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marcilene's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
This is book is everything I've ever searched for and I went through it in the span of three days. Without spoiling the final scene of Felicity and Ellis was so satisfying to me, like I was waiting for that the whole time. As for the book Ellis wrote I can't describe how much I want to read it and at the same time never see it brought to life.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Death, and Alcohol
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Alcohol, Animal death, Child death, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Sexual content, Abandonment, Ableism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, and Vomit
Minor: Lesbophobia, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Racism, and Transphobia
ettegoom's review
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book did everything that Plain Bad Heroines completely failed to achieve. The characters and their means of dealing with the situations in which they found themselves were sufficiently mysterious and stressful to keep me engaged. The twist wasn't unexpected, but was still enjoyable, and the conflict between the main character's own delusions and anxieties and the reality of the situation was quite engaging.
I did find Felicity a little annoying at times, but in the main, I enjoyed the book and wanted the best for her.
I did find Felicity a little annoying at times, but in the main, I enjoyed the book and wanted the best for her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Gaslighting
Moderate: Murder, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Death, Child abuse, and Alcohol
peachani's review against another edition
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
2.5
You should probably just read The Secret History instead...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Murder, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Gun violence, and Mental illness
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Suicide, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Fatphobia, Gore, Lesbophobia, Outing, Racism, Sexual content, and Vomit
looseleafellie's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
When Felicity returns to her elite all-girls boarding school for her senior year, she’s eager to put her past of death and witchcraft behind her. But when she meets prodigy novelist Ellis, who needs her help with research for her new book, Felicity finds that her ghosts may be coming back to haunt her …
This book has been on my TBR for a while, but a friend of mine read it recently and then forced her copy into my hands the second she was done with it. So of course, I had to see what entranced her so much!
Five words: queer dark academia with murder! The vibes of this book are absolutely impeccable, and while the story unfolds slowly, the creeping tension really makes it work. Schemes rumble beneath the surface, the protagonist isn’t always the most reliable narrator, and the ending is absolutely WILD.
The characters are extremely pretentious in a way that felt, to me, quite tongue-in-cheek, so luckily I was able to enjoy their exploits without getting annoyed. A fun tidbit about this book is that there are no men mentioned anywhere in the story. All the characters are female or non-binary, and none of the plentiful literary references come from male authors.
Basically, don’t go in expecting a fast-paced thriller, but do expect an eerie slow-burn of a narrative that will keep you on your toes. This is definitely the kind of book you should read at night by the fire with a cup of tea and a storm raging outside. Just keep an eye out for any ghosts that might be lurking in your corners …
CWs: Death, violence, manipulation and emotional abuse, child neglect (past/offscreen), mental health issues, substance abuse, suicide references (no actual suicide), references to racist history at a PWI.
This book has been on my TBR for a while, but a friend of mine read it recently and then forced her copy into my hands the second she was done with it. So of course, I had to see what entranced her so much!
Five words: queer dark academia with murder! The vibes of this book are absolutely impeccable, and while the story unfolds slowly, the creeping tension really makes it work. Schemes rumble beneath the surface, the protagonist isn’t always the most reliable narrator, and the ending is absolutely WILD.
The characters are extremely pretentious in a way that felt, to me, quite tongue-in-cheek, so luckily I was able to enjoy their exploits without getting annoyed. A fun tidbit about this book is that there are no men mentioned anywhere in the story. All the characters are female or non-binary, and none of the plentiful literary references come from male authors.
Basically, don’t go in expecting a fast-paced thriller, but do expect an eerie slow-burn of a narrative that will keep you on your toes. This is definitely the kind of book you should read at night by the fire with a cup of tea and a storm raging outside. Just keep an eye out for any ghosts that might be lurking in your corners …
CWs: Death, violence, manipulation and emotional abuse, child neglect (past/offscreen), mental health issues, substance abuse, suicide references (no actual suicide), references to racist history at a PWI.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, and Animal death
Minor: Suicide, Child abuse, and Racism
nicoleacedit's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
This was a very weird book. Aside from the general unlikeableness of the characters, the writing was very repetitive at times. Certain phrases would appear multiple times even in the same chapter or on the same page but not in a way that makes it feel like it was intentionally done for emphasis or the like. Just really not my cup of tea :/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Murder, Abandonment, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Death, Animal death, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Transphobia
roryorrie's review
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
A Lesson in Vengeance prides itself on being a dark academia novel, from the language used and the scenery — an all girls boarding school, tweed jackets, novelists, and secret lesbian romances. It hits the aesthetics of it hard and wonderfully at that, but misses the whole appeal of dark academia novels flat. That is, to say, the depth.
