Thank you for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.
This was not the book for me. I kept getting confused between Lottie and Alice as their voices did not seem distinct enough for me. I liked the premise of this book and the idea of this book, it just fell a little flat for me.

I loved the premise, and the blurb and that was it. This is written in such a Gen Z way, that this old bird couldn't get into it. I stopped at 25% and just decided there was way better things out there for me.
Tha k you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A Dark Academia retelling of the Jekyll and Hyde story that also name-checks The Picture of Dorian Grey, my favorite book ever? Yes, please. I was not disappointed. From the beginning, the oppressive atmosphere of Carvell Academy permeates everything and only grows. The school is so well described that, by the end, the grounds felt familiar. Did I mention that it used to be a convent where the nuns may have been possessed by the devil? The plot is consistently suspenseful, even if the ending felt a little rushed. But it was the characters that made me care. Lottie is a sweet, optimistic athlete and, even if I tend to dislike those types in real life, I found her adorable. Alice is an unlikable goth, who is rude and borderline psychopathic, but I was still rooting for her. The supporting characters were mostly OK, except for the villain, who seemed a little cartoonish. The story is very suspenseful, twisty and full of powerful images (I will never see rubies the same way again). Enjoyable and entertaining.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Random House Children's, Delacorte Press!

I liked the setting, the conversations, the characters, the symbolism, the representation and it was darker than I expected. However, it took 60% of the book to get to the point. I wish that the society was introduced earlier & was discussed more. I was mostly confused the entire first half because the pacing was off. I also think the "in love" between Lottie & Alice was a stretch.

Wow I was not expecting this to be different then what it is. What I mean by that is I thought okay so its like Pretty Little liars with some Big Little lies mixed in. I got that and more with this book. It's more of a how they treat women, young females in general as a whole in society. And that dates back to forever ago really. The girls stumble upon not just Murders and trying to solve them, but how they have anger issues. And are basically taught its not right for females to have this anger. There must be something wrong with us and we must be controlled by a man. Cause they know what's best for us.
This book is told from two points of views. From Alice who is always angry about something and generally isn't very nice to anyone especially to her roommate Lottie. But then since everyone seems to be consumed with trying to find out about the north tower Murders at this school, it becomes just that and more. Alice thinks Lottie looks down at her because she is a jock and beautiful. Where as Lottie thinks Alice is just determined to be angry and hate her because she is a jock and thinks maybe she isn't smart enough to be at this college.
When Alicd stumbles upon a book that can help get rid of her anger problem by doing a ritual she does it.
But it only last for so long before she finds another student does it and they need to always do this to subdue the violent anger they get.
It goes a lot deeper of what all three go to, to figure everything out.
Pick this book up. It was very enjoyable.

3.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads.

This book is for anyone who watched Wednesday and was crushed when Wednesday didn’t hook up with her roommate. The vibe between Alice and Lottie is very similar but gets a little more sapphic.

The Society for Soulless Girls isn’t a perfect book by any means. The narration feels forced and / or awkward at points and there were times when I found the characters’ ability to believe things that seemed outlandish so readily a bit off. But this books delivers a very fun slice of dark academia that tackles misogyny and the myth that female anger is a danger to the world.

sapphic & gothic dark academia that landed pretty much where i expected it to in terms of writing style and plot (quite juvenile and predictable respectively). the characters’ actions were sometimes completely unfounded or obviously plot-influenced (that is to say - they did what the plot needed them to do, not what they might’ve done as fully-fledged-out characters). lastly, the empowering message this potentially intended to contain seemed less an inspiration to take action against sexism in academia & the treatment of women’s rage under patriarchy, and more ‘girlbosses!! our rage is normal & matters!! let’s fight!!’

This book was a mess. The characters all felt and sounded the same, no one had their own personality. The story itself was hard to follow and boring. And I just ended up DNFing it around 30%.

I had been wanting to read this book forever after seeing it on pre order , it sounded almost too good to be true , it wasn’t! This book lives up with to any hype and buzz it’s gotten. I am already about to reread it whixh should tell you how much I liked it!

I really liked the plot of this book. The story was interesting and a fun twist on a classic. My complaint is that the characters felt very one dimensional which was a bummer because I really wanted to like Alice. Also the metaphors/similes were over used, if you cut them down by half the book would be a lot more enjoyable.

The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven.

