The Furies
Katie Lowe

Three girls befriend a new student desperate for friends and to fit-in at an all-girl’s boarding school on the outskirts of a sleepy coastal town. Stories of gruesome 17th century with trials and murders swirl around the old campus.

With that as a set up, this novel by Katie Lowe could have gone any number of ways, most of them horrible. Maybe a campus slasher story, a campus haunted by one or more of the dead witches, or perhaps the three girls tease and torment the new girl until she commits suicide... all of which would lead me to stop reading immediately. However, I thought Lowe took a fascinating turn with the story and I devoured the book. It was a fun read, with interesting plotting, some great (and non cliched) characters and some surprising developments. Lowe explores the need for belonging and the lengths some people will go through to make/keep friends; the power of love both requited and unrequited; the ache and sadness of loneliness and obsession. Better yet, the suspense is unrelenting and the ending totally unexpected

I would like to thank NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for sharing the book in exchange for a honest review. This book is a keeper! It could make a great movie.

Definitely creepy and interesting but not exactly what I was expecting. I didn't care for the more supernatural elements. Well written but I guess it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an advance copy of this interesting and complicated novel.

I've always loved The Oresteia, so seeing a book that promised to conjure the wrath of the Furies in the forms of young girls was a treat I didn't want to miss. The Furies by Katie Lowe is a unique book with a heroine that is, in turns, naïve, sympathetic, destructive, confusing, and cold and who may, in the end, be a series of female archetypes: maiden, woman, and crone. While the narrator's voice and references (the work is very literary) can be distant and off-putting, there are wonderful poetic glimmers in the text: the bared teeth of a tower bat, Poe's raven flapping nearby.

The friendship/love/rivalry/hatred that simmers and flares between Robin and Violet is powerful and real: the most potent bit of conjury in a book rife with spells, rites, and rituals. The text also delves into juvenile explorations of sex and drugs and questions of female power and sacrifice. Since any version of female power still causes a fair amount of unease even in 2019, it's a pleasure to see Violet hold on to some of her strength and try to pass it on (even if she's misguided). The secondary characters, Alex and Grace, fade into the background (furies to the Hecate of Robin) and don't contribute much to the tale.

Too literary for thriller or horror, The Furies is an interesting exploration of gender that would read nicely alongside The Oresteia. I'm glad to have experienced the environment and atmosphere it creates but didn't end up considering it essential Halloween reading. English majors, especially, should enjoy its allusions and reference points.

I wanted to love this book more than I actually did. It's a strange mix of "The Craft" and "Mean Girls" - all about teenage girls, their relationships, rage, violence and the complexity of female relationships. It's quite dark, which I don't mind at all, but somehow felt a bit formulaic to me. I simply wasn't able to get invested in the main character, Violet's, story. Violet's friends are characters you've met in other teen novels - the seductive, ultimately cruel "best friend", and Grace and Alex were somewhat cliche. Not a bad read, but it feels too familiar.

I really don’t know why, but I thought this would be a mix of a murder mystery like Gone Girl meets a witch story like The Craft; it’s not. The story was good, but just wasn’t what I was expecting.

Very intriguing read. I couldn’t put it down!!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I liked all of the elements of this story, on paper, but it just didn't quite coalesce for me. The themes are interesting and the subject matter is timely and gripping.

( 2.5 - 3 stars)
I didn't know what to expect going into this; the description gave a feeling of a murder mystery centered on a group of private school girls, but it was set at the site of the infamous witch trials, which gave it an air of supernatural. And the way the book opened was pretty perfect; describing the murder scene, with vivid details without being too overly graphic. It painted such a haunting picture and set the scene for the whole book.

Apparently this book falls into a new kind of genre - female rage novels. I haven't heard this term before, but I have been a long time fan of the genre and am very fascinated by dark and damaged women letting their inner wild out. At first it just seems like a darker version of your typical coming of age story, but that previous mention of witch trials gave that subtle impression that perhaps this is more like The Craft than Mean Girls, something that was quickly confirmed when they started poking around in occult studies to form a secret elite group which studies influential women of the past.

All of this set the book up for an intriguing, spooky story, but overall it didn't take me quite as deep as I wanted to go. The relationship between the four girls was complicated, but it wasn't exactly a character study that showed the depths of a so called toxic relationships between the girls, what drove them, what made them so compliant when things got out of hand. I would have liked to see a bit more of the complexities in the relationships, as what we were given felt more just like bored private school girls acting out by playing make-believe with old spell books. It seemed like this could have been done a bit better.

I initially thought the writing style was unique and added to the feel of the book; there were a lot of commas and expanded thoughts that seemed to break up the natural flow, but the tone of the text really perfectly depicted that of an older, educated and perhaps a little sociopathic woman retelling something about her childhood. But the further I read, the text started to seem either too rushed or a little convoluted, the words running too quickly over the time gaps that scenes started to meld together to make a big, wordy mess.

Certain scenes were poorly described or explained and there were some pretty huge things that happened with hardly any reaction at all, things that were almost lightly glossed over despite being a pretty big deal and I had to pause and work out if it really happened, which I shouldn't have to do.

Listen, I get it, that desire to fit in and have friends, but Vivian's actions or lack of reactions started to really grate on me. The way she just went along with everything and hardly batted an eye. The book didn't do a good enough job convincing me of any reason that could justify this behaviour. Everyone keeps calling our Robin for being an awful character, but by the end of the book it was Vivian who I couldn’t stand, who’s actions in the book seem the most brutal of them all.

