House of Pain is the first book in the Precious Villains trilogy by Karolina Wilde. It's also the author's self-published debut novel which came out on the 6th of December. This 476-page book is billed as a Gothic Harry Potter meets Gossip Girl, and I AM HERE FOR IT!

The book was sexy; it was fun, and it was fast-paced. I loved the competition that was taking place, and I loved how the house you're in had a genuine impact on how you survived at school and after it. In short, I loved the world Wilde set up here. I was a huge fan of Val and how ruthless she is. I legit don't think she had enough page time! The side characters like Jolene were also cute, and I wish we'd seen more of her and Alecto interact.

There are things that I feel could have been edited out. Some of the names, like Rogue, were just too cheesy. Some things, like what happened to that girl by the lake, were not elaborated on, and I wish we could've found out more. While I liked Alecto and Blaze, things were too heavy-handed. Some subtlety in terms of violence can also be effective. The whole demon they summoned at the start and the spell which was super focused on how hot he was supposed to be felt a bit odd; like the book was smut with some plot and not vice versa. It also didn't really feel very relevant. I also didn't get how Alecto was part of the inner circle when people seem to hate her so much for being a half breed.

That being said, I feel like these are teething problems or even things that can be cleared up in the next book. I have already pre-ordered the next book…

I absolutely fell in LOVE with this book and the characters. I adore a good dark academia vibe, but add in the spice and it is **chef's kiss.**

I will admit, the beginning of the book gave me some pause. I was wary about the character names (Alecto, Blaze, Rogue Smolder...). I usually find names like this incredibly cringe-worthy. As I read though, I found that the names actually fit the characters.

While initially you can tell the Game is a big part of the book, the love story really ended up taking over and being the main focus. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it could have used a bit more balance. Also, the tiny love triangle (square?) with Val, Blaze, Rogue, and Alecto could have been better developed. Alecto was clearly trying to make Blaze jealous with Rogue, and I would have enjoyed seeing more interaction between the two - especially since it seemed like Rogue was into Alecto.

I loved the world building and want more of it! I got dark Harry Potter vibes from this book and I can tell there is more to the witches' world, but there were only vague mentions of the mortal world. It would have been great to hear more about Alecto's life with her mom and how her life being half mortal/half witch made her different. Instead, Blaze just refers to it and we see Alecto feeling negatively about it because the others consider her different. But WHY? How is she so different. Everyone else thinks she is, but we're never shown that she actually is.

I am super excited for House of Ruin. Is it out yet?! 4 stars from me! Can't wait for the next book in the series!

"To be admired for her cruelty, for the darkness that stained her half-mortal soul, was, even better than feeling desired."

🖤Dark Fantasy
🖤Enemies to Lovers
🖤Academy for Witches
🖤Deadly Competition
🖤LGBTQIA Friendly (side characters)
🖤Spicy
🖤Zodiac Academy x Dark/Gothic Harry Potter x Gossip Girl
💥Check TW

Alecto Black, a half-witch, just started her second year at Venefica Academy, the prestigious witch academy. Last year she joined the House of Snakes, where she is a legacy, and is determined this year to 1) land the lead role in the school play of Carmen 2) shed the stigma of a half-mortal and become more merciless and cruel and 3) help her House win this year's Games.

This book reminded me very much of a darker Zodiac Academy series, which is one of my favorites. The students are divided up into 12 different houses, with each house being an animal from the Chinese Zodiac. I thought this was a fun take and just wished you saw more of the different houses and how the students got into them besides those who were legacies. Alecto and Blaze's enemies to lovers to enemies cycle reminded me also of Tory and Darius from ZA. Enemies until they can't deny their attraction for each but then go right back to being enemies.

I did enjoy this book and though the witches were all quite twisted and cruel yet all of them had redeeming qualities. I was a little confused about the whole acting subplot in the book. It seemed like it was thrown in there even though the book is supposed to center around the Games. I hope to see more of the acting subplot in the next book. There were a bunch of unanswered questions that I hope will be answered in book 2 and am intrigued as to what will happen next in the story. Solid 3.25 stars, rounded down to 3.

This book is well written. The reader has a clear understanding of the characters and the reasons they make the choices they do. The setting is very high school with high drama that is reminiscent of some of the shows I watched in the early 2000s. The magic element to this story is very dark from the beginning. The story moved at a good pace and I was engaged throughout the story.

