The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven presents an intriguing premise—a reopening of an elite college marred by past murders, a sinister ritual, and a haunted library. However, while the concept holds promise, the execution falls short.

One of the notable aspects of the book is the lack of distinct voices for the main characters, Lottie and Alice, who have contrasting personalities. This makes it difficult to connect with them on a deeper level and understand their motivations. The constant suspicion between Lottie and Alice feels forced and hampers the development of their relationship.

Additionally, some plot elements, such as the animal murder, don't effectively contribute to the overall storyline. Certain twists are predictable, diminishing the impact they could have had. The promised slow-burn romance between Lottie and Alice fails to materialize, resulting in a lack of chemistry between them.

The book draws parallels to Jekyll and Hyde, which is an interesting concept. However, the execution of these parallels, as well as other plot and characterization inconsistencies, leaves something to be desired. The dialogue often feels contrived and lacks authenticity, making it difficult to fully immerse oneself in the story.

On the positive side, the premise holds potential and the book touches on themes of identity and duality. The haunted setting of Carvell College adds an eerie atmosphere to the narrative. However, the characters themselves feel flat and fail to leave a lasting impression.

In conclusion, The Society for Soulless Girls offers an intriguing concept with its reopening of a college haunted by past murders. However, inconsistencies in plot, character development, and dialogue prevent it from reaching its full potential. While the book may appeal to readers who appreciate paranormal mysteries, it falls short of delivering a truly captivating and immersive experience.

2.3 rounded down to 2/5

Not bad. I felt like we could have leaned into the horror more. Don't feel like I got a resolution to the rubies in Lottie's throat, unless I missed that part. I wanted it to be sped up also. I felt like the pacing was quite slow.

I don't think I read much of the blurb past a Jekyll and Hyde retelling if I'm being honest.

I liked this. A dark, Gothic YA thriller. And when I say dark, I mean there were some dark parts that I wasn't expecting. Silly right? Knowing it's a Jekyll and hide retelling. But I was still a bit surprised.

I loved the supernatural element to it. That some things were left open to question. As the characters questioned it, so do you as the reader. But where it may not normally work for other books, it works for this one. Leaving some spookiness to the overall feeling you're left with.

There may be some triggers to look up of you're sensitive to certain things. I was a little squeamish over one in particular: animal abuse/death. And it's not overly bad and it's quick, not graphic but be aware. But then there's the supernatural aspect to it. So maybe think along the lines of Binx from Hocus Pocus.

A good read, I'd recommend to anyone who loves dark academia and Gothic reads. Anyone a fan of supernatural and YA thrillers will definitely want to check this out.

Enemies to lovers, murder mystery what more could you want! It’s a lot like dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with a big twist! So many plot twists you don’t actually expect what ends up to be figured out towards the end! Such a good read! I was hooked in chapter 1 and it’s not easy to hook me in the first chapter! Laura Steven is a writing genius! Get this book when it comes out!!

Reviewed for NetGalley:

This had a strong start. Murder mystery, intrigue, younf adult dorm life.

But unfortunately, dual perspectives are either a hit or miss for me and this didn’t work for me.

Carvell College is re-opening after 10 years, hoping to escape its dark past with a fresh start Lottie has come to solve the mystery that's fascinated her since childhood while Alice is running from her own demons. These two women couldn't be more different when they end up as roommates living under the shadow of the infamous (and forbidden) North Tower. Unfortunately, the past isn’t ready to let go.

We get to experience this story through alternating viewpoints as Alice and Lottie find themselves growing closer to campus secrets and each other. This is so much more than a romantic mystery as elements of the supernatural seamlessly weave together to explore the depths of how female rage has been regarded over time.

The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven was everything I was hoping for and more. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

I adored this book! The author did an amazing job creating the atmosphere and making you feel like you were a student at Carvell. I loved the gothic/dark academia vibes and the dark humor of the main characters. This book explored possession and the supernatural, violence in women, and femininity. This book would be perfect to read during the fall for the dark academia vibes and the general spookiness. Highly recommend!

A darker twist on the Truly Devious series..this was a great read and I look forward to reading more by Laura Steven. I would recommend this to teens and adults who enjoy reading teen cold case mysteries or adult cold case mysteries.

This captivating young adult mystery novel weaves a complex web of twists and turns, enhanced by its unique narrative perspective: the story is artfully told through the voices of two spirited English women. If you're accustomed to American narrators, it may take a little adjustment to fully immerse yourself in the vivid setting of Carvell College, but their delightful accents serve as a gateway to the rich tapestry of this academic world.

One aspect of this book that pleasantly surprised me was its exploration of asexuality. It was refreshing to see this often overlooked aspect of human identity represented, adding depth and diversity to the narrative. The authors skillfully integrate this theme into the story, offering readers a chance to engage with and understand different facets of human sexuality.

