Maya returned to Princeton for her 10 yr reunion. She’s also attending the graduation of her little sister, Naomi. Maya received news that Naomi is dead. The police are calling it an accident but Maya doesn’t believe it was. Despite Maya’s warnings, Naomi joined Sterling Club, an exclusive social club on campus, the same one Maya belonged to.
The pacing was slow and took me longer to finish. Towards the end I was rushing to get done because I became bored. The story is told from alternative viewpoints of Maya and Naomi. The characters and different settings alternating was confusing. It’s told from perspectives of the 2 sisters. Three different timelines: present day from Mayas point of view and 2 in the past from points of view of the sisters. It discussed secret societies, privilege, race, belonging, sisterhood, greed and blackmail. It wasn’t particularly thrilling or suspenseful.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC

Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown is a debut???? No way!! It was good. It felt like reading a bestseller and now that it has been announced as a Reese's Book Club pick, maybe it will be. First of all, I want to say I love reading about characters with different ethnicities and/or cultural backgrounds. The two leads in Society of Lies mix of backgrounds added to the story in a way that was organic, interesting, and thought-provoking. Princeton being a lauded Ivy League school and its secret societies and seeming status rankings added a fun, unique element to the story. The fact that the author attended Princeton made me wonder throughout what was fact and fiction about Princeton. I loved that aspect. The mystery of the death of one Princeton student and the lengths her older sister, a Princeton-alum will go to to find out what happened kept me glued to the book and turning the pages long into the night. Great debut novel and can't wait to read more from this author.

Maya returns for a 10-year reunion after her graduation from Princton. Although her excitement for the reunion is short-lived when she is informed that her sister, Naomi, was killed in an accident. However, Maya knows better and begins to investigate on her own. The more she looks into Naomi's past few weeks leading up to her death, the more shroaded in the mysteries of the secret exclusive club, Sterling Club. Is her sister trying to be more like her, and is this the cause of her death? The twist and turns of Society of Lies will have you loving this book and the need to keep reading long past your bedtime. I enjoyed Lauren Ling Brown's first novel and can't wait to see what she has in store for her next book.

I wanted to love this book so much, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. It must be noted that the cover is absolutely gorgeous!!! I thought this unfortunately was cheesy and unbelievable.

*4.5 stars rounded up*

Where do you draw the line? When is it time to speak up?

Maya is devastated when on the weekend she returns to her alma mater, Princeton, to watch her little sister graduate, she is instead finding herself planning a funeral. Naomi’s death is being considered an accident by the authorities, but this isn’t the first time a young woman within the elite Sterling Club has been found dead…

This story holds many things within it: it’s a tale of sisterhood, motherhood, friendship, loss, racism, & the privileges that come with wealth. The author explores many facets of these complicated subjects throughout the timelines, & as I read Naomi’s story in the months leading up to her death I found myself wishing that this wasn’t the end for her. Both an engrossing tale of a secret Ivy League society, & a deeper examination of what all the university experience can entail, I’ll definitely be following this debut novelist’s career.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bantam for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In her debut novel, author Lauren Ling Brown succeeds in writing an unputdownable campus thriller that stirs conversation about friendship, sisterhood, class, multiracial identity, and the lethal perils of silence. The story is told from the dual perspectives of sisters. We get Maya's POV as she returns to Princeton for a reunion and the graduation of her sister Naomi, who is ten years younger. But before any celebration can happen, Maya learns that Naomi has died. Knowing what Maya knows about the secret campus society to which both sisters belonged, Maya suspects that Naomi's death is not, as the campus community believes, an accident. From there we go back in time to get Naomi's first-person narrative interspersed with Maya's more current situation and the truths she exposes. It's often difficult to tell the two voices apart, so pay attention to chapter headings.

[Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

Maya's sister Naomi is found dead and at first the police declare it an accident but Maya knows she must have been murdered. As she retraces Naomi's recent days, she realizes it might be tied to her own experience with the secret society from a decade ago that she's been trying to distance herself from. Overall, this started out promising as the perspectives of the characters were interesting, but the pacing slowed and it became repetitive.

I enjoyed this engaging campus type thriller. I loved the concept of a secret society in a college setting. The beginning sucked me into the characters and had me wanting to know what had happened. But mixed with the different timelines I felt the middle of the book was slower than I would have liked. I felt it not keeping my attention as much. However the ending was fast paced and really had me guessing as to what actually happened. Overall an enjoyable read.

WOW! Secret societies at an ivy league school.,,, I love it! Sisters with a huge age gap but in the same secret society where nothing seems to be any different even this many years later.... Secrets, lying, money, power, and a creepy teacher... This one was not one I could put down.

📖 Book Review 📖

📱🎧 "Society of Lies" by Lauren Ling Brown

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
published October 1, 2024

A easy mystery surrounding the dark society of Greystone at Princeton, where powerful connections are made that will determine your future. Bouncing between present day when Naomi is at Princeton, to years prior when older sister Maya was at Princeton, to 13 years before that when young Maya, biracial with a chinese mom and a black father, is orphaned with her 8-year-old little sister Naomi. Maya always wanted better for her sister, which leads her to become a part of a secret collegiate society surrounded by uber privileged students. Maya does what she can to adjust, and learn this new world. Now in present day readers see Naomi, unfortunately following the same footsteps of her older sister, and part of a secret society. Dark secrets, young girls dying mysteriously, payoffs, and professors with inappropriate relationships makes for an interesting story. It kept my attention and I enjoyed learning about the Princeton secret societies. 

#somanybooks #readsomemore #audiobooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

This one started off so good, I was thinking it would be my first 5 star of the year. But the dual POV , which I usually like, made me have to sometimes look back to see who is speaking since Maya and her sister's stories and voices are so similar. It is an interesting premise and an Ok thriller, but it seemed to bog down in places as the story moves on and the final twists just fell flat. 3 stars.

Sisters Maya and Naomi have almost always been on their own since their parents passed when they were young. Nearly 10 years older than Naomi, the age difference has given the sisters a unique relationship, especially since Naomi was eventually raised by an aunt as Maya navigated college and adulthood.. But when Maya learns of Naomi's acceptance and attendance at Princeton University, the same prestigious school she attended, she is proud of her sister. Her pride comes with a dire warning: Stay away from Sterling Club, an exclusive, nearly impossible social club to be accepted into. When Maya discovers the devastating news that Naomi has died from a "drowning accident", all her worst fears have come to pass. and she sets out on a mission to prove that her sister's death was no accident. In doing so, she uncovers many hidden secrets of her sister's life as her suspect list grows. Too many details are reminding her of the death of fellow Sterling Club member from when Naomi was at Princeton, and this time, she is not staying silent.

This is a great book for any reader into mystery, suspense, secret society novels. I was engaged and wanted to know how it all ended, but I felt there was too much "filler". At times I found myself getting Maya's and Naomi's chapters mixed up, as the story is told in alternating timelines and from the two characters points of view, so it was a bit confusing at times keeping them straight when I don't normally struggle with that. I expected more suspense and less investigation. Or if the "investigation" parts had been more suspenseful. Not a favorite, but I know this book will appeal to other readers. This is a debut novel by Lauren-Ling Brown so I am looking forward to seeing more from her and expect to see her grow more. Many thanks to NetGalley, Bantam, and of course Lauren Ling Brown.

I did give this a 3.5/5 on my personal reading log but rounded up to 4 stars as no half stars are available options.

I liked the 2 pov and the back and forth between them, but the stories were too dark for me to enjoy. Life at Princeton. Just not a story that I could enjoy.

Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown - Reese Book Club pick October 2024

Everything was going well for Maya. A ten year reunion at her alma mater of Princeton and also her kid sister, Naomi's graduation also at Princeton. She had followed in her sister's footsteps, it was going to be great. Then everything came crashing down as Naomi was killed. When Maya started searching for answers, she realized that she knew little about the extracurricular activities Naomi was into. She was in the secret society - The Sterling Club. This was undoubtably hard to get into and the most ranked club at Princeton. The more she search into what really happened to her sister, the memories and thoughts of what happened to her raced back and this might have something to do with her. Did Maya's past catch up with her? Did her sister have to die or could she have been saved. 4 stars - recommend

Thank NetGalley, the author Lauren Ling Brown, and Bantam Books (Imprint of Penguin Random House). for advanced copy for honest review.

This book had a strong premise and kept me intrigued, especially with its elite college setting and themes of dark secrets within exclusive social clubs. (It gave me The Last Housewife vibes!) Maya’s journey to uncover the truth about her sister’s death was compelling, and I found myself invested in figuring out what really happened. However, some parts felt repetitive, and the pacing was REALLY slow, especially in the second half of the book — and I kept getting confused on where we were in time/which sister.

While I enjoyed the suspense, the final reveal didn’t fully deliver the impact I was hoping for. Overall, it was a decent read, but it lacked that extra spark to make it truly memorable.

This book had me fully invested in Princeton campus life. I was living for the secret society’s, the cunning and the lies.
•
When Maya returns to Princeton for her 10 year reunion she’s both excited and a bit skeptical. Her younger sister Naomi is currently a student. What should have been a fun weekend quickly turns to tragedy when Maya finds out that her sister is dead. Struck with grief but little to no answers about the cause of her death, Maya starts her investigation and quickly realizes that Naomi’s death may be related to some incidents that occurred during Maya’s time in campus.
•
Told through multiple POVs and past/present timelines I loved how the author told the story. I was very intrigued by the secret societies and what it’s like to go to a prestigious school like Princeton.
Overall I really enjoyed this one and loved that it was picked up by Reese’s Book Club.

Thank you @netgalley and @bantam books for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book, it was a constant back and forth between sisters and timelines with a great mystery in between. I really like the well-developed non-cookie cutter characters, it was great.

Intriguing, haunting, dark, compelling, heartbreaking and secrets are just some of the words to describe this book! In Brown's debut novel, she set the bar high for her future novels because this one was well written and thoughtfully put together and I couldn't put it down! The character development alone is masterminded!
Our story begins when Maya is told her younger sister Naomi hasn't contacted her for a few days, and this is out of character for Naomi and Maya begins to worry for her younger sister. While trying to talk herself down and breathe she receives devastating news that will change her future forever. Naomie is found dead. While handling the death of her younger sister she decides to figure out what her sister was doing the months and time before she passed away and Maya is convinced that Naomi was murdered. Looking into what Naomi was doing and whom she was talking to she realizes that Naomi was trying to figure out what happened all those years ago when Maya was at Princeton when she was a student and another student died on a trip. Bringing back secrets that Maya would rather have left in the past she must dive into Naomi's hunt for information to find out who murdered her and what else they were hiding! I enjoyed the two POVs of Maya and Naomie then the past and the present helped piece the whole situation together along with the serious nature of everything going on and worked very well for this novel! If you are looking for a good thriller full of secrets, murder, secret societies, and how staying silent when you know information and how it's so easy to get sucked into silence then you should pick up this book! I recommend it and you will be on the edge of your seat mentally taking notes so you can figure out whodunit!
Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine/Random House Publishing for the extraordinary opportunity to read and review this one! Such a treat and a thrill for the spooky season!

Premise was alright. The dual pov was written in a way that was hard to navigate making it kinda boring.

I think I like my dark academia best with a bit of magic…

Thanks to netgalley and random house for an eARC

I liked the premise of this book- secret societies in elite schools are always a fun goldmine of drama and intrigue. The dual timeline narratives of Maya and Naomi were interesting at first, building together to show how the sisters ended up where they are in present day, but after a while it was hard to be patient with the pace and semi-repetitive nature of the voices. I love getting to visit this academic setting form the point of view of non-white characters but wish that the pacing had been better.