⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 4 stars

A Lesson in Vengeance is about Felicity, who comes back to Dalloway school to finish her senior year after her best friend died the year before.

The book has such a haunting atmosphere, that really immediately sets the tone for the rest of the story. Dalloway feels haunted and with how isolated it is, it seems like the perfect place for spooky things to happen.

The writing is really fresh and pleasing to read. The word choice feels aesthetic, with the poems, literature and academic topics discussed by the characters. It makes the whole experience somehow more haunting and complete. The layering and structure in this book are just impressive! I wasn’t the biggest fan of how the flashbacks were portrayed, especially in the beginning. It could’ve been done a bit differently.

Felicity is a truly interesting character to read from and I enjoyed her perspective. She isn’t the most reliable narrator, but that doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of reading this book. Felicity being unreliable fits perfectly in the theme and atmosphere, because you often wonder what’s real and what isn’t as Felicity isn’t sure of that herself either.

The story really takes you on a journey trying to figure out if witches and magic are real or not. The plot twists and turns you read along the way are so cleverly done. I expected some of them to happen, but not in the way they did! Especially the twist towards the ending, came as a complete shock to me! Honestly, it fitting perfect with the whole book!

Overall, it is a dark, mysterious, intense and haunting tale that blew my mind with the cleverly written characters.