school and housing in exchange for spending three year completely excluded from the outside world. During her schooling there, Ines starts to uncovers secrets about a exclusive circle of students and she is determined to figure out what Catherine House is hiding.
I’m a sucker for a good dark academia book so I had high hopes for this book but sadly this one just fell short.
I do think the author did a good job writing a dark academia book but the main downfall of the book was lack of plot. There wasn't a single plot point to be seen in this book which made it drag on, I would read twenty pages but it felt like I had read a million. This book was just the main character sleeping, studying, drinking, and having sex over and over again.
The few plot twists this book had where very predictable especially for those who read a lot of dark academia books.
The most interesting part of this book was the whole plasma thing, I was excited to learn more about that and see what it was but by the end of the book I still had no idea what it was and very confused by all of it.
One thing that can make or break a book for me is the characters. If a book has really strong characters that I can easily fall in love with and have a connection with, it doesn't matter how bad the writing or world building there's still a very good chance that I will love the book. But not only did this book not have a strong plot, it also didn't have strong characters. I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters nor did I feel like I really knew them. I honestly did not care what happened to the characters. There was also no character development, I felt as though the main character was the same in the end as she was in the beginning.
I will say that this book did do a good job of showing what type of people are more prone to falling into cults and how someone might find themselves in one.
Another thing that was enjoyable about this book was the writing style. It was well written and even though not a lot happened in this book, I was still interested in finishing the book and I think the main reason for that was the writing. Thomas does a really good job at writing the gothic dark academia aesthetic. Her writing has a very haunting feel to it which I did really enjoy.
I feel that one of things that lead its book to it's ultimate demise for me was the fact that it was often compared to The Secret History (which is one of my all time favorite books) and outside of being a dark academia book and having an unlikable main character, Catherine House didn't have any of the qualities that I loved about The Secret History. If you love The Secret History and pick up this book because of that, I ultimately feel like you will be disappointed.
Overall, I had high hopes for this book but with a lack of plot and character development, it left me feeling unsatisfied and disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Animal cruelty, Death, Animal death, and Confinement
risaleel's review
dark
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Confinement, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Animal cruelty, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Animal death
gondorgirl's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
For being an incredibly messed up dark academia this book was surprisingly cozy? Like reading a fever dream.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Death, Medical content, and Mental illness
Minor: Animal death
ceilidhwilliams's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Mental illness
Minor: Medical content, Sexual content, Blood, Suicide, Grief, and Car accident
jupitermond's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, and Drug use
Moderate: Sexual content and Animal death
Minor: Vomit
encryptedorchardpest's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Grief, Animal death, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping
styleofdress's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death
f18's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Vomit, Animal death, Death, Grief, Suicide, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Alcohol, Car accident, and Cursing
mention student/teacher relationshipvigil's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
this book really worked for me because despite its marketing, because it, to my understanding, functions really well as a deconstruction of academia as a whole. this is probably why you see so many low scores from dark academia fans, who expected more exploration of that portion, namely the plasma mystery, and cultish behavior. however, the book is not, and has never been about that. it was about our main character, ines, and her journey. it is best understood as a character study on escapism, loss, and self acceptance, as you weave through an environment actively detrimental to you.
i think in another kind of book, it would have put the mystery first, exposing catherine, understanding the full scope of plasm, shutting down the schools, and then have the protagonist reckon with their own internal emptiness afterwards, remarking on how solving the mystery didn't solve them. catherine house, does not share this typical format, having its protagonist get out. no school or mystery, creepy plasm cult or not, can nor should be your whole life.
what is plasm? i have no idea. it was explained to me and i still don't understand, so i wasn't bothered when that wasn't explored because i didn't care anyways.
i loved the way the author got the atmosphere across so clearly with very detailed, but uncomplicated prose. ines existed in this "sideways" and detached existence, with the author writing in the hazy aura ines clearly felt, until the end, when she starts getting (almost jarringly) clear.
i will say, i think this book wasted a lot of time, but also didn't use enough. i don't like dark academia aesthetic so i'm biased, but the multiple descriptions of food, parties, buildings, and landscapes did bore me. there are multiple scenes in the book that i think are genuinely unnecessary and other technically not needed. however, i would describe this book as drifting along a stream, not building up to something bigger, so the extra scenes didn't bother me too badly. that being said, you can only half pay attention to this book and still get the gist, which i did myself in some places when listening to the audiobook. (which is fantastic btw.)
and i tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but i knew theo's ass was trash.
i think in another kind of book, it would have put the mystery first, exposing catherine, understanding the full scope of plasm, shutting down the schools, and then have the protagonist reckon with their own internal emptiness afterwards, remarking on how solving the mystery didn't solve them. catherine house, does not share this typical format, having its protagonist get out. no school or mystery, creepy plasm cult or not, can nor should be your whole life.
what is plasm? i have no idea. it was explained to me and i still don't understand, so i wasn't bothered when that wasn't explored because i didn't care anyways.
i loved the way the author got the atmosphere across so clearly with very detailed, but uncomplicated prose. ines existed in this "sideways" and detached existence, with the author writing in the hazy aura ines clearly felt, until the end, when she starts getting (almost jarringly) clear.
i will say, i think this book wasted a lot of time, but also didn't use enough. i don't like dark academia aesthetic so i'm biased, but the multiple descriptions of food, parties, buildings, and landscapes did bore me. there are multiple scenes in the book that i think are genuinely unnecessary and other technically not needed. however, i would describe this book as drifting along a stream, not building up to something bigger, so the extra scenes didn't bother me too badly. that being said, you can only half pay attention to this book and still get the gist, which i did myself in some places when listening to the audiobook. (which is fantastic btw.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Animal death, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Alcohol, Grief, and Suicide attempt