A Lesson in Vengeance

Hardcover, 384 pages

English language

Published Aug. 3, 2021 by ‎Delacorte Press.

ISBN:
978-0-593-30582-9
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4 stars (5 reviews)

A dark, twisty thriller about a centuries-old, ivy-covered boarding school haunted by its history of witchcraft and two girls dangerously close to digging up the past. The dangerous romance and atmospheric setting makes it a perfect read for fans of dark academia.

The history of Dalloway School lives in the bones it was built on. Five violent deaths in the first ten years of its existence. Sometimes you can still smell the blood on the air.

It wasn’t until Felicity enrolled that she fell in love with the dark. And now she’s back to finish her senior year after the tragic death of her girlfriend. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of the five Dalloway students who died there—girls some say were witches.

It’s Ellis Haley’s first year at Dalloway. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is …

6 editions

A Lesson In Vengeance - Review

3 stars

The book does a good job building atmosphere. The gothic melancholy and mystery, laced with is-it-real-or-not supernatural happenings, is delightful. Between that and the ability to create a few vivid images that really stick in my mind, there are some definite strengths here.

A few of the twists and turns were also solid, with the tension of the final act being the strongest piece of the writing.

I wish that were true of the rest of the book.

Frankly, the characters were generally unlikeable, though Ellis at least was interesting due to how much of an enigma she was.

Felicity was a wet blanket. I get her grief, and the more you learn the why the more understandable it becomes. That doesn’t make it interesting to read. I don’t know how realistic her mental issues were, but they felt like a convenient excuse to hide information buried in her memory, …

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