Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

56 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

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

marcilene's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

This is book is everything I've ever searched for and I went through it in the span of three days. Without spoiling the final scene of Felicity and Ellis was so satisfying to me, like I was waiting for that the whole time. As for the book Ellis wrote I can't describe how much I want to read it and at the same time never see it brought to life.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and Alcohol

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

ahntologies's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism

iphigeniad's review against another edition

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

4.25

A psychological thriller in sheep's clothing. Went into this one expecting actual ghosts and magic, and it was a wild ride. Big plot twist - I agree the third act felt rushed, and I would have liked to spend more time with Leonie and Kajal, the only characters of color in the book. Other than that, wow, this was a knockout punch of a mindfuck. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Alcoholism and Suicide

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

vagrantheather's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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

5.0

A spooky dark academia with an unreliable narrator. Lots of fun. I do think the characters are much too well read for teenagers - they all speak academia fluently and have fixed thoughts on concepts and authors unknown outside of the realm of academic literature - would have worked better for me if they were in university looking forward to Masters programs. In general they just aren't at all young acting. And the way all of the adults in the background tacitly permit smoking, drinking, and a total lack of supervision, seems to me more like college than a pricey boarding school full of academically inclined socialites.

But those gripes are minor and in general I loved the mood, setting, writing, moral flexibility, and disconnection from reality. It was a lot of fun to read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Outing