So, first I think that it needs to be said that this book deals with some really heavy issues. I would check TW before picking this one up. I do think that the way they were presented and handled was executed in a proper manner, but I also have to say these are not issues I have personally dealt with. I really liked this book. The first 3/4 is slower but a necessary build for sure. The last part was super speed. That was when the mystery of it all really started up. I really enjoyed this story!

The St. Ambrose School for Girls by Jessica Ward held my interest. I liked the author's writing style, though there were some places the story dragged and slowed down the pacing. The author's descriptions of the locale were atmospheric, and it felt like you were right there with the characters. The St. Ambrose School for Girls had a good ending; kind of mysterious and left me wanting more.

The mental illness depicted in the story was done with respect, and it appears the author did a lot of research to ensure the information was accurate and the portrayal was done with care.

There are definitely trigger warnings, such as bullying, mental health, and suicide, that should be noted.

I would give this a 3.75 out of 5 stars (rounded to 4) because there were places the story fell a bit flat and dragged some.

#NetGalley @GalleryBooks

The St. Ambrose School for Girls by Jessica Ward is a thrilling coming-of-age academia story.
This intriguing slow burn was a quick and easy read.
The twist and turns was so wild. Ward did a great job at keeping my attention throughout.
I was truly entertained and loved following Sarah’s journey at St. Ambrose.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Gallery Books for your generosity and approving this eARC!

I wanted to like this book so much, but it was a bust for me. The title and cover and plot intrigued me, but the execution just fell flat. The writing felt a little clumsy and dragged, especially since the reader spends so much time inside Sarah's mind- too much time. I applaud Ward's efforts to give the reader a full understanding of Sarah's brain/inner thoughts, but it was just too much. There wasn't enough to advance the plot- too much stream of consciousness with not enough dialogue to break it up. While it does pick up eventually, it's enough of a detriment that I would've stopped reading if I wasn't reviewing it. There's a lot of potential here- I just think it needs more development

While I often like campus novels, I very much did not enjoy A Secret History and should have learned by now to avoid those with this comparison. This novel tried very hard to bring that vibe to the page.

I really loved the characters in this book. I was very invested and couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next. The beginning started out a little slow for me but once it picked up I couldn’t put the book down! I also really liked the ending and I will definitely read more books by this author in the future!

The twists and turns in this one! Kept me on turning the pages and on the edge of my seat. Highly recommend.

I did not finish this book. I found the beginning off-putting- it's attempt to be Heathers and any other disenfranchised teen drama from the 80's and 90's wasn't supported by the writing and I abandoned ship immediately. It felt clumsy. Just not my genre, whatsoever. The cover, and the concept are definitely beguiling and I may pick it up again once it's been published. .

For people who like Dark Academia reads, this book might be just for them. I personally am a little conflicted on this book. I felt like parts of it really dragged, but I couldn't stop reading because I needed to know where it was going. I wanted to know what happened. I often would get lost in the inner workings of Sarah's mind. I wanted to get caught up in a creepy, thriller style story, but that was not this book. I am unsure if it is the lack of concrete information and not knowing if Sarah was manifesting situations inside her brain or if it was really happening was the issue for me. I was having flashbacks to the required reading of "I Am the Cheese" by Robert Cormier and finding out Adam is riding his bike around an asylum. I personally would not recommend it, but I understand that this just might not be my cup of tea.

I was provided an ARC of this book through NetGalley for an honest review of the material.

I wanted to like this book so much. It has lots of the elements I enjoy in a YA novel. Private school, secrets, mystery, but this book just didn't deliver for me. The story is about a girl named Sarah who is attending St. Ambrose School for Girls on a scholarship. Sarah has a history of bipolar disorder and struggles to fit in with the girls at her school, especially the girls that live across the hall who go out of their way to bully Sarah for no real reason. Sarah's only friend is her roommate and even that relationship is difficult. I appreciate that the author was trying to give the reader a full understanding of Sarah's brain and her inner thoughts/monolog but there were pages after pages of Sarah's stream of consciousness with virtually no dialog to break it up. This made the story hard to follow and at times I couldn't even remember the main character's name. I got about 25% into the book and had to stop. I may go back at some point because other reviewers have said it does pick up eventually. If the author edited down Sarah's inner thoughts it would be easier to follow along. There's a lot of potential here. Other reviewers have pointed out that there are trigger warnings for suicide, depression, and bullying. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book,

If dark academia is your thing, then The St. Ambrose School for Girls will scratch that itch. Sarah Taylor arrives at the exclusive St. Ambrose School, an elite boarding school, and realizes she is very different from the other girls there. Sarah immediately becomes the target of the mean girl on campus. What follows are malicious pranks, scandal, and death. I very much enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it for those with an interest in this sub-genre. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-copy.

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for gifting me an early copy. Below is my honest review.

This one has some content/trigger warnings: mentions and depictions of suicide attempts/suicidal thoughts, mental illness/bi-polar disorder, bullying.

