Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Got an arc from orbit’s mailing list.
This was an interesting book. The writing is lovely and I devoured (no pun intended) half of it in two days as I was desperate to know what was going on. It’s deliberately paced in a way that to me didn’t feel boring, just doling out information at a pace that kept me so intrigued I didn’t wanna put it down.
I found the last 100 pages or so to be a touch repetitive, in terms of the characters’ arguments though. It feels like it’s setting up for a sequel that I will gladly read but if that’s the case I think it should’ve ended sooner than it did. I can’t say “nothing happened” because that’s not it at all, lots of important things do happen, but where it concludes feels like strange placement to me, where ending it sooner I feel could’ve told a more complete story, and those repetitive last 100 pages could’ve better served as an opening to a second book.
Like I said, I did like it and I loved trying to figure out what was going on and what would happen next, and the ending doesn’t completely ruin that or take away from it, I just feel it stumbled a smidge at the end when it didn’t have to! That said, I will read a sequel if there is one because I want to see this wrap up solidly!
This was an interesting book. The writing is lovely and I devoured (no pun intended) half of it in two days as I was desperate to know what was going on. It’s deliberately paced in a way that to me didn’t feel boring, just doling out information at a pace that kept me so intrigued I didn’t wanna put it down.
I found the last 100 pages or so to be a touch repetitive, in terms of the characters’ arguments though. It feels like it’s setting up for a sequel that I will gladly read but if that’s the case I think it should’ve ended sooner than it did. I can’t say “nothing happened” because that’s not it at all, lots of important things do happen, but where it concludes feels like strange placement to me, where ending it sooner I feel could’ve told a more complete story, and those repetitive last 100 pages could’ve better served as an opening to a second book.
Like I said, I did like it and I loved trying to figure out what was going on and what would happen next, and the ending doesn’t completely ruin that or take away from it, I just feel it stumbled a smidge at the end when it didn’t have to! That said, I will read a sequel if there is one because I want to see this wrap up solidly!
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
★☆☆☆☆ — I wanted to love it, but I’m just annoyed I finished it.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.
I really really reaaaaally wanted to love this book. It has every element I love: gothic vibes, academic setting, lesbians, botanical horror, weird/otherworldly character, and so on. But man, I hated this book and I'm sad. I kept messaging my friend as I read it "I hate her", referring to the main character. Now, don't get me wrong. I love me an unlikeable main character, but Thora's flavour of unlikeable made me slightly homicidal.
If I were being objective, I might give this book a slightly higher rating, maybe a 2.5. But I’m going off pure emotional response here. The sheer frustration I felt while reading, and then when I finally finished, I didn’t even feel relief. Just irritation.
Thora is supposed to be smart. She tells us that she is, multiple times, and it’s set up to seem like she is. But she doesn’t exhibit much intelligence throughout. Her reactions frustrated me constantly, she was always blowing up or being hurt at the most minute thing said or implied. She’d mull over the same things again and again, changing her mind on them constantly. One moment she's mad at Olea for hiding something, the next she understands and her anger melts away, and then she’s mad about it again. I never connected with Thora. She has a personality, sure, but her emotions always felt so surface-level and changeable.
Her relationship with Olea was the least romantic thing I've ever witnessed. I hated reading their relationship. The first time they met, I was intrigued. I like an otherworldly/weird love interest. But they have no chemistry, and when they do get together, all they do is have sex and fight. The alleged great conversations they have all happen off-page, but what we do get in great detail is every single fight, and it’s constant. Always the same thing too:
"You MANIPULATED me!"
"No YOU manipulated me."
Then they’d forgive each other, have sex again, and repeat the cycle.
There’s nothing to root for. The only character I liked in this female-centric book was the man, the friend she made at university! I hope this is a series and not a standalone. The ending was terrible, so anticlimactic and empty. But if this is a series, I can at least see how it leads into another book. If it isn’t? Then it’s a very badly executed “open ending,” in my opinion.
