A good read, entertaining and surprisingly gripping. I liked the writing style and thought the story overall flowed really well.

I really thought that I would enjoy this book more but at one point I almost gave up because I just couldn't stomach it. This book is about a bunch of attention starved brats who essentially think that because of the special program that they are chosen for, that they are witches able to call upon the furies. It really is reminiscent of The Craft, but that movie had a better storyline. Really disappointed with this one.

The Furies is a book about a young girl named Violet who is enrolled in an elite private school and becomes a part of a clique of what I could only describe as "mean girls". The characters are well developed by the writer. This book is quite a bit different from the normal thrillers I read. I think that this book will really appeal to those who like a YA book since the characters are in high school. The book opens with a scene of a dead teenage girl, dressed in white and posed on a swing and authorities don't know what her cause of death is. You won't find out who the girl is until the end of the book because the protagonist Violet is recounting her days at Elm Hollow. This book took me just a little bit to read and I did find myself having to re-read a few sections that I didn't quite understand or should i say retain. I liked the book overall but I'm not a big fan of "mean girls". I found the clique leader Robin to be highly annoying and Violet seemed just to worship the ground she walked on. The girls partake in a bit of witchcraft/rituals to call the Furies to right wrongs that were done against them. I give this book 3.5 stars.

Imagine the 90s movie The Craft and The Witch Elm by Tana French had a baby...except it's too long with too much teen angst, delivered in a strangely non-nonstalgic adult voice.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

I think I might have liked this more than most because I am nearly the same age as the characters in the book and the concept reminded me of a '90s-early '00s teen movie. That said, it was a fun read about a serious topic, the death of a teenage girl. Will they choose witchcraft? What should they do? The setting and plot was tailor-made for me.

3 for neutral. Was very excited to get my hands on this book, but could never get into it enough to enjoy or finish. Being I’m such a moody reader, it is very likely me, and will update if able to finish at a later date.

A unique novel that would most definitely appeal to readers who enjoy dark themes, magic, Greek history, and witchcraft. Like “The Craft” for young adults.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36392972

This one had me stumped. There was too much about ti I didn't like especially some of the characters. Maybe it reminded me too much of other similar books.

Reading The Furies alternately made me thankful for being the Mom to boys and remembering all the high school girl drama. Thankfully my high school girl drama paled in comparison to the drama I read in The Furies. This was a compelling read and would like to read more from Lowe.

Violet has been through a tragic experience of losing her father and sister in a brutal car accident. Her mother has withdrawn from the world, unable to cope with the loss. When the opportunity arises for Violet to attend a rather exclusive girls’ school, she jumps at it. At this point, what has she got to lose?

The Furies opens with a scene of a dead teenage girl, dressed in white and posed on a swing. The authorities never find a cause of death. At this point we are not told who the girl is, or who is recounting the story. But it is a eerie beginning to a story about female friendship, peer pressure, and the volatility of being on the verge of adulthood. Told over the course of one academic year, and barely into the next, The Furies will captivate you with it’s lyrical prose and haunting images.

I was bewitched by this first novel by Katie Lowe. Bewitched being the appropriate term with its themes of witchcraft. The Elm Hollow Academy, set in a coastal town of England, has a long history of witches. The friendship between Vi, Robin, Alex and Grace is a typical one for teenage girls. Four teenage girls who believe they have the power to do anything and the inexperience to try. Add in a secret society and you have the makings of the perfect teenage tale in the tradition of The Heathers or The Craft. I did not want to put this book down. Every character is so well crafted, so well written, that you can almost see them. The story does not disappoint, it is beautiful in its descriptions. I cannot wait for the next novel by Katie Lowe.

4.5 stars on Goodreads


This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com close to publication date.

The protagonist of this book has had what must be the most difficult year for a young girl imaginable -- a year ago she was in a car accident with her father and younger sister. Dad dies instantly; her sister hangs on for several days and then dies. She was uninjured. She basically takes the next year off, goes in for finals, and still does quite well. Since she needs her A levels (this is set in England) and the trucking company responsible for the accident has dumped a load of money on the remaining members of the family (mother and daughter), she is sent as a day student to what I, as an American, assume to be a rather posh school for girls. This is a fascinating examination of group mentality and, since it is seen through the lens of someone just coming on the scene, particularly interesting. Heartily recommend this one!

This was an interesting book that took me a little bit to get into. The characters are interesting but I just couldn't see where it was going. I pushed on an discovered that the characters though flawed where just teenage girls that thought themselves magical. They believed they could call the furries to right wrongs that were done against them.

This book grabbed my attention as soon as I read the sinopsis, very misterious and intriguing. And I also saw some people on goodreads saying it was like a CW show, and I absolutely love those so…

It tells Violet´s story, a girl who arrives at Elm Hollow Academy ready to start again after the tragic accident that affected her family, her father and little sister died, it’s just Violet and her mom now, who is like an empty shell of what she was before.

She just wants to fit in and find friends, which she has never really been very good at. But when Robin, a misterious girl with hair the color of fire, approaches her, she has finally hope of finding her place for the first time. She starts hanging out with her, Alex and Grace. There’s all kind of rumours about them, since one of their best friends dissapeared last year without a trace.

