4.5/5

This book was amazing. I couldn’t put it down. It goes between two sisters points of view Maya and Naomi. Both in the past and present. The twists and turns don’t stop. The secret society at Princeton is such an interesting part of the book. How it operates keeps you on your toes. The ending you don’t see coming.

Definitely recommend!!!

Lauren Ling Brown's Society of Lies is a riveting and emotionally charged novel that explores the complexities of family, identity, and the search for truth in the face of deception. Set against the backdrop of Princeton University and spanning a decade, the story follows two sisters, Maya and Naomi, whose lives intersect in unexpected and tragic ways.

At the heart of the narrative is Maya, who returns to Princeton for her college reunion only to receive devastating news: her younger sister, Naomi, has died under mysterious circumstances. As Maya grapples with the shock of Naomi's death, she becomes determined to uncover the truth behind what happened to her sister, delving into the secrets and lies that have haunted her for years.

The author expertly captures the atmosphere of academia, from the ivy-covered buildings to the competitive social scene, while also exploring the darker underbelly of privilege, racism, and entitlement that lurks beneath the surface.

As Maya delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Naomi's death, she uncovers a web of lies and deception that threaten to unravel her own sense of identity and belonging. The novel raises thought-provoking questions about truth, memory, and the nature of reality, leaving readers questioning the reliability of their own perceptions.

Interspersed with Maya's present-day experiences are flashbacks to pivotal moments in the sisters' lives. Through these flashbacks, readers gain a deeper understanding of Maya and Naomi's complex bond, as well as the events that led up to Naomi's untimely death. From their childhood insecurities to their college experiences, the novel delves into the sisters' shared history and the secrets that have shaped their lives.

The plot twists and turns, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. As the story unfolds, secrets are uncovered and mysteries deepen, but no character can be trusted. Just when readers think they have it all figured out, the narrative throws them for a loop with an unexpected and unpredictable ending.

I really enjoyed Society of Lies. The stories of Naomi and Maya were expertly woven together, and I couldn’t put it down.

Society of Lies is a dual narrative/dual timeline of sisters Maya and Naomi during their time at Princeton University and the present.

I really enjoyed both the dual narrative and dual timeline. Having different perspectives for a similar crime made the story more interesting.

Both sisters belong to the same secret society and each one is searching for answers to a crime they think the same person committed.

Things really picked up about a third of the way in and I read the last 50% in just a few hours..

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this arc.

First off, I would like to thank author Lauren Ling Brown, Random House Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and give it a review!

Maya is a Princeton graduate; she has a good job, loving husband, a 5-year old daughter, and great friends. When her parents died when she was 18, she was left to take care of her 8 year old sister Naomi. All she wanted was to be able to take care of her and support them both. When an elite secret society taps Maya to be included, she can't pass up the opportunity for the lifelong connections it will open up for her.

Naomi is getting ready to gradute from Princeton, she has followed in her sister's footsteps even when it seemed like Maya didn't want her to. Naomi was also tapped into the same society as Maya, but it always seemed like something was off. The day before graduation, Naomi turns up dead. It reminds Maya all too much of the death of a student while she was in school. Maya, unwilling to let her sister's death be brushed off as an accident, begins to uncover secrets that people would kill to stay buried.

I enjoyed this book. I liked reading for both Maya and Naomi's perspectives. Lauren Ling Brown did a great job of connecting the sisters' lives at Princeton even though they were 10 years apart. I really enjoyed how everything tied together in the end and the book was full of surprise turns. Definitely recommend.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Society of Lies is filled with endless secrets, twists, and turns while the characters are just trying to figure out how to survive the real world and secret societies. Between sisters Maya and Naomi, it's hard to figure out who you can or can't trust. Both timelines of them at school definitely tie them closer together in more than one way. It's just hard to follow the pieces when we float between different timelines.