Alongside the main mystery, there is a compelling subplot that unfolds throughout the book—an intricate dance between two characters who are neither enemies nor friends but find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other. As the story progresses, their relationship subtly transforms, gradually evolving into a captivating romance. However, while the development of their bond is satisfying, it does feel slightly rushed in the final chapters. Given the complexities of their connection, it would have been rewarding to see their journey unfold with a bit more nuance and exploration, allowing readers to savor the blossoming of their relationship to its fullest potential.

Thank you netgallery and St. Martin's Press for this free ARC in exchange for a honest review

This book was an engaging and well written read that you will love if you enjoy gothic YA stories. It’s heavy on the atmosphere and I loved the dark academia setting and general spooky ambiance.

While technically a retelling, this Jekyll & Hyde style plot was a dark and interesting take on a well known tale and went to places I wasn’t quite expecting. And also places that were slightly uncomfortable at times (hem hem cat killing).

However, my main complaint is I wouldn’t really characterize this as a romance. Personally I felt there was very little romance and the chemistry between the mc’s was pretty lackluster. I know this is YA so no spice but there wasn’t even any kissing until the very end.

All in all this book is a good older-YA supernatural mystery/thriller (light romance) that would be perfect to save for Halloween or to check off a bingo square. 3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to love this book. The description, title and the cover honestly made me think I’d downright adore it. A dark academia featuring LGBTQ rep, unsolved deadly mysteries and — justifiably — angry girls? Sign me the hell up.

But it all ended up being a bit of a disappointment. The mystery at the core of the Society for Soulless Girls makes little sense, and the “big reveals” peppered into the book don’t clarify anything, but further muddle it all up. (Too many important details are glossed over too quickly when they should be explored further — the possessions, for one.) Also worth noting that the antagonists of the story are difficult to wrap your head around — how everything plays out with one feels way too easy, and not how you’d expect someone so villainous to react in that kind of situation. In general, I do wish more time had been spent by the author and editorial team on developing vital parts of the plot, as well as the motivations for each side character. (Some of them really could have used it!)

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.*

I absolutely looooved this book. The setting, the characters (especially Alice) and the story in general. It's probably one of my favourite books this year. I do wish there was more romance between the characters but I guess trying to survive evil doesn't leave you too much in the mood. So it is sapphic, but I wouldn't jump at recommending it to someone seeking a sapphic romance, unless they wanted romance on the back burner and dark magic and possession up front. All in all, a great book.

This is the ultimate famine rage story and I loved it!!!
The descriptions in this book were awesome and I felt like I was right there in the story.

Anything pitched as a Jekyll and Hyde retelling is for me. Not to mention the sunshine/grump romance sprinkled throughout.

I picked up on the way this story would end from pretty early on, but to have these girls go through a rollercoaster of emotions, among other things, to get there kept my attention hooked until the very end.

Big fan of alternating point of views through the different chapters as well, it helped to give more definition to both Lottie and Alice; as well as giving insight to how each girl was internally fighting against the different obstacles set against them.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the e-arc!

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC!
Am I? In my dark academia era?! I am OBSESSED with this story.
First of all, it is so atmospheric—I have an incredibly hard (read: impossible) time picturing what I’m reading, but I can practically taste the air at Carvell College.
The premise of this book is super cool— a queer retelling of Jeckyll and Hyde, but also like a supernatural legally blonde (I did see that in another review but it absolutely fits), and also a bit like Scooby Doo.
Our main, incredible cast consists of Lottie—our brilliant jock, sunshine personified, seriously tho brilliant girlie pop, Alice—obviously her opposite. My sweet noodle is a menace in her head, she is angry and brilliant and like? Such a badass—I would like her wardrobe right now. Andddd my bb Hafsah— my personal fave, my explicitly autistic angry “slutty” (her words) love who is basically me 😂
A lot of what I should talk about is really integral to the plot twists so just know this gets 👀 very wild 👀 I had a lot of fun reading this and highly recommend it (especially for my religious trauma bbies)

The Society for Soulless Girls disappointed me in a lot of aspects. I had seen a lot about this book when it was released in the UK, and I was super excited to read it. I loved the title, the dark academia setting, that it was was sapphic, that there was a mystery and that it was a Jekyll and Hyde retelling. Unfortunately the book didn't live up to my expectations. Where I felt the most let down was in the atmosphere. I didn't feel like I got enough gothic lushness to really support the story. I also wasn't a huge fan of Alice and Lottie's relationship, it never felt like it was fleshed out very well and seemed rushed. I could have gotten over a lot of these pieces, but the ending made me absolutely angry and completely ruined the atmosphere of the novel.

thank you netgalley for the arc !

