“I’m going to give you a piece of advice. Just don’t give ‘em what they’re looking for and they’ll get bored.”

At the St. Ambrose School for Girls, the secrets are devastating and deadly….

First off, let me share that I absolutely love books about boarding school! I started this book last June and was really enjoying it. However, due to some of the dark content and serious themes like bullying I found myself needing a break from reading.

In June of this year, I picked up the book and finished it. It’s a good read that I do recommend. It had some powerful moments. I especially enjoyed the loyalty and support shown between two of the main characters and roommates: Sarah and Strots.

At times I wished that there wasn’t such a strong “weird girl” emphasis on Sarah pertaining to her diagnosed disability of Bipolar Disorder. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful that the book brings awareness and educates the reader about the disorder but I would have preferred for Sarah to be labeled as a strong functioning member of the St. Ambrose community.

For fans of academic thrillers and teenage drama. It's a bit of a slow burn but when it picks up man does it pick up. One of the most realistic takes on serious issues faced by teens including bullying and mental health.

Boarding school books are my jam and Jessica Ward brought it with The St. Ambrose School for Girls. The story follows Sarah as she attends this new school with a whole lot of backstory that she would rather the girls not know and a popular mean girl takes notice right away.

There are a lot of characters in this book because you have all the adults that are in charge of the kids and all the girls who are important to the story. Sometimes I find this hard to follow but Ward did a great job of making each character unique to the point it was easy to keep track. There was also a lot of drama right off between Sarah and Greta as well as other girls. While I am not a teenager, so relating to these girls was hard for me, I really enjoyed the different personalities and how they were built up throughout.

I had a few reasons for not loving this book. Don't get me wrong, the book was good and I enjoyed it, but it was a slow build. I was expecting the death to happen far earlier in the book than it did and be a larger focus of the story. I was a little disappointed in the length of time it took to get there. I also feel like a lot of this book took place inside Sarah's head as she spiraled in one situation or another, and maybe that was the point, but at times it seemed too much. I wanted more story and less of her ininer monologue.

Even with these issues bothering me, I liked the story and as the dead student finally emerged, I needed to know who was responsible. Ward had me guessing until the big reveal and even then I was itching to know how it was all going to turn up. While I don't think the story is believable in real life, that didn't affect my rating. I will check out another Ward book in the future.

Jessica Ward's latest takes us into the sordid world of a girl's private school. Sarah Taylor, who suffers from mental illness, is being bullied by her dorm-mate, Greta Stanhope. When Greta is found dead, Sarah worries that she is the culprit and doesn't remember. The other characters add red herrings and complicate the situation with an abundance of calculated and unsavory activities. There is a nice twist and a satisfying ending. The writing is good and intimate look at the school will make one never want to attend one.

***2 Stars***

I wanted to like this book for a variety of reasons ~ author, description, something out of my norm to break up the monotony ~ but it just couldn’t hold my attention for long and I either put it down or ended up skimming in hopes of getting to something good…and there were some good moments, especially towards the last half, but…The dreaded “BUT”...it just wasn’t meant to be like/love book for me.

It makes me a little sad because I did find Sarah interesting and could empathize with what she was going through and Strot’s was definitely someone I would have liked to hang out with but by the time anything truly interesting happens, the book ends and though things are “cleaned” up in some respects, there is one situation/person that isn’t mentioned at all…so I wanted to like it, this book just fell flat for me.

I like dark academia, but this book just wasn't for me. There wasn't anything wrong with the story or the writing - but I just had a difficult time getting into this book. There are plenty of customers I would recommend this to based on their interests so it wasn't a complete wash for me.

"St. Ambrose School for Girls" is a captivating coming-of-age novel that delves into the complexities of friendship, identity, and self-discovery. Set within the prestigious walls of an all-girls school, the story follows the lives of several students as they navigate the challenges of adolescence and strive to find their place in the world. With rich character development and a compelling storyline, this book offers an insightful glimpse into the highs and lows of teenage life, making it a must-read for fans of contemporary fiction.

This book was a great combination of mystery and the drama that goes along with boarding school life. I loved the unreliable narrator! Includes mental health and LGBT representation.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I feel a little silly that when I requested to read this book it did not dawn on me that Jessica Ward was J. R. Ward. I only know her for writing paranormal romance and this is more dark thriller and I would say young adult since it takes place at boarding school. This book shows a lot of Sarah's struggles from her father leaving because he could not deal with her mental illness, strained relationship with her mother, bi-polar diagnoses, not having friends and being bullied at school. Then add when she runs out of her meds. Then a death of a student which appears to be a passionate crime. Sarah tries to put the pieces together. There is a lot going on in this book. Very intense.

