Reviews with content warning for Death - Catherine House

"I don’t think I had fully realized it until right then: I wasn’t the only one at Catherine on the run. None of my classmates spoke of their pasts, but I sensed them - all their misshapen histories - at dinner, as they chewed their carrot salads in silence, or when their voices laughed too loudly at a stupid joke, or later, in the many feverish hours they spent studying in the library. Everyone here was here desperately. All of us, for one reason or another, had nowhere else to go."

I don't really know how to review this book because there isn't really any plot... It's more of a slice of life novel with some dark academia, gothic and horror elements.

We follow Ines, who has been accepted to study at Catherine House. It’s kind of a very selective college with a lot of mystery surrounding it as every student needs to completely cut any contact with the outside world for the entire duration of their studies there.

"What was Catherine, exactly? Let’s say, a community of minds. A crucible of experimental, reformist liberal arts study. Research-and-development institute for the most radical new materials sciences. A postsecondary school more selective than any Ivy League, and so terrifically endowed that tuition was free to any student lucky enough to be accepted. A tiny, pioneering, fanatically private place that by some miracle of chemistry produced some of the world’s best minds: prizewinning authors, artists and inventors, diplomats, senators, Supreme Court justices, two presidents of the United States. A school, and an estate: a complex confection of architecture and design, a house - a magnificent house - miles off the highway, in black woods, behind a long iron gate."

Ines is one of the most flawed characters I’ve ever encountered. She just… doesn’t care. And to be honest, it’s refreshing, for once, not to follow the "detective" kind of character, just the average person that knows something is up but doesn’t have the willpower to investigate (or maybe I liked that because that’s what I would do in situations like these 😂😅).

"But what did you like if there is no plot and the characters are not likeable?", you may ask. The vibes. Honestly, the vibes are immaculate, I felt so immersed in the story. It felt like I was having a dream if that makes sense? You know, when you only see the things that are right before your eyes and the edges feel a bit blurry? That’s what reading this book feels like. Also because we jumped from one event to another without really any connection nor logic, it felt even more dreamlike.

I got both Never Let Me Go and Wilder Girls vibes from this book, so I guess if you enjoyed either of these, like dark academia, and aren’t bothered by not having a clear plot, give Catherine House a go!

tw: mention of death, substance abuse

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penofpossibilities's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

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jenny_d's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-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

When I first heard about this book, and read reviews that people were disappointed and bored by this book, I decided to go in with zero expectations and preconceptions. I'm very glad that I did. Don't go into this expecting a thriller. This is gothic lit.
I enjoyed the prose style. Not overwhelming, quite simple and to-the-point. It reminded me a lot of my first two years in university. Very surreal.

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense 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

2.0

I don't really understand this book... it reminds of this dark academia/fantasy/translated East European book I read, the plasma (if that's the right spelling) was just werid as. the pacing was a bit off and I felt like the short snippets of everything made it really hard to understand the characters. I was interested in the mental state of the characters likes ines or baby but mm, done pretty poorly. the ending was just like 'ah okay then'.

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mmefish's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

THAT ENDING??? I don’t know.

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elliesberrie's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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mackxo's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

4.25

I literally have no idea what to write other than just...read this. I haven't been able to properly describe this to ANYONE I just need more people to read it so we can talk about it. the ending haunted me for a couple days.

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kylieqrada's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

I'm in the minority that loved this book and it makes me so happy!!!!! Honestly it reminded me alot of The Magicians by Lev Grossman, but a little less whimsical, and replace the magic with science. But that dark, kinda ethereal, am I high or what is going on right now kind of vibe was definitely the same in both books. And the ending, while very abrupt, fit the overall story arc to a t. And the mental illness rep was everything, and of a flavor I haven't seen before. Very gritty and real.

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