My thanks to Titan Books and Net Galley for a free DRC of "The Library at Hellebore" by Cassandra Khaw.
Dark Academia with loads of gore, weirdness, tense atmosphere, complex and dreadful scenarios and characters that are the dark gods and monsters of the world. This is not just an aesthetic, this is the real deal that holds no punches.
Hellebore is an academy that promises redemption, acceptance, and a normal life after graduation for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs, Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers.
It was fascinating following our main character Alessa Li and her morally questionable survival mechanisms that you cannot help relating to or understanding deep down. The more time spent with her and the rest of the characters, the more you get to know them and find some humanity in their monstrosity.
The narrative is not only compelling, but thanks to the author’s exquisite prose even the most gruesome scenes are impossible to look away from.
My time invested was worth it and I appreciated the subtle nuanced commentaries sprinkled at the appropriate times and places in the narrative.
Because the story got so intriguing and the tension so palpable, towards the end I had a bit too much of the decadence of the descriptive prose and I selfishly wanted to get to the point. But that was a minor complaint.
Highly recommended for readers that don’t flinch at body horror, self harm and truly gruesome scenes with tons of gore.

Cassandra Khaw delivers another beautifully brutal nightmare with The Library at Hellebore, a dark academia bloodbath soaked in viscera and existential dread. This is The Breakfast Club meets Lord of the Flies if the teachers were literal monsters and the only way to survive was to decide who dies next. The claustrophobic setting, the rotting opulence of the library, and Khaw’s signature poetic gore make this a feral little masterpiece. Every sentence cuts, every choice bleeds. I devoured it. And it bit back.

I was excited to dive into a monster-style horror story, but this book didn’t deliver for me.

The jumpy timelines made it hard to follow, and the overly complex vocabulary pulled me out of the story more than it drew me in. What should’ve been a quick, thrilling read ended up feeling like a chore—long, confusing, and honestly, pretty boring.

I didn’t connect with the characters or care much about what was happening… other than wanting it to finally be over.

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

Some details about me: I don’t especially like dark academia; I am not very keen to extreme horror where gore is king; I always have mixed feelings when reading Cassandra Khaw.

And yet, here I am: I read The Library at Hellebore in one single afternoon, unable to put it down, eager to know more, to understand each character more, to make sense of the chronology (ok, so, if this character was dead two chapters ago, but now is still alive, but the chapter just says ‘Before’, but it is also ‘Day Two’..)
The story is a very original one, at least for someone who does not usually read dark academia. Hellebore is a school / prison (depending of who you ask) were young people with terrible powers reside. And by terrible powers I mean world-ending ones. Our main character is Alessa Li, an unwilling student that at the end of the school years discovers that the teachers… eat the alumni. Kind of the comic Deadly Class, but with more cannibalism. In order to avoid being eaten, a small group of characters barricade themselves in the library. And chaos ensues.

The novel has very graphic depictions of murder, dismemberment, some extremely bizarre body horror… and yet, it kind of feels natural, taking into account the setting.
Some people say that the world building is very fragile to be a good dark academia, that usually there is more information about the magic system, but I didn’t really mind. In fact, the two only things that disappointed me were not knowing the characters more (each story feels the prelude to some huge eerie discovery, but suddenly the character is dead and now you will never know anything more about them) and I found the chronology to be extremely convoluted without any true reason.

This was so good! The mix of fantasy, horror/gore, humor, and dark academia is immaculate. It would seem like too many things to play with, but the author did a great job at balancing everything out.

I had a lot of fun with this story. The premise is so good, and it was executed well, the setting was insane, I really loved it, the characters were very interesting, and the way the story is told, switching between past and present, was handled very well because it created suspense without slowing things down (it was a little disorienting sometimes, especially at first, but once you're further in the story, everything comes together).

I think this is a great addition to the dark academia genre, and while it has a lot of the familiar elements we expect from dark academia, it still manages to be fresh and be its own twisted, macabre little thing.

This book really surprised me, I liked it a lot more than I expected to. I find dark academia is so hit and miss. I personally preferred that there weren’t complex explanations of the world the magic etc. as I likely would have lost interest in it.

I found the variety of powers so interesting and they produced some fantastically gruesome body horror. The school itself had a great atmosphere, grand and sinister, I wish I lived there.

