A Lesson in Vengeance: a review

Dec 12, 20214 min read

D E T A I L S

- Title- A Lesson in Vengeance

- Author(s)- Victoria Lee

- Genre(s)- Mystery

- Age rating- 15+

- Publication date- 03/08/2021

- Publisher- Delacorte Press

P R E M I S E

Felicity Morrow is back at Dalloway School.

Perched in the Catskill mountains, the centuries-old, ivy-covered campus was home until the tragic death of her girlfriend. Now, after a year away, she’s returned to graduate. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of five Dalloway students—girls some say were witches. The Dalloway Five all died mysteriously, one after another, right on Godwin grounds.

Witchcraft is woven into Dalloway’s history. The school doesn’t talk about it, but the students do. In secret rooms and shadowy corners, girls convene. And before her girlfriend died, Felicity was drawn to the dark. She’s determined to leave that behind her now; all Felicity wants is to focus on her senior thesis and graduate. But it’s hard when Dalloway’s occult history is everywhere. And when the new girl won’t let her forget.

It’s Ellis Haley’s first year at Dalloway, and she’s already amassed a loyal following. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is a so-called “method writer.” She’s eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity can’t shake the pull she feels to her. So, when Ellis asks Felicity for help researching the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity can’t say no. Given her history with the arcane, Felicity is the perfect resource.

And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway–and in herself.

[GOODREADS] [STORYGRAPH]

R E V I E W

// Content Warning: Alcohol / Animal death / Death (graphic) / Murder/ Toxic relationship //

The plot is very easy to follow, despite it being... bloody. Literally, so much blood. In the most basic sense, A Lesson in Vengeance follows a girl named Felicity (who is very very gay I must add) through her last year at this school which is falling apart in all possible ways (like Jesus, at least paint the fucking walls). Blah blah blah, friends died oh my god there's a mad writer who stalks her trying to get the hot tea. Girl, five of her friends just died, leave her alone.

That being said, I absolutely adore the aesthetic around old buildings. HOLY FUDGE NUGGETS YOU GUYS WE GET A MAP!! HOW COOL IS THAT?

The ending? a) WHAT WHEN WHY HOW? b) I did not expect any of that oh my god just when everything was turning out to be fine. EVERY FUCKING THEORY I HAD CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED AND GONE OVER A BAJILLION TIMES WENT CRASH BOOM BANG LIKE A WRECKING BALL MY VERY LITTLE BRAIN CELLS ARE RUNNING LIKE THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE I AM NOT OKAY.

*Exhales loudly*

Felicity Morrow is the equivalent of Dorian from The Picture of Dorian Gray and James from If We Were Villains. For those who don't speak book lingo, it means that she's the gay best friend turned main character with an eccentric style and an obsession with witchcraft (sort of). While I do love love love the mysterious brooding character, she was downright intolerable (for me at least). And let's be honest, the dead girls had more personality than whatever she turned out to be.

Elis, on the other hand, was the real-life Henry Winter. Man, she had it all: mad writer with a murder kink and possessed more knowledge than the entirety of Wikipedia (but not like Hermione Granger from Harry Potter). The only thing she had which Henry lacked was the gayness (except I am convinced that Henry is secretly gay and was simply in the closet). Their character arcs were in perfect sync and it's really hard to tell them apart. The descent into madness? it's all coming back.

I expected the romance to be sizzling or on fire or whatever but unfortunately, it was just there. Where's the flavour? Where's the sexual tension between these gays? Where's the chemistry? My inner Gordon Ramsey is fuming at the lack of spices in this dish.

4/5 stars

T R O P E S

- Working together to lovers (best way to describe whatever the fuck went on there)

S I M I L A R B O O K S

- The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

The Dark has been waiting for far too long, and it won't stay hidden any longer. Something is wrong in Snakebite, Oregon. Teenagers are disappearing, some turning up dead, the weather isn’t normal, and all fingers seem to point to TV’s most popular ghost hunters who have just returned to town. Logan Ortiz-Woodley, daughter of TV's ParaSpectors, has never been to Snakebite before, but the moment she and her dads arrive, she starts to get the feeling that there's more secrets buried here than they originally let on. Ashley Barton’s boyfriend was the first teen to go missing, and she’s felt his presence ever since. But now that the Ortiz-Woodleys are in town, his ghost is following her and the only person Ashley can trust is the mysterious Logan. When Ashley and Logan team up to figure out who—or what—is haunting Snakebite, their investigation reveals truths about the town, their families, and themselves that neither of them are ready for. As the danger intensifies, they realize that their growing feelings for each other could be a light in the darkness.

[GOODREADS] [STORYGRAPH]