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A review by alilbitofmonica
The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw
3.5
Dark academia horror? Sign me UP! The blood, the violence, the high stakes and raw steaks (iykyk) were iconic. I love the gore for gore's sake.
A school specifically designed to house the most violent of magical monsters and near-antichrists of the world. And a staff of professors salivating over the literal feast that is graduation day. When the core cast of characters are locked in the library with one directive: only one will live, we see all of their true colors and the blood is truly spilled.
It was bloody, and it was a good time, but I feel like my brain is just about as mushy as all the spilled intestines in this book. Overall, I really enjoyed the themes and the trajectory of the story. However, the details and intricacies managed to confuse me a bit. Let's get into it, shall we?
I am a visual reader, so books run like a movie in my head. My main problem with this book? Everything was so beyond my ability to picture it that the mental movie was not functioning. I couldn't picture ANY of the characters - the school and the library itself were the easiest to comprehend, but the fact that all of these characters turn into monsters was a struggle. Especially because there were times where a character would be involved in an event, but the actual description of the character didn't come until the following chapter.
Also, while I think the vocabulary here is fitting of a dark academia vibe, I do think we could have done with a few less dictionary-necessary words. I think every page had at least one or two words that I have never once seen used before. It was just a little too much, which may also have contributed to some of my confusion overall since I didn't know half of the words... oops.
All of the characters are monsters with very unique abilities and looks and... bloodlust. I truly loved seeing the variety within the group of students and what they're capable of. But the pacing was off for me. The book is short so we learn a lot in a short time. But we basically learn about each character one at a time as Alessa interacts with them. We have two timelines - when Alessa first wakes up at the school and encounters her classmates, classes, and the school in general ; and then the days spent in the library following the graduation feast. These switch back and forth A LOT and can be overwhelming to follow at times - I also think spending more time in the past to understand the future early on would have been helpful.
Thank you to Tor Nightfire for the advanced access to this title. My review is completely voluntary, completely my own, and always completely honest.
A school specifically designed to house the most violent of magical monsters and near-antichrists of the world. And a staff of professors salivating over the literal feast that is graduation day. When the core cast of characters are locked in the library with one directive: only one will live, we see all of their true colors and the blood is truly spilled.
It was bloody, and it was a good time, but I feel like my brain is just about as mushy as all the spilled intestines in this book. Overall, I really enjoyed the themes and the trajectory of the story. However, the details and intricacies managed to confuse me a bit. Let's get into it, shall we?
I am a visual reader, so books run like a movie in my head. My main problem with this book? Everything was so beyond my ability to picture it that the mental movie was not functioning. I couldn't picture ANY of the characters - the school and the library itself were the easiest to comprehend, but the fact that all of these characters turn into monsters was a struggle. Especially because there were times where a character would be involved in an event, but the actual description of the character didn't come until the following chapter.
Also, while I think the vocabulary here is fitting of a dark academia vibe, I do think we could have done with a few less dictionary-necessary words. I think every page had at least one or two words that I have never once seen used before. It was just a little too much, which may also have contributed to some of my confusion overall since I didn't know half of the words... oops.
All of the characters are monsters with very unique abilities and looks and... bloodlust. I truly loved seeing the variety within the group of students and what they're capable of. But the pacing was off for me. The book is short so we learn a lot in a short time. But we basically learn about each character one at a time as Alessa interacts with them. We have two timelines - when Alessa first wakes up at the school and encounters her classmates, classes, and the school in general ; and then the days spent in the library following the graduation feast. These switch back and forth A LOT and can be overwhelming to follow at times - I also think spending more time in the past to understand the future early on would have been helpful.
Thank you to Tor Nightfire for the advanced access to this title. My review is completely voluntary, completely my own, and always completely honest.