I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I ended up dnfing The Furies by Katie Lowe. I lost interest while reading, it just couldn’t hold my interest. I was bored and what I read I had to reread to try to remember but that didn’t help. I thought I was going to love this.

I chose this book because the plot and situation are similar to one of my very favorites: Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. In both there is a school or college setting in which an outsider is drawn into a select society of friends led by a charismatic teacher. In both they fall under the influence of the Greek tragedian Euripides: the Bacchae in Tartt, Medea here. And in both to cover up the crimes they commit under the influence of dark divinities, they have to commit murder to keep their secrets. The school here is Elm-Grove Academy. Our narrator Violet is a new girl who is taking under the wing of her new friend Robin and meets her friends, Nicky, Alex and Grace. She is initiated into their secret society led by Anabel, one of the teachers. The society has been in existence since the seventeenth-century, with membership handed down from mother to daughter, employing occult means to punish men for their crimes against women. As it turns out, the girls themselves become some of the victims.



I knew something had gone wrong when I reached the third page and read: “Their lives ended and mom’s life stopped.” Wait a moment! Do English girls usually refer to their female parent as “mom”? Fortunately my copy of the English edition reached me a couple of days later so I could check the original and sure enough, someone had systematically, if carelessly, Americanized the text, turning “mum” into “mom” as well as “petrol” into “gasoline”; but these changes are not only unsystematic because sometimes the original contains Americanisms( “elevator” and “lift” both occur). One attempt by a cack-handed revisor I found hilarious. The girls have killed the Dean of the school (he’s no loss—refers to graduates of a girls’ school as “alumni”):

English edition: “I saw my chance. ‘I think I saw a petrol can in the garage.’

“’No way,’ Alex said. ‘If they find petrol on anything, it won’t look like an accident …’”

American version: “I saw my chance. ‘I think I saw a petrol can in the garage.’

“‘No way,’ Alex said, ‘If they find gasoline on anything, it won’t look like an accident …’”

No indeed, the police will know an American killed the Dean, and our girls will be in the clear.

We also get “vacationing” for “holidaying,” “cotton candy” for “candy-floss,” and “sneakers” for “trainers.” The problem isn’t just that the American expressions look uncouth in situ, but that they completely violate the first rule of realistic fiction: that characters remain believable and in character. It also shows the author believes that her readers across the pond are provincial boors.

Unlike The Secret History, where I thought I had a good idea of the author’s meaning, I cannot decide here what my take should be. Perhaps as a male reader, I’m not allowed an opinion. From the plot, I gather a tragic version of the sorcerer’s apprentice story, which also fits very well with Euripides’ Medea, as well is both pagan and Christian moral principles. Anger or Ira is one of the seven deadly sins, and when unleashed ultimately destroys the innocent, such as Medea’s children. (I had some real doubts about the author’s knowledge of the Classics when I read: “She [Medea] was the only survivor, walking from Athens wearing the blood of her children.” No, she killed the children at Corinth and she didn’t walk, she flew, in a chariot drawn by dragons to Athens.) But given the feminist beliefs that underlie this story, I suspect we’re supposed to sympathize with Violet at the end. Fortunately we are dealing with a character in a story-book.

Fortunately, American readers who want to read the authentic version don’t have to buy the dumb-downed US version. Given the difference in prices and exchange rates, you can buy the correct English version from Amazon.co.uk and pay the postage and still save on the American hardback, and have an English narrator speaking real English.


Posted on October 8, 2019 1 Comment

Violet's life changes forever when she is fifteen when her father and little sister are killed in a car accident. Although her mother is still there, she has checked out of life and spends her days drinking and watching tv until she passes out. Violet takes herself out of the public school she has been attending. When the insurance settlement comes through, all of a sudden there is money. Violet will now be going to the local private school which is considered a sign of prosperity and a doorway to upper class privilege.
Although bright, Violet doesn't fit in with the other girls, most of whom have known each other since birth. So Violet is thrilled when Robin, a girl with flaming red hair, makes friendship overtures. Soon Violet is in the clique that includes Robin, Alex and Grace. The fact that they are all considered outside the pale doesn't seem to matter.

