Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

88 reviews

moonytoast's review

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.25

arguably, i should have been obsessed with this book. it has everything i love:

lesbians? check.

dark academia? check.

donna tartt vibes? check.

i did enjoy reading this book, especially the last 100 pages or so, but it just didn't burrow deep into my brain like i had been hoping it would. solid dark academia autumn read tho!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic relationship

linnea's review

I just didn't care for the characters for the plot.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Murder and Vomit

laurel_leaves12's review

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Toxic relationship

bookishfaye's review

adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

🍃 positives:
- I adored the sapphic yearning dear God
- The actual academia portion of the dark academia vibes I adored as an English major myself! all the thesis statements I found so fun!! Also the literary references were 10/10, & the method book writing was awesome
- also the dark academia vibes in general lol 
- the focuses on sexism, gender, white privilege, & sexuality I loved
- I loved the “unreliable narrator” vibes throughout the story & was constantly unsure of who the “bad guy” was.
- I am so obsessed with Ellis’s character and how interesting she is  
- the psyche of both Felicity and Ellis were just so interesting to dive into on top of the connection they had & their own personal ✨issues✨ 
- the Lesbian MC & love interest rep, & non binary side character rep :)) <3
-the witchy vibes were so fricken good

🍃negatives:
- there were definitely some aspects of the plot/character that were predictable/cheesy and it wasn’t a perfect book; however, I adored it so much that any “issue” was so minor to me that it didn’t make a difference to how I felt overall

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

isnotacrayon's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Murder, Mental illness, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Death, Cursing, Animal death, and Alcohol

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Drug use

sylvestra's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Drug use, Grief, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Outing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

luxvestravitae's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death, Suicide, Murder, Gun violence, and Gore

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Racism, and Toxic friendship

gondorgirl's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal death and Alcohol

Minor: Abandonment, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

bookcrushin's review

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

This book will mess with your head a bit especially with the unreliable narrator. I loved it and I expect to see it on all your fall dark gothic lists!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Moderate: Vomit, Violence, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Drug use

bibookworm's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5/5 Stars ⭐️: A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee is a bone chilling YA Horror/Thriller that will leave you speechless. This Sapphic Dark Academic story will have you up all night until you devour every single page only for you to be left yearning for more of Victoria Lee’s incredible writing. This spooky story weaves together murder mysteries with historic witches and dangerous occult knowledge. I highly recommend this for anyone who needs a good scare! This book is perfect for fans of Ninth House, The Haunting of Hill House, and The Witch. This haunting atmospheric read will have you looking for ghosts over your shoulder every time you turn the page. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, and Alcoholism

Minor: Eating disorder