Felicity Morrow is back at Dalloway School.
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.
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.
It’s Ellis Haley’s first year at Dalloway, and she’s already amassed a loyal following. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is a so-called “method writer.” She’s eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity can’t shake the pull she feels to her. So when Ellis asks Felicity for help researching the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity can’t say no. Given her history with the arcane, Felicity is the perfect resource.
And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway–and in herself.
⤖ My Review ⬻
I read Victoria Lee’s The Fever King last year and really enjoyed it! Therefore, when I heard that Lee was going to release a contemporary paranormal, A Lesson in Vengeance, and I read the synopsis––promising sapphic, dark academia, witches, private school––it quickly became one of my most-anticipated releases of 2021!
I’m not sure why, but I assumed A Lesson in Vengeance would be adult or new adult, so I was a little surprised when I found that the characters were a little younger than I’d anticipated. I set that aside though, and focused on immersing myself in the setting and characters.
The setting was not quite as dark academia as I had hoped. Yes, there was definitely some of that there, but I think I was expecting it to be more descriptive, and more atmospheric. I also didn’t end up clicking with any of the characters. That part turned out being alright, because it played into the story somewhat (I can’t say exactly how without spoiling anything).
Before starting to read A Lesson in Vengeance, I also assumed that witches would be presented in a positive light and was disappointed when that wasn’t entirely the case. Lastly, I really found I had to push through parts of the book because the plot moved slow and didn’t engage me for the most part. All in all, it was an alright read! I recommend it to those looking for a dark story featuring a private school, thriller-ish plots, and sapphic reps.