Avis lecture [Roman ; SP] – Wensridge Academy, tome 1 : Lame noire

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Hello everyone! How are you? I hope you're well?

Today, a little reading session with the beginning of the saga, as you may have noticed. I'll leave you with the summary below and my opinion so you can get an idea of the whole thing. I hope this helps you a little.

Few people get a second chance. I was given a second life.

After spending years rotting in a cell where I was beaten, abused, covered in cuts and bruises, I was finally burned alive.

However, they never managed to break me.

When, against all odds, I'm transported back ten years to before my imprisonment, I think I've got another chance. But it's only to return to a hell I know all too well: Wensridge Academy. A place that evokes nothing but pain and torment for me.

Except this time, I'm going to break this cycle of unhappiness, and with it all those responsible for my suffering and death.

I will reclaim the life that should always have been mine, and I won't hesitate to roll a few heads along the way.

From the very first lines of Wensridge Academy, Volume 1: The Dark Blade , I was hooked. It's dark, hard-hitting, and intense. The story opens with a brutal, striking prologue that immediately sets the tone: that of a rebirth filled with ashes and rage. Micai, the heroine, is not one to give in. She's known humiliation, fear, and suffering... but ten years later, she returns to Wensridge, and she's determined never to give in again.

What deeply touched me was the way she bounces back. She's not a perfect or invincible heroine, but a battered, bruised young woman who moves forward despite her scars. She carries within her a cold anger, a visceral need to regain control over what was stolen from her. And page after page, we feel this inner strength, this thirst for justice, this bittersweet revenge that she silently builds.

The atmosphere of the novel is oppressive, immersive, almost suffocating at times. The academy itself seems to vibrate with an ancient malaise, as if the walls still bore the unspoken cries of the past. It's a true "dark academia" novel, where we feel every tension, every look, every unspoken thing. This is not a kind or light-hearted school setting. Here, blows rain down, words cut across, and the rules are written by those with power... until Micai decides to break them.

I found the writing fluid, visual, with a real mastery of rhythm. The beginning is fast, then we take the time to establish the stakes, to discover the dynamics, the wounds of each one. The author well doses the balance between introspection and action, between mystery and emotion. And when the Four Infernals enter the scene, the story takes on another dimension: the power relations intensify, the feelings blur, and the tension rises crescendo. The “slow burn” aspect is perfectly measured. There are glances, silences, brushes, but nothing rushed. Everything is in the rise, in this tension that settles slowly, but surely.

The reverse harem concept is introduced here with subtlety, without falling into excess or caricature. Each character brings something new to the table, a different reflection of what Micai is facing or feeling. There's a real richness in their exchanges, in the power struggles as well as in the snippets of trust that are woven throughout the pages.

Obviously, not everything is perfect. The universe would benefit from being further developed, particularly in terms of its codes and magical structure. Sometimes, certain scenes would have deserved a little more context. But as a first volume, it's a truly successful introduction. We feel that the author is laying the foundations for something bigger, something even deeper. And that ending... what an ending! A slap, a punch, a shot of adrenaline that just makes you want to jump on the next volume.

In short, Black Blade is an intense, addictive read that blends revenge, resilience, pain, and hope. It's a novel that speaks to those who have been broken, but who choose to rise again. To those who refuse to remain silent, even when everything seems to crush them. If you like strong heroines, dark atmospheres, and stories where the rebuilding is as powerful as the fall, then you may not come out of it unscathed.

And you, are you ready to walk the halls of Wensridge with Micai?