This book was so much fun to read and try to figure out the plot and the characters. The twists and turns made it difficult to put this book down. I read it over a weekend. I have enjoyed past. Oops by this author. This is one you will want to read. Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the early read.

Secret societies at Princeton University lead to the deaths of young coeds. Sisters, Maya and Naomi are inducted ten years apart,into a secret society with a a charismatic professor at the helm who promises members a lifetime of success, wealth and connections. What will this promise cost its members immediately and in the future. Racial discrimination and old money snobbery add an element of truth at the Ivy League world. This book had the added elements of intrigue and terror to keep the pages turning.

Society of LIes
by Lauren Ling Brown
Pub Date: August 13, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
How far would you go to belong?

Maya has returned to Princeton for her college reunion—it’s been a decade since she graduated, and she is looking forward to seeing old faces and reminiscing about her time there. This visit is special because Maya will also be attending the graduation of her little sister, Naomi.
But what should have been a dream weekend becomes Maya’s worst nightmare when she receives the news that Naomi is dead. The police are calling it an accident, but Maya suspects that there is more to the story than they are letting on.
Not bad for a debut author, but honestly not a book I can recommend. It was very slow. I think the reason I felt this way is because given the dual POV (which I love in books) it was very confusing, because of the repetition of characters and settings. I had to stop reading to go back to the beginning of the chapter just to confirm who perspective it was. The POV were just way too similar to each other. There was a lot of miscommunication in this story between the sisters. 😭 Which I did not like.
For me this b0ok was a big miss.

By far one of the best and well written books I have ever read. Lauren Ling Brown created the most believable characters and the most true to life scenario on every page.

I rate my books based on what I do when I am not reading them. If I think about the book and start researching places, characters, places in time then I know without a doubt that what I am reading is truly something special.

From page 1, I was immediately drawn to this unique relationship between the sisters and their mother. Lauren had me talking about this book with others, she had me researching what Princeton looked like, what the “eating clubs” looked like to the average person.

She had me HOOKED and I’m pleased to say my intuition about this book was spot on.

20/5 stars. An immediate auto buy for any dark academia fans, readers who enjoy suspense, a tumultuous family relationship, dual point of views and timelines.

Basically if you have a pulse, you will love this book. Without a doubt this book deserves to become a movie or series. Every aspect is there and would be a huge box office hit.

Absolutely fantastic plot! I could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone.

This book was a little slow for me because of this reading slump I have been in but I loved the story!!
It jumps timelines a lot so you can fully understand what happened before and I love a good dual perspective! and the ending... did not see that coming. It was right in front of my face the whole time and I still didn't catch on.
3.5 stars

Thank you to Random House and Lauren Ling Brown for this debut. It was about Maya, a girl head back to her alma mater to see her sister graduate. But when Naomi turns up dead, the weekend becomes something Maya could have never imagined. Maya knows there is more to the story, especially after she finds out Naomi was in a secret society that Maya warned her against joining. The more she uncovers, the more Maya realizes that Naomi was digging up the past and secrets that went along with it. After all, Naomi wasn’t the first girl found dead at Princeton.

Thoughts: This book had the perfect setting. I love an academic thriller, and the setting of Princeton and the eating clubs and secret societies was a great backdrop for this story. I liked the contrasting characters of Maya and Naomi with the rich and privileged students who attended Princeton with them. I thought there were some good points about race and culture and belonging.

I think that some of the chapters ended at really weird points that didn’t make much sense. The story was a bit far fetched and I found there to be some loose ends that were never tied up. This was wonderful for a debut, and I think the author will be one to watch. 4 stars for this interesting story!

I really loved the concept of this one but it was much too slow paced for me. The secret societies sounded so interesting but they really weren't what I was expecting or wanting. I was really invested for the first half but as I kept going it just felt like it was going on longer then it should have. I think it could have wrapped up way faster and I may have enjoyed it more. There were also so many unnecessary subplots that really contributed nothing to the story. This was a like, not a love, but it's also a debut author so I'm excited to see the growth and hopefully really love her next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Great read. We’re met with an eerie story of two sisters with two points in time until someone ends up dead. Secrets. Money. Power. It was an interesting read and I was left guessing who the true killer or killers were despite setting it up as someone else. While completely fictitious story, bits and pieces are likely to happen in the depths of higher education and bureaucracy. Thank you NetGalley for providing me this ARC and Goodreads for allowing me to provide an honest review of “Society of Lies.”

I love a good dark academia thriller! Explore the Ivy League's secret society in this riveting novel by Lauren Ling Brown.

DNF at 84%

On the one hand, I feel like I might as well push through to the end. But on the other, I don’t think there’s an ending that will make sense to me.

