This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I loved the atmosphere of Dalloway school and Godwin House and thought Victoria Lee did a great job setting the scene. Felicity and Ellis were both interesting characters, full of flaws and brilliance in equal measure, which is always fun to read. My main issues were with the plot and pacing. I found the plot a bit disjointed in places and somewhat predictable in others. Pacing-wise, there were times when key moments were just dropped into the narrative with no preamble or explanation, giving a bit of whiplash to the reader. Overall, I did enjoy this one, but it isn't a new favourite.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Really enjoyed the Gothic, dark academia vibes of this, and the all-female cast of characters, with the hint of mystery.

One of the best dark academias I have ever read. One of my favourite books of the 2022. Thank you for this early copy to read and review.

A dark academia gem.

This is a fantastic read, despite being perfect for the trend, it is still well written and gripping.

I don’t really know how to review this. I started it back in January, read about half and put down and haven’t thought of it since .what I did read I enjoyed but the story just didn’t hold my attention.

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to read this as I had issues with my kindle, however I don't want to give it bad feedback as it's no fault with the book.

This was unfortunately a DNF for me. I'm quite strict with myself so often don't finish books I don't think I'll LOVE.

However, this is definitely a book that I think would be very popular with certain people and I'd definitely rec it to people i know!

Absolutely gripping from start to finish, best dark academia I've read and it's now got me hooked on the Genre. I was desperate to find out what really happened to Felicity's girlfriend. It was a great Autumn/spooky season read.

A great example of modern dark academia, with a twist of magic and LGBTQ+ representation. Absolutely brilliant, thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

A new voice in the Dark Academia field, A Lesson in Vengeance is woven with Magic and Mystery set on the grounds of an old college haunted by a dark history. Atmospheric and twisting, this novel is a great addition to the shelf of fans of Leigh Bardugo and Margaret Rogerson.

The setting of this book was SO atmospheric - an eerie, isolated boarding school with hints of dark magic, what more could you want? I did struggle a bit with the pacing of this one feeling a little slow at points, but the atmosphere and setting were so vividly portrayed and I loved the LGBTQ+ rep.

I am so annoyed by how long this took me to pick up. The vibes are just perfect, it’s so atmospheric with a hint of elite gothic boarding school vibes. I love how unreliable Felicity is as a MC and how the story comes together slowly piece by piece. The witchcraft theme was subtle and not overwhelming and the LGBT side of things was done really well. I really enjoyed this book.

nice read. tried too hard to fit in as a dark academia though? and the YA elements in this were too much for me. however enjoyable.

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.

A Lesson in Vengeance tells the story of Felicity as she returns to boarding school a year after her girlfriend was killed and meets a teen prodigy writer, Ellis, writing her next book. Felicity is also obsessed with magic and the legend of five girls believed to be witches.

I found A Lesson in Vengeance to be an okay read. I was completely immersed when I could bring myself to pick it up, but it was also slow which stopped me from picking it up. So it took me a while to read. It was very spooky though and did creep me out at times.

The story is set in Felicity's boarding school and it's a very isolated location full of old buildings. I could really picture the setting quite well and it really helped with the whole creepiness of the story. It also fits the character's personalities quite well.

When it comes to the characters, they were interesting but not memorable in the slightest. the side characters also brought nothing to the story. I did like that Felicity was a bit of an unreliable narrator suffering from a sort of self-imposed memory loss. However, I did not care in the slightest about her or any of the characters. There was a lot of LGBTQ+ rep though which is always fantastic.

I did enjoy the writing style. The story was fantastically written and flowed easily. I did find it hard to follow at times, but I think that was my indifference to the characters causing my mind to wander.

The plot was okay, but I really didn't understand the motives and I didn't find the ending too surprising. But it generally made sense. It just dragged a bit and wasn't the most satisfying ending. It was climatic but expected. I was hoping for a more spooky cause and it just wasn't there.

So as I've said A Lesson in Vengeance was okay. I enjoyed the writing style and the worldbuilding but was let down by the characters and plot.

