My first encounter with Victoria Lee’s books was back in early 2019, when I first read The Fever King and… I was really impressed. While A Lesson in Vengeance sounded a bit outside of my comfort zone, I was too curious not to try it out and I’m really glad I did! Let’s head into my review to see why.
A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee Published by Titan Books on February 22, 2022
Genres: fantasy, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley, Titan Books
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If We Were Villains meets The Craft in this page-turning LGBT dark academia thriller.
Felicity Morrow is back at the Dalloway School to finish her senior year after the tragic death of her girlfriend. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of five Dalloway students―girls some say were witches.
Felicity was once drawn to the dark legacy of witchcraft. She's determined to leave that behind her now; but it's hard when Dalloway's occult history is everywhere. And when the new girl won’t let her forget it.
It's Ellis Haley's first year at Dalloway. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity can't shake the pull she feels to her. So when Ellis asks Felicity for help researching the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity can't say no. And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway―and in herself.
And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway–and in herself.
I received this book for free from NetGalley, Titan Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:
death, violence, manipulation, emotional abuse, anxiety, psychosis, substance abuse, alcohol abuse, alcoholism, suicide (mentioned), depression, anorexia, hospitalization (off-page), dead bodies, child neglect (in the past), racism, murder, animal cruelty, animal death and animal hunting. Detailed trigger warnings on the author’s website.There are no spoilers in this review.
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I ENJOYED…
☂️
- One of the best things about A Lesson in Vengeance, and what captivated me right from the very beginning, as well, is the setting and the entire atmosphere the author manages to create. The story is set at Dalloway School, a private institution haunted by a tragic past with witchcraft and mysterious deaths and you can feel it all around. Tree branches scraping at the windows, tarot cards revealing strange fates, reading in tea leaves and reading books by candle light, walking on school grounds, in the darkness and in the snow, cristals and ouija boards… The author gives life to a chilling, slightly creepy, at times, really mysterious and yet captivating atmosphere. Honestly, that’s what caught me right from the start and until the very end of the book.
- The story is told from Felicity’s POV, a senior at the school, coming back after a couple of really dark months, following the mysterious death of her girlfriend on school grounds. She’s dealing with psychotis depression and she’s one of the most unreliable, strange narrators I ever encountered in my life. Yet, I followed her journey attentively, so compelled by who she was, who she could really be, what she’d done and whether or not everything was, well, real, or not real, as well.
- A Lesson in Vengeance is definitely a slow burning kind of story, where the suspense builds up slowly, but surely. You feel the mystery, you feel the darkness blooming slowly and, while this might bother some readers, I personally really appreciated it and it made me feel even more compelled to read on and on.
- If I had to describe the relationships in this book with a word, it would probably be: intense. While A Lesson in Vengeance has some interesting side characters, Ellis definitely stole the show and her relationship with Felicity took the book to a whole other level. Ellis is such an intense character, a bit of a puzzle piece you don’t know where to fit, a bit of a mystery you’re not sure you want to figure out. There’s something so captivating about the way Felicity slowly gets to know her, as their lifes get tangled up with the mysteries of the school and of Felicity’s past.
I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…
☂️
- Truly a personal point of view here, but this book has A LOT of triggers, something that made me feel a bit unsettled, at times, I’ll admit it! They’re all listed above if you need them and please, please take care.
- This is not something I really had a hard time with, but I was a bit surprised by the witchcraft presence in the story. From the synopsis, I kind of expected more of the story and of the focus to be on the witchcraft art itself and…well, while it was present, it wasn’t as present as I imagined it to be. No spoilers here!
OVERALL
☂️
Atmospheric and compelling right from the start, A Lesson in Vengeance will appeal to all fans of dark academia and slow suspense. I really enjoyed it this and definitely recommend it!
FINAL RATING : 4 stars!
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Did you read A Lesson in Vengeance, or do you want to? Are you a fan of dark academia books? I’d love your recommendations, so let me know in comments!
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This sounds really good. I just added it to my TBR.
Ahh yay! I hope you will love it 🙂
While this doesn’t seem like a book I’d be attracted to naturally, the way you hyped it up made me super interested! Great review 🙂 xx
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
Oh thank you so much, that’s such a sweet compliment <3
This is on my TBR and is definitely now getting bumped up!
Ahh yay! I hope you’ll enjoy it! 🙂
I also have this arc, but I didn’t realize it had so many trigger warnings. The animal-related ones might be particularly difficult for me. Is it too graphic or always on-page?
Yes, it’s definitely a tough read, at times. There is a mention of a pet rabbit being killed (this is off-page, narrated by a character, but it can be a bit triggering). There is also another scene of hunting where an animal is shot, and some mentions of animal sacrifices. I definitely recommend checking out the author’s website, they have a full list of trigger warnings with details that can be really helpful right here. Hope this helps and take care always! <3
I haven’t read anything by Victoria Lee but I love a good atmospheric tale with an unreliable narrator. I checked out the list of triggers and yes, that’s definitely a lot. I would have to mentally prepare myself for some of those.
If you love atmospheric tales, you’ll love this one. It’s a tough read at times, though, definitely need to be in the right headspace for it, too! <3
ohhhh I totally forgot about this book! I wanted to read it desperately when it was released and it was impossible to get a physical version somehow and then I completely lost sight of it. So thank you for the reminder and the wonderful review, it’s now definitely back on my radar! 🙂
Ahh yay! I hope you will read it soon, I’d love to hear what you think of it 🙂