A LESSON IN VENGEANCE certainly is a ride and it took me a minute to decide how I felt about it. First off, I LOVE the dark academia atmosphere that is Dalloway school. It's so lovely and vibrant and is everything I could want in a setting for a book like ALIV. Lee does a wonderful job with making the reader feel like they are actually at Dalloway and the writing has that quality that instantly immerses you in the book. Felicity is a really interesting character who has a lot of great depth to her, and I really enjoyed watching her navigate the regrets in her past as she gets involved with Ellis Haley. While reading, the relationship between them really concerned me because Ellis is super toxic and manipulative, but rest assured that the author turns the tables on the reader and thankfully this dynamic is not something being glorified. For the most part I felt that this was paced well and I was right there with Felicity as the story progresses. I thought the ending itself was really clever and dark and twisty and was a fitting end to the story. It certainly had that thriller feel that YOU does and it was an ending I wasn't 100% expecting, I will say that the reader should be warned about a scene where the characters kill a coyote and it is a bit graphic. I felt like it was unnecessary and would have liked the book better without that scene. BUT overall, I liked A LESSON IN VENGEANCE a lot. If you like smart, dark and twisty dark academia books that keep you guessing about who can be trusted, be sure to check this one out.

everyone says this is a masterpiece for a reason. this is dark academia to a tee and it was haunting and thrilling, pulling you in from the very beginning. Victoria Lee is a master at storytelling and her prose is so beautiful. the atmosphere was so unique and perfectly captured. wow, wow, wow!

This story was something.....it kept me guessing as to what was happening or going to happen. I didn't know if I could trust the two main characters or their stories. The author did a great job at keeping you hooked and wanting more.

Creepy yet so intriguing - I kept finding myself reading one more page just to find out what happens next.

I recommend this one. It's a good book and everyone should read. Of course I would love to have this book in my bookstore.

Aesthetically, this book is wonderful, I loved the boarding school setting, the extremely dark academia, and the mystery aspect. The characters were interesting and the plot was definitely thrilling. I do agree with some of the representation concerns that other reviewers have brought up

Thank you to the publisher for an early EARC of A Lesson In Vengeance by, Victoria Lee, which I gave 4.5/5 stars. I absolutely loved this witchy, dark academia novel taking place at a boarding school. The gothic atmosphere along with the elements of witchcraft, had me turning the pages. I could not put it down!! The only issue I had with the book was the characters seemed to be written much older than they were in the book. If they were at a college level, the characters would have been a bit more believable for their actions. Also, I feel that if they were older, the story could have been a tinge darker which would have worked so well for the plot! But overall, I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a dark gothic witchy read.

A Lesson in Vengeance has so many of the elements I like in a book, including a boarding school setting, witchcraft, feminist themes, and a frenemy romance (f/f in this case). I also really enjoyed that Felicity was an unreliable narrator, that paired with the vibe of this story is what kept me sticking it out until the end. Overall, this was a lovely and entertaining read. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the characters and totally fell in love with the setting.

Dark Academia is a popular genre and I keep trying to get into it, but unfortunately it is just not my thing. I was hoping that Lesson in Vengeance would break the ice and be the book to draw me into the genre, but sadly it did not. The writing of the book in itself was good. But the plot just did not do it for me. The characters were decent and the romance was cute, but sadly that was not enough.

2 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the arc. Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. I was so intrigued by the taglines - Sapphic, Dark Academia, Witches. However, the whole story just wasn't believable nor were any of the characters likable. Also, this is supposed to be set a prestigious boarding school, these should be high school girls. There is no way in any universe that these are high school girls. I understand it is supposed to be elite but they act and talk as if they're graduate students. Older characters would've made this more believable. It was also very slow. There wasn't enough action to propel the plot.

Twisty, haunting, unsettling, lush--this is a marvel of YA fiction. I love how Lee balanced the occult aspects of the murder mystery with the themes of mental illness. It was fascinating and twisty enough to keep me guessing until the end.

