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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have sooo many questions about this book, what happened, and the ending!
First let us start with some Content Warnings: 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. Victoria goes into more detail about each of these on her website (http://victorialeewrites.com/a-lesson-in-vengeance-content-warnings/).
This book is YA Dark Academia. Now this is my first dark academia book so I have no prior knowledge of the genre. I really enjoyed this book. Now I'm not sure the genre is for me, I found myself a little anxious not knowing if there would be a HEA or what could happen to the characters.
I could not put this book down. I just had to get to the ending. This is told from the POV of Felicity, who is returning to school after taking a semester off. She is really struggling with her mental health. She is an unreliable narrator and I'm still questioning if some parts of the book really happened how she thinks they did.
The twists in this book were incredible, I did not see them coming and when I thought I knew something, I did not. I was contently guessing! I found this book very enjoyable and I will have to check out some more dark academia to see how I feel about the genre as a whole.
First let us start with some Content Warnings: 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. Victoria goes into more detail about each of these on her website (http://victorialeewrites.com/a-lesson-in-vengeance-content-warnings/).
This book is YA Dark Academia. Now this is my first dark academia book so I have no prior knowledge of the genre. I really enjoyed this book. Now I'm not sure the genre is for me, I found myself a little anxious not knowing if there would be a HEA or what could happen to the characters.
I could not put this book down. I just had to get to the ending. This is told from the POV of Felicity, who is returning to school after taking a semester off. She is really struggling with her mental health. She is an unreliable narrator and I'm still questioning if some parts of the book really happened how she thinks they did.
The twists in this book were incredible, I did not see them coming and when I thought I knew something, I did not. I was contently guessing! I found this book very enjoyable and I will have to check out some more dark academia to see how I feel about the genre as a whole.
yet another book marketed as supernatural that turns out to have a perfectly logical and natural explanation to all the supernatural shit in it as a gotcha to the reader. explanation which, of course, requires a lot more suspension of disbelief than if there were actually witches and ghosts in godwin house. god. i like the ambience, i guess. guessed the plot twist which always makes me feel smart.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a great book to get you out of a reading slump. It’s accessible, fun, and the plot is intriguing—on the surface. If you’re not in need of a reading slump bump, however, I would avoid.
The characters are thin, and everyone outside of the two main characters are essentially interchangeable. The mystery is intriguing at first but it doesn’t really lead to much—and what does happen is so rushed and unearned. That’s not to say I didn’t have a good time. I read the whole thing in one sitting. But ultimately, like most binge meals, it was fun while it lasted but ultimately unsatisfying.
The characters are thin, and everyone outside of the two main characters are essentially interchangeable. The mystery is intriguing at first but it doesn’t really lead to much—and what does happen is so rushed and unearned. That’s not to say I didn’t have a good time. I read the whole thing in one sitting. But ultimately, like most binge meals, it was fun while it lasted but ultimately unsatisfying.
dark
mysterious
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Quality of Writing: 5/10
Pacing: 4/10
Characters: 1/10
Plot: 6/10
Ending: 2/10
1.8
Pacing: 4/10
Characters: 1/10
Plot: 6/10
Ending: 2/10
1.8
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
This was so atmospheric with such immersive writing that it took me several hours to realize “wait a minute, was anything about the Dolloway Five even answered fully?”
I think, somewhat by necessity which it would be a big spoiler to explain, the past (both distant and recent) and present get really intertwined in this book. I also think this book has the best done “unreliable narrator” trope I’ve ever read. Like I was shocked a few times to the point I said “wait, what!?” loud enough that random strangers stared at me. However, because some questions weren’t answered, or were answered partially by inference if you want to make a guess at it, this wasn’t a five star read to me.
The inferences you would have to draw to answer the questions would also require modification on the genre of the book. I’ve seen this tagged as fantasy but, to be clear, it is definitely not.
I think, somewhat by necessity which it would be a big spoiler to explain, the past (both distant and recent) and present get really intertwined in this book. I also think this book has the best done “unreliable narrator” trope I’ve ever read. Like I was shocked a few times to the point I said “wait, what!?” loud enough that random strangers stared at me. However, because some questions weren’t answered, or were answered partially by inference if you want to make a guess at it, this wasn’t a five star read to me.
The inferences you would have to draw to answer the questions would also require modification on the genre of the book. I’ve seen this tagged as fantasy but, to be clear, it is definitely not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Emotional abuse
Pretentiousness elevated to a superlative degree.
Two emotionally constipated girls trading psychological mind games under the guise of literary ambition, and, as you may guess, witch cosplay.
The setting is atmospheric enough and quite compelling, and honestly, it’s the only reason this isn’t a one-star.
The prose tries way too hard to be elegantly eerie, and every sentence seems desperate to be quoted on a dark academia pinterest board (this would have thrived on 2012 tumblr dot com). Just imagine if ennui and narcissism had their own teeny tiny book club.
The plot blindly stumbles between gothic mystery and psychological thriller but never fully commits to either. Instead, it gets lost in its own sense of superiority and pseudo-intellectualism. The book really wants to be clever, but it just feels hollow (oooh, have you heard last Eurovision's banger that is Dons' “Hollow”? No? Go listen, it’s a much better use of your time than whatever this book is.)
TL;DR: Read it if you’re here purely for the vibes, aesthetic, and lesbian witches in tweed. Skip it if you want depth, nuance, or characters whose personalities aren’t built entirely out of self-imposed trauma and theatrics.
Two emotionally constipated girls trading psychological mind games under the guise of literary ambition, and, as you may guess, witch cosplay.
The setting is atmospheric enough and quite compelling, and honestly, it’s the only reason this isn’t a one-star.
The prose tries way too hard to be elegantly eerie, and every sentence seems desperate to be quoted on a dark academia pinterest board (this would have thrived on 2012 tumblr dot com). Just imagine if ennui and narcissism had their own teeny tiny book club.
The plot blindly stumbles between gothic mystery and psychological thriller but never fully commits to either. Instead, it gets lost in its own sense of superiority and pseudo-intellectualism. The book really wants to be clever, but it just feels hollow (oooh, have you heard last Eurovision's banger that is Dons' “Hollow”? No? Go listen, it’s a much better use of your time than whatever this book is.)
TL;DR: Read it if you’re here purely for the vibes, aesthetic, and lesbian witches in tweed. Skip it if you want depth, nuance, or characters whose personalities aren’t built entirely out of self-imposed trauma and theatrics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
slow-paced