Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

5 reviews

hookerkitty's review against another edition

Go to review page

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
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

pixelpigeon's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holy shit this was excellent. I want to read everything this author writes. The story seems predictable at times but always surprises you instead, keeps you doubting yourself and the protagonist. The imagery is uniquely evocative. Highly recommend.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

“‘I suppose, if you’re the kind of person who also chooses to be agnostic as to the existence of deities or fairies in the garden. Yes, there’s always a chance it’s real. But is that what you really believe?’ … I think that once we’re out there in the forest, under the moonlight, she’ll see things differently. Who knows what lurks in the woods, which beings rule the cold space beneath the trees?”

TITLE—A Lesson in Vengeance 
AUTHOR—Victoria Lee
PUBLISHED—2021
PUBLISHER—Delacorte Press

GENRE—YA fantasy
SETTING—an all girls boarding school in New England
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—dark academia, girls boarding school, witches, magic, Tarot, f/f, Murder!, books & literature, “method writing”, mental illness (OV), unreliable narrator

WRITING STYLE—⭐️?
CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️/⭐️
STORY/PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️
BONUS ELEMENT/S—Fun vibes?
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️/⭐️?
PREMISE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
EXECUTION—⭐️⭐️⭐️

For some reason, I could not get past the writing style of this book. At times it almost felt like there was some kind of glamour on the book that literally kept me from being able to read it or understand what was going on at all. I even tried getting the audiobook but the narrator was doing an accent for the character from Savannah and even speeding it all the way up, I couldn’t. So I ended up sort of speedreading the second half of the book because I was intrigued by the story and was enjoying the vibes. And, unfortunately, while I think I loved the unreliable narrator trope, and the twist at the end, I just don’t think I “got it” enough to be able to really say anything else about it. 🙈

“I need to be able to touch the darkness without being consumed by it.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️

CW // definitely check out the reviews on storygraph that point out the potentially problematic aspects of this book (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)

Further Reading—
  • THESE WITCHES DON’T BURN, by Isabel Sterling—my favorite YA f/f modern witches book
  • THE CRAFT (1995 movie)—huge similarities in vibes & themes & even the storyline a tiny tiny bit…
  • Dorothy Sayers—TBR
  • THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, by Shirley Jackson
  • WHITE IS FOR WITCHING, by Helen Oyeyemi
  • MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION, by Ottessa Moshfegh—similar MCs
  • BABEL, by RF Kuang
  • IF WE WERE VILLAINS, by ML Rio—my favorite dark academia book
  • THE SECRET HISTORY, by Donna Tartt—apparently the author was riffing off this book, so
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

milly2222's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

bookgabz's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings