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laurenleigh's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The premise of this is right up my alley. It’s got a creepy old boarding school for girls, a setting on the moody cliffs of Scotland, and lots of dark academia content focused on Ancient Greek and Roman mythology. The narrator was also quite skilled, navigating through lots of European accents. The plot was pretty well executed, but the characters fell quite flat, especially our main character. Her backstory was confusing, her relationship with her mother baffling, and her motivations mysterious. I couldn’t connect with her at all. I finally felt some connection to some of the students at the very end, but not enough. I just wish this novel got a bit more workshopping, a bit more editing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion
caties_books's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Body shaming, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Lesbophobia, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Colonisation, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Suicide, and Xenophobia
Minor: Abortion
lynette_reads's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Murder, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Death, Suicide, Sexual assault, Confinement, Child abuse, Child death, and Classism
patricia0227's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Mysteries drive me crazy, I'm just so desperate to know what's going on. Madam definitely keeps you on your toes. The atmosphere is tense and dark and upsetting. You can feel how trapped the main character is becoming. I like the time period setting of the 1990s, made for an interesting change since it's not contemporary and not super historical. Great criticisms of class, marriage, and British society within the text. The ending was not my favorite, but a wonderful brooding mysterious novel for those craving a little darkness with their boarding school books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Terminal illness, Death, and Child abuse
Minor: Abortion and Suicide
hannahleigh's review
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
If you’re into slow moving, hopeless stories where the only semi-likable character is the main character, this book is for you. It wasn’t for me, unfortunately.
I couldn’t understand why the “big secret” couldn’t get revealed sooner, and in a more pleasant way. There were so many missed opportunities for actual plot drama and instead the drama came mostly in the form of bullying and the “suspense” of not knowing the secret of the school. This meant that the Big Reveal fell pretty flat and everything afterwards dragged on until the author suddenly decided to end the book.
The ending, while I guess truly was the best way to wrap up all the complicated loose ends, came suddenly and felt like the author was just as relived to be done with the book as I was.
It was well written and pretty well thought out. The author really knows her manipulation and abuse tactics, I’ll give her that. I listened on audible and the reader was really good.
Wanted to like the book so much but I just didn’t.
I couldn’t understand why the “big secret” couldn’t get revealed sooner, and in a more pleasant way. There were so many missed opportunities for actual plot drama and instead the drama came mostly in the form of bullying and the “suspense” of not knowing the secret of the school. This meant that the Big Reveal fell pretty flat and everything afterwards dragged on until the author suddenly decided to end the book.
The ending, while I guess truly was the best way to wrap up all the complicated loose ends, came suddenly and felt like the author was just as relived to be done with the book as I was.
It was well written and pretty well thought out. The author really knows her manipulation and abuse tactics, I’ll give her that. I listened on audible and the reader was really good.
Wanted to like the book so much but I just didn’t.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
ashlee_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
pagesandplanets's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Death
anovelbeauty's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Book TW: suicide, misogyny, adult/minor relationship, blackmail, bullying, child death, teacher/student relationship, abortion
I have fairly mixed feelings on this dark academia novel. On the one hand, the format of the book with its classics lessons interspersed into the story that inform the plot of that section is really wonderful. On the other hand, there were some things that were clunky or just… a bit too much, even for the dark academia corrupt officials and conspiracy plot.
First, the good. As I already mentioned, I loved the format and the classics. Rose was a pretty good main character and I think she was a good medium to impart the full horror of the truth of Caldonbray as the plot unfolds. I liked her almost the entire boom and her passion for Classics was lovely. Although I was frustrated with how Rose reacted to some of the people in the story who clearly suffered from trauma and learned helplessness and she just expected them to… not and immediately fight injustice and wrongdoing the same way that she did even. Like she would state “this person is a victim of an oppressive system” but then still low-key victim blame them for their perfectly realistic limitations, lack of hope, and ingrained fear of their oppressors. The book does a /very/ good job of building suspense and anxiety because you start to feel as trapped and horrified with the full situation as Rose does. The atmosphere of the book was definitely on point.
Next, the meh. I really wish some of the side characters like Daisy, Nessa, and Freddie had more fleshed out to them. There was the potential for me to really love them, but I felt like we just didn’t get to know them well enough. I felt similarly about the two main adult side characters: Francis and Antony. Rose was the only character I felt truly invested in. Everyone else, except for those I was supposed to hate/loathe, I was very “eh” about.
Finally, the not great. There was a couple factual errors that I noticed during the story section with Boudicca? Which was weird (bc the author taught classics) and I listened to it twice to make sure I heard right. But the only reason I caught it was because i spent literally a whole year and a half studying pretty much everything to do with the historical account of her. The lesson stated that the Romans managed to outnumber Boudicca’s rebel forces and defeat her during the battle of Watling Street. The /only/ historical accounts we have of the event (Tacitus’ “Agricola” and Cassius Dio’s “Roman History”, of the two, Tacitus is the more trustworthy because he is telling the life story of his father-in-law, Agricola, who was literally there) state that the Britons /far/ outnumbered the Romans and the only reason that they weren’t slaughtered and driven out of the land was that Paulinus managed to find a place that forced Boudicca’s force to be funnelled in to face the Romans. Paulinus won through strategy alone. Saying that the Romans outnumbered them is just…. a very weird thing to get wrong.
