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Cover of A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
BookStandalone2021

A Lesson in Vengeance

by Victoria Lee

Dalloway School is fully realized - the kind of dark academia setting that makes you crave wool sweaters and forbidden books. Felicity is one of the most morally compromised narrators in YA: grieving, medicated, lying to herself, and Lee lets her be unlikable without apologizing. The witchcraft history threaded through the modern plot gives the romance an ominous undertow even at its tenderest moments.

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goodreads 3.51/5 24,213 ratings

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A decision-first view of the reading experience.

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  • Content warnings: Death, Death of loved one, Murder, Gaslighting, Manipulation, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationships, Grief, Mental illness, Depression, Anxiety, Panic attacks, Psychosis, Hallucinations, Eating disorders, Alcoholism, Substance abuse, Drug use, Child neglect, Parental abuse, Bullying, Animal death, Animal abuse, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Violence, Racism/bigotry, Homophobia, Suicidal ideation, Hospitalization, Vomiting / emesis, Queer tragedy
Length369 pages
Story statusStandalone
Spice1/5 · Tension / anticipation
PacingSlow

Story profile

What the story promises

The strongest reviewed signals about romance, fantasy, and the reading experience.

Romance promise

  • Morally gray x morally gray
  • F/F
  • Slow burn
  • Low
  • Tension / anticipation
  • Thought-provoking
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  • Morally gray
  • Obsessive love interest
  • Emotional / vulnerable intimacy
  • Perspective shift
  • Villain
  • Academic rivals
  • Longing glances
  • Cathartic release
  • Mysterious stranger
  • Intellectual connection
  • Eye contact intensity
  • The angst delivered
  • Artist/musician
  • Push and pull
  • Tension
  • Power imbalance
  • Anticipation
  • Jealous/possessive during intimacy

Fantasy promise

  • Thriller
  • Dark academia romance
  • Academy / campus
  • Contemporary
  • Ghosts
  • Mountain / highlands
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  • Gothic
  • Witches/wizards/warlocks
  • Forbidden love
  • Forest / wilderness
  • Low fantasy / secret magic
  • Humans only
  • Second chance

Reading experience

  • First person
  • Slow
  • Dark
  • Atmospheric
  • Heavy
  • Medium
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  • Bookworm/scholar
  • Sapphic
  • Lush
  • Vengeful / revenge-driven
  • Queer
  • Literary
  • Damaged survivor
  • Mental health rep
  • Haunting
  • Introspective
  • Depression rep
  • Secretive
  • Unreliable narrator
  • Villain protagonist
  • Anxiety rep
  • Tense
  • BIPOC love interest (LI)
  • Brooding
  • Lyrical
  • Black love interest (LI)
  • Mysterious
  • Nonbinary main character or love interest (MC/LI)
  • Eerie
  • Character-driven
  • Melancholic
  • Angsty
  • Haunted castle
  • Morally complex
  • Slow descent into darkness
  • Plot twist heavy
  • No one is safe
  • Fever dream energy
  • Emotional devastation
  • The long game

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Similar in ways that matter

Matched by the most important shared story signals, with the tradeoffs made explicit.

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Similar because

Obsessive love interest · Intellectual connection · Dark academia romance

Different because

Spice is higher (4/5 vs 1/5).

Cover of Twisted Heathens by J. Rose

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Twisted Heathens

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Similar because

Obsessive love interest · Villain protagonist · Angsty

Different because

It is completed rather than standalone. Spice is higher (3/5 vs 1/5).

Book details
Length
369 pages
Language
English
Format
Book