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caitlyn_baldwin's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-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
4.5
I enjoyed this novel! I thought that the overall plot of this novel was fairly easy to figure out, however I was impressed by the way the author kept revealing more information and providing details to keep you guessing.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
kathleencoughlin's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
1.75
I wanted to like this sapphic, witchy thriller but it just didn't do it for me. It has a good aesthetic for Halloween but it ultimately lacked substance. First, I understand the concept of an unreliable narrator but it was hard to keep track at times. In my opinion, the pacing was a bit off too; sometimes the book seemed to drag and the ending was kind of abrupt. As a result of both of these things, I had a hard time mustering the energy to care about any of thr characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Racism
foreverinastory's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
5.0
Damn. I have never felt so betrayed by a book before.
Rep: white Lesbian female MC with depression and PTSD, white lesbian female love interest, white sapphic female ex-girlfriend (deceased at start of novel), Black female side character, South Asian (Indian-American coded) female side character with depression.
CWs: Alcohol, alcoholism, animal death, blood, death, drug use, gaslighting, grief, gun violence, mental illness, murder. Moderate: sexual content and discussions of racism.
Rep: white Lesbian female MC with depression and PTSD, white lesbian female love interest, white sapphic female ex-girlfriend (deceased at start of novel), Black female side character, South Asian (Indian-American coded) female side character with depression.
CWs: Alcohol, alcoholism, animal death, blood, death, drug use, gaslighting, grief, gun violence, mental illness, murder. Moderate: sexual content and discussions of racism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Racism and Sexual content
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Vomit, and Abandonment
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, and Abandonment
missbreathing's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“A Lesson in Vengeance” is a YA dark academia set in an all-girl prep school with a dark past. It’s full of intrigue, witchcraft, and dark passions. I really enjoyed it! I’m giving it 4.5/5⭐️. Some thoughts:
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Lee instantly creates a deliciously dreary atmosphere and a relentlessly dark mood. She really nails the dark academia vibe and finds ways to infuse even the most mundane moments with haunting detail. Both in the plot and thematically, this book pays homage to gothic writers like Shirley Jackson. It’s very sophisticated in that way. And, with themes of vengeance, murder, witchcraft, and ghosts, this is a perfect October read.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This book is full of twists and surprises. It’s never dull. Although, in retrospect, the pacing is a bit off. The beginning can drag a bit, and the ending feels rushed. There are certain plot points and revelations that could have been dwelt on more. But it’s such a captivating read that one barely notices.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This book also has lesbian rep, wlw relationships, and a non-binary secondary character. It was refreshing to see LGBTQIA+ rep so explicitly stated in a dark academia novel. The genre seems saturated with homoerotic subtext, but Lee went beyond subtext and made it a key part of her novel.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The prep school setting and the characters’ ages do feel a bit incongruous with the story though. This is not a criticism I like to give because I believe every book has its ideal audience, but I wish this was set in university. It would have been much more believable as a new adult book than a YA book.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Lee instantly creates a deliciously dreary atmosphere and a relentlessly dark mood. She really nails the dark academia vibe and finds ways to infuse even the most mundane moments with haunting detail. Both in the plot and thematically, this book pays homage to gothic writers like Shirley Jackson. It’s very sophisticated in that way. And, with themes of vengeance, murder, witchcraft, and ghosts, this is a perfect October read.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This book is full of twists and surprises. It’s never dull. Although, in retrospect, the pacing is a bit off. The beginning can drag a bit, and the ending feels rushed. There are certain plot points and revelations that could have been dwelt on more. But it’s such a captivating read that one barely notices.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This book also has lesbian rep, wlw relationships, and a non-binary secondary character. It was refreshing to see LGBTQIA+ rep so explicitly stated in a dark academia novel. The genre seems saturated with homoerotic subtext, but Lee went beyond subtext and made it a key part of her novel.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The prep school setting and the characters’ ages do feel a bit incongruous with the story though. This is not a criticism I like to give because I believe every book has its ideal audience, but I wish this was set in university. It would have been much more believable as a new adult book than a YA book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Drug use, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism
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, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, and Toxic friendship
kaseybereading's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Blood, Vomit, and Murder
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, and Alcohol
bookishfaye's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
🍃 positives:
- I adored the sapphic yearning dear God
- The actual academia portion of the dark academia vibes I adored as an English major myself! all the thesis statements I found so fun!! Also the literary references were 10/10, & the method book writing was awesome
- also the dark academia vibes in general lol
- the focuses on sexism, gender, white privilege, & sexuality I loved
- I loved the “unreliable narrator” vibes throughout the story & was constantly unsure of who the “bad guy” was.
- I am so obsessed with Ellis’s character and how interesting she is
- the psyche of both Felicity and Ellis were just so interesting to dive into on top of the connection they had & their own personal ✨issues✨
- the Lesbian MC & love interest rep, & non binary side character rep :)) <3
-the witchy vibes were so fricken good
🍃negatives:
- there were definitely some aspects of the plot/character that were predictable/cheesy and it wasn’t a perfect book; however, I adored it so much that any “issue” was so minor to me that it didn’t make a difference to how I felt overall
- I adored the sapphic yearning dear God
- The actual academia portion of the dark academia vibes I adored as an English major myself! all the thesis statements I found so fun!! Also the literary references were 10/10, & the method book writing was awesome
- also the dark academia vibes in general lol
- the focuses on sexism, gender, white privilege, & sexuality I loved
- I loved the “unreliable narrator” vibes throughout the story & was constantly unsure of who the “bad guy” was.
- I am so obsessed with Ellis’s character and how interesting she is
- the psyche of both Felicity and Ellis were just so interesting to dive into on top of the connection they had & their own personal ✨issues✨
- the Lesbian MC & love interest rep, & non binary side character rep :)) <3
-the witchy vibes were so fricken good
🍃negatives:
- there were definitely some aspects of the plot/character that were predictable/cheesy and it wasn’t a perfect book; however, I adored it so much that any “issue” was so minor to me that it didn’t make a difference to how I felt overall
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment