Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

19 reviews

ekahnicole's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

This book had so much potential but just didn't deliver. The setting and atmosphere was often great but the pacing was bizarre - at times painfully slow and at others too fast (especially at the end). I always enjoy an unreliable narrator but the MC takes it a bit too far at times. Ellis was entertaining but the "plot twist" for her character was far too predictable. Overall, I really wanted to love this book but found myself rolling my eyes at times with how over the top some things were and it ended up being a bit of a chore to finish. I would definitely read more of Victoria Lee's work, because I enjoyed her writing style for the most part and I think she has potential to write something excellent in the future. This one just didn't quite get there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Animal death

Moderate: Child abuse and Alcoholism

bookishgoob's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.5

I was really excited for this book, and it felt disappointing. i went into it with an idea of dark academia and left with gothic horror, which i guess you could say are similar. I wasn’t expecting a gothic horror, i was expecting a dark academia mystery. this book was slightly confusing at times, with an unreliable narrator. that can be great, because you never know what’s true but if done poorly, it can be confusing, hard to read, and not enjoyable. this teetered the line of poorly written and well written. having lgbt characters at the forefront was nice and the atmosphere was awesome. i was not expecting the animal death scene and that was kind of triggering for me. all around it felt like it lacked something. i’m glad i read it and it feels like a nice introduction to gothic horror but it also feels like you’re not missing much if you skip it. i gave it a 3.5 because the atmosphere was just really great and i did enjoy it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Outing, Abandonment, Sexual content, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, and Gore

gm_vak's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

starccato's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Minor: Abandonment, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Vomit

beesbeesbeez's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I genuinely don't know if I liked this book, but I know I will be thinking about it forever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Murder, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Blood

luxvestravitae's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death, Suicide, Murder, Gun violence, and Gore

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Racism, and Toxic friendship

kiseuk's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Murder

Moderate: Abandonment and Child abuse

Minor: Racism

melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

Thank you to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for an e-arc of this book!

When Felicity comes back to Dalloway School after a stay in a mental hospital following her girlfriend's death, she is meant to focus on her studies and stay away from witchcraft. But Ellis Haley is in her dorm, and all of the girls are drawn to her, including Felicity.  Ellis decides to teach Felicity that witchcraft isn't real by...making them dabble in witchcraft. All the while, Felicity is sure she is being haunted by her ex-girlfriend's ghost...or at least by the ghost of the founders of Dalloway school.

This book! Oh my goodness it was amazing. So so dark and mysterious and everything I wanted it to be.  Felicity is such an unreliable narrator and that makes it so you never truly know what will be revealed. I was on the edge of my seat through the whole thing and couldn't wait to see what happened next. I couldn't believe how this story ended, but I loved every minute I spent reading it!

Pub date: August 3, 2021

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Body horror

Minor: Vomit

caseythereader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Thanks to Delacorte Press for the free advance copy of this book.

- Lesbian. Dark. Academia. Need I say more?
- Okay okay, I'll say a little more. I loved falling into the history and mythology of Dalloway with Felicity. A LESSON IN VENGEANCE had me second guessing myself, mistrusting everyone, and watching helplessly as the train jumped the tracks.
- I have some minor quibbles with the pacing, but when things get going, they REALLY get going. There are a couple points where new information is dropped and my jaw dropped along with it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Violence