Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

236 reviews

blackheart's review against another edition

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

3.5

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wardenred's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.25

I feel as if the next year has just opened up in front of me, a great and yawning void that consumes all light. What will emerge from that darkness? What ghosts will reach from the shadows to close their fingers around my neck?

A few years ago I tried to read a different book by Victoria Lee and was underwhelmed to the point of DNFing. So no matter how intriguing A Lesson in Vengeance looked, I didn't have particularly high expectations for it. I certainly didn't expect to blast through the entire book in one go because I simply couldn't put it down!

Looking at the book critically, I certainly see it's got flaws. There's a certain clunkiness to how some parts of the plot fit together. Ellis doesn't make for a convincing Pulitzer-winning literary prodigy, what with every quote pulled from her manuscripts reading like regular middle-of-the-shelf witchy YA. Some of the representation feels heavy-handed and imperfect. For a dark academia novel, there's too little academia here behind all the pretentious talk.

But, listen, the vibes! The vibes are so thick here and so deliciously creepy. It's been a while, I think, since I read something so absolutely atmospheric. I started reading the book in broad daylight, and I almost immediately felt like I was instead sitting in a darkened room with shadows lurking in every corner. The prose here is so vivid and engrossing, and I loved being in Felicity's head, trying to guess at what was real and what wasn't about everything that went on. All the tension, murder, and creepy witchiness made for a perfect cocktail to bring some Halloween mood into a gloomy December.

I do wish there was more actual academia, though. And to get to know some of the side characters better, although I kind of do understand why practically no one was fully realized. Throughout the narrative, Felicity pretty much only has eyes for Ellis, herself, and the long-buried Alex; it's no wonder all the other girls drift in and out of her periphery, providing nothing more than vivid snapshots of their presence.

All in all: a flawed yet delightful read with great prose and one of my favorite unreliable narrators.
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ambaright's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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mariebrunelm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Felicity Morrow is back at Dalloway a year after the tragic accident that caused her best friend's death. It's a new year at the elite school and a new set of students are housed with her at the very demanded Godwin house, among creaking floorboards and tilting bookshelves. Among them is Ellis Haley, young prodigy writer who attracts people like nectar for bees. Ellis is working on her next novel, about the Dalloway witches, a group of five students who died in the 1800s at Dalloway, whom Felicity was studying when tragedy struck. As one tries to make it all a thing of the past and the other is desperate to dig it out, ghosts are never far.
This book ticked all the dark academia boxes, one by one. Meticulously. As much as I loved all the references, and was glad to get most of them, it did feel a little too conspicuous. Like the author was presenting each one and saying ‘See? We're on the same wavelength!’.
That being said, again, there was much to love about this book. From the unreliable narrator to the mystery and the vibes. I loved how the beginning and the end unfolded, shining light on the characters’ tortuous psychology. My favourite part was perhaps how blurred the line was between reality and magic. Yet I came out a bit frustrated. I think I wish the themes had been explored that little bit deeper. But it's really to find a fault because this novel was perfectly enjoyable. I can also blame the stratospheric hype this book came with.
Rep: lesbian MC.
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ahntologies's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense 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

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aneges's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense 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

4.25

Liked a lot the writing and the atmosphere. I like the fact that there is care in the writing and the descriptions to create the atmosphere without weighing down the story too much, especially considering it is YA. 
The premise was also quite intriguing, we got a glimpse of the past of the school which gives horror vibes, some mistery about what happened which will be slowly revealed and also mentions of the occult and magic in a magical realism way.
Throughout the story it’s not clear if the magic is real or not and this was handled really well and added a lot to the tension.
The characters were well developed and had the right depth to them and there was also some representation of mental illness which was good in my opinion. 
The plot was not the main point of the book but it was mostly there to guide the narration of the exploration of the characters and atmosphere.
For my liking the ending was the weakest part of it as some things happened that even though it raised the tension it lost something on the mystery and atmosphere side. 
There is less mistery obviously but also less vagueness on the occult side and even though I kind of hoped that it would end up being all on her mind I hoped that it would leave the doubt.
The ending was a bit underwhelming perhaps, it seemed almost like the author didn't know how to close it properly, especially the epilogue 3 years later didn't really add that much. 
Overall I enjoyed the character arc of Felicity and I liked how she wasn't good and didn't even feel particularly bad about it (not because I think it's right obviously but because it's still fiction and sometimes it's refreshing to read about bad people).
I would say the book overall deserves a solid 4.5 (or even slightly more) but this ending makes me lower it a bit. Despite this it was still not that bad that it makes me regret reading it and I'm glad I picked it up. 
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iphigeniad's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.25

A psychological thriller in sheep's clothing. Went into this one expecting actual ghosts and magic, and it was a wild ride. Big plot twist - I agree the third act felt rushed, and I would have liked to spend more time with Leonie and Kajal, the only characters of color in the book. Other than that, wow, this was a knockout punch of a mindfuck. 
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sylexlibris's review against another edition

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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

4.5

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gmat's review against another edition

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

2.5

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jesliwen's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

3.0

holy shit the last hundred pages of this book is CRAZY and the best part,, but some of the representation is questionable and honestly i was confused often. so basically lesbian dark academia but i have no idea what’s going on half the time
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