This book feels rushed, beautiful as it is, the plot is a mess. There’s so many attempts at little twists and turns that are never set up. The themes fall flat. The witch plot line is never fully wrapped up. It’s just… lackluster. I’m rating this two stars not because it’s so terrible but worse, it could’ve been incredible.
Dark academia is wrought with elitism and privilege. Barely is this seen in the novel besides a few mentions with one of the characters. It’s a bunch of rich girls playing up sorcery and magic for the sake of aesthetics and that’s… it. The protagonist mocks an occult of sorts that forms at the school, yet there’s no self awareness of how she’s doing the same thing. It’s mind numbing to see her preach about people only appropriating the aesthetics of a movement while the novel does the same thing.
The ending was painful to read. Again, it felt rushed. The character arcs were left unfinished, it didn’t make much sense for the tone of the story, etc. The book kept pushing and pushing Felicity’s supposed delusions as well as Ellis’s eccentricities as this acting. To me, at least, it seemed it was leading up to some breaking point of them realizing they were, at the end of the day, just incredibly privileged teenage girls. They had the privilege to ‘play’ murder and slaughter while their classmates fought for their lives for the spots they had at the school. Or something of the sorts, just something, anything, more than the surface level.
But nope. That’s it. That’s the book. Beautifully as its’ written, that’s the main appeal. The writing style itself is gorgeous as are some of the scenes. Ellis and Felcity’s romance was very enticing to watch. I must compliment how natural the progression of the relationship was.
To throw in the murder plot ruined this. It just. It didn’t make sense to me whatsoever. Ellis did all of these violent things but at the end of the day, she was playing - acting. It was a cheap plot twist for shock value.
I wish I could rate this higher, I wish so dearly that this could’ve been more than it is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Death
Minor: Racism and Child abuse
miserabilis's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
A LESSON IN VENGEANCE — THE LESBIAN DARK ACADEMIA MASTERPIECE
A Lesson In Vengeance to książka, za którą dałabym się pokroić na przełomie gimnazjum i liceum. Miałam wtedy fazę na wszystkie murder-mistery teen dramy (głównie pretty little liars) i poszukiwałam czegoś, podobnego, tylko lepszego, a najlepiej z drobnymi elementami paranormalnymi. (Side note — nie znalazłam tego zbyt dużo, dlatego częściowo zaczęłam pisać Kwiaty). W książce Victorii Lee jet zatem wszystko, co kocham najbardziej — wątek kryminalny, prywatna, stara uczelnia, wiedźmy, duchy, narratorka, której nie można ufać, trzymający w napięciu klimat, wątek wlw…
Zabawę miałam przednią, pochłonęłam książkę w nieco ponad jeden dzień, a strony przewracałam z zapartym tchem.
Historia opowiada o Felicity Marrow, osiemnastolatce, która po roku przerwy wraca do szkoły Dalloway (założoną przez jedną z czarownic z Salem), gdzie doszło do tajemniczej śmierci jej dziewczyny Alex. Felicity zmaga się z duchami przeszłości, związanymi z legendą o piątce domniemanych czarownic, i depresją psychotyczną, a jak sama osoba autorska zwróciła uwagę na goodreads — te drugie przeżycia pisałx z własnych doświadczeń. Pokój Alex zajmuje Ellis, nowa uczennica i pisarka, pracująca nad swoją drugą powieścią, poświęconą profilowi psychopaty i inspirowaną „piątką z Dalloway”. Spotkanie dwóch dziewcząt ostatecznie sprowadza Felicity z powrotem na drogę pełną czarownic, magii, duchów… i czegoś jeszcze, ale tego spoilerować nie będę.
