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andii1110's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.0
soullessbkwrm's review against another edition
2.0
This was a very easy read but I can’t explain why? It is definitely a YA novel. If you’re really into like dark academia type books this might be fore you. Just didn’t really understand the story. The last like two to three chapters were the best part purely because of the twist.
calyxconcision's review against another edition
5.0
I went into this book expecting something else from its description, and got something else in return. I was pleasantly surprised. The prose is beautifully written. Lee's prose is both magical and dark, offering that feeling of being sucked in by Godwin House and Dalloway School all at once for the reader, too. The character of Felicity is complex and has the qualities of both a villain and a hero. It's a beautiful, gripping read about the dark feminine, the inherent complex and contrarian nature of humanity, female desire, and female power.
teapot_of_unique's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
asreadbykat's review against another edition
3.0
True Rating: 3/5 Stars
I will admit to being a newbie in the world of the dark academia style of novels. I haven't read any of the classics for it ("The Secret History" or "The Historian"), and I picked this up at the store on a whim because I wanted to take baby-steps into DA and it seemed interesting. Lesbian main characters, witches, boarding schools, curses, murder? I had really high hopes for this one!
Sadly, it didn't quite hit the right notes for me. I knew about 50 or so pages in that while I'd be able to finish the book, it was going to be one of those I either re-read just for the vibes, or I pass on to someone else.
Felicity Morrow is back at her prestigious boarding school after being instutionalized for a year due to the traumatizing death of her former classmate/girlfriend, Alex. But the school, and Godwin House, her former and current residence, hold the literal ghosts of her past -ghosts that new student Ellis is determined to dig up. Felicity must deal with the aftermath of Alex's death, her own obsession with the Dalloway Five coven who previously died around the house, and her own feelings and mental state.
One of my biggest problems with this book is not Felicity as a character, but the way her mental illness is used. It's one thing for an undiagnosed character to go through what Felicity has; being undiagnosed, combined with the history of the school and Felicity's interest in the occult, would have made everything more mysterious, more nebulous and dark, without forcing anything. It would also avoid stigmatizing mental illness. Having Felicity be diagnosed does the opposite. From the beginning we suspect much of what she's seeing or feeling is due to her illness, no matter how much she herself blames magic, and honestly I called the "twist" halfway through because, thanks to the diagnosis, I was able to rule things out. The ultimate reveal also does nothing to de-stigmatize those with mental illness, either.
Another problem I had was smaller, but no less important to me, and that was the problematic and doomed lesbian relationships. I was done with that "trope" with Buffy the Vampire slayer, I don't need it now, and definitely not as a (poor) plot device. Honestly, the romance angle could have been scrapped entirely and nothing about the plot would really change at all.
My final issue is that the only POC in the book is barely there and only used to make the main character aware of the racism in the school, and the only trans character is there for all of a few pages to give some information and really barely speaks anything. Add that to the, again, very problematic lesbian and mentally ill prepresentation....yeah, that took away an entire star on its own.
The only thing I can really recommend about this book is the vibes. It does, somehow, manage to give off a dark, vaguely gothic and witchy vibe that kept me interested enough to get to the end. I will also say that the very end of the main story (not the "three years later" epilogue) managed to surprise me enough to make me not completely regret reading the book. It's the only thing that saved this from a 2 star rating.
TL;DR: Problematic lesbian relationships and problematic portrayals of minority groups and mental illness, but worth checking out just for the vibes alone, if the blurb interests you.
I will admit to being a newbie in the world of the dark academia style of novels. I haven't read any of the classics for it ("The Secret History" or "The Historian"), and I picked this up at the store on a whim because I wanted to take baby-steps into DA and it seemed interesting. Lesbian main characters, witches, boarding schools, curses, murder? I had really high hopes for this one!
Sadly, it didn't quite hit the right notes for me. I knew about 50 or so pages in that while I'd be able to finish the book, it was going to be one of those I either re-read just for the vibes, or I pass on to someone else.
Felicity Morrow is back at her prestigious boarding school after being instutionalized for a year due to the traumatizing death of her former classmate/girlfriend, Alex. But the school, and Godwin House, her former and current residence, hold the literal ghosts of her past -ghosts that new student Ellis is determined to dig up. Felicity must deal with the aftermath of Alex's death, her own obsession with the Dalloway Five coven who previously died around the house, and her own feelings and mental state.
