Okay, I can see how many people wouldn't like this book...but it worked for me! It reminded me a LOT of Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko. I never thought I'd come across anything that resembled that book. In both novels, the school doesn't serve as aesthetically pleasing "dark academia" fodder - it's a hellish trap that sucks the life out of its students and attempts to transform them into something otherworldly. We follow a passive student as she progresses in her (barely comprehensible) studies, unraveling the school's secrets and trying not to lose herself along the way.

The story is slow-paced and the characters' daily lives feel almost "empty"; all the creepy stuff happens in the background while the protagonist mostly floats on by...until things get too hard to ignore. There is a heavy gothic atmosphere and while we do get dreamy days wandering the school grounds, the students here are desperate, all trying to escape their own lives within Catherine's walls. I'm torn on whether all the snippets of Ines and her friends were necessary. I loved Yaya, though.

The ending is vague so I'll just headcanon that Ines truly shakes free of Catherine and finds happiness in the outside world. She reunites with Yaya in New York, I just know it!!!

Catherine House is a haunting look at how people can hold immense loyalty for an institution that may not deserve such devotion. And yet, somehow it's also a love letter to one's university days, an understanding of the nostalgia. Give it a chance if "slow and depressing" doesn't put you off 😆

this book really worked for me because despite its marketing, because it, to my understanding, functions really well as a deconstruction of academia as a whole. this is probably why you see so many low scores from dark academia fans, who expected more exploration of that portion, namely the plasma mystery, and cultish behavior. however, the book is not, and has never been about that. it was about our main character, ines, and her journey. it is best understood as a character study on escapism, loss, and self acceptance, as you weave through an environment actively detrimental to you. 

i think in another kind of book, it would have put the mystery first, exposing catherine, understanding the full scope of plasm, shutting down the schools, and then have the protagonist reckon with their own internal emptiness afterwards, remarking on how solving the mystery didn't solve them. catherine house, does not share this typical format, having its protagonist get out. no school or mystery, creepy plasm cult or not, can nor should be your whole life.

what is plasm? i have no idea. it was explained to me and i still don't understand, so i wasn't bothered when that wasn't explored because i didn't care anyways.

i loved the way the author got the atmosphere across so clearly with very detailed, but uncomplicated prose. ines existed in this "sideways" and detached existence, with the author writing in the hazy aura ines clearly felt, until the end, when she starts getting (almost jarringly) clear. 

i will say, i think this book wasted a lot of time, but also didn't use enough. i don't like dark academia aesthetic so i'm biased, but the multiple descriptions of food, parties, buildings, and landscapes did bore me. there are multiple scenes in the book that i think are genuinely unnecessary and other technically not needed. however, i would describe this book as drifting along a stream, not building up to something bigger, so the extra scenes didn't bother me too badly. that being said, you can only half pay attention to this book and still get the gist, which i did myself in some places when listening to the audiobook. (which is fantastic btw.)

and i tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but i knew theo's ass was trash.

This book was amazing. It hooked me at the beginning with its description of Ines' mental health issues and her academic troubles, that was like getting punched by a reflection. The descriptions are amazing, the vibe is immaculate and the suspense was great. At a few points I wasn't really sure she was going to make it, still don't know if she did at the end, but I choose to think she won. 

I don't really understand this book... it reminds of this dark academia/fantasy/translated East European book I read, the plasma (if that's the right spelling) was just werid as. the pacing was a bit off and I felt like the short snippets of everything made it really hard to understand the characters. I was interested in the mental state of the characters likes ines or baby but mm, done pretty poorly. the ending was just like 'ah okay then'. 

THAT ENDING??? I don’t know.

 - CATHERINE HOUSE is modern gothic, dark academia deliciousness with a bit of a sci-fi twist.
- Ines is a bit of a disaster bi and I think many readers may not like her. Additionally, the plot takes its time getting going, but the imagery and atmosphere along the way was worth it for me.
- Also, so many people told me nothing happens in this book, which...did we read the same book? So much happens! There's just a lot of drunken partying inbetween plot points, which, as someone who attended a small, cultish college, feels accurate. 

As soon as I started reading, I was trapped in Catherine House, and it only got better. If you are up for a dark, setting-driven story with casual queer and poc representation, and a sprinkle of science fiction, can't recommend it enough.
It doesnt really have a plot, but i loved that.