I struggled with this book for a bit. I couldn’t seem to stay interested. The characters were not very likable and I struggled with their decisions. I’m not sure exactly what it was that I couldn’t connect with as I normally like witch stories. It did seem well written though.

After the death of her father and younger sister Violet steps on the campus of Elm Hollow Academy, an all-girl’s boarding school on the outskirts of a sleepy coastal town. This is her fresh start, her chance to begin again in the wake of tragedy, leave her demons behind. Bright but a little strange, uncertain and desperate to fit in, she soon finds herself invited to an advanced study group, led by her alluring and mysterious art teacher, Annabel.

Violet is thrilled to be a part of the secret study group, along with Robin, Grace, and Alex. Even if it is a bit weird that Robin’s last best friend, Emily, is missing and seems to have looked a lot like Violet. Annabel’s teachings of ancient rites, art, mythology, and town history are fascinating to most of the group, who each have people/situations in their lives that make them feel powerless. What if they could have the kind of power The Furies in Annabel’s teachings do? As the girls being to experience the heady feeling of being in control over the negatives in their lives, they start going further and further into acts that might be their undoing.

All in all, the characters were pretty well described but left me feeling disconnected from them. The book also had a lot of parts that could have easily been left out, and parts that could have really been developed to enrich the storyline. It mainly felt like teenage angst without feeling and a bit of murder thrown in.

I received an ARC from NetGalley, and am sharing my honest opinion of this book. 2 1/2 stars would be my actual rating.

I had high hopes for this book based on the description, but I feel unsatisfied with it once I was finished. The novel is very bogged down by references to art and art theory that are hard to follow if you don't have a background in art. The characters are written well, but I couldn't connect with any of them. The author, however, has a knack for descriptions and setting an atmospheric tone.

This book never really grabbed me. The characters were not fully developed, and none of them evoked strong feelings in me.

This is a troubling review for me to write even after sleeping on it for a night so as not to spew out my thoughts right after closing the book for a final time. Even the next day, I am finding it difficult to glean out the positive. I will say that the novel is not poorly written and the author has a talent for sensory description. The problem lies in the unrelenting distastefulness of the descriptions. The walls are moldy, the dishes are all dirty, the milk is sour, the breath is fetid, and on and on. This is all wrapped around four deeply unlikeable characters and I felt a bit like I was trapped in a filthy locked hoarders house with them.

Very promising and unnerving, atmospheric start to this one. However after the first chapter I really couldn’t get into it. With characters that fell rather flat and dull for my liking, I eventually DNF’d after skimming up to 45%.
YA intended audience but felt rather more of a teen read from what I managed to read.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this one as, even though it wasn’t for me, it’s given me a wider reader base to aim at especially the more mature teen looking for something just that bit darker. ..Just not for me, unfortunately.

A prestigious private girl's school, four young students, and a school's history of witchcraft, this story has all this, yet still misses the mark. I enjoyed the story of the girls' friendship, which was riddled with jealousy, anger, and love, and I enjoyed the witchcraft aspects. I thought the story was muddled by the extraneous references to art and art theory. It made the story difficult to follow, almost as if you had to be an art expert to relate the art history to the plot. The story often jumped in time without any indication that time had passed, making me have to reread passages to figure out what was happening and when. I had high hopes for this book but was left feeling less than satisfied when it was done.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. The opinions are my own.

I was excited to have some dark and eerie fun reading this book, and for the most part I did. There were a lot of things I really enjoyed — the witchcraft, the friendship, the mystery and the twist at the end. But in some places this book went to far and made the characters too unlikeable. I would have liked it better with a little deeper character development and a little less “cold-hearted teens”. But I did enjoy most of it and am happy I read it. PS — love the cover design!! Disclaimer— I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Thanks Net Galley!!

