I don’t recall people being nearly so interested in Dalloway’s history last year. If anything, I felt self-conscious of my thesis subject; discussing it always earned me scrunched noses and twisted mouths. 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. Perfect for fans of dark academia. Sometimes the ending of a book can be a little clue of what was supposed to matter, because you get a Big Reveal, but while we do get a very silly Dramatic Twist, it manages to be irrelevant to every single potential story. There was one big exception to the transparent bit, though. Something I definitely didn't see coming. And I loved it? I don't think many will. Infact, I think the ending in general will be polarizing. You've been warned! 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.

A Lesson in Vengeance author interviews cover reveals Delacorte Press Fantasy Victoria Lee YA Young Adult First I gave this one star, because for me one star literally means there was nothing I liked about it, but giving it the same rating as my most hated book of all time (Song of Achilles) seemed unfair. Although the more I think about it, the more I dislike it, so I wouldn't be surprised if I changed the rating again soon. (edit: Yeah, it's a 1 star, sorry.)No one is quite who they seem to be in this twisty, soapy, gasp-inducing sequel to Jennifer Lynn Barnes' unputdownable Little White Lies. A smart, layered, thought-provoking thriller about female desire and the intimacy of violence." - Ava Reid, author of The Wolf and the Woodsman

vinsentient on It’s No Fun To Be Alone: Communicating With Cryptids in The Shape of Water 2 hours ago A Lesson in Vengeance is at once dark and mesmerizing, with spine-tingling suspense and mind-bending twists. I loved it." The thing is, this novel is written through Felicity’s point of view in first person and when I started this book, I questioned that choice. Wouldn’t third person add more to the intrigue of the story? 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. I look up. Alex’s replacement stands in my doorway. And although it’s past three in the morning, she’s dressed as if she’s about to walk into a law school interview. She’s even wearing collar studs.Without giving away spoilers, is there a scene or character that you’re reallyexcited for readers to experience? Ironically, both Merlin and Morgana used their aging spells to disguise themselves as Dragoon and Hilda. This book healed a part of me. It personally really hurt me seeing people trash this rep, but I'm definitely willing to listen to people who have dealt with psychotic depression! Just hit me up! <3 I’m going to be totally honest here, this story has surpassed my greatest expectations because Victoria Lee has given me candid and unapologetic depictions of mental illness and they have done a fabulous job of blending the intense relationship between Felicity and Ellis with lots of dark and menacing supernatural elements. Without a doubt, Felicity is definitely an unreliable narrator and this took A Lesson in Vengeance to a whole new level for me because the story was told through her point of view and I couldn’t trust her memories or her experiences and that made me question the motives of every character in this compelling novel. By the way, have I mentioned how much I adore this author’s beautiful and addictive writing style and this gorgeous book cover? Cons And Heads Up

But bitch felt like a harsh word to apply to a girl who was fighting so hard to make space for herself in a world that didn’t want her.” Then Ellis arrives. Ellis is the seventeen year old winner of the Pulitzer Prize, who also somehow is a method writer and goes on grand adventures and gets grants and acclaim for what sounds like some YA genre fiction. The house feels so different like this. A year ago, midsemester, the halls were raucous with girls’ shouting voices and the clatter of shoes on hardwood, empty teacups scattered across flat surfaces and long hairs clinging to velvet upholstery. All that has been swallowed up by the passage of time. My friends graduated last year. When classes start, Godwin will be home to a brand-­new crop of students: third-­ and fourth-­years with bright eyes and souls they sold to literature. Girls who might prefer Oates to Shelley, Alcott to Allende. Girls who know nothing of blood and smoke, of the darker kinds of magic. Can Felicity come to terms with her past and move on or will Dalloway’s dark history always have a hold on her? Pros And My Favourite Parts old and rotten tales about missing girls and desolate mountain cliffs, how Felicity Marrow claimed it was an accident, but no one else was there to say for sure."

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Dalloway School is a very isolated school, and the house that Felicity is going to be sharing with four other girls is even more isolated from the rest of the campus. And even though there are beliefs of witchcraft all over the school, the Godwin House is where five young suspected witches lived before they were murdered 300 years ago. Once the dean is gone, my mother turns to look at the room properly, her cool gaze taking in the shabby rug and the mahogany dresser with its chipped corners. I imagine she wonders what becomes of the sixty thousand she pays in tuition each year. Guinevere then sneaks the unconscious poison into Arthur's drink. Arthur, after drinking the potion falls unconscious, and Gwen manages to poison him. When Gaius and a few knights come into Arthur's room, Gaius declares that the king was poisoned. Gwen says that there is only one person she knows who has access to his food: Merlin. Godwin House was built in the early eighteenth century, the first construction of Dalloway School. Within ten years of its founding, it saw five violent deaths. Sometimes I still smell blood on the air, as if Godwin’s macabre history is buried in its uneven foundations alongside Margery Lemont’s bones.