This is a great Ivy-League thriller about privilege, exploitation, and the way marginalized students have to navigate wealthy, predominantly-white, and sexist/coercive spaces. It's heart-breaking too, so do know that this isn't just a fun romp about rich folks getting what's coming to them, but it's a great addition to the summer thriller slate for this year.

This was my first dark academia book and wow! I loved the setting of this story as well as the characters. The idea of secret societies is so interesting and this story makes you want more. The whole time reading this book I was eager to keep revealing the secrets hidden in this story and who was lying and who was telling the truth! I also enjoyed the length of the chapters because it made it feel as if the book when faster.

Overall I really liked this book, I cared about the characters and wanted justice for Naomi and wanted exposure the people and institutions involved.. At times it felt a little long and there were some bits that could be left out and at times the triple timeline was confusing. Maya now, Maya 10 yrs ago and Naomi in the months before her murder and I lost track of who/when etc I did like it and would read others by this author

I've been wanting to dip into dark academia and this book was very good. The story line was interesting and it kept me wanting more. I will say that it did drag on at some points. With the dual POV between the two sisters, it was hard to know who was who with each chapter and I kept having to go back to make sure because much of the story for both deals with some of the same characters even though it is different time periods.

I do still recommend this book because if you are looking for a dark academia rec, I believe you will really enjoy this one. The plot twist - I did not see coming. just be prepared as the book is long. I don't know how many pages exactly because it was on my kindle but I know that my kindle percentage barely moved after reading 9 pages. I feel like we could have done without some of the fluff of the book to make it shorter and to help the story line go faster.

All in all, I would rate it a 3.75.

When I first saw the cover of Lauren Ling Brown’s Society of Lies, the vibrant design drew me in. The title tells you exactly what you will get: secret societies at an Ivy League university and a continuous trail of lies. Maya’s sister, Naomi is found dead and police rule it a suicide. Maya isn’t convinced. Naomi was attending a Princeton, just like her older sister did, and had joined Greystone, the secret society no one talked about but was as exclusive as it could get. Each sister becomes entangled in a web of deceit that gets well beyond their control. Who is responsible for Naomi’s death? Is it connected to the death of one of Maya’s friends from ten years ago? How does an elusive professor tie into the events that impacted both sisters? Told in a triple timeline (present, Maya’s time at Princeton, and Naomi’s time at Princeton), Society is Lies takes you step by step into each of their stories to the ultimate ending that answers the questions you had. The triple timeline is not going to be confusing or difficult to follow. It was almost a 4⭐️ for me but there was a bit of frantic wildness at the end that took a little bit away from the conclusion for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book will be published on August 12, 2024.

#netgalley #arc #bookstagram #SocietyofLies #LaurenLingBrown #RandomHouse

The title and cover are beautiful. The concept is lovely, and the characters are realistic and multilayered. This book just really wasn't my cup of tea. I could not get into he switching narrators. The stories were similar, and hard to figure out what was going on and why. I stopped at ~25% and do not think I will go back. I would try reading from this author again but I could not get into this book.

Interesting, sometimes a bit complicated story of two sisters, with lots of timely topics for discussion, such as class protections and the access that money buys, racism and university scandals going beyond the university. I think my students will enjoy this and relate to the sister's stories over three timelines

Behind the ivy covered walls of elite universities whispers of secret societies pass among the students. In Society of Lies those secret societies are a reality at the esteemed Princeton University and their members don’t know what it means to be told no. The story follows dual timelines of sisters Maya and Naomi, both students at Princeton, both part of the extra elusive Grayscale Society. While the society brings access to opportunities and social connections they could never procure on their own, it also brings the expectation that its members turn a blind eye to the more nefarious ongoings of the group. Both sisters find themselves in a dark web of lies while trying to uncover the depth of the secrets and not everyone will make it out alive.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. It took a while for this book to pick up steam but the last third captured my attention and I was pleased with the ending that definitely surprised me. At times the dual perspective and changing timeframe was confusing and I had to stop and pay attention to whose narrative it was and the year. I’m not sure how the author could have cleaned it up but I think that would help with some of the pacing challenges. Overall an enjoyably disturbing thriller.

This started out really strong, but the constant shifting in points-of-view became a bit tedious and it felt a bit long as a result.

This book was good/fine, it entertained. I liked the premise and the set up a lot and it really had such a strong start. Unfortunately, I do think it was ultimately too long (lost a lot of momentum in the middle there), and a little to much POV jumping around to be totally enjoyable/effective. I do think with some tweaks this book could be really quite good. However, I did reasonably enjoy it as it is - no regrets reading it!

I love that the timelines jumped back and forth for both sisters. This was a fun thriller to read over the weekend, even though the book could’ve been shorten by 80-100 pages. The ending was ok because of how neat everything ended up. How Lauren Ling Brown wrote her characters, made me care about them and wanting to know what’s going to happen to them or not. Thank you Lauren Ling Brown, NetGalley and Bantam for this digital copy.

This story started out really strong. I was all in and completely invested in binging the book in one sitting. However, very early, around 20% with all of the back and forth between Maya in the present timeline, Naomi in the past and Maya in the past- it all just started to bleed together for me.

I constantly had to work to hard to remember who's POV I was reading - I don't want to work hard- I just want to enjoy a book. Not a fan of the writing and it was hard for me to connect with the characters.

Could not get through this one fast enough!! I was so intrigued and on the edge of my seat the entire time. Looking forward to more!
(Unfortunately this title is not eligible for an Amazon review).

