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A review by lovelymisanthrope
A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I received this book in a subscription box last year and was initially excited to read it, but it kept getting bumped on my TBR for no real reason. I finally picked this up and I was moderately impressed by the plot and the "twist" of a mystery.
"A Lesson in Vengeance" follows Felicity, a teenager who is returning to her boarding school with a heavy heart because last year her girlfriend was killed. Felicity does get to live in her old room in the most coveted house at Dalloway School: Godwin House. Witchcraft is a part of Dalloway's history and Felicity has spent her time at the school studying the witchcraft that is rumored to have taken place in its walls. Felicity believes that her girlfriend was murdered because of witchcraft, so she is more determined than ever to uncover all of Dalloway's secrets. Now a prodigy novel writer, Ellis, has joined Felicity at Godwin House in the hopes that Felicity will help Ellis write her next big story. With Ellis's special brand of "help" can Felicity finally make peace with herself and uncover what really happened in Dalloway's sinister past?
This book piqued my interest because it is pitched as dark academia with mystery and witches, and I thought this would be a great novel to get into the spooky season mood. I thought the novel itself was set up interestingly and had an intriguing twist, but I did not enjoy Felicity as a character. I felt like Felicity was very two dimensional and an annoying point of view to read from. She continually makes poor decisions that I wanted to slap her for, and her overall reasoning for most things felt a little loose. I also REALLY disliked Ellis. She is such a strange person who will use whoever she can to write her story.
Overall, this book is fine, I had an okay time reading it, and I recommend it for the general YA audience.
"A Lesson in Vengeance" follows Felicity, a teenager who is returning to her boarding school with a heavy heart because last year her girlfriend was killed. Felicity does get to live in her old room in the most coveted house at Dalloway School: Godwin House. Witchcraft is a part of Dalloway's history and Felicity has spent her time at the school studying the witchcraft that is rumored to have taken place in its walls. Felicity believes that her girlfriend was murdered because of witchcraft, so she is more determined than ever to uncover all of Dalloway's secrets. Now a prodigy novel writer, Ellis, has joined Felicity at Godwin House in the hopes that Felicity will help Ellis write her next big story. With Ellis's special brand of "help" can Felicity finally make peace with herself and uncover what really happened in Dalloway's sinister past?
This book piqued my interest because it is pitched as dark academia with mystery and witches, and I thought this would be a great novel to get into the spooky season mood. I thought the novel itself was set up interestingly and had an intriguing twist, but I did not enjoy Felicity as a character. I felt like Felicity was very two dimensional and an annoying point of view to read from. She continually makes poor decisions that I wanted to slap her for, and her overall reasoning for most things felt a little loose. I also REALLY disliked Ellis. She is such a strange person who will use whoever she can to write her story.
Overall, this book is fine, I had an okay time reading it, and I recommend it for the general YA audience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, and Death