I truly enjoyed the way this book was written. Dual timelines were presented to discuss the main character during her school days, and alternated with present day living with her new husband. The mystery and suspense grow throughout as you know horrible things occurred but you only get glimpses throughout most of the story.

I didn't love the attitudes and personalities of the school aged girls, though I believe that is what the author intended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC audiobook version of this title!

I'm not going to say any outright spoilers but I might say some spoilerish things, so if you don't want to know anything about this book beyond the summary, please tread lightly with my review!

This is a tough one for me to review. It usually takes me a while to listen to audiobooks and at just over 11 hours, I flew through it in around 4 days. This is in part due to Imogen Church's absolutely phenomenal narration. I would give books a shot that did not interest me in the slightest based solely on how she handled this audiobook. 10/10 for her, she did beautifully.

There were parts of this book that I loved tremendously. I was enamored by Lauren and the differences she caused in Jo, the tiffs between the girls, the feud between the Townies and the Divines. The creation of the "Divine" girl was also so interesting. All of their habits and traditions were endlessly entertaining. The critique and discussion about the nastiness of girlhood and being a teenager was also done really refreshingly.

But in the end I am left feeling so...unfulfilled. And maybe that's the point and I just don't get it? Maybe I wanted something out of this book that it was never going to give me. I spent a good amount of this time being so angry at Jo and I thought there would be an eventual moral pay off. I would ultimately describe this book as a book about teenage girls viciousness from one of the bully's perspectives. Jo isn't the worst by any means. She has redeeming qualities and Eaton does a fabulous job of showing the pervasiveness of toxic behavior. Maybe if The Divines had another omniscient narrator that offered another perspective, I would find it more complete.

I'm also so upset by adult Jo's behavior. Every time adult Jo would have a section, I would spend the majority of it wishing that we could go back to her school days. I wanted to see growth and development and acceptance. I would have even taken recognition. But instead...she was exactly the same. Arguably she was worse. And again, maybe that's the whole point. In fact, I'm sure of it. But for me it wasn't enough.

Writing this review, I've talked myself up from 2 stars into 3 because I think there are some really strong aspects. I could see Ellie Eaton writing a book in the future that I would consider absolutely stellar based on those strengths, so I'm going to keep her on my radar. What I didn't like about this one just personally won out for me.

The Divines is a stunning, fierce and truly relatable portrayal of the difficulties in coming of age as an elite girl - and the future consequences on her personhood.

As soon as I read that this book has "the emotional power of Normal People," I WAS IN. And to cut the tension here, it really did live up to this high expectation. But it was so much more, as the plot moves back and forth between the teenage years and adulthood of Josephine - now a thirty-year-old, once a student of an elite English boarding school for girls called St John the Divine. Josephine struggles to come to terms with her past, not just as a troubled adolescent, but also with the traumatic events that took place at the school of "The Divines."

I knew I was going to love this book, as I myself also graduated from an elite boarding school which exposed me to a life completely different from what I'd known, as well as to challenges with interpersonal connections. While our stories are very different, I could very much relate to Josephine and her struggles, past and present,

As I was lucky to receive the audiobook version of this novel, I fell in love with the gorgeous writing, the setting and the plot even more, as the school was brought to life by an excellent narrator. I highly recommend this version of the novel, and I know I will be returning to it in the future.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

First things first, the narration by Imogen Church was outstanding. She manages to give distinct voice to a handful characters of various ages, and her emotional range really shines through her voice.

The story is told as past ruminations about Josephine's (or Jo's, since The Divines gave each other male nicknames) days at St. John the Divine boarding school in 1990's England. The girls at St. John's are known as The Divines because of their privilege, and the surrounding area folk as Townies.

What unfolds is an explosive burst of teenage angst, privilege, and terrorizing exclusive to a specific type of rich kid, and a combination of cruelty and comradeship that must be the double sided blade of growing up in a boarding school as Jo remembers her the final days of St. John the Divine's.

The Divines by Ellie Eaton is a great novel about a girl’s boarding school and the woman one of the girls grows up to be.

The Divines is the story of Josephine. Josephine is a married woman. On her honeymoon she runs into someone that knows her from high school. She went to St. Joseph the Divine, an all-girl elite British boarding school. This causes Josephine to think of old memories from The Divine. The story alternates between the past at The Divine and the present in Los Angeles.

The Divine is full of mean girls. Josephine (Jo) is a member of a mean girl clique that picks on her roommate, Jerry. Jo ends up becoming friends with someone outside the Divine which causes her to be an outcast.

I really enjoyed The Divines. It is a coming of age novel where the main character experienced every possible problem imaginable. The story also discusses Jo’s problems in adulthood. The Divines really focuses on what happened in the past and how that affects Jo in the present.

There are so many lies and rules broken in The Divines. The girls all go by nicknames that could be boy’s names. Jo experiments with her sexuality. The girls have their first sexual experiences. Drinking, smoking, sex, and the morning after pill are all present in The Divines.

The Divines demonstrates the differences between different classes. The elite boarding school is full of rich people. When Jo starts hanging out off campus, she discovers how less wealthy people live.

I loved the format of The Divines switching between past and present. Eaton does a great job showing the reader how Jo’s past actions affect her all these years later. Mistakes Jo made in boarding school affect her marriage even though she hasn’t told her husband about her past.

The Divines is an enjoyable book that teaches the reader about human nature at the same time. Sometimes instead of learning from their mistakes, people are haunted by their past.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Imogen Church and loved her narration. Imogen is one of my favorite narrators and she did a great job narrating The Divines.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Audio/William and Morrow for The Divines. All opinions are my own.

Present day quite literal mean girls told from the vision of a mean girl. It is hard to read at times - reflecting on Insecurities and talking behind peoples backs. This book tells the awkward story of trying to fit in, even when you are still in the in crowd. The things you have to give up and the road to travel. It is a quite tough one. It was quite difficult to read at times and was definitely not what I expected. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.