Starts out great; intriguing characters, fascinating setting, mysterious doings at a famous university.
It all slows down to a crawl pretty quickly.
We are told right away that one of the main characters, Naomi, is dead. Her chapters are all set in the past, obviously. The other main character, her sister Maya, tells all her tales in the present. Usually this is not a problem, because the action or characters segue right into either the past or present, tying them together. This does not do that. You are at a party in the present with one set of characters, then next chapter you are at the library in the past, with a whole new set of characters and a storyline that doesn't seem to have anything at all to do with the chapter you just read. Also, there is a lot reminiscing and second guessing of decisions and actions taken; the story begins to bog down fairly quickly. I found myself in the middle of a sentence and suddenly making my grocery list in my head.
I would say with no exaggeration that all the characters are either unlikeable or uninteresting. Making for a very dull read.
There are red herrings aplenty. Maybe too many. We are lead one direction, then Eureka! It's... no wait. It's not them. Oh, look, we have new information, and it's... EUREKA! Oh, no, no it's not them either. There are characters who you think are involved, only to find out they are not, in any way, shape or form. And you wonder why they were even written into the story. Then there is a character who might have possibilities but literally flies off into the sunset with no closure to their story. It all just felt like it dragged on, and on, way too long. And by the end, at the final reveal, I couldn't have cared less whodunit. I just wanted it all to be over.

I had really high hopes for this book because I was totally hooked for the at the beginning however at the 15-20% mark, my excitement fizzled out. The premise of this book and the other reviews really drew me in but I could not get past the alternating timelines and dual POVs. It was a bit too much for me to keep up with and I kept confusing the characters and actions in each timeline. The beginning was really great though! I may circle back to it eventually but right now, I have no compulsion to continue the story since it bogged me down. Sadly, this book was a dnf for me but I think it is definitely for someone, just not me.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this arc.

Society Of Lies is everything you want in a college campus thriller. The dark creepy vibes surrounding this campus and the death of a student. The dual perspectives makes you even more invested in the story. The writing style is why I loved this book so much! I could vivdely imagine what this looked like and what each character looked like. It made it so much more interesting because I felt like I was there myself!

The only thing that knocked off a star for me is that I think this is about 100 pages too long. This has the potential for being one of those thrillers you start and finish in one sitting, but it's just a bit too long.

I picked this one because who doesn’t love a dark academic murder mystery, especially when there’s a secret society involved? And, better yet, the story is set in the town where I live, at the university I work at! I love Princeton and was thrilled to see it featured in the story, although a lot of the plot took place outside the university.

The story was good, but it didn’t captivate me the way I had hoped it would. It took me a little longer than usual to get through it, and I found myself getting lost pretty frequently. It was hard to differentiate Maya’s voice and experience from her sister Naomi’s. Normally I like shorter chapters, but with all the jumping around in time, I would have preferred longer sections with the same characters.

Everyone in the book is generally selfish, privileged, entitled, and oblivious. I didn’t feel particularly connected to any of the characters, and I was suspicious of everyone connected to Sterling or Graystone, even though it seemed pretty clear who was to blame for Lila’s death. If you like this sort of thing in your thrillers, it’ll be worth a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam @randomhouse and Netgalley @Netgalley for the e-arc. All thoughts are my own.


How far would you go to belong?

Maya has returned to Princeton for her college reunion. She graduated ten years ago, and now she’s attending the graduation of her younger sister Naomi.

Unfortunately, the weekend becomes Maya’s worst nightmare when she learns Naomi is dead. The police say it’s an accident, but Maya knows there is more to the story.

Maya starts to piece together what happened leading up to her sister death, but the more she learns, the more she realizes how much Naomi hid from her. Looks like Naomi joined the Sterling Club, of which Maya was also a member.

Naomi isn’t the only young woman who’s turned up dead. With everything pointing to Maya, and secrets, she wonders how she can piece everything together.


Okay. I liked this book, but I didn’t love this book. I think that had the pacing been faster, I would have loved it. Because of the pacing, I found my mind wandering at time, and was struggling to stay engaged. Now, I really enjoyed the different points of view a lot of fun. It was a challenge trying to keep the past and present timeline within the same character straight. I think that had the pacing been faster it would have been easier, which seems counter intuitive, but for me, if the pacing is quick then I’m immersed and fully paying attention. I loved the setting of the college and secret societies. This is always a fun setting for me. I did stick this one out and felt that the ending kind of came a little out of left field in an unbelievable way. But I will say that it was unpredictable, and I did have fun with it.

Overall, this was a worthwhile read and I would recommend it to certain folks, especially for those who like books about secret societies.

3/5 ⭐️
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC which is coming out on August 13, 2024.
Dark academia thriller, I enjoyed the secret society part of the book, it was a bit slow for me and had a lot of repetition, but overall is a good read.

I enjoyed the book. It kept me engaged. It didn't keep me on the edge of my seat and ready to explode but it was so close to that. PAUSE - I say this because I felt there were some parts that had a little too much summary than action.
It's the first novel written by the author and I'm really impressed because this is amazing and I do want to read more from her in the future. I can't wait to see what magic she does with that ink and paper 😍

My review of the book:
The first thing that drew me in when I saw the book was the cover. There was something about those half-light glow from the window at night. It was almost as if the cover was whispering silently. Next, the title caught me and I knew I had to find out what the mystery was all about, what lies had been hidden. I knew it was going to be about death obviously but I didn't know it was going to be this complicated. Surely, I was NOT expecting all the random plot twists and turns. It was as if when I finally got a hang of it and could make a decision, another piece of evidence came in to throw me of course.