I gave this one four stars. I took a star off because I figured out the killer really early, even though the murder doesn't occur until very late in the story. I also felt like the story moved pretty slowly and focused a lot on Sarah's mental illness. I appreciate that the author worked very hard to depict bipolar disorder in an accurate and respectful manner, but sometimes the long bunny trails into Sarah's imaginary meanderings became a distraction from the actual story for me. 

Overall, I was really impressed with Jessica Ward's ability to switch from her usual PNR worlds to this realistic and intense dark academia story. I'd definitely recommend this one to anyone who likes a gritty, dark, boarding school type story with a mystery thrown in.

Wooooof. This book has a lot of problematic things going on. It takes place in the 1990s, and the stereotypes and depictions of mental illness read like something you'd read in the 1990s, not of a modern book with editors and authors who should know a lot better. Some of the stereotypes are completely baffling (implying that Eastern Europeans have a lot of moles--what??) to having the single black character in the book be a poor, aggressive black girl. It's just...not okay. I don't know how that made it past the editor let alone to print.

Moreover, the plot seems to be an exercise in chaos. We get an unreliable narrator, but there's unreliable and then there's 80+ pages of the "bad" character not expressly doing anything particularly bad and giant plot jumps that don't really make sense or push the plot forward in an interesting way. It's just messy and at times painfully dull.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this book.

Sarah is bipolar and she is aware that while St. Ambrose is a new start for her, her brain can play tricks on her and make her question her own reality. This is not helped by Queen Bitch Greta playing horrible pranks on her and trying to ruin her roommates reputation. This is a book of mind games, both the ones our minds can play and the ones other play to be cruel.

This book was far too long and the long rambling sections involving her mental illness, while I am sure meant to give a depiction of her mental state, were boring and I found myself skipping them.

Trigger warning: suicide, mental health, & bullying.

Definitely not what I expected, and JR Ward was 100% correct when she told us it is not like anything she's ever given us before!

This is a slow burn, coming of age story for 15 year old Sarah. Sarah is unceremoniously dropped off at stiff St. Ambrose School for Girls. Not only is she dealing with her own chaotic mental health, but she now has to deal with feeling left out and horrendous bullying from the hbic, Greta. When a murder takes place right in her dorm, Sarah is conflicted on who the killer could be. To be honest, there are a lot of possible suspects. So many twists and turns and this story definitely keeps you guessing until the very end. Loved it!


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

This is a really intense book about Sarah, who is dealing with bipolar disorder, and new to a girl’s boarding school. She is bullied by Greta and it affects her mental health. Sarah had to make decisions about how to deal with it all. It’s a deep dive into mental illness and could be triggering for some.

I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for giving me a chance at reading this book.

I made it to 25% into this book until had to stop. Nothing was happening it. There was some incredibly long chapters of absolute nothing that neither moved the plot along or got to anything remotely creepy. There is also little to no dialogue or character development.

Character MAYBE has her clothing destroyed by the girl across the hall when she found bleach in the washer but she has no proof of this. Character MAYBE thinks she is being bullied by the girl across the hall when she makes a comment about how good it was that she has a body that does not require her to diet... Main character is obsessed with the girl across the hall and spies / follows her and her friends home from the CD store. Character MAYBE has a strange crush on her married dorm supervisor.

I expected something like Heathers but even Heathers got to the point faster than this book did in terms of our characters and the situation at hand and what was to happen to the aggressors. I think this book needs to go back to the drawing board before presenting it for reading - there is just a lot of nothing happening to get me interested or care about the journey the main character is going on.

I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately and when I started this read I fully expected a standard run of the mill thriller. I had a bit of initial trouble with the unreliable narrator however I felt the author did an excellent job of really pulling me into this character. I am so glad I stuck with it. I found this book to be not only suspenseful and well written but also perceptive, intriguing and totally original. She has created a character that provides an unflinching look at mental illness and delivers her story with compassion and skill. I couldn't put this one down and finished the story feeling satisfied, enlightened and thoroughly entertained. A superb effort I look forward to recommending to library patrons.

I have received an advanced reader's copy of this book thanks to NetGalley. This title was awesome and a great way to start off my 2023 Reading Challenge. This book kept me glued to my eReader for two days straight. I loved the way the author created this dark academia, Heathers/Mean Girls dynamic. It kept me guessing until the very end. Highly recommend this book, but please be wary that it contains triggering material such as mentions of mental illnesses/bi-polar, murder, suicide and hanging.

I am a little conflicted on this book. I felt like parts of it really dragged, but I couldn't DNF it. I wanted to know what happened. It was interesting seeing the inner workings of Sarah's mind. I thought the ending was surprising, and I liked how things were wrapped up. I do feel like there were some unanswered questions on my part, but I liked Sarah's development as a character especially in regards to her mother.

Thanks to Netgalley for the book to review.