This book was so good! From the first chapter I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. I loved the alternating points of view between Maya and Naomi. This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time and when I wasn’t reading I kept thinking about it. I loved the writing and the story line and the ending. This was a wonderful debut novel and Lauren Ling Brown will now be an auto buy author for me! I would definitely recommend it!

4 stars! The book "Society of Lies" is impeccably crafted with compelling character development. While it does slow down a bit in the middle, lacking in action, the overall quality remains high. The story revolves around Maya, who is attending her 10th year reunion at Princeton, while her sister Naomi is graduating. However, the idyllic week takes a tragic turn when Naomi's lifeless body is discovered in a pond. Could Maya's past secrets involving her friends from ten years ago be connected to this shocking event? This gripping narrative is truly a captivating read.
Thank you to Net Galley and Bantam Books for ARC to read and review!

When a Princeton student is found dead Her sister goes on a mission to find out what happened. How far will students go to belong

Society of Lies took me inside of the walls of an Ivy, and I have always been fascinated by the mystery surrounding their eating clubs and the grandeur of those prestigious universities. This was a book I could really sink my teeth into. I honestly think this would make a great show for one of the streaming services. There was so much intrigue. There was a lot of backstory to get set up that at times it felt just a little bogged down. I loved Naomi and her free spirit compared to her more uptight sister Maya. This would not be my typical summer read, and I loved that about the book. To catch a glimpse into what you think will be their more glamorous lives, marred by tragedy.

3.5 stars rounded up. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I did enjoy this book! I thought the concept was really interested. I love reading about cults and secret clubs in college. I did think the story had a lot of twists and turns and I like that it was from the POVs of each sister. However, at times I was a little confused on which POV was happening and did notice myself going back. I also felt like there were a ton of characters and the friends of Naomi and Maya were a little hard to keep track of. I did notice a few grammar mistakes in the ARC but overall this was a great debut novel.

I do feel like some parts could be cut out that didn't have to do much with the plot, specially the scene after a night out with Naomi, her super drunk friend and the police. I felt like it was just an excuse to hate on law enforcement which was not needed for the plot. At times, it felt a little long so I do think 50 pages could be cut out.

If you like murder mystery meets dark academia this book is for you!

~read on kindle through arc copy from NetGalley~

This is a very good debut novel. It really keeps you entertained and guessing until the end. All of the different POVs and non linear timeline did get a little confusing at times.

Another early release to review! Overall, I really enjoyed this mystery but there are a few decisions through the book that really annoyed me. I’ll start with the positive:

Pros:

Great character development. Most of the characters get enough of a backstory and development to make readers care about what happens and understand their motivation (even if you don’t agree with it!)

Strong writing. It’s easy to get swept up into the story and this is definitely a “Oh I’ll just read one more chapter” kind of book! I will definitely read another book by this writer - the writing flows easily but isn’t so simple that it’s boring.

Cons:

There are just too many things crammed into one story. There are three timelines (two from the same narrator) and most side characters appear in all of the timelines so it’s really hard to keep track of where you are in the story

This story tries to tackle a lot of major issues. Some of them are raised and dropped so quickly that it is more distracting than anything - I wish the author had picked a few topics to tackle and devoted more time to each one.

You have to be okay with the fact that you will yell “just talk to each other!!!!!!!!!” multiple times while reading, as that would solve many of the key issues propelling the story forward

✨Thank you to NetGalley, the Author and Random House Publishing/ Ballantine/ Bantam for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review✨

3.5 stars- Society of Lies is the perfect title for this novel as it delves into the lives of two sisters and their association with a secret society in Princeton. The novel is told from both of their perspectives. However. one of the sisters is dead.

Maya is ten years older than her younger sister Naomi. They are orphans and all Naomi has ever wanted is to be closer with Maya. Maya, on the other hand, has tried to do everything she can to take care of Naomi. The worst happens when Naomi is found dead and now Maya has to find out what really happened.

The book is told in a non-linear fashion as it alternates between their two stories. Both sisters attended Princeton although 10 years apart but there is a professor that is connected to them both and the secret society. I did find the secret society fascinating as the college I attended had nothing like this. College in my experience was one of the best times in my life but based on this story I would never attend an Ivy League College. I couldn't imagine being wrapped up with trying to fit into these exclusive societies and clubs. The tone was very dark and oppressive. In my experience college was nothing like that.

The story keeps you guessing and I did not guess correctly at what really happened to Naomi. There were definitely elements to this book that I enjoyed however I did not like the relationship between Maya and Naomi. I felt like Maya was not a great sister to her and was too focused on prestige and money. It made it hard to like her parts of the story as I really did not like her as a character. Overall, there were good thriller elements. I think anyone who likes a darker thriller would enjoy this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam/Random House for this ARC.

I lovedddd it, not to mention the cover is beautiful!!!

Definitely the college/academia mystery/thriller that everyone should read if you love a good who done it.

The story went back and forth between the two main characters which are sisters but one of them is dead. As soon I started reading, I knew it was going to be a great read. The story was well written and truly had me guessing until the end. I didn’t even come close to figuring this one out.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC for my honest opinion.

