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albireotales's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, and Alcoholism
hannahlberg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was really easy to get lost in. I wish I had read it closer to halloween! Spooky and dramatic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcohol, Blood, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
ariheishichou's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
3.0
The story kept me hooked almost the whole way through. The setting was stunning, and the plot was of the twist variety -very entertaining even if somewhat guessable- so I thoroughly enjoyed those aspects of the book.
However, there were a couple of random things that confused me (such as Felicity mentioning that she never knew her grandparents when a couple of chapters before she was reminiscing fondly of her grandmother, but maybe that was an error on my part); and some of the book just wasn't to my taste, but, overall, it was an interesting and fun read.
However, there were a couple of random things that confused me (such as Felicity mentioning that she never knew her grandparents when a couple of chapters before she was reminiscing fondly of her grandmother, but maybe that was an error on my part); and some of the book just wasn't to my taste, but, overall, it was an interesting and fun read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, and Grief
Minor: Racism, Transphobia, and Eating disorder
sarahmreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Booktok has raved about this book as a high stakes lesbian dark academia all year long, and it's been pretty high up on my TBR for October. However, I hate to say that this story fell flat for me.
Felicity Morrow is back at the Dalloway School after coping with the death of her girlfriend Alex one year ago. She wants to put the past, both Alex and the mysteries of the Dalloway Five behind her. Enter Ellis Haley, a young published author with a thirst to write her next novel about the Dalloway Five, and she needs Felicity's help.
I'm gonna start with the positives. I like how this story doesn't make you trust yourself. There is always this seed of doubt, from the story being in Felicity's perspective to Ellis' own goals for her writing project. You don't know who to trust, or even if the "magic" associated with the Dalloway Five even exists. You're left completely in the dark at the end, although it kind of insinuates one thing over the other. It adds to the thriller factor of this story.
I also moderately liked the worldbuilding of the story. I couldn't always keep exactly straight who had died in what way, but I liked the dark and pompous air around Dalloway and the school.
Now let's talk characters. I was extremely torn about Felicity. She is an extremely unreliable narrator who already has a habit of lying to herself to forget things, like Alex's death. She's easily persuaded one way or another, like when it comes to the magic spell books inside the library. She even keeps telling herself she'll stop drinking like her mother but fails at that. She's surrounded by tragedy and failure, so how can we even trust her as readers? I didn't like her in that regard. I'm surprised she was not put off by Ellis earlier in the story but I digress.
ELLIS HALEY. I am SO TORN on her. She is the dark academia I wish to embody, straight down to the outfit and the writer aspects. I thought she was fine until halfway through and immediately realized how dark of a path this story was going down. I felt like more could have been done with her character besides what was planned out for her. I just wanted a happy sapphic love story and that was NOT what was given to me.
I will say I liked the LGBTQ+ rep in the story. Why Felicity felt the need to come out even though her and Alex were openly a couple (I thought?) but hey, still proud of her. Also I wish there was a bit more nonbinary rep for a story that was praised for having no male-identifying individuals. Only one character used they/them pronouns and they were a minor character.
The ending also felt kind of deserved but also... not really? I'm still super torn on the ending and how it turned out. Guess that solidifies the fact that this is a stand alone.
A Lesson in Vengeance is a good scary dark academia book for October. Will I be reading it again? Probably not.
Felicity Morrow is back at the Dalloway School after coping with the death of her girlfriend Alex one year ago. She wants to put the past, both Alex and the mysteries of the Dalloway Five behind her. Enter Ellis Haley, a young published author with a thirst to write her next novel about the Dalloway Five, and she needs Felicity's help.
I'm gonna start with the positives. I like how this story doesn't make you trust yourself. There is always this seed of doubt, from the story being in Felicity's perspective to Ellis' own goals for her writing project. You don't know who to trust, or even if the "magic" associated with the Dalloway Five even exists. You're left completely in the dark at the end, although it kind of insinuates one thing over the other. It adds to the thriller factor of this story.
