“I lay on my bed. I felt my heart limping in my chest, and was revolted by it, a pitiful muscle, sick and bloody, pulsing against my ribs. Rain streamed down the windowpanes. The lawn outside was sodden, swampy. When the sun came up, I saw, in the small, cold light of dawn, that the flagstones outside were covered with earthworms: delicate, nasty, hundreds of them, twisting blond and helpless on the rain-dark sheets of slate.” 

Premise: 4

Character Complexity: 4

Character Development: 2

Character Diversity: 1

Atmosphere: 3

Writing: 4

Plot: 3

Intrigue: 5

Logic: 4

Enjoyment: 4

Rating: 3.4 
Modified rating: 4.5

This was the most exciting boring book I have ever read. Very predictable, yet I was unable to stop reading. Rather than a book with a dark academia vibe, it spears dark academia for its focus on outward appearance. Not sure if I’ll recommend this, but it’ll be hard to get out of my head for a while. 

Edit: After deep retrospection and letting this book sit with me, it is far better than I originally thought. I’m upping its score for my desire to read it again immediately and the things my lack of media literacy never caught the first time.