A Lesson in Vengeance

"Is one of the best books I've read easily. Its dark and witchy aesthetic was everything I was asking for, and I was addicted to the writing. Every word oozed with brilliance, and the ending made me feel giddy and hopeful in some way... I was disappointed about what happened to Ellis because I could relate to her more than any of the other characters, but still, this book was absolutely amazing and very entertaining. 10/10 ⭐"

"3.5 star<br/><br/>This story started off perfectly. Quirky and crooked academy house full of rich dark history. Then halfway through it was clear that the story was missing a few things here and there. The Dolloway house which I thought sounded like it could be a character in the book later turned out was just a backdrop. I was surprised the author didn't use its charms more to further the story.<br/><br/>This book was right there on the cusp of something great. The tethers of the five girls, I felt, was not delved into enough. It began to feel like the sisters of The Craft but then turned out they didn't have much of a connection at all. So mostly the plot only centered around two girls which I think fell short of the dark academia genre. The literary theme was pulled off quite nicely, though bordered on pretentiousness.<br/><br/>The old school dark academia vibes with bourbon, white collars, and tweed shirts, had a great atmosphere about it. Although again bordered on the edge. There was quite a bit of underage drinking, drugs and sex. Which saying it sounds silly, they are teenagers everyone does it. But the way it was written made me feel uneasy and I'm unsure why. Maybe because at one point Felicity does it to impress someone and then she feels gratified because it works. So I would say this is closer to New Adult rather than Young Adult. <br/><br/>Still the story was quirky and had so much character I honestly thought the book itself should have been lopsided with too short pages and scuffs on the side. Another downside to me was I wished the author would have played more off the fever dream, what is real, what is not, aspect. With the world thinking Felicity was crazy it would feel more on par if she was worried about that herself. She seemed to not remember things and make up her own story but Felicity was pretty stable minded. In the end I still enjoyed myself though the halfway mark started going a little down hill. Even so I liked the ending.<br/><br/><br/><br/>-Quotes-<br/><br/><br/>I don't know why she's here early. I don't know why she won't tell me her name. I don't know why she never speaks to me, or who she is.<br/>But I want to find a lose thread on the her collar of her shirt and tug.<br/>I want to unravel her. <br/><br/>But all at once I feel as if she has knotted her fingers in the threads that hold me together, pulling them taut and close to breaking.<br/><br/>Every spell is a pomegranate seed on your tongue, binding you to the underworld."

"The disinterested voice of the narrator is contagious, making the reader apathetic to the character. Ellis would have been a more interesting lead. Felicity is...meh. It reads a bit like a ghost story where there is a detachment from the characters and emotions and you just read for the fascination of the story. Except it is too long and not fast enough pace to bring the fear that a ghost story has. It started to get really interesting toward the end but...the ending was most unsatisfactory. Made decent background noise."

"I wish I had read this during spooky season because I think it might have grabbed my interest more. I guessed a lot of the twists but thought the ending was well written (maybe a bit unbelievable)."

"August 2021"

"A bit of a slow burner but a twist I did not see coming!! Worth the read "

"A wonderfully told story exploring mental health, obsession, and how trust is earned and lost. Twists and turns will keep you turning pages and waiting for the next surprise. "

"truly a book that kept me guessing until the very end. the twists and turns were so crazy i had to read the whole book twice! also it’s a sapphic sensual story, victoria lee has stolen my heart, stomped on it and repaired it"

"An amazing book, definitely taken aback when the plot twists happened. Before she went back to Alex’s grave (the second time) it felt like the book was too slow, but my god - it ended up being worth it."

"This book. When I tell you after I read it I was SO upset. But weeks later I couldn’t stop thinking about it and I realized I didn’t really hate it. It was honestly shocking sometimes because I was always trying to figure out who the bad guy was, and in the end when you find out who it is it’s like nope bc u act liked the character 💀. I honestly loved all the characters even if they did horrible things bc it made the story better 😭😭ALSO THE DARK ACADEMIA AESTHETIC WAS CHEFS 💋 "