Felicity jest… dość typową główną bohaterką, którą napędza subiektywne pojmowanie rzeczywistości. Jest dość zamknięta w sobie (woli zaszyć się w pokoju i czytać, zamiast wychodzić do ludzi), ale za to zmotywowana, ambitna i łatwo nie odpuszcza. Nawet ją polubiłam, chociaż miała swoje momenty, gdzie miałam ochotę jebnąć ją czymś ciężkim. Ellis natomiast… Jesus Fucking Christ, co za postać. Ellis to bohaterka, o której nie da się nie myśleć — jest charyzmatyczna, pewna siebie i kurewsko inteligentna, do tego ludźmi manipuluje z łatwością. Te wszystkie elementy czynią ją tak bardzo przerażającą. Ellis to połączenie Spencer Hastings i Alison di Laurentis, gdyby tylko któraś z nich praktykowała „method writing”, czyli opisywanie tylko tego, co się zna, a zatem próbowania w prawdziwym życiu wszystkiego, o czym chce się pisać. To, jak inspiruje ludzi dookoła siebie, sprawia, że nie można jej się oprzeć. Sama także na pewno wpadłabym w jej pułapkę.
Narracja w książce jest pierwszoosobowa, zatem świat postrzegamy oczami Felicity, która ani nie jest zbytnio zainteresowana światem i ludźmi dookoła niej, ani nie opisuje rzeczywistości taką jaką jest naprawdę, tylko taką, jak ją postrzega przez pryzmat m.in. traumy czy uczuć. Z tego powodu postacie poboczne mogą wydawać się nierozwinięte czy służące zbyt małemu celowi. Tak, część rzeczy można by bardziej pogłębić (a sama książka też mogłaby być dłuższa), nic nie jest w końcu idealne. Jedną z wad, którą należy wytknąć przy tej okazji, jest problem z reprezentacją. Kilka osób zwróciło uwagę, że jedyną funkcją czarnoskórej postaci w tej książce, było uświadomienie Felicity o tym, jak przez systemowy rasizm i segregację jej babci było ciężko w Dalloway. Nie powinno tak być, bo rolą osób czarnoskórych, też w prawdziwym życiu, nie jest uświadamianie tych białych o problemie (to my sami powinniśmy próbować się jak najbardziej doinformować).
Warto też zwrócić uwagę na to, że przez poruszane w książce tematy, może się ona nie nadawać dla wszystkich, zarówno pod kwestią wieku (zalecany jest +14, ja bym powiedziała, że +15/16), jak i psychiki. Lista trigger warningów jest dość długa (śmierć, morderstwo, przemoc, krew, depresja, wspomnienie myśli samobójczych…), także warto mieć to na uwadze, sięgając po tę pozycję.
Mimo jej wad, polecam tę książkę przeogromnie. Ma cudowny, tajemniczy vibe, doskonałą estetykę, pełną zwrotów akcji (mniej lub bardziej przewidywalnych, ale wciąż ciekawych) fabułę i przyjemny język, który sprawia, że ciężko lekturę odłożyć. To historia o pasji i obsesji, o niebezpiecznych zainteresowaniach i relacjach zupełnie innych, niż by się na początku mogło zdawać. Warto było czekać prawie trzy miesiące na jej dostarczenie (fuck you, libristo, premiera była 30.08., jak nie mogliście jej ściągnąć, to było mi oddać kasę albo przynajmniej dać znać, a nie czekać do końca października z propozycją rozdzielenia zamówienia za dodatkową opłatą za wysyłkę, a ostatecznie wysłać w listopadzie).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Child abuse
lorepineiro's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Child abuse
Minor: Eating disorder, Animal death, and Vomit
ekahnicole's review
dark
mysterious
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
2.75
This book had so much potential but just didn't deliver. The setting and atmosphere was often great but the pacing was bizarre - at times painfully slow and at others too fast (especially at the end). I always enjoy an unreliable narrator but the MC takes it a bit too far at times. Ellis was entertaining but the "plot twist" for her character was far too predictable. Overall, I really wanted to love this book but found myself rolling my eyes at times with how over the top some things were and it ended up being a bit of a chore to finish. I would definitely read more of Victoria Lee's work, because I enjoyed her writing style for the most part and I think she has potential to write something excellent in the future. This one just didn't quite get there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Animal death
Moderate: Child abuse and Alcoholism