I honestly do not know how I feel about Society of Lies. I thought that it started off strong with the multi-POVs until it started to get a little confusing as Naomi starts to discover some hidden secrets of the secret societies of Princeton. She delves into the past, which takes place during her older sister, Maya's time at the university. The timeline jumps and POV changes start to intermingle and the story moves very slow during the middle of the book. It's not until about 20% to the end that things start to ramp up again and there are twist and turns. The end is wrapped up nicely.

Although I might have had to take this book slow, I didn't hate it. Society of Lies was very well written and did have me trying to guess who killed Naomi, which I was not able to. I also really enjoyed reading about what happens in the secret societies at prestigious universities. I just don't know if I enjoyed the pacing so much.

I would recommend this book to those looking for a dark academia book seeded in secrets, lies, betrayal and the privileged behaving badly.

If you love dark academia and secret societies, you’re going to NEED to read this book.

Society of Lies delves into the dark side of the secret societies (and secret societies IN those secret societies) in prestigious colleges and what they are able to get away with. We follow sisters Maya and Naomi in the past and present leading up to Naomi’s death. The story works to unravel two mysteries that have been heavily covered up.

It took me a bit to get used to the POVS since Maya has a past and present POV and her experiences are very similar to Naomi’s. But once I got that figured out, I was absolutely HOOKED. The dark academia vibes in this book are everything you want them to be.

I thought the end got to be a little rushed and hard to believe and Naomi’s POV felt very immature at times but it was still SO good. The journey the sisters go on separately to unravel the secrets within their secret society made the book impossible to put down. Definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

This book went from slow to tell-me-everything-now so fast. Society of Lies shows us two perspectives: Naomi and Maya. They’re sisters who are ten years apart in age. Both went to Princeton, and both became members of the same secret society.

I am shocked that this is the author’s first book because the writing was amazing. Characters were flawed but relatable. And the plot was mostly realistic, as far as I can tell since I’ve never been in a secret society.

The dark academia trope is one I can always get sucked into. And this is no different. The book starts with Naomi’s death, so you’re all ready wondering what happened. And then we see split timelines: current day, 2011-12 when Maya was in college, and then Naomi 8 months before her death up until her death.

The split timelines got really confusing for me. There was no real organization to it. Both points of view sound exactly the same, and Maya hadn’t changed at all in the 12 or so years between her timeline. I wanted to see some individuality and maturity growth with both.

I’ll be on the look out for more books from this author. Not only do I recommend this, I’d buy it for gifts for friends. It’s worth a read. I received this ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

Lauren Ling Brown’s debut novel, Society of Lies, tells the story of two sisters, Maya and Naomi. Maya, a Princeton grad, comes back to campus after ten years to reconnect with some friends and celebrate Naomi’s graduation. Shortly after arriving though, Maya is told that Naomi’s lifeless body was just found.

This was a fast-paced, interesting read, that I found I did not want to put down! Great, multi-faceted characters. Suspenseful and thrilling. Kept me intrigued from the first page to the last.

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

We witness how Naomi's actions may resolve with her death as she attempts to uncover the mystery of a student's death under suspicious circumstances that was swept under the rug. When she discovers her straight, cold, career-oriented sister may be one of the last persons who has seen the dead girl alive, and the possibility that the girl has been silenced for knowing too much about the secret society connections, Naomi teams up with her roommate, an intern at the New York Times, to unravel the dirty secrets! Could her attempts to face the past be the reason for her demise? Or is she the victim of a love triangle that has gotten out of hand?

Great book, really enjoyed the twists and turns that this took me on and I would definitely recommend to a friend.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

Society of Lies has a really good premise but I didn’t love the execution. It started off ok, but most of the book was slow going and filled with information that didn’t seem relevant to the two deaths. I found it to drag in places and the action didn’t really ramp up until the last 10% of the book so I lost interest. I also just don’t connect well with dark academia books, so I also struggled here.

I wouldn’t personally recommend this but I do think some people, mainly dark academia fans, would enjoy it.

Lauren Ling Brown Out Aug 13th
Desperate to find out what happened to her sister, Maya is plunged into a world she had no idea about. Mysterious and suspenseful, this was a very quick read.

While I do enjoy tales from dark academia, especially when they feature secret societies, this one fell a little flat for me. It was a bit of a slow read and the pacing took away any tension that could have been built around the characters. I also didn't find the secret organizations to be all that interesting. Overall, an interesting idea for a book, but I would have preferred a faster pace and more twists and turns throughout.

Lauren Ling Brown’s debut novel, Society of Lies, tells the story of two sisters, Maya and Naomi. Maya, a Princeton grad, comes back to campus after ten years to reconnect with some friends and celebrate Naomi’s graduation. Shortly after arriving though, Maya is told that Naomi’s lifeless body was just found.

Initially, this book started off very strong and had an interesting premise. I was intrigued and wanted to figure out the mystery surrounding Naomi’s death. However, as the story continued, I began losing interest. In my opinion, I felt like the book was a lot longer than necessary. I struggled with keeping the two timelines separate and trying to keep everything straight in my brain. With all of that being said, the ending moved more rapidly and held my interest.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine/ Bantam for this ARC. It will be available for purchase on August 13, 2024.