I think it’s time I accept that dark academia just doesn’t work for me. From the start, this story reminded me of The Maidens by Alex Michaelides—and since I really disliked that book, the comparison probably doomed this one for me too.

There were also a few details that didn’t feel true to the 1951 setting the author was aiming for, and the supernatural element seemed more like an afterthought than a central thread. Unfortunately, that combination just didn’t land with me.

That said, I can see this finding its audience. Readers who enjoy the dark academia aesthetic and don’t mind a looser supernatural angle will likely connect with it more than I did.

I was excited to read the belles as I am always into dark academia. However, this one just didn’t hold my attention the way many other dark academia books do, despite a solid premise. In 1951, Deena attends bellerton academy, where she links up with 5 other freshmen girls and quickly they take control over the halls of their school playing pranks on devious mind games on all they encounter. Deena, desperate to be accepted and fit in, goes along with the group and tries to hide the secrets from her past. A dangerous decision one night will haunt the belles well into the future.

This is dual timeline, multiple pov book that had a lot of potential but just didn’t quite land for me. I think it was almost too much of a slow burn and I wasn’t quite sure where the plot was going or why I should be invested in the twists.

I think tighter plotting would have definitely helped take this to the next level!

Thanks to the publisher for providing this arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

thank you netgalley and atria books for the arc! 🌟

overall, i thought the concept of this book would really stick with me. i loved the idea of a secret-saving scandalous group of girls, which is what pulled me into the book. the buildup for the first half of the book was great, i was enjoying it, really getting into it. by the end, i feel like there was so many plot holes, too many time jumps, and too much going on all at once to continue following the story. there was just so much happening in the story that the book lost me. i knew where the book was going to end up, but the build up and suspense was good, until it wasn’t 😅

idk i was just expecting more from this book and it just didn’t deliver unfortunately.

If you’re a fan of dark academia this one’s for you. It was a bit slower paced but when it got to the plot twist it was so good. Great read for fall!

I was today years old when I learned that there's a whole genre called Dark Academia, with Donna Tartt's The Secret History being a foundational entry. The Belles is not even close.

It's 1951 in Virginia at Bellerton, a prestigious women's college celebrating its centennial. The six Belles are freshmen who are the sole inhabitants of South Hall, thrown together by fate.

They are not nice girls! They're privileged jerks, their personalities all blending together into a confusing blob. One has red hair, one is a "tomboy", one has acne, one is hiding her past. They are special because author Lacey N. Dunham tells us they're special, not because of anything they do. Their pranks are inane, they break curfew on a regular basis to get dirty and bruise each other. Um, okay.

There's a story line 50 years later, that barely holds itself together, where we check in with some of the Belles and learn they must reckon with THE BIG MYSTERY FROM THE PAST that 1951 builds up to.

No sense of schoolwork, or classes, except for some cheating / copying and woe is me I don't have a typewriter and my hand is sore from all this writing. Barely a mention of any other students on campus. Academia lite.

The Belles was trying too hard to be something it's not. Time to reread The Secret History.

2.5 stars rounded up for that gorgeous cover.

My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada | Atria Books for the Advance Reader Copy. (pub. date 9/9/2025)

I am a sucker for dark academic stories. I don’t know why but anything with a boarding school is an instant yes for me. Really enjoyed this book and will be recommending to friends

I really enjoyed this book!!!!!!!!!! I wasn't sure if I would because I would catorgize this book as YA, but in my opinion, it's not. It's more Gothic than anything and I love a good Gothic tale!!!

First thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 stars

Synopsis: Deanna Williams attends a small private college where she gets in with an elite group of girls. These girls become known as the belles and form an alliance with each other. However as they go through school Deanna’s past could be exposed

What I liked: this was very atmospheric and if you like dark academia, you would most likely enjoy this. Deanna is poorer than the other girls and fights to fit in. However the other girls are mean and very self centered. You get little bits of Deanna’s past but not any of the other girls and not enough to really understand their behavior. There is a good twist towards the end but I didn’t feel like there was enough background to make it as shocking as it could have been. Overall an ok book but could have been better

sadly, this is a DNF, do not ressucitate at around 25%

This book is boring me, making me not want to read anymore, and I just don't know if I want to stick around that badly to hear what it has to say.
From the jump, every white girl in this story has my fight or flight triggered (they're all white - its a southern college in the 50s).

