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!

A truly intoxicating, dark academia thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and author for a gifted eARC of SOCIETY OF LIES, and congratulations to the author for their recent publication and selection for Reese's Book Club!

This was a consuming, dark thriller set in an ivy league college filled with secret society skeletons (literally and figuratively). I could not put this one down! I look forward to reading more from this author.

I thought this book was well written and I enjoyed it enough to finish it. I personally did not connect with the characters but that is just a me thing.

This was just okay? I enjoyed the look behind eating clubs at Princeton and a secret society, but it just wasn't very surprising or thrilling (at least to me). The dual POV at times was confusing, since one was in the current time and the other was in the past counting towards the present. It was nice to have the different perspectives of Maya and Naomi, though. Maybe if you have never read or seen anything about Ivy League secret societies, this would be more thrilling for you? I received an advance review copy for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

Murder, dark societies... I enjoyed reading this one.
I love a good dark academia story and the secret societies of Princeton's eating clubs were intriguing to me. The plot drew me in and I loved the chapters that delved deeper into Greystone Society.
I came to really like Naomi's character and her inquisitive mind as she dove deeper into the dark secrets of the past. Reading about the relationship dynamic between the two sisters was interesting. I enjoyed how their characters developed throughout the book, and I loved the twists and turns that the book took.
If you like a fun dark-academia murder mystery I would recommend it!

Title: Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown
Publication Date- 10/01/24
Publisher- Random House Ballantine
Overall Rating- 5/5 stars

Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: It’s been a while since I’ve read a thriller that I felt was crafted really well. This is just a good story. It’s engaging, the pacing is perfect, it’s layered in a sensible way, it’s just good.

Something that this author did that I don’t think I’ve read before is a POV of the present, past POV of her sister and past POV of her as well. This story goes back and forth in time and explores secret societies at Princeton. Basically, rich people behaving badly, on a college campus. There is a dark academia feel that was perfect for this time of year.

Society of Lies has an investigative approach which I found interesting and engaging throughout the story. The characters were realistically written, dialogue felt appropriate, it just feels like it’s been a while since I’ve read a thriller that mature.

There are several characters that are important, however it’s not difficult to keep up because the author intertwined things in a continuous timeline that is sensible and easy to follow.

If you enjoyed books like “In my Dreams I Hold a Knife,” and “I Have Some Questions for You,” you should give this one a try.

Secret societies...entitled university students...what could go wrong?

This was a great story of biracial sisters (Black and Chinese) who attend the elite Princeton University and are thrilled when they are tapped to join the elite "eating club" Sterling Club. But within Sterling Club is an even more influential club that can make or break an individual, a future, or a whole corporation. Because they are somewhat estranged, with 10 years between them, Maya fails to warn Naomi about the dangers of the club. Naomi mistakenly believes she is protecting Maya in her pursuit of the explanation for the murder of a college student when Maya was at university. And there's no one either of them can (or should) trust. Secrets and miscommunication lead to a deadly outcome, when Naomi is killed just before her graduation.

The chapters flipped between Maya's and Naomi's time at Princeton, and while the pacing was a little uneven, this was an enjoyable, tense, emotional read. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for an advance reader's copy.

The synopsis of Society of Lies immediately drew me in, promising a tale of intrigue and deception. The first half of the book lived up to my expectations, immersing me in the lives of the characters and the complexities of their relationships. However, as the story progressed, I noticed a shift in the pacing that ultimately affected my overall enjoyment of the story.
Overall, Society of Lies is a decent read, but it didn't keep me on the edge of my seat or compel me to finish it in one sitting. While it has its strengths, particularly in the initial setup and character development, the pacing and predictability in the latter half left me wanting more.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy of Society of Lies in exchange for my honest review.

OMGosh! These kids! lol So Maya and Naomi aren’t necessarily kids but they younger than me so KIDS! When I tell you they are falling into so many messed up situations it feels like I’m yelling at screen. But I can say the story is definitely keeping me on my toes especially with waiting for this big reveal. I’m just under halfway through and the book has my attention. If you are looking for suspense and entertainment this book has exactly what you need. Young adults figuring it out! Will definitely be back for a final reaction!