Wow. I really enjoyed this, though it’s nothing like my usual tastes. I don’t ordinarily like being disturbed or unsettled while I’m reading so thrillers aren’t my favorite. I picked this one up because the premise sounded so darned interesting and it was done SO well. Usually my problem is impatience... I want to flip to the end and find out the solution to the mysteries and move on with my life, but I had no such urge with this, it was paced so well.

I loved the feeling and atmosphere of this book, but I found the plot a little disappointing. The buildup felt slow and I was expecting some kind of big plot reveal to make up for it, but there wasn't really one. The huge twist was that Ellis had killed Claire in her "research," but I found that predictable and also unsatisfying.

Not my favorite. I liked the atmosphere, it was very rich and distinctive and definatly fit the "sapphic dark academia" vibe it was going for, but at times it felt like the atmosphere was being prioritized over character development and story. At the end, I just felt confused. I am confused about the motives of the characters. I felt like the pieces were there but they didn't quite click together in my head.

I was much more interested in the story of the "witches" of years past than the story told. I thought we would get a bit of explanation of what exactly happened to them and I was disappointed that I did not. It would have been fine if we didn't get an explanation if Felicity at the end had some point of realization about her obsession, but that didn't happen either.

I did like that there were no male characters in the book. That is something that I don't think I have seen before.

I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this book. Thank you Yallwest and to the Underlined team and NetGalley. Victoria’s writing really drew me in from the very beginning. The twists and turns were immaculately executed, I couldn’t put this book down. Sapphic dark academia and a “gothic lesbian murder book” make this a must read. The world building and the history of the school was fascinating. I also really enjoyed how the author explored the concept of possession. Not just possession in a paranormal sense but in a physical sense that occurs in some relationships. The ending had a great twist but felt almost too perfect of an ending. I almost wish there had been more written to why the ending happened. what exactly led Ellis to doing what she did beyond just being a method writer. Overall I really enjoyed this read and would recommend it to anyone wanting to read a YA sapphic dark academia book.

Set in a creepy old boarding school in the Catskills, this book has all the things: ghosts, witches, magic, madness and murder. Bonus points for lgbtq+ representation. Extra bonus points for tweed blazers with elbow patches.

#NetGalley #ALessoninVengeance
I thank NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review :)
All I have to say is this....everyone pick this book up when releases.
You absolutely will not be disappointed 🙌🏼

A very good novel to spend your time reading especially as a queer Dark Academia fan, A Lesson in Vengeance is about the relationship forming between two girls and the scary lengths they go to in order to help each other -- and themselves.

This was honestly the atmospheric witchy book of my dreams.

I don’t want to say to much because it’s batshit in the best way and the last thing I want to do is spoil it but it was great.I loved the atmosphere, the creepiness, the unreliability of it all and I can’t wait to handsell it at work.

The only criticism I have, and it’s not even a criticism really, was the jarring modernity. From all the author’s posts on social media, I had thought this was a period piece and then I got smacked in the face with a Bluetooth speaker. The characters all dress old fashioned and purposely forgo things like cell phones that there would be just enough stretches of time between references to that modernity that I’d...forget? Almost? And I get that that was the VIBE and believe me the vibe worked, I just felt the reminders of the time period maybe could’ve been a little smoother.

But like I said that’s a really small thing because the vibes were in fact impeccable and every time I stopped reading I couldn’t wait to get back to it

I LOVE when a book lives up to the insane hype I have create for it it in my mind. Witchy sapphic boarding school Secret History was how A Lesson in Vengeance was pitched to me, and the day it became available for me on Netgalley, I screamed. And then I taunted myself by SAVING this ARC to read on my writer’s retreat in April. I started it right before bed the first night, and dear Lord, it was everything I imagined and MORE! A total 5 star read and I can’t wait to recommend this to everyone.

Felicity Morrow has returned to the Dalloway School for a second chance at her senior after taking time off, being institutionalized, and mourning the death of her best friend, and secret girlfriend, who everyone thinks Felicity didn’t do enough to save. She’s finally back in Godwin House, but there are 4 new residents, and one of them is literary wunderkind Ellis Haley, fresh off her Pulitzer and at Dalloway to write her second novel, about the Dalloway Witches, or so it seems. Did I mention the Dalloway School has a dark history where 5 girls of Godwin house ended up dead under spooky circumstances? Well, now you know. But as Felicity gets to know Ellis, and Ellis’ writing style, things start to get out of hand at the Dalloway School. Is it witches? All in Felicity’s head? All of the above?

I LOVED this book. When I first read The Secret History, I feel like I became my fullest self and I LOVE dark academia and boarding schools. Hell, The Private Series by Kate Brian formed like 60% of my college application process. I was reading quotes to my friend throughout, laughing and gasping, and wow, I loved it. Ellis and Felicity are such fascinating characters, the Dalloway School both seemed realized and very fantastic all at the same time, and the writing was just SPECTACULAR.

