Dark, creepy, twisty, and suspenseful, but a little slow overall! This book solidifies my opinion that I’m just not a dark academia girly — so my rating is probably more so my own shortcomings in taste than the author’s writing. 🩷

Society of Lies has such an intriguing plot. I loved how the author portrays the dark campus feeling and overall suspense to the story.

Brown does a fabulous job of incorporating that dark and creepy aspect of the campus. I fell in love with this! What I also loved most about this story was the aspect of privilege and race in education. Don't we all know that this is so common. It's not just in education but is everywhere we turn. Powerful!

What I struggled with was the pacing of the story. It was so slow. I struggled to keep my attention on the story. I also felt that there was a lot of repetition going on between the characters. So, this left me feeling bored and also extremely confused.

Also... the miscommunication in here yikes. Not a fan of this between the sisters.

I was a bit disappointed and felt this had such potential to be good but just missed the mark for me.

3/5 stars

Thank you to the publisher for my copy.

If you love dark academia this one’s for you!

Maya and Naomi are sisters who attend Princeton ten + years apart from each other. When Maya learns her sister has died right before graduation, she is confident this wasn't an accident. She knows too much about the secrets and lies from her own time at Princeton. As Maya begins to investigate Naomi's college life, she learns her sister was hiding more than she led on. Throughout the story, we learn about the corruption and lies of Princeton's secret society, the Sterling Club, and how money can attempt to sweep their secrets under the rug. Maya will stop at nothing to find answers and get the justice Naomi deserves.

How did Naomi die? Who can be trusted? Did Maya's involvement with the secret society lead to Naomi’s death?

Wow- this was a gripping, fast-paced page-turner from start to finish! A book rarely hooks you in from the beginning, but this one surely did! The second half of the book had twist after unexpected twist! I almost want to reread some parts because there were some twists that I didn't pick up on initially and would love to see the clues that brought us to the ending. I thought I knew exactly what was happening, but I did not predict the ending (I love when this happens)! I thought this story was creative and unlike most suspenseful books I have read. I am impressed this is Brown's first novel! I am excited to read more from her in the future!

My only critique of this book was that I occasionally found the dual POVs and alternating timelines a little confusing to follow. There were several characters and I found myself thinking, "Wait, is this Maya or Naomi's point of view?" "Is Amy Maya's friend or Naomi's?" or "Was this in 2011 or 2023?"

Thank you NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this arc.

Sisters Maya and Naomi both attend Princeton a decade apart. Maya had a traumatic experience while there and did not wish the same experience for her sister. Naomi doesn't understand why Maya isn't proud of her for following in her sister's footsteps, but they've never been exactly close, have they? Maya's world is turned upside down when Naomi is found dead on the day of her graduation, and something about it seems...eerily familiar. Maya may have failed Naomi in life but she is hellbent on getting to the bottom of Naomi's death, even if she ends up in prison herself.

Ok, I kind of had a love/hate with this book. I wanted to like Maya & Naomi, but I didn't. Maya was...annoying. Detached yet overbearing; strong but whiny. Naomi, despite her childhood, still kind of ended up being...a snotty brat. And their bond, practically non-existent, made it difficult to believe the "search for the truth' was even authentic. On the flipside, I love the dual timelines with multiple POVs. But I didn't love all the freaking characters that came with it. Seriously, there were SO MANY...and while some of them added necessary context, some of them didn't. I liked the end though...so I guess there is that.

Basically, if this hadn't been a dark academia [I hesitate to even call it a] thriller, dripping with privilege, secret societies, and fucked up family dynamics, I would've abandoned it.

I was hooked on this book right away. I was looking for a new thriller to read this month, this book understood the assignment.

Maya’s sister is found in a lake the day before her graduation. She knows it wasn’t an accident. She’s determined to find out how this happened. In order to do that she needs to dive back into the secret society she belonged to at Princeton. So many possible suspects, who can she truly trust.
Dual POV, past and present made the story thrilling.