In addition, Annabel, the art teacher, invites her to a secret society where she talks about the history of the town, known for its witch trials and the legend of The Furies, three mythological beings who carry out vengeance once they’re called. The teacher insists it is not actually true, but Violet and her friends start playing with dark magic, unleashing disastrous and sinister consequences…

I don’t want to reveal much more, it’s better to go into the book not knowing a lot. The chapters are quite long, and I prefer short ones, but anyway the plot it’s really addictive. There’s something about this book that makes you keep reading and gets you inside the story.

The ambiance is really spooky, Halloween-ish in the 90's, perfect to read in October. I could visualise perfectly the little beachy town in autumn and the boarding school with all its dark corners full of secrets.

The story takes some turns I wasn’t expecting, a dark and horrific twist. The end also surprised me, even though I didn’t like it very much, I couldn’t understand the motives of a certain character.

The main character is Violet. Her personality is weird, she does things that I don’t agree with, but I like her as a narrator of the story. Robin is her best friend, the typical rebellious girl. I also liked Grace and Alex together, I wish we got more of them.

This book also deals with important topics such as feminism, toxic friendships and the extreme things we do to fit in.

To sum up, The Furies it’s a strong debut. Dark magic and an addictive story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. However it wasn’t my favourite, I gave it 3/5 stars.

“It seems that women are doomed to two fates. It is our lot to be seen as either unpredictable and irrational mortals, maligned and repressed by the actions of men; or sacred beings, goddesses of higher realm, among the Fates and the Furies.”
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The Furies by Katie Lowe has been described as Donna Tartt’s The Secret History meets Emma Cline’s The Girls & it is exactly that. The book opens up with the discovery of a body on the campus of an English private school in 1988 and proceeds to recount the events leading up to it from the perspective of Violet. Violet, a new student, is invited to be the 4th member of an exclusive study group lead by Annabel alongside fellow students Robin, Grace and Alex. Annabel discusses myths of witchcraft, some of which involve the school, however the girls find themselves wondering if magic is real. The Furies explores the potential toxicities of female friendships as the reader is shown the anger within the girls as they attempt to use witchcraft, specifically dark witchcraft, to solve their problems.
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I found this book to be super captivating! I’ve always loved books & movies & tv shows etc about witches and I’ve done multiple term papers on the Salem Witch trials so the book had a lot going for it before I even dove in. Violet is recounting these events as an adult, so to me, it was still up in the air whether these events actually happened or if they were just exaggerated memories. Violet even struggles to decide whether or not any of it was real. However, I was disappointed that Alex & Grace’s characters weren’t developed as much as they could’ve been. I wanted to know more about the friendships between the girls as it was as if there was a lot of unsaid drama & baggage that was lingering in the background. •
I definitely recommend that you pick up a copy when it is released on October 8 (but I think it may actually have already been released in the UK if you live there).
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A big thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book, I absolutely loved reading and I’m so grateful for the opportunity!

I read the summary of this book to indicate "The Craft (or maybe Netflix's Sabrina for today's generation) meets Gossip Girl" and it delivered on that premise almost as completely as I dreamed. I'm not a murder-mystery reader (I don't think it's giving too much away that a possible murder is introduced from the very start) but I am an avid YA reader and this really ticked my YA boxes of interesting characters who feel like outcasts but form a strong bond. Of course, that strong bond turns out to be forged over literal cauldrons, with witchcraft. The characters face problems that are both realistic and visceral and otherwordly and ephemeral. What I wasn't expecting where the outrageous twists and turns. This book went places I never expected and I was crying out in shock on more than one occasion. I love when a book surprises me, and this one did. I'd say fans of We Were Liars, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, or My Best Friend's Exorcism would devour this. Will be recommending!

I absolutely loved this book. It gave me that Secret History by Donna Tartt vibe when I started reading it. The secret society in a private school and then starts with someone dead reminded me of the Secret History which is one of my all time favorite books. So of course I was drawn to this book from the start. But this book was of course unique and different from Secret History. It’s a definite page turner for me as well. The writing style I also loved. I was quite invested in all four of the main characters and loved all the twist and turns of this book. There’s dangerous magic or witchcraft, the need for desperate friendship and spooky paranormal YA thriller. They can almost make this into a series which I hope she would since I wasn’t ready for this story to be over. Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC. I will definitely be picking up a finished copy when it comes out.

This one was a bit half and half for me. There were things I enjoyed and things I did not but I still became totally engrossed in reading it especially when events speeded up in the later chapters.

I found the main characters to be a mixed bunch. Violet desperately needed to learn the word 'no' and Robin was just awful. Grace and Alex appeared to be more mature but they also had hidden depths! Much of the book was about girls being mean to girls which was a bit obvious and unpleasant. I also thought the sex scenes were forced into the action and did not need to be there at all.

On the other hand the story itself was great! It was tense, it was spooky and frequently very blood thirsty. Once we started to get down to who the murderer really was it became edge of the seat stuff and then we discovered what the prologue was all about! Very clever. The author leaves the ending open for readers to draw their own conclusions - was it magic or was it murder? I do not usually like open ended books but in this case I had a very definite opinion of my own and was comfortable with it:)

My thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This novel didn't seem all that original to me but instead read like a YA version of The Secret History. That's not necessarily a bad thing depending on what you're looking for. If you like reading about toxic female friendships, nasty teens and boarding schools, this is for you.

I was expecting to like this book a lot but it fell extremely flat for me. No character development, loose ends everywhere. Not for me.

Definitely a nice mashup of Mean Girls and The Craft with some murder mixed in. I think it will appeal to a lot of readers at my library, so I'll be purchasing several copies. Thank you so much!