I was about 80% of the way through my ARC when I tuned into the YALLWEST Pajama Party featuring author Victoria Lee, and they said the book was basically following a question like, “What was Donna Tartt like in HS?” and I shouted because I had been telling my friend the whole time that Ellis was basically baby Donna Tartt, and I loved it.

This was comped to Ninth House a lot, but I also think it’s VERY good if you liked Catherine House as well. And The Secret History, or if you grew up on the Private novels.

I can’t wait to shout about this book from the rooftops and make everyone I know read it.

Also, while this book is YA, it doesn’t feel “too YA” in the “oh god I’m in high school again” and I think it will do well with adult audiences as well!

A Lesson in Vengeance is on sale everywhere August 3, 2021.

Thank you so much, Random House Children's and Delacorte Press, for the chance to read one of my most anticipated book of 2021!!!

I love Victoria Lee's books. Feverwake changed my life, I recognize myself so much in Noam and Dara and it's impossible to stop thinking about them. I've always loved Victoria Lee's imagination, writing style and characters. Their stories are complex, well written and well rounded and since they talked about A lesson in vengeance I fell in love with the plot. I've never read Dark Academia before, but lesbian, murder, witches...how could I not be interested?
I was over the moon when the publisher granted my wish and sent me an earc of A lesson in vengeance and I fell in love with this story. So much in love.

A year after the death of her girlfriend, Felicity Morrow comes back at Dalloway School, a campus perched in the Catskill mountains, in her old room and dormitory, the Godwin House, rumorored to be haunted by the spirits of the Dalloway Five. Five students, died in mysterious circumstances centuries ago and rumored to be witches. Witchcraft is woven into the campus' story, between covens, rituals, books about occult and so on. Even though Felicity's goal is to graduate and move on from her past and traumas, the new girl, Ellis Haley, the prodigy novelist, won't let her forget. Eccentric, brilliant, a method writer, Ellis asks Felicity for help researching the Dalloway Five and, even though she shouldn't, Felicity can't resist the pull to the girl. Even though, when history starts to repeat itself, Felicity will face the darkness.

Like always Victoria Lee don't shy away from delicate themes, but deal with them with care and sensitivity. They talk about child abuse, sostance abuse, anorexia, gore, violence, death, mental illness. For a list more accurate of the content warning, please look at their website.

A lesson in vengeance is a dark and atmospheric thriller and I loved everything about it. The story is told by Felicity, in first person and the reader follows her through Godwin House, learning about her past, her interactions with students, what happened to her girlfriend, her relationship with her mother, with the other girls and with Ellis, in particular. The writing style is more flowery and literary, captivating and I loved how some parts and quotes (let's be honest, everything!) were ingrained in my memory.
Since the beginning it's clear Felicity is an unreliable narrator. We don't know if what is happening is real or it's created by her traumas, fear and paranoia. So the reader follows her questioning her memories, the reality and the truth. Character-driven plot, the story is incredibly compelling and I couldn't stop reading it and it was a wonderful experience! Victoria Lee was able to create a story so atmospheric and captivating it was like being there with Felicity and Ellis at Godwin House, researching witches and witchcraft, trying to piece together what really happened to the Dalloway Five and to Felicity's girlfriend, while, at the same time, navigating school, friendships, attractions and mysteries. Like a puzzle, slowly the plot reveals itself and it's evocative and really well written, the characters, from the main ones to the side ones, complex and brilliant in their desires, fears and feelings. It was so amazing reading about books and literature, the Dark Academia clothing style and so on. One of the things I loved the most about A lesson in vengeance is that every character is either female or nonbinary and the female power, the sisterhood is so powerful and incredible. It's a universe made of books, skirts, poetry and old shops, murder mysteries and researches, smoke and the complex line between heroes and villains.
In Feverwake too, the author don't draw a clear line between good and evil and her characters are always charismatic, complex and in the grey zone. Felicity is a captivating and compelling main character. It's impossible not to love her and to follow her journey, thoughts and memories, while Ellis is also a thrilling and intriguing character, a powerful counterpart. Their relationship is very peculiar, made of obsession, attraction, secrets and power imbalance. Like everything in this book it's an experience that will surprise the reader.
Another brilliant thing is how the book is able to surprise the reader page after page. There's no certainty, no real answers, until the very end. The reader is convinced of something and then...BAM...everything is changed, everything is different and you didn't understand anything. It's absolutely fantastic, a rollercoaster of feelings. I've rarely felt so intrigued by a book, so captivated by the characters and plot and I was like: GIMME ME MORE!!!
I couldn't recommend A lesson in vengeance enough and I'll never stop thanking the publisher for the chance to read and review it!
If you love (and who wouldn't) strong female characters, murder, mystery, witchcraft, dark academia and complex relationships this book is absolutely perfect!

3.5 stars

Sometimes, I wonder if teens who read YA these days have any designs of sending their own children to fancy boarding schools because these novels make that experience seem doomed from the start, and _A Lesson in Vengeance_ is a great example of this phenomenon.

