Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

49 reviews

hookerkitty's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I thought we were going to figure out Ellis was actually the secret lover of Alex (lol I just had to look up her name bc even though I just finished this yesterday, I already can’t remember shit about it), saw Felicity kill her, and was there for revenge. THAT would’ve been a better ending (even though Ellis is completely unlikable, but it would make so much more sense).

There is also a zero percent chance these bitches would’ve gotten away with what they did…..Well, unless the wealthy white families paid the cops off. So maybe it is realistic 🤷🏻‍♀️ still not a great book though

Also one stupid thing that really irked me - since when does snow patter on a roof? Or being able to hear it snowing at all? Not melting and falling off trees - just falling from the sky. I even googled it just now to see if it somehow is a thing (despite living in Michigan most of my life), and even after I told Google that yes I really mean patter, not pattern, it still was like 🤷🏻‍♀️ and showed pattern stuff. So I changed it to “hear snowing on roof” and it was all about copious amounts of snow sliding off roof, not it snowing onto the roof.

also I’m still convinced Ellis dosed them. It sure sounded like it without actually saying the words. I’ve never heard someone call a hangover “the comedown” before, only drugs

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

nutmegandpumpkin's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Loved the vibes and was intrigued all the way to the end. Haven’t read a book that made me react so strongly (e.g. putting the book down and going WHAT) in a long time. Didn’t really like any of the characters per se but I was okay with it? All the characters are flawed but it’s in a realistic and interesting way so it didn’t bother me as much as unlikable characters usually would.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Sexual content, and Vomit

Minor: Cursing, Eating disorder, and Gun violence

pagesofplatypus's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I can't say I've ever read a book like A Lesson in Vengeance.

Lesson one: follow an unreliable narrator.

Lesson two: add some witchcraft.

Lesson three: add in a boarding school setting in the middle of winter.

Lesson four: make it lesbian.

Victoria Lee's A Lesson in Vengeance is a perfect mix of the semi-obscure academic references of Dead Poets Society, the Gothic atmoshpere of Wednesday, and the twisty, wintry murder mystery of The Pale Blue Eye.

Felicity Morrow is haunted. Cursed to reckon with the ghost of her ex-girlfriend, one whom she feels directly responsible for killing. When new girl Ellis arrives at the prestigious Dalloway, she is the only one who understands Felicity and embarks on a mission to prove Felicity isn't haunted. As their relationship deepens into something more than friends, Felicity will question how far she's willing to go to seek the truth.

The atmosphere of A Lesson  in Vengeance is established perfectly. A suspenseful mix of gloom, secret societies, schoolroom gossip, and age-old secrets. Entering Felicity's fractured mind has readers constantly guessing the story and themselves. And the unsettling questions of what we're willing to believe and what we're willing to tell ourselves will follow readers even after the last page.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Gun violence, and Mental illness

crusoe'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Sexual content

Minor: Racism and Alcohol

seren's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

blackheart's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism

moxiemin's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug use

solarel's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

At some points in this book I thought I was able to predict what would come next but I was always proven wrong. It kept me in a state of shock at every step with plot twists and reveals. 

With the subject of high school girls, it makes sense that it read like a YA. At some points it felt like it was almost pretentiously trying to be adult, but that’s also on theme. The prose felt like it was trying too hard at times to be dark and edgy, but overall the vibes were very spooky academic. 

Definitely a page turner. I enjoyed it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kerrygetsliterary's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting

klpage's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

Such a good read for autumn and spooky season! This is the kind of dark academia I like! Witchy, dark magic, a bit of a psychological twist thrown in with the characters too. 

Loved it! Definitely recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Vomit, and Toxic friendship