The one thing I would say is that it was a bit wordy at times and I don’t think I fully grasped the ending. Fortunately I enjoyed the ride enough for this not to bother me that much.

Verbose and confusing. I spent at least 50% of this book utterly baffled, and I was so frustrated by the time things started to make sense, that I couldn't appreciate it.

Khaw also has an odd habit of having characters say things which make no sense: not in a narrative way, but rather exclamations, or lines of conversation, that simply reassure / participate, but which are not things any person has ever uttered in response to someone else! This breaks immersion entirely because you have to pause, and try to work out what they mean, or what that random sentence has to do with anything else, and when you eventually abandon hope of understanding why someone would come out with that, you have to reintegrate into the story.

Disappointing. 2.5 stars rounded up.

Alessa Li is an unwilling student at Hellebore—a school for people with dangerous powers. The story is told over two timelines: one is set before graduation and one is set after when the teachers go on a rampage to devour all of the students. Alessa and a few others seek refuge in the school’s library, but things are just as dangerous within those walls.

I love the premise of The Library at Hellebore but found it a bit difficult to get a good grasp on the story. The lush language certainly paints a dark academia aesthetic, but I wanted more details about classes and the library itself as an environment. It all just felt a bit hazy to me. In contrast to that, the vivid descriptions of gore and the various abilities of our cast of characters were the standout elements for me.

I’m happy to have read it, but I don’t think it’ll linger in my mind. I can definitely see this being a favourite for people who gel with the writing style though!

A dark academia fantasy horror, steeped in atmosphere and drenched in Khaw’s signature visceral, blood-soaked prose. Offftt I LOVE an unreliable narrator!👌🏼

I loved this one but can see how it wouldn’t be for everyone.

The Library at Hellebore is the story of Alessa Li, A supernaturally gifted murderess who's abducted and enrolled at the titular Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted. Think Hogwarts on speed, and you're not far wrong! On graduation day the faculty turn on the graduates, devouring most of them in the most graphic way possible. A few of the students, including Alessa, hole up in the campus library and have to figure out a way to escape. The Library at Hellebore is one of the most visceral horrors I've read in a while, but it's just a pity that the ending didn't really work for me. The build up to it was compelling, but the ending itself was just too predictable.

Thanks to NetGalley, Titan Books and the author for an advance copy.

The Library at Hellebore follows Alessa Li who is kidnapped and forcibly enrolled at The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted. The institute houses the dangerously powerful such as people who could create an apocalypse. On graduation day the faculty go on a rampage and try to eat Alessa’s class. Alessa and some of her classmates survive but they have to offer a human sacrifice every night to stop themselves being killed.

This book takes place over three days and it’s very action based. It was okay but personally I did struggle to connect to the characters. I liked some of the commentary from Alessa and it was written well but I just didn’t love it. That said, this does seem to be in line with this author’s other works

I really like dark academia and have been wanting to read Cassandra Khaw for a while. The Library at Hellebore is the perfect combination for her work for me. This book has a fascinating premise: it features a school for students with dangerous magical powers, where some of the students are essentially kidnapped to attend. Additionally, the teachers are trying to kill them on graduation. I found the plot very intriguing. The author literally plunges the reader into the middle of the story, which left me feeling a bit confused at the beginning. Overall, I enjoyed the book and will definitely try another book by this author. If you like horror and dark academia, you should pick up this book, but be aware that the horror elements are on the gory side. Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'll post my review closer to the publication date.

Thank you to Titan Books for approving me to read this book, I am rating it 4.0 stars.

I found this one so hard to rate because the horror of it and the vibes are a 5 star for me, but the point of the plot and the ending is like a 3.0. I’m rating it 4.0 to meet in the middle.

I am a huge fan of horror and gore with fantasy, and this was on point for the level of gore and violence the story traumatises you with. I literally shuddered at some of the imagery the author threw at me on those pages, it was fantastic.

I just don’t know how the plot sits with me because it felt like it didn’t have a point or a conclusion that felt satisfactory to me. Everything that happened felt inevitable, and like it was pointless to fight where it was going and what was happening. That being said because of my points about the horror and also the friendship elements of the book I really do recommend reading this.