Felicity, the m.c., is a student at the Dalloway School, which celebrates many women authors in the names of their buildings (and institution) but also relies on a misogynistic through line, primarily between women. At the start, readers learn that Felicity has been recently sprung from a psychological care facility after the confusing death - or something??? - of her girlfriend and fellow student, and she is now. seeing this dead (???) individual everywhere, Felicity now has to contend with a former child prodigy, Ellis, who is a sudden classmate and a true weirdo from the jump. These folks love their tarot, their witch talk, and their dreams of being extras in _The Craft_.

The aspects of the occult here seem promising, but I would have liked to see those more fully fleshed out versus serving as hobbies or weird cosplay activities. While I found the general concept of the piece intriguing, I also found the narrator's uncertainty/unreliability to really slow the movement. It wasn't until about the 3/4 mark that I really got invested in how the pieces were coming together only to find myself a bit disenchanted by the final outcomes. Also, there are some unique opportunities with boarding schools (see the forthcoming _Ace of Spades_, for example), to create a sense of insidious microcosmic blight, and there are missed opportunities on that front here.

I enjoyed this read overall and will recommend it to students looking for shaky narration and light mystery.

One of the most suspenseful, thrilling, well-written books I've ever read. A LESSON IN VENGEANCE should be on every dark academia and/or murder mystery fan's list!

I loved the mystery and darkness that surrounded this novel. While the guiltily party was predictable, it wasn’t in your face predictable. It was just enough to keep you reading and questioning yourself.

This was such an atmospheric read.
A Lesson in Vengeance takes place at an all girls school, Dalloway, that’s wrapped up in a history of witchcraft, magic and the occult. Although the administration turns a blind eye to it, there are rumors of student rituals, secret covens and even school hauntings.
We follow an unreliable MC, Felicity, who was drawn to all the dark elements offered by this school until the death of her best friend. When returning to finish school after some traumatic events, she plans to lead a normal life and leave magic behind, but a new student makes that impossible.
This was a great dark academia pick.
There were so many references to literary works and scenes in libraries.
We have a f/f romance.
This was just so intriguing to follow, I really enjoyed my time reading this.

I wanted to love this...I really did. Considering how hyped up this book is I felt like it would live up to my expectations but sadly it didn’t. Maybe in the future I will give it one more try!

This is a wonderfully written novel that I will wholeheartedly recommend to my high school students. The LGBTQ+ representation is beautifully done and the characters are wonderfully complex and raw. The author is able to place you into the story from the first page, leaving you wonder-struck and in awe. The writing flows perfectly and genuinely reads like poetry. I am so looking forward to reading more work from this author!

This is a gothic, sapphic all-girls boarding school tale of mystery, magic, murder, and romance. Let your guard down with these characters and they’ll surprise you. One reason I didn’t quite feel immersed was because the 17+18 year old characters acted 26+, which is of course what you do when you are 17-18 at a prestigious boarding school, prepping for Ivy League... but the way the characters carry themselves is sometimes a bit stiff. I hope that we eventually receive the gift of a novella for Eliss and her origin story, there is so much about her I wanted to know.

What a spooky, thrilling ride.

This was like Pretty Little Liars meets Mexican Gothic meets... a haunted house.

This follows students of Dalloway School as things start to go bump in the night and stranger things still.

I think what made this shine was the characters and just the atmosphere of CREEP. Seriously, I was very spooked reading this. I usually can read books at night but I had to make sure the sun was shining bright whenever I went into this one. And those twists!!! I can't.

Please read this!

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Children's for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Actual rating is 2.5/5.

This story follows Alex as she returns to her prep school a year after her best friend died. Alex feels haunted by the ghost of her friend and the ghosts of the witches that were murdered over a hundred years ago.

Sooooo....I think this will be a polarizing book. This feels more like a history of fictional witches book and thriller, so don't expect to see a Hogwarts style school here. The school means nothing to the story other than providing a backdrop and morbid history. The characters barely go to classes anyway....lol. I wish it was set at a fancy private college instead of a high school because they all act like college students rather than high schoolers.

I really didn't like the protagonist nor did I like any of the other girls at school. They were very self-absorbed and vapid, I know it's supposed to be a rich preppy school but like, dang, not a single character I can like? At least the protagonist has sympathy going for her but at the 80% mark the sympathy disappeared and I was just getting annoyed at Alex. Definitely not an "everyone is nice" book, ha.

The ending in particular will turn people off. It's a fun mystery/thriller, though, but the pacing got dull. Usually, I'm really bad at solving the mystery but I was able to here, shockingly, so it took the fun out of the book knowing how it ends. :(

Still, if anyone's a fan of "Wilder Girls" and "Don't Tell A Soul" this will be up your alley.

This thriller will keep you in the edge of your seat into the wee hours of the morning.
There are not enough writers that include lgbt characters in their stories.