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.

Intense story full of tasty tidbits of academia and gothic goodness. Lottie and Alice are first year students at the newly reopened Carvell College of Arts. Closed for mysterious student deaths at the now closed North Tower, current students enter at their own peril. Soon after another student dies. Lottie immediately suspects her prickly roommate Alice but then she too falls prey to the sinister school. This was an interesting read that I wish had more moments fleshed out. Alice and Lottie's love story happened too fast for me. I would have loved to see more build up between the two of them. But overall an intriguing read.

With a Jekyl and Hyde vibe, this is deliciously suspenseful. Good one for your TBR around Halloween Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a review.

Carvell School of the Arts just recently reopened and Lottie and Alice are both excited to attend, but for different reasons. Ten years ago, there were a series of deaths on the campus causing it to close and one of the victims was a neighbor of Lottie's and now she wants to use the reopening to try to solve the mystery of what happened. Lottie and Alice are roommates and at first they do not get along. Alice is filled with anger and has a hard time trying to not lash out at every person who makes her angry. While Lottie spends her spare time trying to investigate the murders, Alice spends her spare time in the library where she finds a strange book containing a soul-splitting spell. Alice thinks this could help her cope with her anger and so she tries it. Once Alice performs the ritual, it seems to open up a way to help figure out who committed the murders ten years ago and who has started killing again. It has all the delightful elements of dark academia and dark humor that I enjoy immensely.

A plot fueled by mystery. Alice and Lottie are characters worth knowing. The storyline has a great pace and story depth. Personally I can’t say I liked it but I didn’t dislike it either.

Ten years ago, four students lost their lives to an unsolved murder at the elite Carvell Academy. Now the college is reopening and Lottie, a fearless freshman, is determined to figure out what happened. When Lottie’s roommate, Alice, stumbles into a soul-splitting ritual hidden in a book in the library, another murder occurs. Is the killer among them? Or worse…within them?

This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it wasn’t a bad book – just a case of miss matched expectations. This is a modern-day retelling of Jekyll and Hyde that is mildly sapphic. I say mild because nothing really happened sapphic until the last 10% or so of the book. I was slightly disappointed by this, so don’t go into this one expecting much of a romance, it wasn’t. This book has plenty of twists and turns and is full of surprises. I absolutely loved the setting; dark academia is always so fun to read – and this was the book that did not disappoint in that regard. I also really enjoyed the gothic elements of this one, they were pretty dark, and the writing was utterly moody. For a YA book this one was great, I do think that a couple of points could have been better developed, but overall, it was a good read. Also, I knew I would enjoy this one from the dedication alone.

If you are looking for a gothic YA retelling of Jekyll and Hyde, then I recommend you check this one out.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Random House Childrens – Delacorte Press, and Netgalley, @netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Additional Links will be added once posted.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

You know, I really liked this book. I’m 100% sure that most people who review will talk about the plot holes (of which there were a couple, all acknowledged) or something, but I didn’t care about any of that. Any bad is far outweighed by good.

The pros:
1) pacing: the book moves quickly. It doesn’t take long to pull the reader in and get them invested and frankly, once you are invested, the tension just builds and builds until it boils over. Not a slow burner at all, imho.
2) the girls: I do think Alice had more potential than was used-she’s a dark girl who we know little about other than she’s goth, has a sick mom, is jealous of her brothers, and had complicated relationships with two exes (I don’t think any of that is an actual spoiler), but her chemistry with Lottie is great and Lottie, our sunshine girl, is my fave. Do I think more development could’ve been achieved? Yes. Do I think the lack hurt the book? Not so much.
3) the cultural significance: there’s never a point where I thought the book was heavy handed, but it had, to me, a very relevant feminist message.
4) setting: dark academia, a bit gothic, super spooky. Made the whole atmosphere simply tasty. Much beloved.

The Society for Soulless Girls was a maddeningly inconsistent book. On the one hand, I give it props for having a diverse cast and shedding a light on autistics and asexuals.

At the same time, I hated the asexual erasure that happened later in the book. It also didn’t sit well with me that the autistic woman was referred to as a “slut.” In a book that’s supposed to be all about women’s righteous anger at the patriarchy, it felt odd that the author used such a male label for women (not girls, dammit—they were 19).

I love all things horror, but it was a bit hard for me to suspend my belief to the point that I could buy that all of it really happened. Also, why in the ever loving hell would the school have opened again? Talk about ridiculous.

There was a scene with animal torture/murder in it, too. And it was rather brutal.

I did love the author’s sense of humor, especially when she compared friends to Pokémon, lol. The enemies to lovers trope was nice, although it did lead to the asexual erasure.

All in all, I’d say that this book failed when it counted the most. Very unfortunate.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Hmmmm, what to say, what to say…. I love a sapphic reimagining with ace representation of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde but I especially support young angry femmes. I think the general sentiment of this book is "why do men--" HAHA

It was giving dark academic, grumpy x sunshine, Wednesday x Enid & I didn’t hate that!

I have a lot of mixed thoughts about this story.

I loved the characters. They all have unique personalities with fears, and hopes that the POV switching really drives home. Throughout the book they grow, and discover themselves. All of this is fantastically done. The relationships, and friendships feel real, even in the side characters.

The build up of the mystery is enthralling, the mix of Catholic history with LGBTIA+ storylines weaving through the story is a nice theme. If the reader is a lover of true crime they will likely be drawn in more by the premise of the school. I didn't catch many of the well laid foreshadowing bit in the personalities of the first few chapters. So the reveal was surprising for me.

It's really the post climax that gets me. So much is rushed, clipped short, like the story isn't quiet finished. It jumps from POV to POV with weird half scenes or time jumps like it wasn't shown the care the beginning of the book is. Again, this doesn't take away from the characters, or plot, it just left me wanting more.

Personally I was rather unimpressed with the conclusion, the whole what the girls did with their "god given anger". I found myself rolling my eyes and laughing at the absurdness of it. The story is built on a feminist base, laced with philosophy research threads and the best the ending could be was a literal [spoiler] female version of fight club [spoiler] it just cheapened the message that the book was shooting for. This whole ending could just be a me thing, so I still stand by this being a good book worth reading.

The Jekyll and Hyde theme is well done. I feel like the best retellings take the original and twist it around so only the base theme is left, and that is exactly what is done here. The author explores different paths while staying true to the nature of the original.

You'll love this book if you enjoy gothic academic themes, young adult characters and unique takes on old classics.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I really tried to enjoy this book but it wasn't my cup of tea. I'm not sure if it was because of my unfamiliarity with the UK since I'm located in the US or if I just didn't enjoy this book. The excerpt seemed very interesting to me but I think it just didn't work for me and I made it perhaps only a quarter of the way through the book.