Also, the worldbuilding was shaky at best. I liked the funerary rites stuff, it was cool, but the setting had no strong identity as a fantasy world separate from our own, especially since the university has an English faculty... in a world with no England?
Honestly, I just feel annoyed that I read this book. I wish I’d DNFed it, but I owe it to the publisher to read and review it after being given the opportunity to receive an ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.
I really really reaaaaally wanted to love this book. It has every element I love: gothic vibes, academic setting, lesbians, botanical horror, weird/otherworldly character, and so on. But man, I hated this book and I'm sad. I kept messaging my friend as I read it "I hate her", referring to the main character. Now, don't get me wrong. I love me an unlikeable main character, but Thora's flavour of unlikeable made me slightly homicidal.
If I were being objective, I might give this book a slightly higher rating, maybe a 2.5. But I’m going off pure emotional response here. The sheer frustration I felt while reading, and then when I finally finished, I didn’t even feel relief. Just irritation.
Thora is supposed to be smart. She tells us that she is, multiple times, and it’s set up to seem like she is. But she doesn’t exhibit much intelligence throughout. Her reactions frustrated me constantly, she was always blowing up or being hurt at the most minute thing said or implied. She’d mull over the same things again and again, changing her mind on them constantly. One moment she's mad at Olea for hiding something, the next she understands and her anger melts away, and then she’s mad about it again. I never connected with Thora. She has a personality, sure, but her emotions always felt so surface-level and changeable.
Her relationship with Olea was the least romantic thing I've ever witnessed. I hated reading their relationship. The first time they met, I was intrigued. I like an otherworldly/weird love interest. But they have no chemistry, and when they do get together, all they do is have sex and fight. The alleged great conversations they have all happen off-page, but what we do get in great detail is every single fight, and it’s constant. Always the same thing too:
"You MANIPULATED me!"
"No YOU manipulated me."
Then they’d forgive each other, have sex again, and repeat the cycle.
There’s nothing to root for. The only character I liked in this female-centric book was the man, the friend she made at university! I hope this is a series and not a standalone. The ending was terrible, so anticlimactic and empty. But if this is a series, I can at least see how it leads into another book. If it isn’t? Then it’s a very badly executed “open ending,” in my opinion.
Also, the worldbuilding was shaky at best. I liked the funerary rites stuff, it was cool, but the setting had no strong identity as a fantasy world separate from our own, especially since the university has an English faculty... in a world with no England?
Honestly, I just feel annoyed that I read this book. I wish I’d DNFed it, but I owe it to the publisher to read and review it after being given the opportunity to receive an ARC.
"As always, the lure of true knowledge, of being part of the inner circle, turns me into that same child who begged to learn to read, who stole books under the cover of night, who risked her whole life and future for just one more page."
First published: 26/08/25 (ARC)
Genre: Dark academia, gothic horror
Page count: 432
Series: N/A
Format read: 📱
Others read by this author: N/A
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Thankyou so much to Francesca May, Orbit Books/Redhook, & NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Following the deaths of her father & new husband, Thora is granted a place at university studying under a prestigious botanist, but is distracted by the unusual garden overlooked by her bedroom window, & the young woman she sees wandering there at night. As she becomes more & more determined to solve the mysteries of the girl & the garden, as well as assist the doctor's ground-breaking research, Thora finds herself beginning to unravel.
I loved the academic setting of This Vicious Hunger; the way the dusty libraries & lecture halls were juxtaposed with the lush vegetation of Olea's garden & the uncanny plantlife of Dr Petaccia's lab. I loved the gloriously gothic prose, the focus on mourning, the obsessive yearning for swollen, kiss-bruised lips, alabaster skin, & a tumble of black curls. I loved the sense of mystery, as Thora slowly reveals more of herself & her secrets to the reader, mirroring her own desperation for knowledge & discovery. I did feel that that the pacing of the novel was a little off, a slow start & gradual build up working perfectly with the creeping sense of dread, only to stall a little around the middle, have lots happen all at once, & then end fairly abruptly with little closure, the final chapter reminding me more of the end of a short story than a gothic novel.
