The Society for Soulless Girls offers a propulsive page turner with themes that are relevant, albeit a tad heavy handed.

I found myself immediately hooked and turning pages when I started this one. The school setting and small group of students we are introduced too gives a moody and atmospheric dark academia vibe. While I did find myself clamoring to know what was to come I never felt truly engaged with the characters. This made the overall stakes of the book fairly low for me. The social issues/illnesses that are tackled here felt heavy handed for my personal liking. I think showing feminine rage is important and necessary but a little nuance could of made the whole thing more effective and in turn make the characters feel more realistic.

When I saw that this book was going to be published in the US I knew I needed to jump on it and get this book in my hands. Luckily I received it and I have to say it was better than I thought it would be. The premise was interesting, pacing quick, and the characters relatable.

Not sure why, but this Dark Academia went over my head. The dark secrets of the college, the rituals, the mysterious deaths - all just didn't build up enough interest for me. I kind of spaced out during most of the story. But I did appreciate the kind of love story, this book provided.

Maybe it is jut not for me, and others will enjoy this more.

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy. All opinions are my own.

"Within fifteen minutes of arriving at Carvell, I already wanted to slit someone’s throat.”

Needless to say I was intrigued the moment I read Alice’s opening line!

This dark academia, Jekyll and Hyde-inspired tale of two girls investigating a cursed college campus and a ritual that claims to remove the darkness from a person is the perfect way to start Halloween month.

This was such a suspenseful, dark read. Alice’s struggle with her anger and violent impulses leads her to use a soul splitting ritual that effectively turns her into two separate beings. Lottie is determined to uncover the truth about the murders on Carvell’s campus, and ends up getting more than she bargained for with a spirit haunting her and a roommate with murderous tendencies.

I loved how Alice and Lottie’s relationship developed throughout the book after they decided to work together, a perfect enemies to friends to lovers pipeline.

The only question I still have is (spoilers ahead) why Feathering and Mordue didn’t reach out to Alice if they already knew her and Hafsah’s names were on the wall of the tower? It was never explained why they didn’t try to help them…or maybe I missed it somewhere! Would definitely be curious to see if anyone else who read it has the same question.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this arc

I loved the concept of this book with being a dark academia retelling of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and I instantly fell in love with it. I was completely immersed in the academia world of Carvell and could feel all the fall vibes with it. I enjoyed the back and forth POV of Alice and Lottie and seeing their friendship grow and blossom into more throughout the story. I found myself laughing out loud at so many parts and couldn’t put the book down with the short chapters. All the twists were well done and some surprised me, which I love in a thriller. I really enjoyed the feminist message that became formed towards the end and it just made me love this book even more.

Overall, I highly recommend this dark academia YA book for spooky season and anyone who enjoys retellings.

I thought this had some really strong, poignant things to say about female anger, but I don't know that the overall execution lived up to some of the phrases.

uhhh i dont know know what to say about this book.

first of all i really disliked the way it was written, there was something off about it and the editor definitely should’ve helped more. and some of the characters were so annoying i barely got through it.

i guess the only kind of positive thing was the plot.

thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC!

This one had some great potential, and although I found myself wanting to know how it would all end, and what mysterious forces were behind the things happening to our leading ladies, it didn't leave as much of an impact on me as I hoped it would.

The first thing I did when I finished this book was send a picture of the cover to my goth sister.
This book truly had me on the edge of my seat. I loved the suspense and the romance, and crazy sapphics dealing with demonic possession and evil alter egos are my favorite thing. I loved Alice and Lottie's grappling with female rage in a male-dominated system, but also them just trying to safely live their lives. The supernatural elements were delightfully mysterious and creepy, which was just in time for spooky season. My one gripe is just that I kind of wanted more buildup for the big twists at the end. I didn't guess them, but mostly because the focus was elsewhere for much of the novel. Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would totally recommend it for those who like somewhat unhinged love stories, lots of creepy college, and a tinge of possession and Jekyll and Hyde. I couldn't put this down!

At this time, I will not be posting a review on Goodreads.

I am still only 24% into the book, but I am determined to continue. However I recognize that I need to write some sort of review here, or refuse.

I requested this book as Dark Academia is my favorite genre, however to my great shock & surprise once I started reading, I found out the setting is a little too familiar to me, & I cannot stop pointing out the inaccuracies in it's portrayal (which I am sure is done on purpose, as this particular setting is completely fictional, I'm just familiar with one that would be very similar due the circumstances laid out in the text).

