Review: The Favour by Laura Vaughan

The Favour is possibly my favourite read so far this year. Dark Academia fans, this is one for you! Thank you to Readers First and Corvus Books for the review copy. 

Eighteen year old Ada Howell, dismayed at the sale of her family country home Garreg Las, is determined to find a way back to the life of privilege that should have been hers. So when her wealthy godmother offers her a place on an exclusive art-history course in Italy, Ada jumps at the chance to soak up some culture, and to further her social status with some of the UK’s most elite young adults. But beneath the frescoes and fountains, the champagne soaked parties in the palazzos, darkness is stirring, and when tragedy strikes Ada seizes her moment to bind herself to this gilded set for good.

I’ll admit it took me a while to get into this book. There are a lot of characters thrown at you at once, and whilst Italy is beautifully described there are also a lot of art history references which went way over my head! That said though, once the story really got going I was gripped, and I ended up reading very late into the night to find out how it was all going to end.

Ada was an interesting main character. I didn’t particularly like her, but I was intrigued by her thoughts and actions, pulled into her story. I also pitied her. We’ve all felt like an outsider at some time in our lives, desperate to fit in. It’s just a question of what lengths we’ll go to to achieve our aim. Dark, twisty and compelling, The Favour is a clever and memorable read.