Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

73 reviews

mads_reads_books's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Racism

mfrisk's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

It’s hard to fully wrap my head around my thoughts on this book. I enjoyed the characters and world building of the school throughout and thought that was well done. However towards the end I felt the book lost steam. I had hoped for a darker ending or for the book to have another twist I didn’t expect but I guessed part of the twist earlier on so it didn’t feel like there was enough after that point that amped up the intensity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Gun violence, Murder, Animal death, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

Moderate: Mental illness and Drug use

looseleafellie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

When Felicity returns to her elite all-girls boarding school for her senior year, she’s eager to put her past of death and witchcraft behind her. But when she meets prodigy novelist Ellis, who needs her help with research for her new book, Felicity finds that her ghosts may be coming back to haunt her …

This book has been on my TBR for a while, but a friend of mine read it recently and then forced her copy into my hands the second she was done with it. So of course, I had to see what entranced her so much!

Five words: queer dark academia with murder! The vibes of this book are absolutely impeccable, and while the story unfolds slowly, the creeping tension really makes it work. Schemes rumble beneath the surface, the protagonist isn’t always the most reliable narrator, and the ending is absolutely WILD.

The characters are extremely pretentious in a way that felt, to me, quite tongue-in-cheek, so luckily I was able to enjoy their exploits without getting annoyed. A fun tidbit about this book is that there are no men mentioned anywhere in the story. All the characters are female or non-binary, and none of the plentiful literary references come from male authors.

Basically, don’t go in expecting a fast-paced thriller, but do expect an eerie slow-burn of a narrative that will keep you on your toes. This is definitely the kind of book you should read at night by the fire with a cup of tea and a storm raging outside. Just keep an eye out for any ghosts that might be lurking in your corners …

CWs: Death, violence, manipulation and emotional abuse, child neglect (past/offscreen), mental health issues, substance abuse, suicide references (no actual suicide), references to racist history at a PWI.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, and Animal death

Minor: Suicide, Child abuse, and Racism

niccolowilliam's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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

3.5

It was good. Definitely kept my interest as i was reading it. Solid story. I love lesbians so that was nice. (Shout out to lesbians)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Moderate: Vomit and Animal death

Minor: Racism, Classism, and Animal cruelty

cass_reads_98's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.25

Dark academia? WLW romance? Some really moreally grey decsisons? Yes, yes, and yes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Death, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Classism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Self harm

thewildmageslibrary's review

4.5

4.5 rounded up! This was fantastic and I couldn't stop reading (finished it in one sitting XD). And honestly the moment

Ellis was like, let's reenact the murders, I was like NO BAD IDEA XD

and I was right.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Gaslighting, Violence, Grief, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Death, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Vomit

crackedspines_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Grief, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Violence, Mental illness, and Death

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Vomit, Addiction, Animal death, and Medical content

Minor: Racism and Drug use

ableism: against someone with psychotic depression medical content: mentions of hospitalization, medication

lavender_lake's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.75

One of the best books I’ve read! Mesmerising, tense and cozy all at once. And it not containing a single cis male character is the cherry on top for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Violence, Murder, Sexual content, Vomit, Alcoholism, Body horror, Animal death, and Death

miabellawymer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

Read at your own risk. 

Oh my God. This book drove me insane. I was captivated from the start, and this book will haunt me for years. Felicity and Ellis are both nuts in their own way, and it makes for an intriguing read. The end, however, was dissatisfying. What the hell was that. I am traumatised.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

offbrandclubsoda's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gaslighting, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Violence

Minor: Suicide