I also moderately liked the worldbuilding of the story. I couldn't always keep exactly straight who had died in what way, but I liked the dark and pompous air around Dalloway and the school.
Now let's talk characters. I was extremely torn about Felicity. She is an extremely unreliable narrator who already has a habit of lying to herself to forget things, like Alex's death. She's easily persuaded one way or another, like when it comes to the magic spell books inside the library. She even keeps telling herself she'll stop drinking like her mother but fails at that. She's surrounded by tragedy and failure, so how can we even trust her as readers? I didn't like her in that regard. I'm surprised she was not put off by Ellis earlier in the story but I digress.
ELLIS HALEY. I am SO TORN on her. She is the dark academia I wish to embody, straight down to the outfit and the writer aspects. I thought she was fine until halfway through and immediately realized how dark of a path this story was going down. I felt like more could have been done with her character besides what was planned out for her. I just wanted a happy sapphic love story and that was NOT what was given to me.
I will say I liked the LGBTQ+ rep in the story. Why Felicity felt the need to come out even though her and Alex were openly a couple (I thought?) but hey, still proud of her. Also I wish there was a bit more nonbinary rep for a story that was praised for having no male-identifying individuals. Only one character used they/them pronouns and they were a minor character.
The ending also felt kind of deserved but also... not really? I'm still super torn on the ending and how it turned out. Guess that solidifies the fact that this is a stand alone.
A Lesson in Vengeance is a good scary dark academia book for October. Will I be reading it again? Probably not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Blood
Moderate: Death, Vomit, Sexual content, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Drug use, and Alcohol
PTSD, self-harm for ritualstarccato'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
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
emmyb's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book DELIVERED on the dark, spooky, atmospheric vibes, though heavy on the dark and very light on the "academia." It definitely had the aesthetic down, but for being set in a school there were barely any school scenes taking place besides the library and social events resembling college sorority parties. For being labeled as a dark academia, this story felt very isolated to the Godwin house dorm. Most of the book was spent in one-on-one time between Ellis and Felicity, with occasional appearances from the three other girls in the dorm.
There were some things that kept me from enjoying this book more:
- The stakes felt low for most of the book, without much tension or urgency
- I didn't feel much chemistry between Ellis and Felicity for the romance to feel believable and deep
- I was expecting actual witches, but it was really just suspicions and doing witchy things as an act
- The relationships between Felicity and the other Godwin girls went from cold to hot without any development. One second they were shunning her, and then five pages later they were BFFs.
The best part of the book was the last 80 pages. It was pretty predictableI knew early on Ellis' desire to recreate the killings would end in her actually committing murder. but I still found it intriguing. The epilogue, however, left me unsatisfied. So she's committed TWO murders and just walks free, no consequences, no guilt on her part? She just goes on with her life? I couldn't tell if we were supposed to be on you-know-who's side or not, but it felt unresolved.
There were some things that kept me from enjoying this book more:
- The stakes felt low for most of the book, without much tension or urgency
- I didn't feel much chemistry between Ellis and Felicity for the romance to feel believable and deep
- I was expecting actual witches, but it was really just suspicions and doing witchy things as an act
- The relationships between Felicity and the other Godwin girls went from cold to hot without any development. One second they were shunning her, and then five pages later they were BFFs.
The best part of the book was the last 80 pages. It was pretty predictable
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Panic attacks/disorders
bookliz_fr's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I had a great time reading this book. However, there is something that bothers me a little, but I don't what. That's why this book is a low four stars for me.
We are following two students, Felicity and Ellis, at Dalloway School. A school that has witchcraft woven in its history with the famous Dalloway Five, and Felicity and Ellis decided to research about them and unravel the mystery surrounding those five girls.
Like most story sets in a boarding school, we have this spooky and dark atmosphere. The ambiance is also created by the explanations of the history of the school, various descriptions of the school and its surrounding. Moreover, the different characters help a lot with this atmosphere as you don't trust them a hundred percent. It's a lot of details and how they are interlinked that create this beautiful dark academia ambiance. I didn't want to stop reading the book and stay in this mood.