The girls are picked out by their art teacher for special classes and they come to believe in the ancient Greek myths with their monsters and penchant for revenge. The girls feel that they know people who deserve a comeuppance and start to perform rituals to bring down revenge on them. When a boy who they targeted in their rituals has a car accident, they are sure they have brought The Furies to life and that they hold others in the palm of their hands.

Another girl had been in the clique but gone missing and is presumed dead. The girls are determined to find out what happened to her and to avenge her death. Can they be successful or will the evil they are playing with turn around and bite them?

This is a young adult debut novel. I don't read much young adult and this novel hardened that resolve. The tone of the book is one of teenage angst and can often seem whiny. Why does no one get counseling for a girl who has lost most of her family? Why can't teachers and parents notice that their teenage girls are coming home drunk or drugged, that they are rarely attending classes? I couldn't suspend my disbelief long enough to enjoy the storyline but those interested in young adult novels may find this one to be right in their comfort zone.

Ultimately, it seemed as if THE FURIES wasn't quite sure what it wanted to be—and it certainly wasn't what I was hoping for based on the synopsis. The pacing never felt quite right, and while I was intrigued by the exploration of toxic relationships, the mystery just wasn't enough to keep me fully invested.

I requested this book because I enjoy mystery thrillers and the cover paired with the synopis caught my attention. While reading it I found that that either the writing style or the storytelling wasn’t keeping my attention. At first I thought I wasn’t connecting with it as someone from the US but I have read plenty of books taking place in other countries and enjoyed it just fine. So I’ve come to the conclusion that unfortunately this book is just not for me. I wasn’t as interested in the mystery. So unfortunately I did not finish this book.

I think I may have read the wrong book. I had no clue what was going on with this book. About 4 girls, but focusing on Vivi and Robin. They murdered someone or a few people. They were in love with each other or hated each other. They performed witchcraft or maybe not.
The entire book was unclear as to what was going on, what happened, who did what and why.
It was just so confusing.

This was a slow burn, dark thriller set in a boarding school and we begin with one girl missing. No one knows what happened to her, well except her three other friends that she was very close to. Violet transfers to the school and is struggling to fit in, until these girls take her under their wing. Others try to warn her that these girls are not who they seem, and that they probably know what happened to the missing girl. But it's a bit late because Violet is already obsessed with Robin, the ringleader and doesn't listen. This was such an intriguing story and I was captivated throughout. The author did a great job at portraying the relationships of all the girls and even worked in the paranormal in a way that worked well. I did not like the little bit of animal cruelty and skipped over that, but want to note it is in there a bit. Overall I enjoyed this one and finished in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital copy to review.

This was ok. Not the best read but not the worst.
It was a quick read.
I would definitely te anyone to create your own opinions about it. I saw many good reviews

The Furies by Katie Lowe is another young adult paranormal thriller that was compared to The Craft so of course I picked it up. A private school setting with witches should be right up my alley, key word in that should.

The book opens with the body of a sixteen year old being found dressed all in white and posed on a swing at the Elm Hollow Academy, an all girls boarding school. Then the story jumps back to the year before where we meet Violet who tells the story of what led up to the body being found at the prestigious private school.

So again, we have a young adult book that should have worked for me but instead I found myself dragging my way through. I found it hard to connect to the girls in the story and thought the scenes in the school learning magic, mythology and the witch trials etc all so slow and perhaps that was what made it feel so tedious that I just couldn’t get invested when other things were happening. The Furies became another book to me that I just wanted more and wasn’t finding it along the way.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The Furies

Thank you to @stmartinpress and @netgalley for a gifted e-copy!

Mehhhhhh
This book just did not do it for me.
The slow burn never picked up.
I was bored beyond belief.
Some of the scenes were definitely problematic.
Just no.