As far as a story about toxic female friendships go, this was okay. It felt more lukewarm and safe than anything else, just touching on the surface of how twisted and manipulative those relationships can go. It gave you what you expect, but there wasn't anything that really made my skin crawl or my heart ache.

The occult focus was spooky and some of the scenes towards the end were very creepy, but it felt like something was missing. And the very end made me almost roll my eyes. The pieces of this were so close to coming together but there was just some element that wasn't there to make this really have the kind of impact I was hoping for, and my dislike for the story grew the more I read.

For some reason, I had a really hard time getting into this book. I'm not sure if that's the fault of the book or me.

In some ways, this felt similar to many other books I read--books about close-knit groups of teen girls that have a touchy of witchiness to them and commit some sort of murder. Even though I tried very hard to get into this one, it hard a hard time topping the writing of say a Meg Abbott book or the bonkers memorableness of a book like "Bunny."

However, that's not to say this book isn't well written. There are some lovely turns of phrase in this book like "Owl wings cracked above like a gunshot, worms rolling the earth beneath me, shifting roots." I kept stopping to appreciate the writing and then asking myself why I wasn't connecting with the story as a whole.

I think perhaps it all felt a little superficial to me. Because I've read similar books about girls behaving similarly, I wanted to know more about what made these particular girls tick (Annabel too). I wanted to know more about what was driving these girls, what brought them together, what made them want to call upon the furies. Not knowing those things made it difficult to have empathy for the things they do in this book and the repercussions (or shockingly lack thereof) of their actions.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Found this book depressing on many levels. Teenage girls run amok, play at witchcraft, behave badly, murder is involved and it just keeps on keeping on. I tried to get involved and enjoy the story, but it fell short. Ok, just not for me.

This book started off a little slow for my liking, but picked up fast. The characters and the story reminded me of a modern day Craft story.

I'm not a big fan of YA and didn't know this one was going to read like YA before requesting it. I had heard a lot of buzz around this novel and wanted to try it out. It was alright. It does keep you reading and is certainly a race to the finish but the writing left something to be desired.

This was a fun and crazy read! Robin the leader of the four girls made all the decision, the others girls go along with her and get into some crazy situations. I really enjoyed this read the only thing that bothered me was Violets inability to make her own decisions. I loved the magical aspects of the story, I flew the last half of the book trying to figure out this would all end up!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy for honest review!

While slow at the start, The Furies by Katie Lowe channels all the pain, angst, loyalty, and joy that comes with being a teenage girl, but it also adds in the allure (and often tragedy) of witchcraft. The main character, Violet, enters a new school after homeschooling herself following the death of her father and sister. A group of girls catches her eye, and it seems she catches theirs as well. What follows changes their lives and the lives of everyone around them.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

After a tragedy strikes her family, Violet seeks to start fresh at Elm Hollow Academy, an all-girl's boarding school on the outskirts of her quiet seaside town. A bit timid and unusual, Violet finds it hard to make friends. Desperate to fit in, she soon finds herself invited to join a secret advanced study group taught by her mysterious art teacher, Annabel. In these sessions, Violet, along with three other girls, Robin, Grace and Alex, delve into the strange history of the campus: from Greek and Celtic legends, the founder of the school's "academic" interest in the occult, and witch trials that were held on the quad. Even about how the Furies of ancient Greece were reportedly summoned to enact justice upon those who were wronged. Annabel tries to convince the girls her advance class is just based upon speculation and that it's all just myth, but the more the girls learn the more they believe they can harness this power for themselves.

Violet soon finds herself completely wrapped up in this world of revenge magic and power. She also discovers that before she came to Elm Hollow, a young girl, who was also a part of the study group and friends with the three girls, disappeared and Violet bears a striking resemblance to her. It doesn't help that all the girls, especially Robin, get cagey whenever the subject is brought up. As her and her friends spiral deeper into the darkness, Violet begins to wonder who she can trust and just how far she's willing to go before she allows this power to destroy her completely.

I sort of went into this hoping it would give me all The Craft meets The Graces vibe, and while it did to some extent, I wanted a bit more. The spooky witchy vibes were there, but I just feel like it could've been ramped up slightly. It definitely had an interesting premise, and I loved the boarding school setting, but I did think some bits dragged. Overall, I think it'll be a good eerie read, especially if you're a fan of darker themes.

Ancient mythological beings, feminism, high school, witchcraft, and murders collide in this can't-put-down novel by Katie Lowe. (Seriously, I read it in one sitting, I couldn't put it down.) Somewhat like The Craft, it reveals the mind of a protagonist you will want to root for, but who ends up as bad as those she judges. Her decisions are filled with logical conclusions, but they lead to monstrous things. It's hard to describe the intensity of this novel without giving things away. Just know that it takes the best of many genres and wraps them into one engrossing story!

I received a complimentary copy of The Furies from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This novel had me squirming from the beginning. Wishing that Violet would NOT befriend these questionably scary young ladies and then watching her make horrible decisions added to the intensity of my reading experience. Great book!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

The writing style got me on this one. It felt like every minute detail got its own sentence with 15 adjective or similes. Also, i couldn't stop comparing it the the movie The Craft. It just kept feeling like Ive been here before.

Wow... this book better be made into a movie. The writing was so descriptive & sparked images that I felt like I was watching the scenes unfold rather than reading them. And every time I thought I could predict what was coming next, I was wrong. It’s a YA book (not my preferred genre) but captivating all the same.

I think this book will likely please many readers who are drawn to it based on the jacket. I wasn’t too bowled over by it. Wasn’t a bad book, just a bit out of my wheelhouse at the time I read it maybe.