It also mentioned that Boudicca killed her daughters and then herself after the battle. There is actually no true historical knowledge of what happened to the daughters after the battle. Tacitus doesn’t mention them at all after saying that they rode with their mother into battle and Dio literally never mentions them at all. The two historians also disagree on Boudicca’s death in general, Dio says she fell sick and died after the battle while Tacitus states that she poisoned herself.
I realize this is a very nitpicky thing to harp on, but it just bothered me so much because the lessons, particularly with the historical women, were just presented as fact and so finding errors in one piece I know well makes me wonder about the stories I /don’t/ know as well. And again, since the author taught classics in the past, it seemed like a really, /really/ weird thing to get incorrect (or I guess technically she could have taken creative liberties with it… but I would have issues with taking creative liberties with history that you still present as full fact). This obviously only applies to the historical women, the mythological ones have more leeway as myths are often shifted and told with different details over time and by different authors.
I should also say that the resolutions with Francis and Antony, as well as the overall ending didn’t quite feel earned enough. I wanted slightly more expansion in the summer term section of the book to justify the way the plot threads were tied up. Without that, there didn’t feel like enough of a payoff for the level of tension and dread that had built up to that point.
Lastly, there were a couple nitpicky things I didn’t like the execution of in the plot that are semi-spoilers, so I’ll leave it just by saying the nitpicks existed!
I still don’t really think this is at all a bad book, but it didn’t live up to my expectations or how much I wanted to enjoy it. It definitely handles a lot of problematic things and tries to unpack the misogyny blatant in both classical history, not-so-distant history, and the modern day. There’s some definite potential for triggering content, so please be wary of that if you’re at all sensitive. Fortunately, all of the problematic/triggering content is actually viewed as problematic, so it’s a bit easier to stomach reading about in the thriller context of the story.
Basically, I don’t know if I would actively recommend the story, but if my qualms don’t bother you, go for it and see what you think. You may especially like it if you’re an atmospheric driven reader.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Suicide, Bullying, Body shaming, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Death, Abortion, and Sexual content
Minor: Fatphobia and Homophobia
kaylasbookishlife's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I didn’t really know what to expect out of this book. I kept reading just to figure out what the big event would be but honestly I should have stopped way sooner.
Rose is a very annoying character. I found her emotional reactions mixed up. For some events when she probably should have spoke up or said something she was incredibly passive and at other times when it was obvious she should keep it to herself for a bit she was so aggressive and and careless. Like read the room girl!
There was an issue with one of the students and like she literally had no sympathy for the poor girl until they used one of the “punishments” on her. It was odd because Rose is supposed to be a feminist and a modern woman who cares about LBGT rights and mental health but she seemed very passive about it when it was happening until it was too late.
Okay so aside from the main character there were some major issues I had with this book. One is that the author kept using “the Asian girls” over and over again until finally about halfway we learn that they are actually Japanese. Like why not just say that from the start?
I found that the author made all of the characters who identified as LGBTQ evil or bad. It was very strange and did not sit well with me. Meanwhile the main character was sympathetic towards the straight male teacher who in my mind was not a victim at all and yet was portrayed as “a victim of the system”. I’m sorry what? No he is an adult and what he did was truly wrong.
There was unnecessary disturbing scenes with adults and the students. Please be warned about teacher/Student relationships and pedophilia.
It was all around a no for me.
Rose is a very annoying character. I found her emotional reactions mixed up. For some events when she probably should have spoke up or said something she was incredibly passive and at other times when it was obvious she should keep it to herself for a bit she was so aggressive and and careless. Like read the room girl!
There was an issue with one of the students and like she literally had no sympathy for the poor girl until they used one of the “punishments” on her. It was odd because Rose is supposed to be a feminist and a modern woman who cares about LBGT rights and mental health but she seemed very passive about it when it was happening until it was too late.
Okay so aside from the main character there were some major issues I had with this book. One is that the author kept using “the Asian girls” over and over again until finally about halfway we learn that they are actually Japanese. Like why not just say that from the start?
I found that the author made all of the characters who identified as LGBTQ evil or bad. It was very strange and did not sit well with me. Meanwhile the main character was sympathetic towards the straight male teacher who in my mind was not a victim at all and yet was portrayed as “a victim of the system”. I’m sorry what? No he is an adult and what he did was truly wrong.
There was unnecessary disturbing scenes with adults and the students. Please be warned about teacher/Student relationships and pedophilia.
It was all around a no for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Death, Cultural appropriation, Child death, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Abortion
caidyn's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book gives Catherine House vibes. It's dark academia done very well. I kinda figured it out early about where the story was going, but I still enjoyed the hell out of it. The story was woven so well. This is definitely an author I'm going to be watching out for in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Sexism
Moderate: Abortion, Homophobia, Suicide, and Alcoholism