One of my biggest problems with this book is not Felicity as a character, but the way her mental illness is used. It's one thing for an undiagnosed character to go through what Felicity has; being undiagnosed, combined with the history of the school and Felicity's interest in the occult, would have made everything more mysterious, more nebulous and dark, without forcing anything. It would also avoid stigmatizing mental illness. Having Felicity be diagnosed does the opposite. From the beginning we suspect much of what she's seeing or feeling is due to her illness, no matter how much she herself blames magic, and honestly I called the "twist" halfway through because, thanks to the diagnosis, I was able to rule things out. The ultimate reveal also does nothing to de-stigmatize those with mental illness, either.
Another problem I had was smaller, but no less important to me, and that was the problematic and doomed lesbian relationships. I was done with that "trope" with Buffy the Vampire slayer, I don't need it now, and definitely not as a (poor) plot device. Honestly, the romance angle could have been scrapped entirely and nothing about the plot would really change at all.
My final issue is that the only POC in the book is barely there and only used to make the main character aware of the racism in the school, and the only trans character is there for all of a few pages to give some information and really barely speaks anything. Add that to the, again, very problematic lesbian and mentally ill prepresentation....yeah, that took away an entire star on its own.
The only thing I can really recommend about this book is the vibes. It does, somehow, manage to give off a dark, vaguely gothic and witchy vibe that kept me interested enough to get to the end. I will also say that the very end of the main story (not the "three years later" epilogue) managed to surprise me enough to make me not completely regret reading the book. It's the only thing that saved this from a 2 star rating.
TL;DR: Problematic lesbian relationships and problematic portrayals of minority groups and mental illness, but worth checking out just for the vibes alone, if the blurb interests you.
uadjet's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
ifollowedthatrabbit's review against another edition
4.0
This book has really surprised me! A lesbian-dark academia-psychological thriller that has has been hard to put down!
❝[She] saw me in a way no one else could; she saw the black and twisted heart of me. She took my hand and guided me into the darkness. She opened the door, and truth entered, and nothing can undo that now.❞
Felicity Morrow has come back to finish her last year at Dalloway School after her girlfriend's death, Alex. She arrives earlier, so she can have some time to readjust herself before the other students start coming, but she isn't alone; a new student is living in Alex's room. Their first meeting isn't quite friendly, and when the other three students arrive at Goodwin House, Felicity can't help thinking she doesn't fit. The other students fly around Ellis like she possesses a kind of magnetic force. Who is this girl? Why is she so special?
Meanwhile, Felicity finds it hard to stay in the same place she used to be with Alex. She feels like she's haunting her. She can feel the magic of "The Dalloway Five", especially Margery's.
Powerful young women, witchcraft, literature, thirst for knowledge, tragic and mysterious deaths are some of the main ingredients of this story.
I totally recommend it!
❝[She] saw me in a way no one else could; she saw the black and twisted heart of me. She took my hand and guided me into the darkness. She opened the door, and truth entered, and nothing can undo that now.❞
Felicity Morrow has come back to finish her last year at Dalloway School after her girlfriend's death, Alex. She arrives earlier, so she can have some time to readjust herself before the other students start coming, but she isn't alone; a new student is living in Alex's room. Their first meeting isn't quite friendly, and when the other three students arrive at Goodwin House, Felicity can't help thinking she doesn't fit. The other students fly around Ellis like she possesses a kind of magnetic force. Who is this girl? Why is she so special?
Meanwhile, Felicity finds it hard to stay in the same place she used to be with Alex. She feels like she's haunting her. She can feel the magic of "The Dalloway Five", especially Margery's.
Powerful young women, witchcraft, literature, thirst for knowledge, tragic and mysterious deaths are some of the main ingredients of this story.
I totally recommend it!
janagaton's review against another edition
2.0
uggghhh so sad that this was a disappointment that i dont even want to go into details. the plot was dumb & the ending was dumber. dark academia vibes were definitely there, however. and i liked the notion of magic not needing to be "magic" for it to be magic. loll like magic is subjective & how you interpret/apply it to your own life. otherwise, this book def should've been called A Lesson in Irony.
sunwaves's review against another edition
2.0
i kind of hated this book but i also couldn’t put it down so… there were go. the premise is perfect but the execution? just terrible.