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ 3/5 stars ✩࿐

read if you like:
♡ slow-burn sapphic enemies to lovers romance
♡ grumpy x sunshine
♡ dark academia
♡ dual pov
♡ dr. jekyll and mr. hyde retelling
♡ feminine rage

⁀➷ a knife-sharp sapphic dr. jekyll and mr. hyde retelling, the society for soulless girls worries at the wound of feminine trauma and unleashes its rage with blood dripping from every page. as laura steven wittily divines in the dedication, this one is “for the girls who were born angry”.

⁀➷ after a string of four unsolved murders in its north tower resulted in the closure of illustrious carvell college of arts - now, ten years later, the doors are once again open for enrolment. affable lottie with her field-hockey scholarship and sharp-edged alice are thrust together as roommates, with neither of them too happy with this arrangement. with both of them holding their cards close to their chest as to why they’ve come to carvell, the ever-widening distance between the two of them is all but unbridgeable. when the cycle of deaths is once again set into motion, alice and lottie will have to set aside their differences before it’s too late.

⁀➷ with the extreme marketability for feminine rage in media right now this book is more than timely. that, and how perfectly its contents slot it into the dark academia sub-genre raises flags as to why it’s not a huge hit as of yet. indeed, despite a raft of positive reviews and a warm enough reception, the response seems a little underwhelming, all told. whilst i may have my own misgivings regarding the slightly unmoored plot, the society for soulless girls is well and truly a strong contribution to the dark academia body of work. the nods to the secret history were tasteful without being derivative and the transfiguration of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde was inspired rather than parroted. the writing itself was clean and tidy, albeit struck occasionally by a few instances of overwrought mfa-adulterated prose. i found myself utterly caught up in futile attempts to uncover the secrets infused within the walls of carvell more than once to no effect - to my surprise. i enjoy a good plot twist as much as the next person, if not more. safe to say i was caught off guard more than once with the sinister mysteries scoring every page and with all those character blackouts.

⁀➷ in having alice and lottie be essentially two sides of the same coin, the characterization made manifest the different symptoms of feminine rage. their extreme dissimilarity and the head-butting it then necessitated contributed significantly towards the tension thrumming throughout the plot. not to mention that this core struggle then inevitably compensated for when scenes seemed to be taking on a desultory pace and really picked up the slack. a testament to steven’s writing, the dual pov seamlessly circumvented the all too common pitfall of the characters' voices ever bleeding into one another. alice with her cigarette pants, litanies of famous philosophers she’d name-drop apropos of nothing and her air of affected meanness that was fooling no one, could not have been further from her elle woods coded, effervescent counterpart, the indomitably cheerful lottie. if you haven’t gathered from my slightly derisive description, i found alice to be grating a little too frequently for my taste and therefore really strained to care much for the romance between herself and lottie - much as i felt an affinity for the latter.

➸ conclusion :
a meandering but otherwise pulsing with sinister fun read, the society for soulless girls is a grimoire in female anger.

** I'd like to thank Random House Children's for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

Rating: 3.2/5 ⭐️'s

I had no idea this book had already come out when I'd requested the ARC from the folks over at Netgalley. Apparently this upcoming release of Sept. 19th is the US release, so it has been out in the UK since last year. So, I guess I could be interpretating this story differently than UK readers due to my distance from England.

Anyway, onto the review! Always keep in mind that any amount of criticism doesn't mean you shouldn't discredit the book immediately! I did read this book quickly, but my opinions don't change.

As always, I like to start with the characters before the plot. Let's observe protagonist #2 - Alice. Alice feels written to be a stereotypical goth girl. From the Doc Martens to the angry cussing and black sheep attitude, it's obvious she's trying to be the "idea" of what a goth girl is like. Don't get me wrong, plenty of goths can be this way, but it's a little comical. Having a very emo look was fine, but it just kept pushing the stereotype with her type in authors and preferred activies with a roommate. Her description of high school made me cringe, as it sounded like every 12 year old's experience in life, but tried to be edgy. Her narration was also very disjointed at the start of the novel, somewhat just blabbing different things that don't impact me. The self-pity also gets tiring quickly. Now, Protagonist #1 - Lottie. While I know girls in sports can be just as preppy as other girls, I found her personality so different than what you'd expect. If someone is playing field hockey, I'd at least expect someone with a slight masculine feel and a strong build. It's noted that Lottie looks like she'd be on the cover of Sports Illustrated, but I don't see it. I think this was done to show the "grumpy x sunshine" trope. I think an emo girl and a girl who defies sports/attitude stereotypes would've been a better combination. Lottie felt irritating at points and stereotypical in her own way - blonde, tan, and blue eyed. Geez. I wonder if these descriptions of the characters throughout the novel were done with the intention of art being made of them. It helps with envisioning characters, but do I seriously need this much useless information on their clothing choices?

