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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
TW: mental illness, murder
Dalloway School for Girls is home to protegies, literature enthusiasts and, when you look into the shadows, the occult. It has a history bathed in witches and blood. Last year, a girl fell from a cliff and drowned, the body never recovered. Now, her best friend Felicity is back after a psychotic episode and a famous young writer, Ellis, is in the same dorm. Ellis lures her back into the history that contributed to last years' tradgedy and Felicity's grasp on what is real is thinning. When Ellis asks her for help with her newest book, Felicity can't say no.
This book was gripping. The writing was atmospheric, it transported me right to Dolloway and its dark academia, antique campus. The feel was very reminiscent of wuthering heights or Dracula. The plot was fast paced and twisty. Because Felicity's grasp on reality is thin and thinning, it never really becomes clear in which direction the plot is going until it does. Felicity is the perfect unreliable narrator. I also really enjoyed the portrayal of mental illness, especially one so stigmatised. Felicity gets worse, then she gets better, then there's a trigger and she gets worse again. It's not senseless or violent, it's raw and illogically logical. Bits of truth were revealed slowly, allowing us to puzzle together our own understanding. First, that Felicity is unreliable, then more and more of what actually happened before the story. The main characters and their relationship were compelling, Ellis especially. Felicity's fascination with her and the unhealthy dynamic that beginns to develop is written beautifully.
Some parts of the story, in particular the five witches in the school's history and the big reveal at the end of the story arc about Alex, did fall a little flat. Here, the story would have profited from a higher page count, allowing Ellis and Felicity more actual information about the witches' death and Alex more than half a sentence to resolve her mystery. These were particularly dissapointing because so much of the social media presence of this book focuses on its 'witchiness', when it really doesn't take up much of the book at all. The witchiness is a background, not the actual object of the book. This book is a gothic thriller that centers around mental illness, but not in the stereotypical 'people with psychosis are evil' way.
If you want a sapphic, gothic thrilleresque dark academia novel, then this is the right book for you. If you're looking for a witchy book, it probably isn't.
TW: mental illness, murder
Dalloway School for Girls is home to protegies, literature enthusiasts and, when you look into the shadows, the occult. It has a history bathed in witches and blood. Last year, a girl fell from a cliff and drowned, the body never recovered. Now, her best friend Felicity is back after a psychotic episode and a famous young writer, Ellis, is in the same dorm. Ellis lures her back into the history that contributed to last years' tradgedy and Felicity's grasp on what is real is thinning. When Ellis asks her for help with her newest book, Felicity can't say no.
This book was gripping. The writing was atmospheric, it transported me right to Dolloway and its dark academia, antique campus. The feel was very reminiscent of wuthering heights or Dracula. The plot was fast paced and twisty. Because Felicity's grasp on reality is thin and thinning, it never really becomes clear in which direction the plot is going until it does. Felicity is the perfect unreliable narrator. I also really enjoyed the portrayal of mental illness, especially one so stigmatised. Felicity gets worse, then she gets better, then there's a trigger and she gets worse again. It's not senseless or violent, it's raw and illogically logical. Bits of truth were revealed slowly, allowing us to puzzle together our own understanding. First, that Felicity is unreliable, then more and more of what actually happened before the story. The main characters and their relationship were compelling, Ellis especially. Felicity's fascination with her and the unhealthy dynamic that beginns to develop is written beautifully.
Some parts of the story, in particular the five witches in the school's history and the big reveal at the end of the story arc about Alex, did fall a little flat. Here, the story would have profited from a higher page count, allowing Ellis and Felicity more actual information about the witches' death and Alex more than half a sentence to resolve her mystery. These were particularly dissapointing because so much of the social media presence of this book focuses on its 'witchiness', when it really doesn't take up much of the book at all. The witchiness is a background, not the actual object of the book. This book is a gothic thriller that centers around mental illness, but not in the stereotypical 'people with psychosis are evil' way.
If you want a sapphic, gothic thrilleresque dark academia novel, then this is the right book for you. If you're looking for a witchy book, it probably isn't.
dark
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
I wanted to like this book. I feel like there wasn't actually anything really wrong with it. There was an unreliable narrator and twists and turns in the story, but I still wasn't interested. I think maybe because I didn't find the characters likeable so I wasn't invested in what happens to them. I'm probably being a bit harsh with my rating, but I would like to say this rating is solely on personal preference. I think other people who read this book might love this story if they're able to connect to it.
This sounded too much like other boarding school mystery books. It was boring.
spooky season x dark academia x lgbtq+ rep ft. sapphics
[lets out a breath that has been held for months and months]: watch me devour this book and love every single second of it
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It just got better and better with a great plot twist.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book has everything a person could want: witchcraft, a queer romance, physiological warfare on your romantic partner, murder!!
Dark academia is a trope that I love, and this is a great case study of why our interests can leak into an unhealthy obsession if we aren't kept in check and an even better example of why it's important to keep on track with your medications if you struggle with that.
Felecity is a great character for a lot of reasons: my favorite being is that she is a mess. She has so many problems, and at the end of the book she still has all of the problems that she had at the start of the books but she's dealt with them in some shape and she has acknowledged them. She's grown from her journey and didn't magically become perfect at the end.
Ellis was a great villain to have because we didn't expect her really, not all the time. There were times that I thought maybe this one ain't all there but I thought they'd be happily ever after in the end and boy was I wrong!! And I loved it!
I loved how unhinged this book was from start to finish.
Dark academia is a trope that I love, and this is a great case study of why our interests can leak into an unhealthy obsession if we aren't kept in check and an even better example of why it's important to keep on track with your medications if you struggle with that.
Felecity is a great character for a lot of reasons: my favorite being is that she is a mess. She has so many problems, and at the end of the book she still has all of the problems that she had at the start of the books but she's dealt with them in some shape and she has acknowledged them. She's grown from her journey and didn't magically become perfect at the end.
Ellis was a great villain to have because we didn't expect her really, not all the time. There were times that I thought maybe this one ain't all there but I thought they'd be happily ever after in the end and boy was I wrong!! And I loved it!
I loved how unhinged this book was from start to finish.
dark
tense
medium-paced