Another important thing is that the story is character-driven. We are following one point of view, Felicity's one, which makes the story a lot more interesting to read. She has a psychotic depression double up with anxiety and triples up with grief, making her a complex character. Sometimes you don't know if she imagines things or if it's the reality; the difference is hard to make. Also, she makes some characters real even if they aren't here.
Ellis, on her side, is a character that I didn't trust from the beginning. She has something that helps her have many followers who don't question anything, but there is something off with her like she has an idea and will do anything to achieve it, even if it means doing a bad thing.
However, as it's a character-driven story, the plot isn't at the forefront, so sometimes I was a little lost as I sometimes forgot it. That makes the ending a little complex to understand for me. In the beginning, I didn't catch it, but then I understood, and I liked it a lot. So for me, the ending was surprising but, at the same time, a good conclusion for those characters.
We are following two students, Felicity and Ellis, at Dalloway School. A school that has witchcraft woven in its history with the famous Dalloway Five, and Felicity and Ellis decided to research about them and unravel the mystery surrounding those five girls.
Like most story sets in a boarding school, we have this spooky and dark atmosphere. The ambiance is also created by the explanations of the history of the school, various descriptions of the school and its surrounding. Moreover, the different characters help a lot with this atmosphere as you don't trust them a hundred percent. It's a lot of details and how they are interlinked that create this beautiful dark academia ambiance. I didn't want to stop reading the book and stay in this mood.
Another important thing is that the story is character-driven. We are following one point of view, Felicity's one, which makes the story a lot more interesting to read. She has a psychotic depression double up with anxiety and triples up with grief, making her a complex character. Sometimes you don't know if she imagines things or if it's the reality; the difference is hard to make. Also, she makes some characters real even if they aren't here.
Ellis, on her side, is a character that I didn't trust from the beginning. She has something that helps her have many followers who don't question anything, but there is something off with her like she has an idea and will do anything to achieve it, even if it means doing a bad thing.
However, as it's a character-driven story, the plot isn't at the forefront, so sometimes I was a little lost as I sometimes forgot it. That makes the ending a little complex to understand for me. In the beginning, I didn't catch it, but then I understood, and I liked it a lot. So for me, the ending was surprising but, at the same time, a good conclusion for those characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
laurenleigh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A haunted girl’s boarding school in upstate New York that was founded by daughters of Salem witches? Sapphic plot lines and murder mysteries? SO into it. This was definitely a fun quick palette cleanser that was much needed after a lot of intense reads. Not that this also isn’t intense in its own dark way, but in a faster-paced YA manner. If you liked A Secret History, Plain Bad Heroines, and If We Were Villains, you gotta check this out. It really had elements of all three novels, blended together nicely. It really got me in the mood for Fall, even though that season doesn’t really exist here for another two months, if at all. My English major brain ate it up when they talked about their thesis topics and research. I totally want to live at Godwin House, just maybe with different girls that aren’t so twisted lol. I also loved the casual inclusion of a non-binary character. Representation is so majorly important, but it’s especially important when done in this way, highlighting how normal it is to identify outside of the binary. I believe the author identifies as queer and trans. I’m happy to see that the dark academia trend is still going strong. I’m so here for it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship
wet_towlette's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit
applejacksbooks's review against another edition
challenging
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? Yes
4.5
I loved this from start to finish. Felicity's story kept me engaged the whole time with the dark academia vibes and the slight thriller themes throughout the story. The ending was perfect in my opinion.
Pros: Dark academia, murdered "witches" in history, an all feminine cast, queer as heck. Ellis.
Cons: I wish the mystery towards the end had been written a little sooner in the story to really add to the thriller element.
Pros: Dark academia, murdered "witches" in history, an all feminine cast, queer as heck. Ellis.
Cons: I wish the mystery towards the end had been written a little sooner in the story to really add to the thriller element.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis