Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book. It played with the classics and intertwined them with a story of rage, love and finding yourself. I fell for Alice and Lottie and their journey. I think this would be a great story for high school or college literature class, it was so wonderfully written and relevant.

Rating: 3.5 stars

I felt the book progressively got better as time as passed. The school that was previously closed due to mysterious deaths is now open up again, and then a string of mysterious deaths occur again at that same school. Honestly, I didn't have any expectations for the book, but it was worth a read. The character development could use some improvement, and the beginning of the book could've been better executed.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I am starting to enjoy thrillers a lot more than I did before. This was a bit of a crazy read. The college closed do to some students lost their lives, but now the school is reopening and there is a chance it could happen all over again. The girls relationship was enjoyable and they were really opposites was amazing. I need to look into more books by this author.

Fun enough as a YA thriller, but fails to live up to the advertised description. This story had a lot of potential and I wish it would've been fleshed out to the MAX, however it fell quite short for me.

I absolutely loved this book and setting. A little Jekyll & Hyde, with enemies to lovers teaming up to solve a decades old crime. If you love books, mystery, elite private schools and a LGBTQ love twist, this book is for you!

TW: death, body horror, discussion of suicide/murder, blood letting, blood consumption
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This book was lowkey terrifying and disturbing and I definitely had to put it down a few times to calm down.

But.

This book was amazing, well-written, full of badass females taking back their power and owning their pain. The Society exists not because it wanted to be, but because it is a need. Women are always taught to be small and control ourselves and the like…what is one to do when so many injustices have been wrought against one? Take it? No. We fight back.

‘Power is only vouchsafed to the man who dares to stoop and pick it up.’ (Quote from Crime & Punishment by Dostoevsky).
Let’s stoop, bitches.
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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This is a sapphic, modern gothic retelling of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
I'm not sure if it wad the share name of Lottie combined with the sapphic grumpy x sunshine, but it at first had a wholesome likness to The Rosewood Chronicles. It also reminded me of Claire and Elise from The Coldest Touch.

"Laura Steven's 'The Society for Soulless Girls' is a captivating blend of historical fiction and fantasy, set in the enchanting Victorian era.

The book weaves a compelling narrative, drawing readers into a world of dark secrets and forbidden magic. The protagonist's journey is both empowering and relatable, and the intricate world-building adds depth to the story.

While the pacing may feel a bit rushed at times, the overall plot and the well-crafted characters make this novel a thrilling and immersive experience!

It never fails - when a book character arrives at an elite school there is bound to be secret societies and/or ancient evils. This book is no different. It does have something of a novel approach but the general thrust of the plot is fairly expected. Its dense and sort of plodding so it requires patient reading.

An interesting story inspired by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It was definitely atmospheric and moody; I liked the two main characters but I didn’t necessarily think they had chemistry, so seeing them as a couple didn’t quite work for me, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying this story!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Ten years after the North Tower murders led to the unsolved deaths of four Carvell students, the school is finally able to reopen and welcoming in both old and new members of staff and a new host of students. Among these new students are Lottie and Alice, who are thrown together as roommates despite their almost immediate struggles getting along. Between Alice's struggles to control her anger and to keep herself in check and Lottie's obsession with researching and investigating the long-cold case of the North Tower murders, their first days at the newly opened Carvell are difficult enough as it is. And things only get worse after another student dies in a way eerily similar to the original murders. Is this the killer's return, a copycat, or a horrific coincidence? And to what lengths will Alice and Lottie go to find the truth?

Using a Jekyll & Hyde retelling as a way to explore the depths of feminine rage isn't something I ever thought I would see, but Laura Steven really went out there and did it, and she did it so well. The mystery kept me guessing throughout and the slowly shifting relationship between Lottie and Alice was so interesting to watch as they each floundered to protect themselves and later one another from the darkness haunting their school. I spent most of this book seething angrily, and not in a bad way like you might think. Watching Alice and Lottie and their friend Hafsah and so many other girls and women on Carvell's campus be repeatedly corrected and looked down upon for any actions or behavior that wasn't deemed to be ladylike by the men in the story was such an upsetting and deeply relatable experience to read about, and I'm honestly so grateful to Laura Steven for writing a story where girl's are taught their whole lives to fear and hate their anger and their rage and finally learn to come to terms with it as a part of who they are and even to embrace it. Because feminine rage is not the evil it is painted by so many to be, and this story proves that you are still important and, even more so, can still be *good,* even with your anger.

