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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you for NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
This book had everything I wanted in a book, and it also had everything I did not want in a book.
Representations that I crave, that are there and yet they are not, and somehow everything felt underdeveloped and forced. I will refrain from rating the book because I was able to finish it and because I do not want dump only negative comments on a writers work.
Characters included in the book for representations (apart from our main characters Felicity and Ellis) are there for just that, they don't really add to story. It should be dark academia, which got my attention, and yet it is barely scratching the surface of the genre. But one of my biggest issues was the blatant lack of magic. The underdeveloped romance, where after a brief acquaintance, our heroine Felicity already describes things as "very Ellis".
I really want to write something positive and that would be the writing style, which against all odds I very much enjoyed. Also the plot that kept the reader guessing.
This book had everything I wanted in a book, and it also had everything I did not want in a book.
Representations that I crave, that are there and yet they are not, and somehow everything felt underdeveloped and forced. I will refrain from rating the book because I was able to finish it and because I do not want dump only negative comments on a writers work.
Characters included in the book for representations (apart from our main characters Felicity and Ellis) are there for just that, they don't really add to story. It should be dark academia, which got my attention, and yet it is barely scratching the surface of the genre. But one of my biggest issues was the blatant lack of magic. The underdeveloped romance, where after a brief acquaintance, our heroine Felicity already describes things as "very Ellis".
I really want to write something positive and that would be the writing style, which against all odds I very much enjoyed. Also the plot that kept the reader guessing.
This book has so much potential, but everything fell flat for me.
i wasn't expecting much from this book. i don't read much ya, and dark academia books can easily be underwhelming. but i was pleasantly surprised. i loved the atmosphere, the very toxic relationship, and, of course, the obsessive characters who long for the picturesque.
however,the ending was so bland. what do you mean, "the bad guy" is dead and everyone lives happily ever after ? i wish Felicity had gone to the dark side; it would have been way more fun
however,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Creo que este libro tenía muchísimas cosas para ser muy bueno, pero el ritmo fue lo que debilitó ese punto.
La pluma de la autora era muy buena, personalmente me gustó, pero el ritmo de la trama siempre fue el mismo, a pesar de que existieran cosas que podrían haberme hecho chillar. Fue un ritmo muy pasivo.
Amé el concepto de internado femenino y literatura femenina, los libros mencionados en la novela eran muy buenos, citando a Mary Shelley, Virginia Woolf, entre otras autoras muy reconocidas.
Lo que no me gustó es que este libro sea vendido como #urbanfantasy, cuando claramente no lo es. Nos metemos en la mente de la protagonista pensando en que la magia es realmente real cuando no es así, solo es un trastorno debido a diferentes hechos que vivió, y es completamente normal, pero de ahí a que lo vendan como urban fantasy cuando es algo más parecido a un thriller, me parece fatal.
La protagonista me pareció buena, creo que debido a sus experiencias tuvo un buen avance de personaje, y me sentí muy identificada con ella, sobretodo en los momentos en que no sabía si la magia era real o no, porque me ha pasado.
La pluma de la autora era muy buena, personalmente me gustó, pero el ritmo de la trama siempre fue el mismo, a pesar de que existieran cosas que podrían haberme hecho chillar. Fue un ritmo muy pasivo.
Amé el concepto de internado femenino y literatura femenina, los libros mencionados en la novela eran muy buenos, citando a Mary Shelley, Virginia Woolf, entre otras autoras muy reconocidas.
Lo que no me gustó es que este libro sea vendido como #urbanfantasy, cuando claramente no lo es. Nos metemos en la mente de la protagonista pensando en que la magia es realmente real cuando no es así, solo es un trastorno debido a diferentes hechos que vivió, y es completamente normal, pero de ahí a que lo vendan como urban fantasy cuando es algo más parecido a un thriller, me parece fatal.
La protagonista me pareció buena, creo que debido a sus experiencias tuvo un buen avance de personaje, y me sentí muy identificada con ella, sobretodo en los momentos en que no sabía si la magia era real o no, porque me ha pasado.
Die erste Hälfte war etwas träge und hat mich nicht ganz überzeugt. Es wurde dann schon spannender aber ich hatte mir mehr thrill erhofft. Schade.
i sure am unsettled... review & rating to come.
content warnings for: death of a romantic partner, death of a grandparent, death of a queer character*, blood and gore, murder, animal abuse/death, manipulation & emotional abuse, child neglect, stigma about mental health issues, suicide, racism, drowning, grief, emesis, discussions about body image, reference to hospitalization
* — quoting from victoria lee's website:
content warnings for: death of a romantic partner, death of a grandparent, death of a queer character*, blood and gore, murder, animal abuse/death, manipulation & emotional abuse, child neglect, stigma about mental health issues, suicide, racism, drowning, grief, emesis, discussions about body image, reference to hospitalization
* — quoting from victoria lee's website:
Spoiler
"Multiple queer characters die; multiple queer characters also survive. The deaths are not presented as being related to the characters’ sexuality, and it is not treated as a punishment for their sexual identities. As a queer author, I value letting queer characters experience a wide variety of tragic and happy experiences (when handled carefully by a queer writer). My hope is that these deaths are treated sensitively and with care, as a necessary component of the story, not contributing to a dangerous narrative about queer characters’ value in fiction."
I generally like dark academia, and I guess this one would technically fit into that genre but it didn’t really give me the dark academia *vibes* if that makes sense. It was nice to have non binary characters, gay relationships, some talk about mental illness and the stigma, and usually a boarding school for girls who love literature that has historical ties to witches just felt right up my alley. However, I had a hard time connecting with the main character, her intense paranoia from the very beginning without anything in the story actually making the reader feel that same tension/anxiety got a little tiresome. I felt like I knew very early on that either she was off her medication and/or someone was messing with her. I didn’t believe anything the main character believed which made some of her actions (like leaving the book in her room) annoying like how you yell at the screen in scary movies to not go in the basement because it’s so obvious what is going to happen. Also, the main characters thesis topic being exactly what the author in this book was trying to do really just flattened any tension and imo spoiled the “twist” at the end.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5
Strengths: Intellectual obsessions, sapphic romances, an all girls’ school with creepy lore, witchcraft and cults, literary references and pressed flowers and palmistry, the impact of loss and grief, realizing your gf is a psychopath, an unstable narrator, pure dark academia (Is that a genre now?), and I love the names, especially Felicity.
Weaknesses: some cliches and inconsistencies, pacing, tokenism
Strengths: Intellectual obsessions, sapphic romances, an all girls’ school with creepy lore, witchcraft and cults, literary references and pressed flowers and palmistry, the impact of loss and grief, realizing your gf is a psychopath, an unstable narrator, pure dark academia (Is that a genre now?), and I love the names, especially Felicity.
Weaknesses: some cliches and inconsistencies, pacing, tokenism