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A review by yeimyaileen
A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
how did i pick this read after reading these violent delights by micah nemerever?? i dont know.
this book is very good. super atmostpheric. i audibly gasped a few times. i felt like ellis was a bit less developed than i wanted, but in the end, i understand why. i also liked the light commentary about the role of womens mental health in horror novels, and how their experiences are discredited despite their inclinations for the truth. this book is peak gaslight gatekeep girlboss.
slight spoilers for these violent delights below, in conversation with a lesson in vengeance.
- you dont understand how fortuitous it was for me to pick this up after these violent delights. like gays going through violent things together and it ends up destroying them?
- people keeping secrets from one another but also holding evidence against each other in sick and twisted ways? when the romance is purely physical, and its hard for them to feel love, because love isnt what they see? rather, they share violence and an inclination to controlling one another?
- i really like these novels about obsession, and the idea that one of the characters finds pleasure in the perverse, and thus feels shame, despite the other character accepting them for who they are
- and the book being dedicated to felicity?? as if she knew what was going to happen anyway? just like the chess game with julian and paul?
- and i really like how ambiguous the magic is in this book? like was she really being haunted? did the magic actually exist? my skewed answer is yes. that doesnt mean she wasnt being gaslit so hard.
- to end, this book has no men in it. slay.
this book is very good. super atmostpheric. i audibly gasped a few times. i felt like ellis was a bit less developed than i wanted, but in the end, i understand why. i also liked the light commentary about the role of womens mental health in horror novels, and how their experiences are discredited despite their inclinations for the truth. this book is peak gaslight gatekeep girlboss.
slight spoilers for these violent delights below, in conversation with a lesson in vengeance.
- you dont understand how fortuitous it was for me to pick this up after these violent delights. like gays going through violent things together and it ends up destroying them?
- people keeping secrets from one another but also holding evidence against each other in sick and twisted ways? when the romance is purely physical, and its hard for them to feel love, because love isnt what they see? rather, they share violence and an inclination to controlling one another?
- i really like these novels about obsession, and the idea that one of the characters finds pleasure in the perverse, and thus feels shame, despite the other character accepting them for who they are
- and the book being dedicated to felicity?? as if she knew what was going to happen anyway? just like the chess game with julian and paul?
- and i really like how ambiguous the magic is in this book? like was she really being haunted? did the magic actually exist? my skewed answer is yes. that doesnt mean she wasnt being gaslit so hard.
- to end, this book has no men in it. slay.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Suicide, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Suicide