Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in return for a honest review.

I dnf’d at the 40% mark.

I have followed the author from almost day one on TikTok. The entire time, this book was being sold as a YA, dark academia, sapphic retelling of Jekyll and Hyde. Tell me why, there is not one mention or nod to Jekyll and Hyde. The only possible connectivity is the major “differences” between the two mcs, but then it should have been marketed as opposites attract or grumpy x sunshine. This is also supposed to be YA right? Then why do the mcs talk like middle aged men? Even their inner monologue and descriptions are so hard to read because they feel…….fraudulent. I really wanted to like this, the idea was fantastic but the execution was horrendous.

This is a deliciously suspenseful, atmospheric novel that’s perfect for Halloween! The book has a Jekyll and Hyde vibe, but uses it to explore female rage and the injustices big and small that women have had to contend with for centuries — and how they get their revenge. A great story, great writing, and compelling characters. It explores possession and the violent impulses women have, that everyone has and what would happen if we lost control of our anger. It also highlights the abuse inflicted on women throughout history when they allowed their deepest emotions to be seen.

The Society for Soulless Girls is a story about two roommates at a college trying to solve a series of unsolved murders. This did not give me Jekell and Hyde vibes at all and it did not really work for me. The writing was weird, and at times felt like I was reading a high schooler's English paper that was stuffed with every metaphor under the sun. The lead characters were not likable. One was trying way too hard to be cool and edgy to the point it became a distraction. The story itself made for an okay mystery and the school was a spooky place for the setting. The romance part seemed to not fit in with the rest, since the edgy girl never comes across as approachable in that manner. The ending kind of falls off and was not very satisfying.

This was a good book that traveled the line between suspense and supernatural. It was enjoyable and fast paced.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF 40%

I'm always game for a dark academic book, and from the description of this one, I figured it might have the sauce for an interesting read especially since it was supposed to have allusions to Jekyll and Hyde. While it was a pretty easy read, I ended up bailing at around the 40% mark. It was slow going with a lot of repetitive story telling. Since I just wrapped up a different book with similar story telling (the whole story rushed to a finish in the last 50 pages), I figured it was safer to save myself the time.

Things I didn't get from this book:

-Any Jekyll and Hyde reference
-In the description there was mention of the author using humor, I didn't see it
-Any mention of said society from the title of the book (from what I gather from reading other reviews is that you do eventually find out...)

I would say that if you're looking for an easy, quick read, then maybe give this one a shot, but it just wasn't my jam.

Y’all, this is a GOOD one. Perfectly spooky and middle grades appropriate, a wonderful addition for a middle or high school library.

A Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde retelling with queer main characters at a gothic university? *chefs kiss* perfection.

The Society for Soulless Girls is set at Carvell Acadamey where ten years ago four students lost their lives in a series of unsolved murders. The school has been shut for ten years but now it is finally reopening. Lottie is a freshman and is determined to find out what really happened. Her roommate Alice finds a ritual book in the library, another student ends up dead, and now there is another killer. Was it really a good idea to open the school back up? 

This was supposed to be a retelling of Jekyll and Hyde I personally did not get that vibe from this book. But I still liked this one. I thought this was a very wild book and it kept you on your toes. I think there was supposed to be a romance element in this book also. But I just didn't really get those vibes. The twist in this book was pretty predictable. But not a bad read for a YA book.

Such a cool book with a lot of interesting characters and a really good plot. The pacing of everything was a bit slow, and I was kinda disappointed that the central society ( referred to in the title) didn't really make its big appearance until much later. There were a lot of things to enjoy in this, but it did have a few hiccups for me that kept me from loving it.. The mystery going on in this is intriguing and definitely kept me invested. That as well as the vibes of this book were really the stars for me.. I also have to comment Laura Steven for writing such an atmospheric book. I love dark academia settings/aesthetics so it was a real treat to have this book. This was a decent sized book but I felt like not a ton happened to say how long it is? Idk it was missing something for me, but I did enjoy a lot so, overall, not bad. I hope to read more from this author in the future!

This was tough. I tried so hard to like this! The Society for Soulless Girls started out great!
Girls headed off to school, murder mystery, haunted school setting...all a recipe for greatness!!!