And yet, I couldn't help but try to guess who was behind it all before we would get a new clue. Then I'd throw everything out the window and start guessing all over again. Towards the end of this, we got so many reveals. One of the big ones definitely shocked me because I never had this person down as a suspect. They were a little chaotic and got jealous quite easily, but I just never saw the betrayal coming until it was too late.

In the end, I'm happy with how the mystery played out and how a certain character met Karma. I definitely can't wait for this to get published and for everyone else to be able to dive into Princeton.

This is a great Ivy-League thriller about privilege, exploitation, and the way marginalized students have to navigate wealthy, predominantly-white, and sexist/coercive spaces. It's heart-breaking too, so do know that this isn't just a fun romp about rich folks getting what's coming to them, but it's a great addition to the summer thriller slate for this year.

This was my first dark academia book and wow! I loved the setting of this story as well as the characters. The idea of secret societies is so interesting and this story makes you want more. The whole time reading this book I was eager to keep revealing the secrets hidden in this story and who was lying and who was telling the truth! I also enjoyed the length of the chapters because it made it feel as if the book when faster.

Overall I really liked this book, I cared about the characters and wanted justice for Naomi and wanted exposure the people and institutions involved.. At times it felt a little long and there were some bits that could be left out and at times the triple timeline was confusing. Maya now, Maya 10 yrs ago and Naomi in the months before her murder and I lost track of who/when etc I did like it and would read others by this author

I've been wanting to dip into dark academia and this book was very good. The story line was interesting and it kept me wanting more. I will say that it did drag on at some points. With the dual POV between the two sisters, it was hard to know who was who with each chapter and I kept having to go back to make sure because much of the story for both deals with some of the same characters even though it is different time periods.

I do still recommend this book because if you are looking for a dark academia rec, I believe you will really enjoy this one. The plot twist - I did not see coming. just be prepared as the book is long. I don't know how many pages exactly because it was on my kindle but I know that my kindle percentage barely moved after reading 9 pages. I feel like we could have done without some of the fluff of the book to make it shorter and to help the story line go faster.

All in all, I would rate it a 3.75.

When I first saw the cover of Lauren Ling Brown’s Society of Lies, the vibrant design drew me in. The title tells you exactly what you will get: secret societies at an Ivy League university and a continuous trail of lies. Maya’s sister, Naomi is found dead and police rule it a suicide. Maya isn’t convinced. Naomi was attending a Princeton, just like her older sister did, and had joined Greystone, the secret society no one talked about but was as exclusive as it could get. Each sister becomes entangled in a web of deceit that gets well beyond their control. Who is responsible for Naomi’s death? Is it connected to the death of one of Maya’s friends from ten years ago? How does an elusive professor tie into the events that impacted both sisters? Told in a triple timeline (present, Maya’s time at Princeton, and Naomi’s time at Princeton), Society is Lies takes you step by step into each of their stories to the ultimate ending that answers the questions you had. The triple timeline is not going to be confusing or difficult to follow. It was almost a 4⭐️ for me but there was a bit of frantic wildness at the end that took a little bit away from the conclusion for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book will be published on August 12, 2024.

#netgalley #arc #bookstagram #SocietyofLies #LaurenLingBrown #RandomHouse

The title and cover are beautiful. The concept is lovely, and the characters are realistic and multilayered. This book just really wasn't my cup of tea. I could not get into he switching narrators. The stories were similar, and hard to figure out what was going on and why. I stopped at ~25% and do not think I will go back. I would try reading from this author again but I could not get into this book.

