Books › A Lesson in Vengeance
A Lesson in Vengeance
384 pages
A suffocatingly atmospheric descent into obsession, where the ghosts of the past blur dangerously with the toxic allure of the present.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like wandering through a fog-drenched, ivy-strangled campus at midnight, unsure if the shadows are hiding ghosts or your own darkest impulses. It is a masterclass in suffocating atmosphere and slow-burn dread, wrapping the reader in a claustrophobic, intoxicating mood that refuses to let go. The prose is lush and morbidly romantic, perfectly mirroring the narrator's unreliable, obsessive descent into the occult. It is a steady, psychological unraveling rather than a fast-paced action thriller, demanding that you sit with the discomfort of toxic ambition and blurred moral lines. This is a story for anyone who loves the chilling aesthetics of dark academia, sapphic yearning laced with poison, and the terrifying realization that the true danger lies within.
- Mood
- dread-soaked
- claustrophobic
- gothic
- intoxicating
- Tone
- obsessive
- morbid
- intense
- unreliable
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- toxic relationships · unreliable memory · the allure of darkness · grief and guilt · obsession and ambition
- The writing
- Lush, sensory, and heavily atmospheric, dripping with gothic imagery and morbid romanticism.
- The arc
- Begins in a fragile state of grief and denial, spiraling into intoxicating obsession and culminating in a chilling, devastating realization.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave toxic sapphic romances, unreliable narrators, and the suffocating, ivy-choked aesthetics of dark academia.
Content notes
- grief
- toxic relationships
- murder
- psychological manipulation
- blood
About the book
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. The dangerous romance and atmospheric setting makes it a perfect read for fans of dark academia.
The history of Dalloway School lives in the bones it was built on. Five violent deaths in the first ten years of its existence. Sometimes you can still smell the blood on the air.
It wasn’t until Felicity enrolled that she fell in love with the dark. And now she’s back to finish her senior year after the tragic death of her girlfriend. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of the five Dalloway students who died there—girls some say were witches.
It’s Ellis Haley’s first year at Dalloway. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity can’t shake the pull she feels to her. So when Ellis asks for help researching the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity can’t say no.
Dalloway’s occult lore is everywhere, and the new girl won’t let Felicity forget it. But when the past begins to invade on the present, Felicity needs to decide where she stands. The soil under her feet is bloody with Dalloway’s history. But so is the present. Is it Dalloway—or is it her?
Description from Open Library.
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