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danie_faye's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death
emlittle's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I want to level set expectations up front: this book is 3/4 no-plot-just-vibes. If you like gothic atmospheres, dark academia motifs, and off putting characters, this will 100% be your jam. Fortunately for me. I happen to enjoy a lack of plot as long as the vibes (imagery, setting, etc.) are strong enough to make up for it.
Thomas really did do a beautiful job of building a school that had all the makings of elite: shiny and mysterious from the outside and dusty and chipped when you look too closely. We experience Catherine through a character who would rather observe than interact so we get to see it all. The excessive wine drinking, the overly rich food, the drafty library and gallery. The imagery is consistently strong throughout the whole book.
The way she handles our leading woman, Ines, is a pretty unique experience. Even though we experience Catherine through Ines’s eyes, she’s either so detached or dissociated that rarely do we get a glimpse at what she thinks or feels. We know everything that happens to her but never really get to know how she feels about it. Her past is alluded to, but otherwise we get to know little about her even in the rare instance she does connect with another character. The only time we get to know something about her is when other characters plainly state things about her. Much like Catherine House, Ines is elusive and more of a concept than a noun.
The story over all is pretty slow until it isn’t. The first 2/3 of the book is an atmospheric fever dream, while the last 1/3 is cerebral thriller. So again— if mostly vibes and not a lot of plot isn’t your thing, Catherine House isn’t for you. Overall, I did really like this book. However, it could’ve been stronger if the bulk of the story punched as hard as the last ~120 pages did.
Thomas really did do a beautiful job of building a school that had all the makings of elite: shiny and mysterious from the outside and dusty and chipped when you look too closely. We experience Catherine through a character who would rather observe than interact so we get to see it all. The excessive wine drinking, the overly rich food, the drafty library and gallery. The imagery is consistently strong throughout the whole book.
The way she handles our leading woman, Ines, is a pretty unique experience. Even though we experience Catherine through Ines’s eyes, she’s either so detached or dissociated that rarely do we get a glimpse at what she thinks or feels. We know everything that happens to her but never really get to know how she feels about it. Her past is alluded to, but otherwise we get to know little about her even in the rare instance she does connect with another character. The only time we get to know something about her is when other characters plainly state things about her. Much like Catherine House, Ines is elusive and more of a concept than a noun.
The story over all is pretty slow until it isn’t. The first 2/3 of the book is an atmospheric fever dream, while the last 1/3 is cerebral thriller. So again— if mostly vibes and not a lot of plot isn’t your thing, Catherine House isn’t for you. Overall, I did really like this book. However, it could’ve been stronger if the bulk of the story punched as hard as the last ~120 pages did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Alcohol
shaylee_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Ratings:
Plot:⭐/5
Writing:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters:⭐⭐/5
Overall:⭐⭐/5
Romance:❤️/5
Diversity: Queer MC, Queer SC’s, & POC Characters.
Genre/Tropes: Adult Gotic Thriller, Dark Academia.
Content Warnings: Confinement, Experimentation (Human & Animal), Animal Cruelty, Suicide, & Death.
Catherine House by Elizabeth Thomas is a Adult Gothic thriller with dark academia aspect. It follows Ines, who is accepted into the prestigious University, Catherine House. Anyone accept into Catherine House, receives free school and housing in exchange for spending three year completely excluded from the outside world. During her schooling there, Ines starts to uncovers secrets about a exclusive circle of students and she is determined to figure out what Catherine House is hiding.
I’m a sucker for a good dark academia book so I had high hopes for this book but sadly this one just fell short.
I do think the author did a good job writing a dark academia book but the main downfall of the book was lack of plot. There wasn't a single plot point to be seen in this book which made it drag on, I would read twenty pages but it felt like I had read a million. This book was just the main character sleeping, studying, drinking, and having sex over and over again.
The few plot twists this book had where very predictable especially for those who read a lot of dark academia books.
The most interesting part of this book was the whole plasma thing, I was excited to learn more about that and see what it was but by the end of the book I still had no idea what it was and very confused by all of it.