Next is the romance. Alice is suffering from a classic "I loved my best friend and she moved away" trope and this seems traditional of queer representation for some reason. As a queer person myself, I understand this trope, but it would be refreshing if it wasn't so common. In addition, the romance between these two was...lacking. So much of it was spent in nothing. Which, by the way, as an asexual person myself, I serverly wished to have seen a bit more come from that revelation. How complicated was it for her? How did it affect her feelings for Alice? All of that and more is what I wanted. Being asexual is *hard* and there's a lot of emotions that come from that and it's very hard to brush it off. I would've 100% preferred for Lottie to come out as asexual and explore some of the aromanticism that can come with it before confessing to Alice.

Now, I shall talk about the general story and the pacing. I found the chapters to be too short and the POVs jumped a little too quickly. I understand that you always want to know what's going on for the other character, but I think it's a better idea to take some pages and flesh out some more thoughts and feelings and settings. Mystery demands quick pace, but it's also okay to take some time with the characters. Also, while I am an *avid* curser, the instances where the curse words were added felt a little awkward and felt like they were there for a tinge of shock value. The writing in this story felt blatantly YA and very much like it is targeted toward an age group that hasn't experienced college yet. As a college student, I know the feeling of going to a new place and feeling alone, but this felt like any other college beginning in a book. The metaphors in this book were neverending and while I enjoy them in my personal writing, there has to come a point where it's meaningful rather just being there for the quote potential. Pacing was a bit messy and truthfully, maybe this type of feminine rage is not my type of feminine rage. As for its inspiration, The Stange Case of Jekyll and Hyde, I find that it might've been more appropriate to have an outside character interpret Alice and Lottie, especially to add a higher sense of suspence. A third person might've also suited this book more, but that's a personal preference.

The plot itself? Somewhat unremarkable to me. I love the Jekyll and Hyde story and this came up short. In all honesty, sometimes the language of the "transformations" made it seem like werewolf transformations were happening.

Overall, I feel as if this book promised many things, but let down on some of them. This is by no means a diss on the author, as everyone views books through different lenses and different expectations. For me, though, I failed to feel entranced by this English school full of mystery and the girls who are experiencing strange things. Dark academia, at least to me, is a severely mismarketed genre and because of this, people expect one thing and then end up disappointed when it's not like "The Secret History" by Donna Tart. Dark academia has to be more than just aesthetics!


At the end of the day, you may love this book. Plenty of people do! Don't be afraid to pick it up and try it yourself if it entrances you, but just know that not every book is what it seems ;).

Happy reading!

"For the girls who were born angry."

Thank you Netgalley & Random House Children's Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Society for Soulless Girls wasn't a bad book by any means - but I'm not sure it was for me. You start off with Lottie and Alice, both starting their first year at a new school that was closed for a decade due to a slew of on-campus deaths. The first 25-30% of this book was honestly pretty boring. Nothing interesting really happened until around the 30% mark, and I did have to cajole myself through that initial blandness.

I've got to be honest - I disliked Alice. I completely understood her: she was prickly, self-righteous, mean-spirited, judgemental, and vindictive. Despite understanding that all of that stemmed from her fear of not being accepted, she was impossible to like. Being inside her head for those mean moments might've helped me understand her, but I didn't like her. In some ways, I think my understanding of her made me dislike her more.

I do have a general agreement that anger, in women, is seen as this perverse behavior that we should not allow ourselves to experience, and I agree that angry women aren't inherently bad. In fact, I find myself angry a lot of the time. Like Alice, I've been an angry teenage girl, and I think the thing about Alice I had an issue with was her innate need to make everyone feel as bad as she did. Anger is ok, it's a neutral emotion, in my opinion, because we all experience it - but how Alice displayed her anger is what bothered me about her.

Lottie, on the other hand, was okay. She didn't instill any particular love in me, but I didn't dislike her, and I actually enjoyed a lot of her chapters - she was a dog with a bone, and she was going to solve that mystery even if it killed her. I wished she had a tiny bit more self-preservation, of course, but what heroine in a mystery thriller is known for self-preservation, anyway?

I did actually enjoy the settling of this story. I felt swept up in the campus fear, could perfectly picture Lottie walking alone through campus at night, and could see Alice hunkering down in the old-as-hell library. I think I actually could've loved this book if the pace had picked up a bit more in the beginning, and if Alice was just like 15% nicer. I'll also admit that I found the author quite funny - a lot of their little quips ("albeit in a satanic way") really made me laugh, and I found myself screenshotting those moments because I liked them so much. I also loved the female relationships in this book. Their love for each other, for their fellow women, really shone through.

In the end, if you're into mysterious, gothic college campuses hiding dead bodies and creepy secrets, and can accept a hard-to-love MC, you would like this book!