Reviews - A Lesson in Vengeance

4.15k reviews for:

A bit of a slog which only gained major traction around the 70% point. I would have DNF'd this long before if I wasn't such a fan of Lee's debut series. I'm just...okay with pushing through to the end.

While I liked the setting and Lee's VERY atmospheric prose, I didn't really find myself connecting with anyone--especially the narrator Felicity. I found her very wishy-washy and judgemental--especially regarding her perception of others and how she thinks people should perceive her. While some of this can be attributed to her mental state, I felt no sort of sympathy for her all through the novel. She was a bland, nothing character.

Ellis didn't fare much better with me. I found her to be too over-the-top and ostentatious (seriously, a Pulitzer winner at 17? Okay!) and her

Spoiler

manipulative planning felt fairly tacked-on at the end.

The other characters were simply window-dressing. Either they were there to not make it just a story about two miserable people, to be catalysts for Felicity's realization of her privilege,

Spoiler

or to be a future murder victim.

I especially found fault in how Leonie's (the lone black character) perception of events and her grandmother's past was basically tacked-on at the very end for Felicity to come to an understanding about her privilege as a wealthy white woman and how this caused those around to handle her with kid gloves--a privilege that is not afforded to those who are not of a similar ilk. Felicity also came to this realization a bit too quickly in my opinion. It would have fared better if this point were weaved through the text earlier on.

But enough about the faults I found. The last 30% was fun to read and contained the breakneck pacing I had become familiar with by reading Lee's previous work. If you like sapphic slow--VERY SLOW-- atmospheric horror/thrillers, perhaps give this one a go.

agathecadieux's review against another edition

3.5

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: Yes

maisierosareads's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

hotdogmother's review against another edition

3.0

The thing that struck me as particularly unique about Vengeance was that I wondered until the final moments: Is the magic real? Is this all just someone's vivid imaginations? And the author did a fascinating job of keeping us in suspense until the 90% mark.

As a result of this handling, this book would make a great dark academia movie. The situations often feel more college-like than private high school, and the characters definitely don't feel 16, other than their many 'lose our innocence' type moments. They're 16 going on 25, especially Ellis, with her suits, smoking, literary genius, and manipulation. Teenagers aren't really like that these days, right???

Love: The setting, the atmosphere, the creepy vibes and unreliable narration.

Dislike: The way mental illness and race are portrayed in this book. How the heroine's thesis is basically the exact plot of the book.

Spoiler

Forcing someone to kill animals and relive traumatic experiences.

ssmiles's review against another edition

5.0

What a great read! It gave off all the right spooky, horror, and dark academia vibes to get you into the Halloween spirit. I have already recommended this novel to a bunch of people. It was slow at the beginning, but once you got into the story it went by fast!

sanell_linden's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

stetzenmeyer06's review against another edition

2.0

challenging dark 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: Yes

The beginning of the book was a little confusing and misleading. You would think you would be reading a book about witches or a school like Hogwarts and it slowly turns into something that it is not.