A dark sapphic thriller against the backdrop of a dark academia with witches and murder. With a consistent focus on mental health and the intrigue of unreliable narrators, this story centres both the aesthetics and the atmosphere of an engaging not-so-YA mystery-horror. The creepiness of the story is unbeatable but the magical undertone doesn't manage to hold attention as the slow pacing only tires the actually excellent twist.

i was super hyped for this because...dark academia! lesbians! the sexy sexy title! but it was so boring:') i just couldnt sympathize with the main character, who was the embodiment of rich white girl problems. the plot was a bit of a mess, and ive seen similoar books done much better, e.g. the society for soulless girls by laura steven. i liked the depiction of psychotic depression, but this book was just...really white. i couldn't finish this

I'm really behind on my reading and reviews on here.

When deciding what to read next I noticed that this book had a lot of difficult themes, for example psychotic depression, which is something I've experienced and do not want to think about or unfortunately read about. I'm not that far into my full recovery and feel like this will sadly be bad for my mental health.

Sorry!

Hello, new dark academia read! The unsettling cover and the sinister title had me initially hooked and all that awaited beyond them proved to be as delightfully eerie as anticipated.

Dalloway School's history is full of skeletons, some only newly buried, but all have their roots tangled with the Dalloway Five. Legend tells that the five female students, who each died in inventive and inexplicable ways, practised witchcraft and were cursed for their involvement with the dark arts. This has never been proven but the rooms were they boarded, and all those who are privileged enough to now commandeer their space, are treated with the same fear and respect, in almost equal measures.

I loved exploring the historical mysteries clinging to the hallowed stone walls of this elite academic institution but I found equal enjoyment in the contemporary disturbances also haunting them. The two worked in tandem to create a dread-infused and continually unsettling read, which intrigued as more secrets were revealed in seemingly every chapter. An absorbing and atmospheric read I had much fun with!

This ticked all the books for me to love!
- Dark academia
- Unreliable narrator/character
- Queer

Unfortunately, I did not.

We follow Felicity, a girl who has just gotten back to Dalloway school after an event that led her to be absent for a semester (we know about bit by bit as the story unravels). When she returns to the school she meets Ellis, a young prodigy author who has won a Pulitzer prize (!!). Their relationship is clunky and awkward. So awkward sometimes that is borderline annoying.

My main issues with this book were two:
1. The repetitiveness. We learn about the Dalloway 5 (5 'witches) that ended up dead in a short time and strange ways. The information is constantly repeated to us. If you want to have a drinking game with Dalloway Five or 'method writer/writing'' don't blame me! Some editing would have greatly improved it cause otherwise other elements weren't handled that way so I do not understand the need for the way those pieces of information were handled.
2. The dark academia atmosphere seemed more of a cliche or Pinterest board that an actual feeling and that was thoroughly disappointing because it would have elevated the book so much!

Other points I did not like that much were:
- Ellis' and Felicity's relationship. It felt like douchy at times, unnecessarily awkward at others, and all in all just weak and pretentious in an unhelpful way if that makes sense.
- The other girls in the house they are living in are just there to serve as plot devices. We barely get to know them and I have sadly forgotten all about them already.

I have to point out that I read the author explaining on Goodreads that the book 'builds off my lived experiences as someone with psychotic depression, a heavily-stigmatized mental illness that is still poorly understood' so although I had some thoughts on the portrayal of that mental illness or parts of it I will not disclose them as I am not knowledgable about it and would prefer to read from others.

Looking back, I only enjoyed how fast-paced it was and I was just so curious about where all of this was going. Although I am more of a character-driven reader, this time I enjoyed the plot skeleton much more like any of the characters involved. Which explains my rating.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Book for this e-copy in exchange for an honest review!

This is the first novel I've read from Victoria Lee, and I didn't know what to expect. While I enjoyed the story as a whole, I didn't find myself hooked at any time reading it. It was missing that extra spark for me. I would put it down and not feel drawn back to it for a couple of days, which is never a great sign.

I would say, while this isn't quite dark academia (at least to my definition of it) it does have similar settings, just without the same vibe. So if you enjoy those themes but want something with a lighter touch then I think this is a good recommendation for you.

One I'll happily recommend, even though it wasn't quite for me.