Alice, on the other hand, is not as excited

This was just fine. I think for me it was personally a two, but I can see myself loving it as a teen, so I'm landing on a three star. My largest complaint is that it took a long time to get to what the book was sold as and then the ending was quite cheesy. Additionally, I found Alice really hard to like as a character. I think I would've liked the whole book more if it had just been from Lottie's POV.

EVERYTHING I NEVER KNEW I WANTED. SAPPHIC RETELLINGS ARE THE BEST. GIVE THEM ALL TO ME, . AND JECKLL AAND HYDE--DO I EVEN HAVE TO....AAAAHHHHH!

This is a really cool book. I love the plot, and it was very different than the normal, but so read this is a dark academia enemies to lovers retell of Jekyll and Hyde. And this is the first time I’ve read this Author and I think she did a wonderful job with. It. Definitely read the trigger warnings before you get into it ! Three stars






Hyde.

this was a fun, creepy, twisty novel! I loved that the book was written in dual POV and we get to hear the story from Lottie and Alice's point of views. Occasionally, it will even go back and hear what the other one was doing at the time. Alice wants so badly to silence the negative thoughts in her head that it leads her to make some questionable decisions but at the heart of her she just wants to be accepted and loved, much like we all do. I enjoyed how the story wound its way, dropping hints along the way to help figure out what's really going on. I liked the supernatural aspects and Salem might be on of my favorites!

This one didnt grab my attention unfortunately. I don't think it's bad and think a lot of people will like it. It just wasn't for me.

This book opens with hearing about Lottie, who has decided to attend Carvell, a university that has been closed for 10 years due to deaths happening on campus. Lottie decides to attend to figure out what has happened to someone her family was close to. Lottie meets her roommate, Alice, and it seems that there’s more to Carvell than meets the eye. The question is if Lottie and Alice can figure it out, or will they be new victims to the campus and its ghosts.

I found this book captivating. It started off a little slow for me, but that was appreciated at the end when the background information helped me understand what all happened and was happening at Carvell. I would definitely read more about Carvell in the future - I think the author could easily find another mystery at Carvell and I would appreciate that. However, I do think it is a solid standalone, and I would not fault the author for leaving Lottie, Alice, and Carvell as it is.

A dark academic sapphic enemies-to-lovers retelling of Jekyll & Hyde? Ummm yes please! That’s what originally intrigued me about this book. As we all know, I’m currently in my dark academia era. Thankfully I really enjoyed this retelling and I’m very excited to read more by this author.

3.5 stars

I didn't love or hate this. I liked it and I'm perfectly fine with that. I loved the Jekyll and Hyde them definitely. That is on of my favorite literary classics so I was already on board with that. I like that the spooky vibes start just about right away. I like that the main characters were opposites. I dig a grumpy/sunshine situation in both platonic and romantic relationships. I will say that at one point both of their attitudes about each other did begin to grate my nerves some although given their ages I always try to give them some grace for it. All in all it was a good read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children for the copy in exchange for my review.

The Society for Soulless Girls follows two students, Lottie and Alice, the first years to attend the newly reopened Carvell after almost a decade of closure following a series of strange murders. Lottie has come to find answers, Alice has come to learn, but both find themselves drawn into the mystery surrounding the North Tower and the ghosts that still haunt the academic halls.

Steven does an amazing job of painting the school with a dark, creepy academic feel, almost Carvell it's own character. The cast is diverse and well fleshed out to create a more realistic feel to the story. Both of the MCs are flawed, Alice especially who deals with severe anger issues. As someone who dealt with a terminally ill parent and the inability to turn to someone to express that, I get that anger. This story establishes very well the fact that girls have the same anger and fury that boys do, and they need healthy ways to deal with them, even if it's just wrestling with their brothers (as the example given in the book).

The romance is pretty much second string and felt a little forced, but I did enjoy seeing Lottie and Alice go from their VERY prickly first meeting to the end where they come to trust one another.

If you're sensitive to body horror I would be careful with this, but other then that I really recommend this story.