Told in a memoir style of telling, The Furies captures what it's like to be fifteen again. To want to fit in, to idolize the classmates that seem untouchable. It is a story of friendship and loss and obsession and darkness.
Violet is the new girl at Elm Hollow, arriving after a terrible car wreck killed her younger sister and her father, and sent her mother spiraling into an unending stupor of drunkeness in an attempt to cope with her loss. Neglected by her mother, Violet quickly latches onto her three new friends, Robin, Alex, and Grace. Her three new friends have secrets of their own though, and Violet is quickly sucked into a world where she doesn't even recognize herself.
After being accepted into Anabelle's (Violet's art teacher) secret advanced art class, Violet's bond with Robin grows until the two become seemingly inseparable. In Violet's mind at least. Robin, however, is an enigma, never seeming to need Robin, but letting her tag along anyway. Robin introduces Violet to the world of drugs and college parties.
The Furies isn't a typical teenage angst story, although it is a little in line with the 2003 movie Thirteen. The absent mother, preoccupied with her own life, the new friends who do whatever they want, the drugs, the older boys. It's easy to see Violet heading down a less-than-desirable path, but those who try to help are quickly shoved away by Violet herself. Her new group of friends are keeping secrets that Violet can't quite needle out of them - what happened to Emily Frost? Why will Grace not tell anyone else that her father beats her? What really happened to Tom after the Furies ritual? Just how much does Nikki the busybody know? What happened to the girl on the swing?
The Furies is an angsty read, not for the faint of heart, but it also felt relatable, albeit a little far-fetched at some points. It was interesting to watch the change from Violet of the beginning, to Violet at the end (I didn't see the ending coming at least). Watching as she made choices that don't seem to align with who she describes herself as, and reading her reflections as she tells the story from her adult perspective. Overall I quite enjoyed the book, and liked the integration of the magic rituals. It was easy to see why Robin, in particular, was fascinated by these rituals, and I enjoyed both Robin and Violet as characters.

In the grand style of the film The Craft, this book follows a young woman who is enrolled in a private high school after the tragic death of her father and sister in a car accident. She is taken in by a new group of friends, but also by a professor that endeavors to teach these young women the truth of their school - witchcraft. There is murder, mystery, intrigue and very well-written characters. The story didn't drag even a bit and I found myself sneaking away to read it when I should have been up to other things. It was definitely a fast but fun read and I would recommend it to anyone looking for something spooky as we start to head towards the fall season.

I really wanted to like this book but for me (personally) it had too much of a bunch of other books/movies in it. I normally enjoy books like this, so maybe I have just been reading too many of the same thing? Maybe if I had read this at a later time, I would have enjoyed it more.

The Furies is the latest in a genre I like to call "secret society murder mysteries" and it it is a very well-done addition. This is a dark and disturbing book that explores the highs and lows of female friendships, the power and danger of exclusive cliques, the corruption that lives in everyone and the allure of allowing that corruption to be unleashed. Decay is a major theme of this novel, as is the push-pull between the oppression and strength of women, although that theme gets less attention due to the overwhelming focus on corruption.

For fans of The Secret History, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, The Basic Eight, and the movie The Craft. This is a dark and thrilling ride into the mind of a woman who survived membership in a secret society - barely - and a cautionary coming of age tale. It's dark, it's gritty, it's morally reprehensible, and it's a fascinating read.

This was an advanced copy from netgalley - thank you

This is not my usual genre at all - and I'm not ashamed to say the cover drew me. This is an absolute belter !!!

I've not read anything by the author before but I certainly shall in future

Who hasn't experienced teenage angst, toxic friendship and all that goes with it? Certainly took me back to me teenage years !

This is DARK !!! It is beautifully written, gripping. It kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. I couldn't put it down

Can't recommend this highly enough !!

An expensive private school meets The Craft- that should tell you pretty much everything about the plot. It is very well written, sometimes almost too much so for the actions and emotions of a group of teenage girls. It does capture the angst I remember as a teen and the longing to belong but at times the character’s expression of their emotions seem almost a too flowery. And the ending, well, does this expensive school not keep records?

