Definitely read it if: you want more (dark) sapphic thrillers, or if you like books with lots of underlying psychology and things to analyse. After hearing this, Arthur says that Merlin may be right this time about this not being a coincidence.

okay, that's a lie – i also want a dark academia book that doesn't take advantage of mental illness and doesn't twist it in the darkest of ways without then focusing or at least talking about the healing journey.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. If anything, I felt self-conscious of my thesis subject; discussing it always earned me scrunched noses and twisted mouths. We thus follow them as they entangle themselves in darkness and magic, and slowly lose sense of what is real or not. She’s determined to leave that behind her now; but it’s hard when Dalloway’s occult history is everywhere.

At first it was this spooky, paranormal-like dark academia, and it turned into a not well executed mystery/thriller. In the 18th century, five Dalloway girls died in terrible circumstances, and many believe they were murdered for being witches. Experiencing this story through an unreliable narrator’s perspective also brings forth commentary on the horror and speculative fiction genre and how it portrays mental illness, especially with women. Gwen encourages Arthur that they will find the traitor, but little does Arthur know that Gwen is the traitor.The ending also made this one unbelievable to me, but otherwise it was a fun read and I always enjoy dark academia/witchy vibes, whether for aesthetic or not.

I started this late at night and I won't say it scared me but oh did it do a good job with the eerie vibes. Felicity is back there almost one year after the death of her best friend Alex that left her guilt-ridden and made her the talk of the school.There is also a major theme and plot of literature and how these five girls are working on different theses.

And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway—and in herself. Sir Leon then arrives with a guard, and shows Arthur his saddle that had an unpicked and re-stitched girth which was designed to make the saddle break. The ghosts of the Dalloway Five and the weight of Alex’s absence seem to be following Felicity around and she’s promised herself to put witchcraft behind her in an attempt at a new beginning in this haunting place. Felicity suffers through psychotic depression and it opens up the door to discuss institutionalisation, medication, and the heredity of mental illness through her experience. As Astell said herself: It were well if we could look into the very Soul of the beloved Person, to discover what resemblance it bears to our own.There is one thing I despise more than being in the head of someone I hate and that is when the mc takes a 180, and it turns out she had an information this whole time, but I didn't know about it despite being in their head. Felicity is drawn to Ellis, and Ellis in turn tries to help her new friend confront her trauma instead of burying it. This is a contemporary thriller, with very light speculative elements, where FEVERWAKE is of course sci-fi, but this shares with FEVERWAKE Lee's tight, deft plotting, intimate and nuanced characterizations, and devastatingly beautiful - yet still propulsive - writing.