A review by ceallaighsbooks
A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

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
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