Summary: Ten years ago, four students lost their lives in the North Tower murders at Carvell College of Arts, forcing Carvell to close its doors. Now Carvell is reopening, and Lottie is determined to find out what really happened. But when her roommate, Alice, stumbles upon a sinister ritual hidden in Carvell's haunted library, the North Tower claims another victim. Can they uncover the truth before the Tower claims another victim?

Rating: 4/5⭐️

Feels: Immaculate dark academia vibes! This book takes you on a journey thru a dark and sinister college and what happens when your will to change is stronger than anything. Their relationship, a forest in Autumn, dark rituals at the library, spooky vibes... can't ask for more!

#TheSocietyforSoullessGirls #NetGalley

Thank you to net galley and Electric Monkey for the Arc
Laura Steven's Society for the Soulless Girls is a new addition to the ever-growing dark academia genre; in the grand tradition, it follows Lottie and Alice as they struggle to untangle the mess of murders that have gone unsolved, all while Lottie is pulled to be the next girl who is found dead in the north tower. It might be Alice who takes her life.
This book is a lovely dark academy novel. However, I struggled to find the feminine rage that was a part of the marketing and draw that brought me in. While both Lottie and Alice are angry characters, I didn't quite get the promised feminine rage.
Over The Society for Soulless Girls is an easy read and a beginner dark academic novel; the sapphic romance is an excellent edition to bring the girls closer together.

This was a REALLY fun gothic-y, sci-fi/fantasy, queer-romantic YA novel. I found myself attached to and rooting for the characters from the first page. I don't usually read fantasy, so I always have to do a bit of work on suspending disbelief, but for these "soulless girls" and all of the characters and atmosphere that surrounds them in this haunted, renowned school, I was glad to do it.

Full enjoyment. 5/5 stars.

I felt so immersed in this story and couldn’t put it down! Im so incredibly thankful to have read an early copy of this book, and highly recommend to those who enjoy tropes such as boarding school, opposites attract, and mystery.

I am having an impossible time reading this book. I would like to give it a longer chance but I cant get through it. I appreciate the idea and the changes in POV but the writing seems not fleshed out and hard to get through.

A dark wood cultivating so many good seeds that don't quite reach their fullest height. I love the way Stevens addresses generational trauma and society's issues with angry women. But sometimes I worry that the story falls by the wayside in service of the soapbox. There are loose ends that I wanted tied, and plot devices that felt shoehorned rather than natural. "Soulless Girls" could have used less navel-gazing and more time spent laying the plot tracks to guide the reader toward the solution of the mystery. (Also, better thought into this solution. I'm not sure I see the connection between the perpetrators' actions and the logic underlying them. It just doesn't really make sense.) Still, Stevens shows writerly chops. I have high hopes for her second novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I’ll try to go into this with no spoilers!

Honestly, this was a 2.5 rounded up for me. I just couldn’t get into this book. The start was so strong and then it took a nosedive as soon as Alice was introduced. I didn’t understand her attitude. She would whine about everyone hating her and literally said that people hate her just for who she is but then turns around and is the worst person ever to Lottie and strangers. Maybe that’s why they hate you! And I didn’t see why Lottie wanted to be with her. They both didn’t have personalities. Lottie is blonde and a jock and Alice is angry and a goth. I’ve never seen a couple with less chemistry.
While I can see where this would be a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde retelling, I didn’t get those vibes as I was reading.

I didn’t understand why certain events happened. Why did Lottie need to go to the school to solve the random death of someone she barely knew? Other things I just couldn’t understand kept piling up.

I know a lot of folks didn’t like the very detailed animal death. It seemed very random and unnecessary since *spoiler* the cat didn’t even die. Was it just to show that Alice’s sanity was slipping? It never explained if Alice actually killed Salem.

This had so much potential and it hurts I didn’t enjoy it like I wanted. Hopefully others will see things I didn’t. Just wasn’t my cup of tea!

The reason why I wanted to read this book was because of the whole “retelling of dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” really liked it.

In general the book is well crafted, good character development , dialog, and plot. it got a bit slow in the middle but picked up near the end to an interesting conclusion. unexpected but healthy in ways you would not think of these stories finishing!

I was so excited for this one but sadly it fell below the mark for me. I found the pacing slow and the characters dull. I felt like the story just dragged on and repeated itself. It didn't hook me in the way thrillers should in my opinion.