First published: 26/08/25 (ARC)
Genre: Dark academia, gothic horror
Page count: 432
Series: N/A
Format read: 📱
Others read by this author: N/A
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Thankyou so much to Francesca May, Orbit Books/Redhook, & NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Following the deaths of her father & new husband, Thora is granted a place at university studying under a prestigious botanist, but is distracted by the unusual garden overlooked by her bedroom window, & the young woman she sees wandering there at night. As she becomes more & more determined to solve the mysteries of the girl & the garden, as well as assist the doctor's ground-breaking research, Thora finds herself beginning to unravel.
I loved the academic setting of This Vicious Hunger; the way the dusty libraries & lecture halls were juxtaposed with the lush vegetation of Olea's garden & the uncanny plantlife of Dr Petaccia's lab. I loved the gloriously gothic prose, the focus on mourning, the obsessive yearning for swollen, kiss-bruised lips, alabaster skin, & a tumble of black curls. I loved the sense of mystery, as Thora slowly reveals more of herself & her secrets to the reader, mirroring her own desperation for knowledge & discovery. I did feel that that the pacing of the novel was a little off, a slow start & gradual build up working perfectly with the creeping sense of dread, only to stall a little around the middle, have lots happen all at once, & then end fairly abruptly with little closure, the final chapter reminding me more of the end of a short story than a gothic novel.
this was a tricky one. on one hand, the story was compelling, exciting and I was really interested in knowing what happened next.
On the other hand, I honestly didn't like any of the characters (Leo was probably the one I liked most, and he was really a secondary character). Once Olea and Thora were interacting regularly, I just started to get so annoyed at their constant bickering over the exact same things, over and over again.
my other issue was that it just felt too long and drawn out. There were sections that just dragged on far too long that left my attention wavering a bit.
so overall, average. enjoyable plot, but too slow paced and unlikeable characters.
On the other hand, I honestly didn't like any of the characters (Leo was probably the one I liked most, and he was really a secondary character). Once Olea and Thora were interacting regularly, I just started to get so annoyed at their constant bickering over the exact same things, over and over again.
my other issue was that it just felt too long and drawn out. There were sections that just dragged on far too long that left my attention wavering a bit.
so overall, average. enjoyable plot, but too slow paced and unlikeable characters.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So much lost potential… A forbidden gothic sapphic love story set in a poison garden in a slightly alternate 19th century academic world where female independence and science struggle to overcome the staid and restrained male-centric society.
The lyrical and lurking botanical horror is gorgeous and lovely, but the book is overlong by half and meanders with its tone. The bare wisp of a plot gets lost in the repetitive musings of the main character, Thora, as she pines for the mysterious young woman, Olea, who is locked away in the forbidden poison garden. As she struggles to unravel the mystery, weaving a little bit of hazy science into the plot, it gets mired down in the endlessly circling thoughts of Thora, going nowhere. None of the characters are likeable or interesting.
It also wasn’t terribly difficult to tell where the barely-there plot was going… but oh it took So. Very. Long. to get there that I was truly grateful that the book finally ended. Again, a disappointing outing that could do with some serious editing/trimming…
My thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
The lyrical and lurking botanical horror is gorgeous and lovely, but the book is overlong by half and meanders with its tone. The bare wisp of a plot gets lost in the repetitive musings of the main character, Thora, as she pines for the mysterious young woman, Olea, who is locked away in the forbidden poison garden. As she struggles to unravel the mystery, weaving a little bit of hazy science into the plot, it gets mired down in the endlessly circling thoughts of Thora, going nowhere. None of the characters are likeable or interesting.
It also wasn’t terribly difficult to tell where the barely-there plot was going… but oh it took So. Very. Long. to get there that I was truly grateful that the book finally ended. Again, a disappointing outing that could do with some serious editing/trimming…
My thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
dark
mysterious