What I liked: college campus, secret societies, and a whodunnit spanning 10+ years. My Alma mater has 3 secret societies on its campus with some of the most beloved traditions.

What I didn’t like: this book didn’t hit the way I had hoped regarding the secret societies. And the dual (triple?) POVs were so confusing with lots of named characters. The downside to the college campus with our main character’s current timeline and past timeline mixed with her sister’s recent-past timeline was SO hard to keep track of.

This academic mystery is about two sisters who attend Princeton University several years apart. They belong to the same eating club and have the same economic professor and a tragedy occurs during each of their Princeton experiences. All of these facts are integral to the story.

This was a fun and well written book that kept me hooked and intrigued until the end. I was surprised at the end, the twist was good and not confusingly thrown together. I would definitely recommend this to others and will be picking up more books by this author!

I finished this book DAYS ago, and I feel like I still need time to process it.

Society of Lies has a SUPER interesting premise. I'm always interested in the "secret societies" of colleges or whatever. Unfortunately, there was so much in this book that absolutely did not need to be there. Infidelity that led to multiple marriages with increasingly younger wives, murder, bribery. I mean, she managed to fit the college admissions scandal in here, but it didn't really serve a purpose!

I personally think the book would have been stronger had it just followed Naomi with flashbacks to what happened with Maya, instead of the other way around.

I gave this book 2.5 stars on Storygraph, and rounded it to 3 on Goodreads.

If you like an academic setting for a thriller, this is for you! Past and present collide in a university setting as Maya comes to terms with the sudden death of her sister, along with the tragedies from her own past. There were multiple timelines and POVs, which made the story engaging and had me quickly turning the pages for more. Overall, I liked the concept, but parts of the book were slow and it became more and more unrealistic as it went on. It was a fun read and left me very concerned about the safety of college campuses!

I received an ARC of this book from Random House via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. I really enjoyed this one, my first by this author.

I did not have trouble figuring out who was speaking in each chapter as I read from some other reviewers. Yes, the characters repeat, but I always knew at what point in time we were.

I loved the descriptions of Princeton and NYC (being somewhat familiar with both places), and I would definitely like to do a deep dive into the history of and rumors about Princeton eating clubs.

Towards the end, I feel like everyone was suspicious, and I didn't predict the actual ending.

One star off for: I think some of Maya and her friends' behavior as students was a little unrealistic. Towards the end, the brief portion of suspicion being placed on one particular character also seemed unnecessary/unbelievable.

I will definitely seek out more books by this author.

The twists and turns made this book a great read. Not for one second could I have predicted the ending. The characters were very well developed and the story had many layers. While I know it’s not a true story I could believe that prestigious clubs like Sterling Club have drama.The timeline was a little hard to follow due to the dual perspectives between Maya and Naomi. Thank you to Random House Publishing for the ARC!

Special thanks to @penguinrandomhouse @laurenlingbrown & @netgalley for the #gifted eARC.

👉🏼 swipe for synopsis ➡️
MY REVIEW:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️➕️

I 👏🏼CAN 👏🏼NOT 👏🏼believe this is a debut!!!!!!!
🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
I'm stunned.
Floored.

I need Miss Ling Brown to write me another dark academia RIGHT NOW!!!!! 🤣

Things that made me love this book:
✨️ multiple timelines
✨️ dual POVS
✨️ dark academia
✨️ whodunit

I was hooked from the beginning. I needed to know who killed Naomi. This book was absolutely unputdownable. I recommend this to any thriller lover who especially loves dark academia. There were so many a-ha and jaw dropping moments, I was like - how did I not guess that. And the twists at the end! OMG!!!!

This one is by far on my top 5 for 2024!

If you like thrillers, and you don't preorder this one - are you even a reader? LOL

PUB DATE:
Aug 13, 2024


QOTD ❓️⁉️❓️ Where you in any sorority/fraternity clubs/houses/societies in college? What we're they like? Would you recommend?
-if not, What's your favorite subgenre?

AOTD - no I went to community college and worked. And I LOVE dark academia and locked room

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#mysteryandthrills #thrillerlover #thrilleraddict #societyoflies #laurenling #netgalley #darkacademia #bookbuzz #top5of2024 #fivestarread #upcomingthriller
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A twisty, turny, unputdownable thriller! You didn't know who to believe, who to trust, or who was next. What a twisted web of lies the members of Sterling and Greystone were weaving all throughout the book. I'd highly recommend this to thriller fans.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Randomhouse Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was good! The 2 main characters were done very well — weaving their narrative to form suspense and reveal the mystery. The transitions between past and present were pretty flawless in that it wasn’t confusing and it built the story in a suspenseful way. I like this type of book and it’s many layers. Definitely a 4.5 star read for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy! I really enjoyed it and recommend it.