Definitely recommend this if you are a fan of suspense. I can see why @reesesbookclub picked this book for October.

This book had an interesting premise, but the execution didn't really work for me. I feel like I've read this kind of story before and this one didn't really hold my attention as much as others did. I liked the characters well enough though and there were a couple semi-interesting twists and turns.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

"Society of Lies" by Lauren Ling Brown presents an intriguing premise that unfortunately falls short in execution. The story attempts to tackle themes of deception and morality within a societal framework, but it often feels superficial and lacking in depth.

One of the most significant drawbacks of the book is its character development. The protagonists are not particularly relatable or compelling, and as a result, their motivations and conflicts feel unconvincing. This lack of depth makes it difficult to stay engaged with their journeys, leaving me feeling disconnected from the narrative.

Additionally, the pacing of the story is uneven, with some sections dragging on while others rush through critical developments. This inconsistency disrupts the flow, making it hard to fully immerse myself in the book.

The writing style, while occasionally evocative, sometimes veers into overly simplistic territory. This detracts from the gravity of the themes being presented, causing moments that should carry weight to feel flat instead.

In summary, "Society of Lies" had the potential to explore fascinating ideas but ultimately missed the mark. With character development and pacing issues, it earns a rating of two stars. While some readers may find value in its themes, I wish it had offered a more nuanced and engaging experience.

This book was so fun!!! In this book, two sisters attend Princeton 10 years apart. The older sister, Maya, didn't really encourage her little sister Naomi to attend Princeton, join the prestigious dinner club she was in. Naomi doesn't understand why, unless her sister just doesn't care about her. But then Naomi goes missing right before graduation, and Maya is pulled back in to her Princeton memories. It seems her sister was digging into something related to Maya's past.

The story includes sections from Maya's current POV and time at Princeton, as well as Naomi's time at Princeton. I really enjoyed getting both perspectives to see how these sisters keep misunderstanding each other when they clearly love each other. The mystery itself was really good too! I thought the characters were really developed and the pacing was tight - I almost skipped out on a conference to finish reading.

I am a huge sucker for stories about secret societies at prestigious institutions, sisters, and stories that show how a past mystery informs a later one, so I devoured this. Can't wait to read more from the author. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Absolutely loved this. What more could you ask for? Private school, wealth, secret societies and a murder to solve. Would love to read more from this author!

Imagine you're trying to get from Point A to Point B, but you're stuck in the roundabout for like 50 rounds. This was how the book felt for me,

To be fair, I really liked the two sisters. I liked the characters well enough, but I was so distracted by everyone else around them. There were sooo many (so many!) extra characters that this became annoying to keep up. The two sisters were developed well enough, but boy, the sprinkling of everyone else throughout the short chapters just made it such a nuisance.

And then the pacing - it just stayed so convoluted and repetitive that I started to ween off, not caring as much anymore of what happened. The suspense was getting good, but then we never seemed to get there in time. The book wanted to be so thrilling - but the back story and the extra characters muddled the experience. I was so curious reading about secret societies, but dangling the carrots for a juicy story just took too long.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy this ebook. All opinions are my own.

The title and cover for Society of Lies immediately captured my attention. I was intrigued by the premise. It’s a haunting, dark academia, thriller set on the campus of ivy league university Princeton. The story centers around Maya and her investigation into her sister Naomi’s mysterious death just before her graduation. It strikes Maya as suspicious and reminiscent of an experience she had during her time attending the same university.

The novel explores the intricacies of privilege, classism, racism at an elite college, secret societies and the lengths to which people will go to fit in. The novel also explores the bonds of sisterhood and how the secrets we keep harm the people we care about the most.

Although a very slow drag I couldn’t give up on this twisted tale. There was a satisfying number of twists and turns to keep me turning the pages. Throughout this entire story all these people were giving I have zero street smarts and even less common sense. I did feel for Naomi. She’s the character I rooted for the most. She was just trying to find herself to be loved, supported by her sister and accepted after so much turmoil and loss in her young life. She was genuine. Loved her pov. I was locked in to find out what happened to her.