Unfortunately the book just fizzled out. It basically was two angry girls that end up loving each other and it just doesnt work for me. It seemed like there was less of a focus on the murders and shifted more towards the "love" story. It just turned into a dud for me. I wanted to like it so much!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random Children's House for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book had high highs and uncomfortable lows. Some of the relationships and dynamics did not ring as authentic for me, it was awkward and forced and took me out of the story. The wrap-up, in the end, was fast and almost too tied in a bow. Awkward is the main word I have for it. There were some fantastic choices too. The idea and basic story are fascinating. Some of the character choices were so good. The characters when alone were interesting and mostly seemed like real people and many of the interactions seemed believable. But some of them just seemed forced and uncomfortable. Alice's inner thoughts were weird at times and unrealistic. And the interactions with Lottie were weird at times. The ending declaration felt forced and weird. I overall loved it, but the awkwardness just stands out.

Initially, I was very intrigued by this concept. I saw a sapphic dark academia story and thought that sounded amazing. When I went on Goodreads to read more about the blurb and the vibes, I also saw the author's post with a cute little pitch about the book, and I got even more excited.

The beginning of this book was so intriguing to me. I absolutely adored the vibes and the mood. I think the dark academia aesthetic really shines through the prose. However, as the story went on, I found myself thinking that the plot was unraveling and losing its vigor. So many threads got loose and never got fixed.

From the author's little pitch on Goodreads, I had assumed this story was set in the 90s. So imagine my surprise when the characters all had phones and another was playing with their Nintendo Switch. I have no issue with the story set in our modern time, it's just that it creates a plot hole—why couldn't they just Google so many of their issues if they had access to the internet? Moreover, why did they even insist on using fountain pens and inks for writing when they could just have a pencil, a ball-point pen, or even their own laptop or tablets? (I get it... the aesthetic. But it just doesn't make sense given the time period).

The main thing about this story is the soul-splitting ritual that Alice took. This is where the Jekyll and Hyde retelling comes into place. Full disclosure, I am not knowledgeable enough about this topic, so I will be as careful as I can when talking about this, but I was concerned over whether the fact that they needed blood for this ritual might have certain undertones... Again, I don't know enough about this topic, but I was wary from the moment I read about it.

I was also confused by the sudden shift for the soul-splitting ritual because the book began focused more on Janie's death. Lottie had been so insistent on figuring out what caused her death because she didn't believe it a suicide. And then suddenly it all shifted toward Alice and Hafsah after the whole ritual came into the plot. I get that they intertwined, but there wasn't enough development (in my opinion) to show more of Lottie's initial motivations (and if they were strong enough in the first place) about why she was at Carvell to begin with.

Despite all my little confusions, I was still very intrigued where the story was going. This mystery felt so tangled, and I was wondering how it go down in the end. But then...it all fell so flat. I was expecting so much tension given the gravity of the plot—these girls struggling with their violence, Lottie and those rubies, discovering the Society—and then, it all came down to like one scene and then it was over? I think the fact that most of the resolution was told rather than shown was what made it feel so flat. (And I'm a person who believes show AND tell is the way).

On the bright side, I did love Lottie and Alice together. That was the highlight of the entire book for me. I loved their bickering and how they slowly, so so slowly came to terms with their feelings. (Also I was literally Hafsah just smirking whenever they did something cute).

If you want to read a book based solely on the vibes and maybe be intrigued over a murder mystery case with a side of a soul-splitting ritual, then by all means this may be the book for you. The vibes are certainly THERE

This is quite the book to unpack. Dark academia novels feel like they should be a home run. When you have girls leaping to their death, girls with uncontrollable anger, casting rituals to control that anger, it all sounds so perfect. But alas, the execution made the book crawl.

The Lottie and Alice as enemies angle felt forced. There was no reason for them not to like each other. Lottie is unnecessarily keeping secrets. Alice is naturally standoffish, but it doesn’t explain her being downright mean for the sake of being mean. The element of enemies to lovers just didn’t fit because if you blink, you’ll miss the “romance.”

I would have liked an update on Renner because this story would not have happened without him. The plot is ambitious, but it feels like the author was spread too thin to dig deeper into key elements of the story. If a college closed for a decade because many people were leaping from or dying near a tower, why would you reopen with it still standing? Why weren’t parents demanding they tear the tower down?

However, if you look at the book on the surface, it’s a good read. Some of the ritual elements and what happened because of the ongoing anger were fun. The unfolding mystery was the draw for me. If you go into this not expecting any romantic or thriller aspects, then you’ll enjoy this more.

Thank you, Random House Children’s/Delacorte, for the advanced copy.

A sapphic Jekyll & Hyde with a dark academia setting? SIGN. ME. UP.

Ten years ago, four students lost their lives in the North Tower murders at Carvell Academy which forced them to close their doors. Now, Carvell is reopening and Lottie is determined to find out what really happened. After her beautiful but no-so-nice roommate Alice finds a sinister ritual in the library, North Tower claims another student. Is there a killer walking among them or worse is it inside them?

I thought this book was very intriguing! I’ve seen a bunch of mixed reviews so I was a little nervous diving into this book. But I overall enjoyed it. It definitely had some darker elements to it which I loved and the setting was perfect! There is a graphic scene with involves an animal so beware of that.

If you love f/f enemies to lovers, sinister school setting and murder mystery then i highly recommend putting this one on your spooky season tbr!

This been had already been released BUT the US edition will be coming out on September 19th so make sure to grab a copy!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the review copy!

The writing in this is just remarkable. The characters were interesting and emotion provoking, and the storyline you can't go wrong. They had me at dark academia and delivered fully and I am going to add a physical copy to my collection as soon as possible

The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven
Reading this book certainly was an experience, I am still unsure if I could count it as an enjoyable one. From the start of the book, it was hard to read Alice and Lottie, so much of their relationship and interactions felt awkward and thrown together. Both were insufferable and projecting so much onto each other without actually doing much communication. Beyond the characters the plot was confusing and also felt rushed, going from 0% to 25%, it seems like so much as occurred but the author didn’t articulate it well. With the authors writing and presentation of the story, it feels like they are trying to fit a theme of metaphors to the characters and mixing up their traits while adding on a bunch of details.

All of this negative stuff doesn’t erase the fact that there is a good story here, the author just didn’t flesh it out well.

This book has an audience of teenage angsty girls, who don’t want to face the words that actually go through their head when they say nasty things, and want to explore the “duality of man” but still have a shallow understanding in what that means.

The description is a little harsh, but what I mean is this book is a stepping stone in someone starting to understand themselves.

Alice is the type of anxious person who lashes out at people. But instead of really exploring the anxieties of a person who thinks like that. There’s descriptions of her just word vomiting without control, and like the thoughts aren’t even hers. Look, I get saying something rude, and then losing control of the conversation because either you don’t emote what you’re saying correctly, or saying something and then doubling down on it even as you know you should apologize or at least make a joke but you’re anxiety let you because in that moment you just really need to say this thing you really shouldn’t. But I don’t under Alice’s inability to stop saying what she’s saying and saying cruel things not even on her mind. This is a little better in places, like when she’s cruel in order to get someone to back off, and she feels bad but also she needed space and the person wouldn’t leave her alone, so she made it clear she didn’t want their company, but making it so they never want her company ever again. But overall, I think this book lost a lot of ability to really represent and talk about that sort of anxiety in order to make Alice seem like a nice person after all.

Lottie was just weird. At a point, like with the rosery, that she’s going to wonder about the supernatural. But the moment she sees the tower, she thinks “this is an evil building” and her concentration on who the murderer is stuck on a place instead of a person.

That is weird.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.
This was not the book for me. I kept getting confused between Lottie and Alice as their voices did not seem distinct enough for me. I liked the premise of this book and the idea of this book, it just fell a little flat for me.

I loved the premise, and the blurb and that was it. This is written in such a Gen Z way, that this old bird couldn't get into it. I stopped at 25% and just decided there was way better things out there for me.
Tha k you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A Dark Academia retelling of the Jekyll and Hyde story that also name-checks The Picture of Dorian Grey, my favorite book ever? Yes, please. I was not disappointed. From the beginning, the oppressive atmosphere of Carvell Academy permeates everything and only grows. The school is so well described that, by the end, the grounds felt familiar. Did I mention that it used to be a convent where the nuns may have been possessed by the devil? The plot is consistently suspenseful, even if the ending felt a little rushed. But it was the characters that made me care. Lottie is a sweet, optimistic athlete and, even if I tend to dislike those types in real life, I found her adorable. Alice is an unlikable goth, who is rude and borderline psychopathic, but I was still rooting for her. The supporting characters were mostly OK, except for the villain, who seemed a little cartoonish. The story is very suspenseful, twisty and full of powerful images (I will never see rubies the same way again). Enjoyable and entertaining.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Random House Children's, Delacorte Press!

I liked the setting, the conversations, the characters, the symbolism, the representation and it was darker than I expected. However, it took 60% of the book to get to the point. I wish that the society was introduced earlier & was discussed more. I was mostly confused the entire first half because the pacing was off. I also think the "in love" between Lottie & Alice was a stretch.