I would highly recommend reading the trigger warnings before starting this book.

The blurb described it as Dark Harry Potter meets Gossip Gossip girl - and I can see this. It does also have Zodiac Academy/Ninth House vibes, as well a bit of Dramionie. And of course, Dark Academia. All things I absolutely love.

The story follows Alecto, a half witch-half human (which makes her lesser then the other full-blooded witches) who attends school at the prestigious Venefica Academy. And while the Academics are important, nothing is more important then the GAME - a school wide competition. Alecto is part of the infamous House of Snakes, as a legacy member, and becomes the target of not another house, but another legacy member in the house of Snakes, Blaze Leveau. This rich boy, tormenter is the bane of her existence, until one day things change. Can they put their differences asides for the good of the House of Snakes and the game? Or will they crumble?

I really enjoyed this book - it honestly has everything I enjoy in books, a dark academia setting, smut, witchy coven Hogwarts house vibes - and Blaze, he could run me over and I'd thank him. Plus, some of my favorite tropes, enemies to lovers, bully romance and forced proximity.

The only reason I didn't give this a 5 star, is because I wish there was more world-building. The world the author has created is amazing, I would love to know more about it. I think it would really add to the story!

I cannot wait to read the next book and I think Karolina Wilde and Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Holy enemies to unlikely allies. This book was pure chaos and snark and viciousness and I'm THRIVING after finishing it. It very much has the vibes of If We Were Villains, but at a school for magic with a house system and dangerous games for one of them to come out on top. Definitely check the content warnings before reading, but I absolutely loved this book and can't wait for the next one! Great for fans of Zodiac Academy and any book where you're not really sure who you're supposed to be rooting for.

Damn, this was intense. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Morally grey everything. Hell borderline morally black. Dark academia sort of, since it’s based in a school, but more of a house tournament from hell than actual academia. With sex magic, I should mention. Though the mechanics of that weren’t super defined?

Which was my one gripe with the novel- the magic system wasn’t super well defined. But if we’re being honest most people probably weren’t here for a deep dive into a magic system there here for the PWP.

And damn is the plot interesting. Be aware, this is very adult! I mean, sex magic, for chrissake. I really appreciated that the author included trigger warnings and I hope that people read them before reading the book! I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel and figuring out what’s going on between the MC and the MLI

Wow! Where do I even begin. It was definitely different than most books I read. I was really intrigued when it was described as being a cross between Harry Potter and Gossip Girl.

I feel like I had to force myself to get through this book. I found myself wishing for more information on the magic system and world building. It did have some great steamy romance, but SO many F words. I don’t mind the F word, but it seemed a bit excessive.

House of Pain is one of those gleefully fvcked up books that is an absolute DELIGHT to read!

Set at a cutthroat school for witches, Alecto Black’s half human status keeps her on the outside, no one thinks she has the viciousness needed to make it a witches world.
And she is sick of that sh!t and ready to prove them wrong.

She has a hâte/hâte relationship with her classmate Blaze, their pranks always escalate with both needing to get the last word until they turn potentially deadly and they realise that perhaps this isn’t the kind of satisfaction they should using each other for.

This is a dark, s3xy, and just incredibly fun read that I would definitely recommend to anyone who believes spooky season is a state of mind and not a calendar square.

Alecto is figuring out how to be as unrepentant and vicious as the full blooded witches and Blaze is realising that maybe all the back (and front) stäbbïng just isn’t worth the effort. There is definitely more to both these characters that I’m looking forward to finding out about in the next book.

Oh and not for nothing there is a s€xy demon named Rouge Smoulder, and if you’re anything like me that information alone will be enough to have you smashing that preorder button, which you should do anyway!

Thanks to @karolinawilde and @netgalley for letting me read this ARC! House of Pain comes out on 06/Dec. It’s a fvked up BLAST to read and I promise it’s a good time!

I requested this book because it was sold as being similar to Zodiac Academy, which I love, but I just could not get through this one. It was a bit messy and the world building was not explained well so I spent the entire time confused. I had to DNF but definitely give it a chance if it sounds good to you!

Thank you NetGalley and the author for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This books reminds me of Harry Potter with a mix of Sabrina. I give this book 3.5 stars. Alecto is a half witch and goes to a school that is trying to steal the other houses book. While doing this, Alecto and Blaze start a connection that they do not understand. They hate each other one minute, then love each other the next.