I honestly finished this book more confused than when I began it. It seems like a very “The Craft”-esque story, but it is much deeper than that. It’s also very bourgeois, with a literary mountain of pseudo-profound metaphors and deep allegory. I finished the book unsure of who to root for, as I didn’t like the characters. I really wanted to like Violet, but her perpetuation of the secretive nonsense that she endured truly confused me. As of right now, I am extremely torn on this book and author; al least from this single reading of this particular book. I plan on rereading to see if my opinion clarifies with another time through. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my free ARC in return for my honest opinion!

The Furies kept me up half the night reading.

Teenage Violet transfers to a private girl's school after a family tragedy. Desperate to make friends, she falls in with the first girls that show her attention. When those girls turn out to have some dark secrets, Violet has to decide if she can live with the consequences of staying in the group.

The writing in this book is beautiful. It is well edited and the story flows naturally. The author writes flawed characters very well. I could almost feel my own long-past teenage angst.

There is violence, adult language and adult situations in this book. If that bothers you, this won't be your cup of tea. If you're looking for a happy ending, you're not going to find it here.

If you like emotionally complex female characters, twisty plots, and dark fiction, you'll love The Furies.

A good book for the younger crowed, as it is YA. Author has a clever way of writing at times which helped keep my attention. Although this is not a usual pick for me it wasn't difficult for me to get through, I definitely recommend it for the younger readers.

from my review on instagram @brettlikesbooks:

a secret society of girls engage in dark, dangerous rituals, revenge, and rebellion + toxic friendships, twisted tale

"At least when girls hurt each other, we're clever about it..."

thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for providing me with this digital copy

After a tragic accident killing her father and baby sister, Violet becomes isolated, leaving school and separating herself from her grieving mother. Violet is offered the chance for a fresh start at Elm Hollow Academy, an all-girls school where she can get back on track. Violet finds herself befriended by an eccentric and troubled group of young women, who share her interest in the occult. The girls help her to get accepted into a secret course, taught by the alluring and enigmatic Annabel, who explores the dark history of their campus and its connection to 17th century witch trials. The girls, fascinated by the idea of rituals and the potential to harness magical abilities, delve into the practices of an ancient text. Violet discovers that there was another member of the group, Emily Frost, a young woman who mysteriously disappeared and has an uncanny resemblance to Violet. Desperate to fit in, Violet soon finds herself in over her head, participating in acts that quickly get out of control, and uncertain who can be trusted. When their secrets are threated, the girls devise a plan but Violet can’t help but wonder if she will take the fall.

The Furies is a dark coming of age novel, a haunting tale of fate, revenge, murder, and the occult. The novel opens with the discovery of a body and then takes the POV of Violet, now an adult, as she reexamines her memories and the events leading to this moment. When reading the plot synopsis for this novel, I was expecting something along the lines of the movie The Craft but this is much darker in nature. The novel has content that may be problematic for some readers and covers topics including: sex, rape, drug use, abuse, violent acts, and murder. I am typically drawn to books about witchcraft so this immediately captured my attention. Although I really liked this novel I didn’t love it. One of the problems I had was that the author uses a very descriptive language throughout the novel. At some points I felt this was done beautifully and captured both setting and the emotional state of the character (The description of the body, Violets revenge plot using Andy, etc.) while other times it just felt overdone and a bit tedious to get through. Maybe it just felt more literary than I was expecting but that doesn’t mean that others won’t love it. Overall I did enjoy the novel and found it disturbing and wicked; practically a descent into madness.

Me, reading the blub: "In 1998, a sixteen-year-old girl is found dead. . . . led by alluring and mysterious art teacher . . . the school founder's "academic" interest with the occult . . ."

Wait, murder, boarding school, and occult? Shut up and give me this book. Now.

Like others, I came in with the expectations that I was going to get "The Craft" feels. And it did. I was brought right back to my teenage angst and I soaked it all up. From the way it was written, I believe the target audience is nostalgic adults rather than the YA-crowd. If you're looking for 'floof' (as I call it), this isn't quite that, but it is still fun and engaging.

Thank you to Katie Lowe, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for allowing me access to this book. As always, all opinions are my own.