Sarah is eager to escape her hometown and her mother when she applies to the exclusive St. Ambrose School, an elite boarding school. When she arrives, she finds that she does not fit in -- she has trouble making friends and is targeted by Greta, one of her hallmates and one of the most popular students on campus who, for some reason, seems to have it out for Sarah. Sarah is committed to making it through the year but finds it increasingly challenging in the face of Greta's pranks and her growing unease that something is amiss just beneath the surface.

This book was an interesting take on a boarding school novel. The author creates a sharply observed world and within that unspools a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Highly recommended!

I usually love everything J.R. Ward but this one I couldn't get into. I tried 4 times to get past chapter 6 and just couldn't. So it's a DNF for me.

THE SAINT AMBROSE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS by @jesswardauthor is the topic of this post and I gotta say, this one surprised me! Like all humans, I am built of bias and when I heard that JR Ward was this author's other pen name and romance was her game, I got a little worried that this one was not going to be for me. When there were descriptions of the "Hot RA" in the first 25 pages I was even more worried that this was going to be a romance/jealousy centric book which are not my thing, but YET, I persisted.

And you know what? I am glad I did. Part mystery, part coming of age, part discussion of navigating mental illness while navigating high school, I found this story to be quite intriguing and enjoyed the twists and turns. The MC/narrator has bipolar disorder which can make you as the reader, as well as the narrator themselves, feel like they are not reliable. The stress of the second-guessing and not always being certain what is real and what you made up in your head were pretty palpable and had this anxious overthinker feeling all of it.

This is a pretty slow burn without a lot of action for a while but then things speed up quickly and tumble along. I was drawn in by the complex characters, the moody boarding school atmosphere, and the secrets that lay therein. I love a good dark academia book and this one was no exception. Just goes to show that if you don't check your bias at the door sometimes you might miss something really great!

If you like shows/books like PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, HEATHERS, MEAN GIRLS, etc, this could be right up your alley too! Thank you to the author, @netgalley, and the publisher @gallerybooks for the e-ARC.

This isn’t a bad book, but based on the description I was expecting a thriller and I did not consider this one a thriller. It’s a slow burn coming of age drama where someone happens to be killed. I also feel like it should be said that this book is incredibly sad. The main character doesn’t have a lot of luck as an “outsider weirdo” person with bipolar who doesn’t fit in with anyone at the private all girls school in the 90’s. The writing was good, but I had to push myself to finish the story. The last 25% moved more quickly, but it took a lot to get to me 75% done. Sarah is starting school at a private all girls school after her mother submits an essay she wrote and she is granted a scholarship. Unfortunately for her she doesn’t fit in with her all black non-designer clothing and one pretty and popular girl Greta seems to take an instant disliking to her and picks on her consistently. But as the semester goes on the drama amps up ending in someone dying.

Immersive and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was not really a fan of this book. First thing that annoyed me was the amount of time the word panties was used. I always hate that word anyway, and just the excessive use of it was annoying. I thought the plot moved along at a good enough speed, but I thought the book could have been a lot shorter because the author seemed to dwell on describing some things in way too much detail. I understand that the main character was bipolar and had hallucinations, but it made the book very hard to follow.

I liked that it was set in the 90s because that is when I was in HS, but it doesn't seem to be a reason that it is. Like it flashes back or something. So, I didn't really get the time setting choice.

I think a teen audience would enjoy this more than an adult audience.

I very much wanted to love The St. Ambrose School for Girls, but the story felt very drawn out and it almost felt like nothing happened. I was left pretty let down with this one. I expected more thrill.

This book was nothing I was expecting. I was very drawn out and had a lot of information in it that did not need to be put in there to fit the story.

This book was not for me. I found the story line very drawn out and frankly just didn't care what happened in the book.

Okay so I was thinking it was going to be spooky, it was not. It felt more YA and it was a lot of high school drama. I wanted a little something more

Going into it, I was expecting a spooky - perfect for Halloween read. It’s not spooky at all. It’s a typical teenage girls away at school story, just not one that would happen often in real-life. While it wasn’t what I was expecting, I did enjoy the book!