I have been deep into a Dark Academia phase of reading lately. I don't know if it's the nostalgic back-to-school vibes I'm feeling, or the wet and stormy summer we've been having this year, but I have been very drawn to tales of murder and mystery in university settings. I can't seem to get enough of them, devouring one novel after another and dreaming of the cosy study days I used to spend in the common room at university, where we had deep purple velvet study booths to work in. I do miss that common room. On days pouring with rain, it was such a snug place to escape to on campus.
As it has been raining almost every day since St. Swithin's Day, I have been curling up at home with some great books and slowly making a dent in my tbr pile. This book, A Lesson In Vengeance, has held me captive for the last two days and I have enjoyed every moment of it.
Like most Dark Academia novels, the story takes place in a collegaite setting, this time in an exclusive boarding school for girls. Dalloway School is an elite finishing school for the well-bred girls of wealthy families. Unlike other finishing schools however, Dalloway has a magical history, being founded by the daughter of one of the Salem witches. It boasts an extensive library of magical texts and prides itself on its historical occult associations.
Dalloway has an interesting past, being the school where five young students, known as the Dalloway Five, were mysteriously murdered in the 1700s, allegedly by the powers of witchcraft. It is these five girls that our main character, Felicity, feels drawn to study for her thesis and to help her new friend, Ellis, research for her novel. And so the two girls set about trying to prove that the girls were not murdered by magic, but in far more mundane ways, which were staged to look like magic.
Dalloway is an exciting school. For a start it has it's own secret coven, hosting occult meetings and initiations in dark, underground chambers. While this novel doesn't go into depth regarding magical practice, it does give a delicious flavour of magic and witchcraft, with different characters holding opposing views as to whether or not magic is real. Could the power of witchcraft really be enough to kill five girls in the eighteenth century, or were they murdered for being witches themselves, by a superstitious mob? Felicity and Ellis are determined to solve this mystery once and for all, yet as they experiment with various theories, they dabble in some very dangerous activities along the way.
This is a book of ghostly haunting, skulls, seances, psychopathy, midnight jaunts to the woods, a derelict church being used as a covenstead and witchy meetings in the middle of the night. It has plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing. Although I thought I had predicted the outcome, I was only half right, which was a lovely reading experience. I like it when a book surprises me. All the way through, I was willing the main character to use her common sense and stop being so drawn in, because I could see what was coming - but the author had a satisfying trick up her sleeve which she kept hidden until the end and I really appreciated that.
I will say that this novel, being set in a girls boarding school, does have the predictable lesbian sub-plot, but this isn't intrusive or overdone. The author even acknowledges it as a cliche, within the dialogue, which makes me wonder why she felt the need to include it at all, when a close friendship between the characters would have sufficed.
However, I didn't like the sudden appearance of a non-binary character two thirds of the way through the book (likewise the lesbian parents), especially as this character didn't do anything to really serve the plot or move the story forward, and their contribution could have been written in a more authentic way between the original characters. I felt that these characters were written purely to tick the inclusivity/woke box, rather than as an authentic plot point, and as a result it felt quite clunky and unnecessary. Also the subsequent they/their pronouns made the writing seem messy and I found that very irritating. That said, it is a very brief appearance by secondary characters, so it didn't ruin my overall enjoyment of the book. It's worth keeping in mind though, if you don't want to read about that kind of thing. It's not going to be for everyone, and having such issues rammed down your throat when you least expect it, via a form of entertainment, can be extremely annoying. So skip this novel if you are likely to be overly offended by it.
On the whole, I really enjoyed A Lesson In Vengeance. I loved the atmosphere of Dalloway School and the witchy undertones. The ending was very satisfying and the writing style was magnetic, drawing the reader into this dark, dangerous world of magic, mystery and murder most foul. I hope that the author writes more books in this setting. It would be fantastic if she wrote the actual novel, Avocet, as mentioned in the book and written by the character of Ellis - I'd really love to read that one! We'll have to see what Victoria Lee comes up with next, but I shall be keeping an eye open for her future works. Happy reading!
BB Marie x
AD; This book was sent to me by the publisher for the purposes of review. It is available now in all formats.
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