Book Review: Dead Valentine

 

St. Valentine's University holds a dark secret.

Apparently, so does my family.

I’ve known since childhood the dark and disturbing things my father was involved in. But it wasn’t until later that I learned about my estranged uncle - a man who inspired my ambitions and led me to St. Valentines University, the prestigious alma mater he shared with my dad.

I’ve heard about the things that take place here. Whispers of sinister events weave through its halls, feeding my obsession with death. There’s so much I want to know, to learn, but I have to tread carefully among the elite who rule the school. I already have enough problems with those who wish they could be them. The bullying I endured at home hasn’t stopped here, at least they don’t touch me like he did.

Lately, I’ve been receiving strange gifts - sketches and tokens of my favorite things. My stalker. My misfit. By all logic, I should be terrified. But I’m not. His presence is unsettling, yes, but it’s also a kind of comfort I’ve never felt before. On Valentine’s Day, he gave me something far more disturbing: a gift that revealed more secrets about my family.

Is this why I am the way I am? Nature or nurture - it’s the question I can’t escape.

We’re a psychologist’s wet dream, after all.

My Review

Emery is fascinated with death. She got this obsession from her deceased Uncle Corbin Moriarty. Luckily for her, she has a secret admirer named Misfit that feeds her obsession with his drawings. Misfit finds a perfect gift for Emery. It is her Uncle Corbin Moriarty's manuscript. It will uncover some of her family's dark secrets. 

Most of this novella is spent on the past with Corbin. His obsession with the dead is morbid and depraved. Yet, call me twisted as I really enjoyed this novella. It is so dark and twisted. Kind of was giving me Poe vibes. When the story returned to the present with Emery, I wanted it to last longer.