I recognize this is an extremely unique problem to have with a book, & therefore if it clouds my judgement of the whole book, I will continue to refrain from rating on Goodreads. I'm rating neutrally here as all other parts of the book are there so far, & I am continuing to read as I'm still interested. I will update my rating & review here as soon as I finish.

This was great! It's very dark and sinister and atmospheric. The story moves at a good pace and the characters are well developed. I think the story is unique and well done. Overall, I would recommend this! Special Thank you to Laura Steven,Random House Children's and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable retelling of Jekyll and Hyde with a twist of enemies to lovers, dark academia and murder mystery.
The book is written dual pov by the the mai h characters Alice and Lottie. Lottie is a hockey player, who’s parents are worried about her attending the school after the murders, but she’s intent on finding out exactly what really happened when her friend committed suicide by jumping off the North Tower. On the other hand you have Alice. Total opposite to Lottie. She’s Lotties roommate, gothic, anger management issues and is attending the school to be closed to her mother.
The characters are well developed and the story flows. There’s plenty of twist and turns throughout the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed it and I wish it had more. I thought the ending felt flat and the romance was rushed.
If you’re fan of dark academia, ya Murder mystery, enemies to lovers and dark settings this is definitely the story for you.

Unfortunately, I struggled with this one. The first third or so seemed slow and a few times throughout I got a bit lost with where the story was going. I didn't buy into the romance and it seemed more for convenience sake of the plot.

The twist on Jekyll and Hyde was pretty cool and the gothic setting lent a nice atmosphere to the story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the copy.

5 Reasons to Read

Gothic Setting

I now want to visit Northumberland the next time I visit England and I really hope there’s a spooky castle style university. This setting is so atmospheric with it’s gothic style writing. I felt like I was looking out the window at a large towered building at twilight with the clouds moving past the moonlit sky. So good!

Enemies to Lovers Romance

Alice does not like Lottie from the first interaction she has with her. Lottie’s cheery personality is the complete opposite of Alice’s “leave me alone or I’ll cut you” vibes.

Dark Rituals & Demon Possessions

Um. Wow. This book is filled with lots of creepy things, including possible possession from a slightly demonic nun. When rituals are performed things start to really get crazy!

Murder

It’s been ten years since the school shut down after a girl fell from the tower to her death. School isn’t in session for long before they find another body. Lottie is determined to figure out what is going on at the school and who is responsible.

Secret Societies

The ending to this madness of a book includes Alice stumbling onto Carvell’s darkest secrets and she may have more in common with the familiar faces around campus than she thought.

I loved this story, the characters and everything about it. I would definitely recommend it if you haven’t already.
10/10

I'm having such conflicting opinions over The Society For Soulless Girls, because:

-as an English lit geek who was more than a little like Alice Wolfe in college, it checks every single one of my boxes
-female rage is SUCH a huge topic right now and the way that Laura Steven wove it into every fiber of the book, including our Jekyll and Hyde twist, is brilliant
-the setting is gorgeously done and evocative. Absolutely remarkable dark academia and one of the finest that I've read in the genre
-did I mention the Jekyll and Hyde twist is brilliant? It's brilliant
-the secret society that gives the book its name is incredible, and I love how layered it is (spoiler: there are actually two societies and they're BOTH more than meets the eye). Honestly, the twists and turns and parallels in this book are stunning and should have had me gasping out loud while I was reading it BUT...

-I really struggled to connect with the writing, particularly Lottie's voice. There were many times that I put the book down and was reluctant to pick it back up, which is a shame because, thematically, it has a lot going for it. I think it's because Lottie and Alice blended into each other a lot, except for when Lottie was annoyingly sunshiney
-The romance felt very, very rushed at the end. I did get hints of sapphic desire throughout, but I didn't really root for either of them together. I actually liked Hafsah, an autistic side character (love the rep! Would read an entire Hafsah-centered story) with Alice better?