Interesting, sometimes a bit complicated story of two sisters, with lots of timely topics for discussion, such as class protections and the access that money buys, racism and university scandals going beyond the university. I think my students will enjoy this and relate to the sister's stories over three timelines

Behind the ivy covered walls of elite universities whispers of secret societies pass among the students. In Society of Lies those secret societies are a reality at the esteemed Princeton University and their members don’t know what it means to be told no. The story follows dual timelines of sisters Maya and Naomi, both students at Princeton, both part of the extra elusive Grayscale Society. While the society brings access to opportunities and social connections they could never procure on their own, it also brings the expectation that its members turn a blind eye to the more nefarious ongoings of the group. Both sisters find themselves in a dark web of lies while trying to uncover the depth of the secrets and not everyone will make it out alive.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. It took a while for this book to pick up steam but the last third captured my attention and I was pleased with the ending that definitely surprised me. At times the dual perspective and changing timeframe was confusing and I had to stop and pay attention to whose narrative it was and the year. I’m not sure how the author could have cleaned it up but I think that would help with some of the pacing challenges. Overall an enjoyably disturbing thriller.

This started out really strong, but the constant shifting in points-of-view became a bit tedious and it felt a bit long as a result.

This book was good/fine, it entertained. I liked the premise and the set up a lot and it really had such a strong start. Unfortunately, I do think it was ultimately too long (lost a lot of momentum in the middle there), and a little to much POV jumping around to be totally enjoyable/effective. I do think with some tweaks this book could be really quite good. However, I did reasonably enjoy it as it is - no regrets reading it!

I love that the timelines jumped back and forth for both sisters. This was a fun thriller to read over the weekend, even though the book could’ve been shorten by 80-100 pages. The ending was ok because of how neat everything ended up. How Lauren Ling Brown wrote her characters, made me care about them and wanting to know what’s going to happen to them or not. Thank you Lauren Ling Brown, NetGalley and Bantam for this digital copy.

This story started out really strong. I was all in and completely invested in binging the book in one sitting. However, very early, around 20% with all of the back and forth between Maya in the present timeline, Naomi in the past and Maya in the past- it all just started to bleed together for me.

I constantly had to work to hard to remember who's POV I was reading - I don't want to work hard- I just want to enjoy a book. Not a fan of the writing and it was hard for me to connect with the characters.

Could not get through this one fast enough!! I was so intrigued and on the edge of my seat the entire time. Looking forward to more!
(Unfortunately this title is not eligible for an Amazon review).

Starts out great; intriguing characters, fascinating setting, mysterious doings at a famous university.
It all slows down to a crawl pretty quickly.
We are told right away that one of the main characters, Naomi, is dead. Her chapters are all set in the past, obviously. The other main character, her sister Maya, tells all her tales in the present. Usually this is not a problem, because the action or characters segue right into either the past or present, tying them together. This does not do that. You are at a party in the present with one set of characters, then next chapter you are at the library in the past, with a whole new set of characters and a storyline that doesn't seem to have anything at all to do with the chapter you just read. Also, there is a lot reminiscing and second guessing of decisions and actions taken; the story begins to bog down fairly quickly. I found myself in the middle of a sentence and suddenly making my grocery list in my head.
I would say with no exaggeration that all the characters are either unlikeable or uninteresting. Making for a very dull read.
There are red herrings aplenty. Maybe too many. We are lead one direction, then Eureka! It's... no wait. It's not them. Oh, look, we have new information, and it's... EUREKA! Oh, no, no it's not them either. There are characters who you think are involved, only to find out they are not, in any way, shape or form. And you wonder why they were even written into the story. Then there is a character who might have possibilities but literally flies off into the sunset with no closure to their story. It all just felt like it dragged on, and on, way too long. And by the end, at the final reveal, I couldn't have cared less whodunit. I just wanted it all to be over.

I had really high hopes for this book because I was totally hooked for the at the beginning however at the 15-20% mark, my excitement fizzled out. The premise of this book and the other reviews really drew me in but I could not get past the alternating timelines and dual POVs. It was a bit too much for me to keep up with and I kept confusing the characters and actions in each timeline. The beginning was really great though! I may circle back to it eventually but right now, I have no compulsion to continue the story since it bogged me down. Sadly, this book was a dnf for me but I think it is definitely for someone, just not me.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this arc.