One thing that can make or break a book for me is the characters. If a book has really strong characters that I can easily fall in love with and have a connection with, it doesn't matter how bad the writing or world building there's still a very good chance that I will love the book. But not only did this book not have a strong plot, it also didn't have strong characters. I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters nor did I feel like I really knew them. I honestly did not care what happened to the characters. There was also no character development, I felt as though the main character was the same in the end as she was in the beginning.
I will say that this book did do a good job of showing what type of people are more prone to falling into cults and how someone might find themselves in one.
Another thing that was enjoyable about this book was the writing style. It was well written and even though not a lot happened in this book, I was still interested in finishing the book and I think the main reason for that was the writing. Thomas does a really good job at writing the gothic dark academia aesthetic. Her writing has a very haunting feel to it which I did really enjoy.
I feel that one of things that lead its book to it's ultimate demise for me was the fact that it was often compared to The Secret History (which is one of my all time favorite books) and outside of being a dark academia book and having an unlikable main character, Catherine House didn't have any of the qualities that I loved about The Secret History. If you love The Secret History and pick up this book because of that, I ultimately feel like you will be disappointed.
Overall, I had high hopes for this book but with a lack of plot and character development, it left me feeling unsatisfied and disappointed.
Plot:⭐/5
Writing:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters:⭐⭐/5
Overall:⭐⭐/5
Romance:❤️/5
Diversity: Queer MC, Queer SC’s, & POC Characters.
Genre/Tropes: Adult Gotic Thriller, Dark Academia.
Content Warnings: Confinement, Experimentation (Human & Animal), Animal Cruelty, Suicide, & Death.
Catherine House by Elizabeth Thomas is a Adult Gothic thriller with dark academia aspect. It follows Ines, who is accepted into the prestigious University, Catherine House. Anyone accept into Catherine House, receives free school and housing in exchange for spending three year completely excluded from the outside world. During her schooling there, Ines starts to uncovers secrets about a exclusive circle of students and she is determined to figure out what Catherine House is hiding.
I’m a sucker for a good dark academia book so I had high hopes for this book but sadly this one just fell short.
I do think the author did a good job writing a dark academia book but the main downfall of the book was lack of plot. There wasn't a single plot point to be seen in this book which made it drag on, I would read twenty pages but it felt like I had read a million. This book was just the main character sleeping, studying, drinking, and having sex over and over again.
The few plot twists this book had where very predictable especially for those who read a lot of dark academia books.
The most interesting part of this book was the whole plasma thing, I was excited to learn more about that and see what it was but by the end of the book I still had no idea what it was and very confused by all of it.
One thing that can make or break a book for me is the characters. If a book has really strong characters that I can easily fall in love with and have a connection with, it doesn't matter how bad the writing or world building there's still a very good chance that I will love the book. But not only did this book not have a strong plot, it also didn't have strong characters. I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters nor did I feel like I really knew them. I honestly did not care what happened to the characters. There was also no character development, I felt as though the main character was the same in the end as she was in the beginning.
I will say that this book did do a good job of showing what type of people are more prone to falling into cults and how someone might find themselves in one.
Another thing that was enjoyable about this book was the writing style. It was well written and even though not a lot happened in this book, I was still interested in finishing the book and I think the main reason for that was the writing. Thomas does a really good job at writing the gothic dark academia aesthetic. Her writing has a very haunting feel to it which I did really enjoy.
I feel that one of things that lead its book to it's ultimate demise for me was the fact that it was often compared to The Secret History (which is one of my all time favorite books) and outside of being a dark academia book and having an unlikable main character, Catherine House didn't have any of the qualities that I loved about The Secret History. If you love The Secret History and pick up this book because of that, I ultimately feel like you will be disappointed.
Overall, I had high hopes for this book but with a lack of plot and character development, it left me feeling unsatisfied and disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, and Suicide
risaleel's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
mirnda's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The beginning had me hooked with its tension, and although the pacing dragged through the middle, by the end I felt like I had gone on a journey with the book. The audiobook narrator, Ines del Castillo, was wonderful and gave the characters so much life. I am looking forward to rereading the book and seeing the ways it slowly folds into its ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content
Minor: Body horror
cantfindmybookmark's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Gaslighting
heytherekaity's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
gondorgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
For being an incredibly messed up dark academia this book was surprisingly cozy? Like reading a fever dream.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Animal death
ceilidhwilliams's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Car accident
theresahasread's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death