Overall, an engrossing solid read if you like an atmospheric, super slow burn thriller. I just found the shift in pov between Maya and Naomi with the addition of shifting timelines could be confusing to keep up with. It made the characters blur together. The ending was surprising also a bit messy and unrealistic. And we're ending with even more secrets Maya. Have you learned nothing. Le sigh. This story didn’t need four drawn out parts. But I would read future works by this author. There was so much more to like than not.
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, Balantine, Bantam and Lauren Ling Brown for the eARC of Society of Lies.

I didn’t see the twist coming, so I was pleased to be thrown off track! I can see why this one is as buzzy as it is.

3.5 stars
Maya finds out that her younger sister is dead. What happened to Naomi at Princeton? Was it related to a mysterious death when Maya was a student there herself a decade earlier? Murder mysteries and Princeton secret societies. This book had all the makings of a tale with great intrigue! I would have preferred a single POV as the back and forth between Naomi and Maya made it more difficult to follow at times.

I have read so many stories similar to this lately (thriller/murder mystery set with a group of friends that haven't seen each other in forever, etc etc) that they all seem to blend together. I think the dual POV came across a bit muddled together at times and made it difficult to follow completely. The story was good, but in my opinion a little forgettable for this specific genre.

I did enjoy the academic setting. I will say this was overly far fetched at parts. It was an interesting story and I enjoyed reading it but I felt like there a lot of loose ends.

I really enjoyed this dark academia thriller. Lauren Ling Brown created a consuming and intoxicating thriller that had me intrigued the entire time. Society of Lies is a thriller focused on the elite secret societies that are inherent in Princeton University culture. There are dual timelines, present and past, that create not only suspense but tension as we get to know the characters and their secrets unfold. The perspectives were well done and had me wanting to skip ahead to find out what was going on because I didn't want to wait (I didn't, but I wanted to).

Lauren Ling Brown did a phenomenal job of creating characters that you loved to hate and hated to love. There were so many skeletons that popped up, it was hard to believe there could be more, but it created a believable and interesting background for the characters and the story. It was well written and flowed, and I didn't want to stop reading! I loved the twists that were thrown in throughout and we know that I love to guess the ending wrong, and I partially did on this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Balantine, Bantam and Lauren Ling Brown for the eARC of Society of Lies (also a Reese's Book Club pick) in exchange for an honest review. Publication date for Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown was 01 October 2024, so get your copy today!

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for the ARC!

I love dark academia and this cover caught my eye, so I knew I had to request it! I did lov hte back and forth in the POV between the sister, but goodness there are a LOT of Bad Decisions made by both of the MCs. I did enjoy the commentary on classism and racism, the secret societies, and that it was hard to guess the killer. Overall, though, just not super memorable for me.

Really, I'd give this 2.5 stars. This was a difficult one for me; on one hand, I appreciate the effort that went into telling a complex story that involved two points of views and two timelines. However, it ultimately felt overly ambitious and for me it didn't quite draw me in. The sisters' experiences were so similar that I found myself having to turn back and figure out whose perspective I was reading. In a way, this is a success in showing how times may have changed but the issues of privilege, manipulation, racism still remain. The pacing felt very slow and I don't know that I really bought the motivations or choices made by many of the characters.

I was excited to read this book because I was going to see the author in person at Hello Sunshine's Shine Away event the month it was a Reese's Book Club pick. It was a great thriller with twists until the very end!

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a mystery that had my brain working overtime trying to unravel the mystery. With two riveting perspectives this was such a hard book to put down and at no point did I have anything figured out. 😂

The main focus of this story is the super elite secret society of Princeton University (fictional thankfully) and all the “perks”, good and bad, that come with being a member. A good fit for readers who love lots of drama, secrets galore, and stressful situations!