Reviews with content warning for Murder - A Lesson in Vengeance

Felicity says “Mostly how depictions of mental illness are used to build suspense by introducing uncertainty and a sense of mistrust, especially with regard to the narrators perception of events, and the conflation of magic and madness in female characters.” and i think that was a very get description of how i was feeling while reading the book. i kept going back and forth on whether or not i thought there was actually magic involved or if ellis was just fucking with her for her book. and then it was so much darker than i thought and even then when i thought i knew what was going on and then it got darker
wild

i had a good time reading it

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hookerkitty's review against another edition

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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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nutmegandpumpkin's review

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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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annamercado19's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

I don't quite know how to feel about this so I'm giving it a 4. The writing itself is beautiful and otherworldly. A bit of a slow start for me but then it speeds up and it doesn't slow down. The way the truth comes out in pieces, the horror rising until it's all consuming... Incredible and horrible and so impressive.

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thissagreads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

The ONLY reason I finished this book was because I wanted to know what happened in the end. The magical allure that the book’s synopsis was just that- disappointingly not magical- and it took me a very long time to finish because the pace was SO SLOW! The sapphic romance I thought would make book better, didn’t, and

the new girl Ellis is literally gaslighting Felicity so intensely that they have a weird romance, all while Ellis inevitably kills one of their friends, for a better understanding of a killer, for her stupid book! And then she basically sets up the various environments with felicity’s prints/objects, to use against her in case she tried to tell the cops the truth. And even thought felicity pushes Ellis off the same cliff her previous girlfriend fell from, it didn’t feel like a true, fully complete ending.

This book took forever to finish because it was boring and slow. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND

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pagesofplatypus's review against another edition

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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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abbythebookfairy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was well worth the read. It intimidated me a tad, and I found Felicity slightly annoying in the beginning, but honestly? She grows on you.
You’re unfolding a mystery from the eyes of someone who should know the answers, but doesn’t. You follow a deep love story, and you find yourself so invested in finding the answers that you forget you’re just reading.
The ending was not shocking, but it was definitely well done. In my opinion? You shouldn’t always have to be shocked by the ending, just enjoy the way that it was executed.
I grew to love the characters, and understand them. Their flaws and fears, as well as their strengths and joys.
I think this book will live inside my mind for a long time.

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sammy357's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

I've never read dark academia before and I really only started the book because I thought the premise was interesting and wanted to read more sapphic books, so maybe I wasn't the intended audience.
I thought their would be magic, witches, and ghosts in the book and that's what I was most excited for. That and the mystery of the Dalloway Five.

But unfortunately there wasn't actually any magic involved.

I wasn't really invested in the romance or the characters. Honestly from the beginning Ellis gave off bad vibes. When I read that she was a "method writer" I knew she would be a walking red flag. I mean have you ever heard of a method actor that didn't take it too far?
Overall the book was okay. I liked the beginning because of the hints of magic and a haunting, wasn't really invested in the rest of the book, and liked the last couple chapters

with the murder and Felicity trying not to get framed.

Wouldn't read again but I don't feel like I wasted my time reading it.

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