This book I enjoyed reading, there was more blood magic than there was sex magic. You fall in love with Alecto and her personality from the beginning. She wants to show that she’s not some innocent girl just because she’s half witch. She becomes into this ruthless witch that doesn’t stop at anything to show she’s just like them. You want to hate Blaze and what he does but you just can’t at times. The characters and plot was enjoyable. I’m ready to reas the next book in this series!

I'd give the spice a 10/10 , sometimes the plot felt lacking in some parts compared to that but this was definitely a very enjoyable read with an amazing magic system and relatable characters. It's exactly what I was looking for in a dark romance fantasy. Alecto's character development and the enemies to lovers romance is what I enjoyed the most. I can't wait for book 2 hopefully it will be even better !

I’ll give this book a 4 stars . The plot felt alittle underdeveloped just ALITTLE but overall the spice was amazing if you love basically an adult bully romance & a bit of a magic system & SPICE this book is for you . The way Alecto kept forgiving blaze like nothing was a bit triggering lmao & I feel like I wanted to see more sides to everyone not just a toxic romance but still overall an interesting read and I recommend everyone gives it a chance if you love a dark fantasy romance ! ❤️

Ok yes it's a magic school divided into Houses but please imagine a college situation rather than a dare I say Hogwarts type scenario. To be blunt these Witches and Warlocks are pretty nasty and if I'm honest not that likeable. Clearly the central couple could be Alectro and Blaze but this definitely starts out strongly as an enemy to lovers vibe. Oddly this couple have so much more in common that really they both seem to have absolutely monstrous and deplorable parents. This might have started out with me on the fence but I definitely enjoyed the end and would love to know what happens next.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but whatever it was this far surpassed my expectations! Alecto Black is surviving college, quite literally, as the only half breed witch. Alecto is a legacy member of the most infamous house on campus, House of Snakes. While she may be a legacy, the other witches including those in her own house treat her as less than because of her being half mortal. And no one knows how to push Alecto’s buttons more than her house mate Blaze. He is rich, arrogant, sexy and hellbent on making Alecto suffer. As the year’s competition between the houses starts, Alecto moves to prove she can be as vicious, cruel and calculating as the witches themselves! Everything about this story was fun. The world building, plot, smut, and magic!! Alecto and Blaze enemies to lovers storyline was full of spice. I’m looking forward to book 2!

Definitely got the gothic Harry Potter vibes from this book! I would classify this as a dark bully romance, with lots of content warnings so be sure to check those out! I think the world building could have been a bit more developed as well as the characterizations of Alecto and Blaze, but I think overall this was an enjoyable, quick read. I think people who are big dark romance fans will enjoy this!

House of Pain
⭐️⭐️⭐️
When I saw this book was “Gotchic Harry Potter meets Gossip Girl” I knew I had to read this. So thankful for NetGalley sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. If you’re hoping to read this one, the release date is on a few days away-December 6,2022

💀this book was fun, exciting, and at times creepy and you wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next
💀 The back and forth with enemies to lovers was frustrating at times, but you also understand the female and male main character’s behaviors are a result of their trauma from their parents. They did have chemistry despite it being toxic, and boy was it steamy 🔥🔥🔥
💀at times, it did feel a bit too similar to Harry Potter
💀some things felt like they weren’t fully explained, and you were really left up to your imagination (especially with the different creatures). With this, some significant parts made me have to go back and re-read to fully understand it’s significance.

I'd like to thank the author and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Gothic Harry Potter meets Gossip Girl. A very cool meshing of genres and Wilde does nail the mood. Unfortunately this book wasn't a great fit for me. I was fascinated by the characters but I didn't feel particularly attached to the characters.

I wanted to know a bit more about the setting. Maybe if there was a note in the beginning about the houses and who was in what house and what they meant it would have been a bit easier to understand. I really wanted to like this and I kind of did, just not enough to finish it. Had to DNF. But I think Wilde has a good story in there if you're willing to give it a shot.

Similar vibes to zodiac academy. Lots of smut and spice. Be sure to check all TW prior to reading. Overall I liked the book. Some parts were slow, but still kept my interest. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Karolina Wilde for providing me this arc for an honest review*

Unfortunately this was a dnf for me. I couldn't connect with the characters the world building was a little messy. I believe this is a first novel in a series. I won't read the next books.