Something about this book just clicked for me, and I was hooked. While it took me a bit to fully get into it, once I finished the first week of reading for my book club, I was invested, and I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

I really enjoyed how atmospheric this book was overall. It was peak dark academia x witches, and you could feel that in the way every scene was described. The setting was dark and gloomy, spooky when it needed to be, while always have an air of academia. You could smell the old books just as much as you could feel the cold, brittle winds whispering at the windows. You could taste the hot tea, and hear the rustling of pages. I loved it, and it was a large part of why I was so into this book overall.

Generally, I really enjoy an unreliable narrator when it's done well, and Felicity was done really well in that regard. I love the complexity it lended to her character, and the extra layer of uncertainty that it wrapped the entire story up in. She complemented the other main character, Ellis, really well, at least for the story (together they were dangerous and toxic and probably shouldn't have ever known each other, but it made for an excellent story). I loved seeing how far they each would go. I also liked that while none of these characters are exactly likable, they fit the story itself perfectly, and I couldn't imagine this book without them.

My only complaint, one which I've seen others comment on as well, especially in my book club, is that the ages of the characters don't really line up with how the school/story works. They're afforded an absurd amount of freedom considering they're just teenagers, and even though there's supposedly teachers paying attention to each house, they really aren't. There's no one yelling at them for missing deadlines, going off campus, drinking, smoking inside, etc., and it overall felt a lot more like a university. This also applies to the course work the students had, and I saw essays and thesis questions on par with what I saw in my literature program at university, or even above it. While it didn't jar me out of the story too much, the absurdity of it sometimes did pull me out sometimes at the beginning.

Overall, this is just another book by Victoria Lee that I've loved, yet is leaving me majorly creeped out by the end, and I can't wait to see what she writes next!