Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

183 reviews

kryzysowa_narzeczona's review against another edition

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

thaliareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love where this book ended up, I think the way all the events came to a climax was a surprise to me and really well done. However, I just had a hard time getting into it. I normally love witchy books, but this might have been a bit too much on the thriller side of the genre for me. 

I think that Felicity, and who she is because of what she's been through, makes for a compelling main character. I just think that either the action buildup was a bit slow for me, or her reminiscing on the loss of her friend was just a bit sad for me. 

I think this book will be worth a re-read from the physical book someday, but the audiobook just didn't catch my attention. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol

Overall the content warnings of this book do work into the core plot, so I would advise if you don't like dark stories or will struggle with descriptions of death or murder you should probably avoid this book.

allisonmenck's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Violence

brukneem's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is YA as in it reads like you are watching a popular TV show- like Buffy or Sabrina. But the themes are DEFINITELY not YA! We love an unreliable narrator, mind games, magic, and murder.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

squinnittowinit's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Personally I'm not a fan of psychological thrillers, as I find the theme of obsession to be boring. As much as I still did not enjoy what this book was about or any of the characters, I have to admit that it is very well-written. The pacing feels both laid-back and dream-like, yet suspenseful at the same time, as

the narrator slowly reveals herself to be more and more unreliable as she deals with both past trauma and current manipulation.

This is one of those books where all the pieces come together in the end to finally reveal the entire picture, creating a satisfying wrap-up, if nothing else.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Gun violence and Blood

evhanson's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, and Abandonment

callmeluh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

01/04/2023:
Okay, so after some thinking I've decided to give this one a 3.5/5 rating. I'll be honest: I was hoping for more. I was hoping for magic and witchcraft and lesbians, and if we did get the lesbians, I'm still looking for the magic and witchcraft... I did find the atmosphere I love oh so much in dark academia novels, but that's about it. Also, wasn't a big fan of the characters (which isn't always a bad thing but here I just wanted to slap them).
I know 3.5 isn't a bad rating (at least in my book), but I was still hoping to give it more... Oh, well.

31/03/2023:
Honestly I don't know how to rate this book yet. Gonna give myself a few days before I settle for one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death and Alcohol

Minor: Racism

cass_lit's review against another edition

3.5

I loved the general plot and gothic atmosphere of this — it sucked me in right away. There were a few little things I didn’t love and I kind of wish the story had gone somewhere else right at the end, but overall I enjoyed my reading experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Murder

Moderate: Sexism and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Racism, and Abandonment

lipstickitotheman's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Fine. It's a fairly engaging and enjoyable experience to listen to this. I didn't find it to spectacular, just a pretty solid YA novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content

jessjess125's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

This book was phenomenal! Definitely was giving a queer style of A Secret History. I was guessing and second guessing everything the whole time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Murder