However, I think I was definitely a victim of my own expectations (and age!). I feel like if I'd read this in my angsty teenage years, I would have DEVOURED it, and so I do think it's really worthwhile. And, aso: I know I shouldn't judge a book by its cover but...look at it!! Both versions--the dark navy butterflies on one my Goodreads page and the girl holding a burgundy book on my NetGalley version--are literally stunning. Even though I didn't love it like I wanted to, I think many people will and I want to see that cover everywhere.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Delacorte, and Laura Steven for providing me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄
🖤 Sapphic enemies to lovers
🧾 Dark academia
🧙‍♀️ Witchy vibes
🌦 Grumpy/Sunshine
👀 Dual POV

Definitely check the content warnings for this book before reading because it gets dark!

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓
The Society for Soulless Girls is a sapphic Jekyll and Hyde retelling full of dark academia vibes and feminine rage. The story is told from two different perspectives by Lottie and Alice who are both attending a prestigious academy that just reopened after being shut down for a string of mysterious deaths. From here, the story goes absolutely crazy including a murderous nun, an allegedly immortal cat, an evil librarian, and so much more.

𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒
I was in love with the first half of the book, but the second half was a little too much for me. The violence in the story ramped up and the writing seemed to decline. There wasn’t a whole lot of romance (which isn’t a big deal to me), but the romance that did happen felt forced and just an unnecessary plot point. I thought this was going to be a 5/5⭐ read, but it ended up being a 3.5/5⭐ due to some of the content and how it ended.

Thank you for this advanced copy from NetGalley and the publishers. I read this at the perfect time. It's being published at the perfect time. I read the audiobook from my library. I loved it. This story was a complete roller coaster. Every time I thought I knew what was going on, the author said 'sike!' and things went the opposite way. I think the atmosphere and vibes of this story were perfection. It was spooky and creepy with hints of magic and wondering what was actually going on. The story was perfectly suspenseful. It definitely was a little dark and more gruesome than I thought it was going to be and there's a graphic description of an animal death that I didn't love. I definitely will recommend this for the spooky season.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 4 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review!

The Society of Soulless Girls takes place at Carvell Academy, a prestigious school that reopened after four students were found death ten year prior. Lottie and Alice, who are roommates, are swept in when another death happens a few weeks after the reopening.

“The real reason they encourage little girls not to fight. So that we won’t know how.”

Trigger warnings; blood, gore, death, murder, graphic animal death, misogyny, sexual assault, mental illness, injury detail

I read the synopsis for this book and immediately wanted to read it! It gave me all the gothic, creepy vibes perfect for autumn and the spooky season! I do have to say that the book can definitely be triggering to some and no trigger warnings were given at the start, so I would advise looking those up.

The first thing I noticed were the very short chapters! Both Lottie and Alice had their POV’s and a very distinguishable voice. With both of their chapters quite short it was very easy to say to myself “oh, just one more chapter” and promptly read more than one hahaha.

I really liked the atmosphere created! It truly felt haunting and creepy at a lot of times. Some horror elements were also introduced and I loved the supernatural touch to the story. It fitted really well with the narrative, but still was told in a very believable way. As if it truly could’ve happened like that, which I really like! I did feel like some parts of the story could’ve been better explained in the end though.

While I felt that the characters had a distinguishable voice, they were very similar. Especially the philosophical talks in their thoughts were similar and a bit too much for me. The double POV does really help to get to know both characters intimately and not just through the view of one character. It made me sympathize with them more, whereas I don’t think I would’ve liked them as much if there was only one POV.

The romance was definitely very much a SLOW BURN. I had expected a bit more of the romance and development. I also don’t really feel like they were enemies in the beginning, just more two girl who didn’t know each other yet.

I did very much like the view on feminism in this book. It was an interesting take that could’ve been explored a bit more in my opinion.

I liked the ending and how it resolved in the end, albeit it feeling a bit rushed. It felt like that was all stuffed in one chapter, which were already short by themselves. I think a bit more explanation would’ve been better.

Overall, The Society for Soulless Girls is a haunting book that tackles the topic of feminism, anger and what it means to be a woman. A perfect mystery for the spooky season!



<spoiler> Like, I still don’t understand why or how the rubies appeared on Lottie’s throat. </spoiler>

I was absolutely obsessed!! Society for Soulless Girls had me sitting at the edge of my seat the entire time I read it. I'm a sucker for Catholic undertones in a dark academia situation and this book was perfect for me! Laura Steven's books are the perfect choice for me since there is nothing I love more than a sapphic dark academia retelling of an old novel.



***A review of this book will be up on my Instagram @readswithmila n the coming weeks