One of my absolute FAVORITE reads. I read it six months ago, and I'm already contemplating a reread! I've become quite obsessed with dark academia as of late, but as with any beloved genre, this has only made me pickier about it. ALIV had everything I craved from a dark academia read (aesthetically, thematically, emotionally) while also bringing fresh ideas and much-needed representation to the genre. Felicity was a brilliantly unreliable narrator, and Ellis an intriguing love interest. Love love love!!!

I love this book so much that, despite barely buying any books this year (compared with previous years), I HAD to buy a copy for my shelves. In fact, long story, but...I accidentally bought two. WORTH IT.

Thank you Delacorte for providing a free advanced e-book in exchange for an honest review.

A Lesson in Vengeance by @sosaidvictoria is the September YA pick for @themacabrelibrary and boy am I glad I chose this damn book. I could NOT put it down. This Sapphic, dark academia murder/mystery/romance will hold your hand and pull you through a Wonderland of treachery, ghosts and witchcraft. Sadly, I can't even form the words to explain how much I adored this story. All I know is, you guys ALL need to read this. This will be a yearly reread for me to set the mood for Fall/Halloween.

I feel very “meh” about this. I was pretty hooked on the mystery at first, but near the end I just felt turned off by the book and it just didn’t mesh with me. It was somewhat interesting, I just don’t think dark academia is my genre.

Rating: 2*

I am here for EVERY SINGLE SECOND of this book. Every word. Every scene. Every character. This book gives me life. Everyone needs to read it - now. I just can't handle how unbelievably perfect this book was.

I wanted to love this so much but I did not. There were some parts I enjoyed, mostly I did not. I read it because I wanted sapphic dark academia and all I got were toxic and unlikable characters. The way they talk doesn't match their age. The pacing is too slow for my liking, too detailed most of the time, and TBH, the book just felt pretentious.

Then the good parts, beautiful cover, intriguing premise, good writing style, and the setting is atmospheric.

Big thanks to Delacorte Press/Penguin Randomhouse for the galley. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

I really am fasicanted by this read.It was a nice mix between both potential supernatural but also plays much more as typical thriller. I also loved the school elements and reminds me so much of the college that i atended. I also had lgbtq main character and it was really fast pace read. It was quick read, but this book def did not play out the way i expected!! I liked this book but i struggle a bit with the characters at the end! It was fast pace thriller and i would def read more by this author in the future.

while there are things to enjoy in this dark gothic mystery (thriller??) unfortunately i can't get past how much i felt like nothing happened the entire book.

the strengths include the writing style, description and atmosphere of the new england boarding school setting as well as the developed history of the school. for me the weaknesses were the extremely slow pace and the character development of every single other person than the main character, who also didn't blow me away.

other people seem to be enjoying this so if the synopsis catches your fancy, might as well try it out, but to me i'm just a bit underwhelmed.

This was twisty, spooky, haunting and the perfect dark academia book to read during Spooky Season.

The beginning was a tad slow for me, and it took me longer than usual to get through the whole book (almost three weeks when usually something this length would take me a week at most), but I read the last two thirds in a day. Once the story really got going, I was hooked!

I LOVED Felicity, the most unreliable narrator, and honestly a really broken and confused character. The story from her point of view was just so off the rails and I never knew what was true and what wasn't. And then Ellis was a tangle of contradictions and wicked surprises herself.

I don't want to give anything away, but I really loved the twisty turns of the plot, and I was so engrossed in the story despite the slow beginning. I would have given it 5 stars if the first third of the book had moved a little faster.

I also am glad I read this before buying it for my library, because this is definitely upper YA. High school and older, I'd say. The MC is 18 and re-doing her senior year of high school after a tragic accident, so I think putting this in a middle school library might be pushing it a bit (although I have no doubt there are middle schoolers who would devour this book!).

I truly could not get through this one. There mystery and intrigue seemed a bit forced and an unreliable narroator is my least favorite plot twist.