Reviews - A Lesson in Vengeance

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4.14k reviews for:

A Lesson in Vengeance

Victoria Lee

3.59 AVERAGE

tyfbmh's review against another edition

2.0

2 is generous, get a better editor, this book could have easily been 150 pages less than it was

sissi10's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

missgothics's review against another edition

2.0

A Lesson in Vengeance was a dark and twisted tale. This story unfolds at a boarding school with a history of five witches being murdered, each in different and brutal ways. Felicity is back at the school where she meets the new girl, Ellis, a talented published author. They instantly form a connection, but then trouble arises when the past starts repeating itself. I was instantly intrigued by the synopsis of this book. It was mysterious and chilling. I was a little disappointed by the end. I knew what was going to happen early on. I could see the twist happening before they came which was what I was looking forward to the most. The main characters were interesting and I did enjoy the slow reveal of their stories. I do wish the side characters got to have a stronger role in the story. Some of the side characters had so much more that could be told about them

daylilies's review against another edition

3.0

2.5 stars!

naideraid's review against another edition

3.0

It feels like it's been awhile since I've flown through a book so quickly. Like, everything about this is completely my ~aesthetic~ and Victoria Lee's prose was magical to read. Despite all that, I don't quite know how I feel about this book. I know I enjoyed it; I was sucked into the world and didn't want to leave. The thing that keeps nagging at me is that I don't know if I feel satisfied at the end of it. I mean, I still have a lot of unanswered questions and maybe it might require a re-read or a few days mulling over it before I can come to a solid conclusion about it.

Spoiler

Thinking on it, I have to wonder a bit more about Ellis's motivation for the whole thing. Like, she says, "I did it for you." but like, what does that really mean? Ellis has this same absurd, almost dream-like quality about her that fits perfectly in a The Secret History setting, but I guess I'm still trying to rationalize her? Like, there were hints--that the person she presented to the world wasn't the person she was on the inside, much like Felicity--but I don't quite know if that was enough for me. The same with Felicity. We get hints about her relationship with her mom, but not enough to be... concrete? I mean, I'm not looking for a voyeuristic view of every aspect of their relationship, but it's a bit hard to see Felicity and her mother and Felicity and Ellis's relationships past this gauzy, otherworldly lens. Especially since Felicity is very much an unreliable narrator--pushed along, helpfully (except not really), by Ellis. And maybe that's the point? I honestly don't know. I feel like maybe I'm trying to over-analyze things here.

All in all, this was a really enthralling read. Perfectly fits the spooky vibes of the fall season. I just think I need to mull over it a bit. Maybe read some other reviews to see if anyone else can put into context what I'm unable to at the moment.

beth_g520's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH

I couldn't do it. I just could not do it. I'm halfway through and I don't care at all what happens anymore. If there is a plot, I missed it. I find the characters annoying and not in a "I hope you fix yourself because there could be good in you" kind of way. Every time I picked up the book to read, I had to force myself to read a chapter or, on many days, decided NOT to read at all because I really could not handle a single page. Ugh.

To those that loved it - yay you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

anyaaa_'s review against another edition

4.0

Three tropes checked off right away: boarding school, dark academia, lesbian/lgbt. However, these amazingly done tropes are paired with a far shabbier plot line that ended up disappointing me a little. The tropes really carried the book and if I wasn't a large fan of all three, this probably would've been rated lower (~3 stars). Still, many fantasy/dark academia lovers will likely enjoy aspects of this book!