This was pretty bad. I did finish it so at least it compelled me to finish it (hence two stars).
First of all, the main character's perspective is looking back as an adult. This could have worked if added new wisdom, but it just adds wordy crap no teen would ever talk about. This separates the narrator from her friends.
This story has been done before and better. There is nothing new here to make this unique. The Furies being referenced was supposed to be fresh, but it really follows that making this just witchcraft.
The story is disjointed, action curtailed in the middle with too much description, and while, some things are meant to be left to questions, not enough questions were answered.

The premise of this sounds amazing and I love school stories, but the atmosphere and style of the book fell flat for me and I couldn't connect with the story enough to want to finish reading it.

This book had so much promise - I love a good magical culty atmosphere. Ultimately, I felt that the last third was rushed.

I was browsing NetGallery and the synopsis and title stuck out to me and I decided why not? I thought it sounded similar to books written by Gillian Flynn or Megan Abbott. And in a way it was like those books, just not that memorable.

We follow Violet, a teenager who ends up on a scholarship at a private all girls academy. She ends up joining 'The Furies' a secret society of sorts where young women use spells and witchcraft for vengeance. Whether or not there is magic or witchcraft is left up to reader's interpretation. Murders quickly start happening, and there is a few red herrings about who the girl in white is that is mentioned in the beginning.

The story is more boring than I expected and was predictable. The two other girls, Robin and Grace, are not that important at all and for that matter neither is the art teacher Annabel. Alex and Violet are the more interesting characters but again it's been done before and better. If you want a fast read about a female cast then check it out. I received a copy of this book for my honest review by NetGallry.

I typically enjoy murder mysteries set in private/boarding schools but I struggled with this one. It felt too slow, drawn out and just fell flat. I struggled with the pacing and even listening on audio, it felt like it took forever to read this one. I was just left feeling disappointed by this lackluster read.

Ho hum, another day, another vaguely murdery boarding school novel that I probably won’t remember much about six months from now.

I’m not super picky about Dark Academia books, and this one was indeed, fine enough, though it’s missing that something that makes it stand out in a crowded field.

Initially it gave me The Craft vibes, a concept that feels kind of dated and out of step with current readers. This book is far more subtle than the cult favorite movie, but it’s also less dynamic.

While I appreciated that the magic took a backseat to the characters here, the characters aren’t an especially likable or unique bunch, and the cast (centrally four students and one oddball teacher) seemed to be aiming for a Gemma Doyle trilogy feel but never evolved into much.

Atmospherically the book is (again) fine, but not especially evocative. The art historical element was intriguing but never really becomes fully actualized as a plot point.

I didn’t mind the slow-ish pacing, but there’s no real mystery in the plot, so it’s a lot of lead-up to essentially not much of a denouement. I didn’t dislike reading this one or have trouble finishing, but Lowe seems an impressive enough writer that I expected more out of the story.

A dark and disturbing thriller about the toxic relationship among private school girls and their struggle for power among themselves. A good book for YA readers.

Creepy, dark academia, toxic friendships, reclaiming power, all of that should be my thing. I think it's a little too YA for an adult audience but a little too adult for a YA audience, and thus struggles a bit with who the book is for.

I was prepared for this one to just be a very cool murder mystery, with a young adult slant. It started that way, and then it just fell a bit flat.

I don't know if it's me that is no longer able to connect to the YA characters, but for me, they were very one-dimensional, and not really the type of girls I can remember having in high school. Yes, people wanted to fit in, but not with the almost desperation that Violet wants to fit in. Robin seems like she is very mature, but not in a way that would actually be favorable. It seems like a false maturity, and I think people would be able to see through it, at least when it comes to adults. Alex and Grace are just there. It's like The Craft, but without all the elements that made that movie amazing and a classic.

It seems to throw in the mystical aspect to make it different, but it's not done very well. It would have been better as a straight-up murder mystery, without the mystical aspect. Also even though the story was set in a very specific location, the book doesn't read that way. It is so non-descript that this town could literally have been Anytown USA. Maybe that was deliberate as a way for the author to relate to the reader and say 'hey, this could happen in your town too because we are just like you. It comes across as bland and lacking any kind of identity.