I also didn't feel a particularly strong sense of place - a huge part of dark academia for me is the setting and tone, often it's enough to carry a story even if it's not particularly intruiguing. This was sadly not the case for the Belles.

Thank you for the chance to read this story early

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this advance readers copy, in exchange for an honest review. The Belles is a dark academia story, with focus on a female friend group, which slowly starts to feel cult like and mixed with angsty adolescent/young adult feelings, begins to implode…

This book was just okay for me. I liked the atmosphere and world building to bring me into this dark academic setting but, couldn’t find myself caring much about the story itself. Maybe it’s just me but, I think other readers may enjoy this!

Maybe I only love dark academia in theory. This was intriguing for about 10%, then felt like a drag for another 60%, then I basically just felt a rush to finish so I could mark it as done. It's fine and it'll definitely be some people's cup of tea but it just moves at a kind of glacial pace that is not made up for in vibes for me,

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this eARC.

I was first drawn in by the gorgeous cover, but the plot is what really interested me. I love a good dark academia, unsettling story with cult themes.
I appreciated the author’s ability to create such a rich history of Bellerton and dive into the rampant social issues of the 1950’s.
I do wish that more happened plot-wise. I felt like majority of the book was focused on more mundane things that the Belles did. I loved when the plot started to get darker and the secrets of Bellerton slowly got revealed, but prior to that, it felt like the plot was moving very slow. I wish we got more insight into the darker side of Bellerton!
The 2002 timeline also felt unfinished! **SPOILERS AHEAD!!!**
I thought way more was going to happen and they would actually face consequences for their actions, but it seemed to just be thrown in there. Ada May just went around telling everyone the news, but we don’t hear about that aspect of the present again.

Definitely worth the read if you’re interested in a story about girls being a little scary and culty (but also very unlikable). The writing was also very well done!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy

I wanted to like this book--I'm a fan of dark academia. Add in a secret cult and I'm hooked. Unfortunately, the execution of the story was boring. I found myself uninterested in the characters almost from page one and there wasn't a point that pulled me in.

3.5 stars

An entirely decent thriller with some surface trappings of dark academia, but nothing deeper. It was overall entertaining but failed to really grip me and I had a had a hard time getting this one started - once it was going it was a fun ride.

Thank you to Atria for the ARC! #bookhuddle Oregon Retreat

Set in 1951 & 2002, this novel focuses on a group of young women at the prestigious all-women Bellerton College. Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, students are expected to conform to the strict standards set by the college president's wife. Deena Williams arrives on campus in Fall 1951 with the hope that her new assumed identity will protect her as she studies. For a while, she's right. In 2002, ringleader of the Belles, Ada May Delacourt, begins contacting her former classmates as the college's anniversary looms.

I was immediately hooked by the plot and the characters. I liked Deena's mysterious past and the information we learn throughout the story. I wish we'd had a chance to meet some of the Belle's parents on-page. As the story progressed, the plot seemed to teeter on the knife's edge between YA and Adult fiction. 3.5/5

This book had promise with the social elitism, and messy/bratty rich kids gossip girl and magnolia parks style and I was very excited to read a dark academia as we open up autumn months just now.

I do love a main character that we have to have her story drawn out to truly appreciate her. I also love a dual timeline as this usually helps move the story along for me.

HOWEVER: I wanted more depth to it all. There were times that I felt a new storyline was more of a tangent that came out of nowhere than a solid plot point.

HOWEVER HOWEVER: given my moody reading habits this could very well have been a right book at the wrong time sort of situation and I am still very grateful for the gifted pre-publication copy!

The Belles by Lacey N. Dunham is a dark, mesmerizing debut that takes the familiar trappings of a 1950s finishing school and transforms them into something far more unsettling. Bellerton College, with its ivy-draped walls, suffocating rules, and carefully groomed hierarchy, is the perfect stage for a story about the dangerous desire to belong.

At the center is Deena Williams, a freshman with a secret that could unravel her carefully constructed facade. Watching her navigate the rigid social world of Bellerton, and then become swept into the orbit of the Belles—a clique as alluring as it is menacing—was both riveting and uncomfortable. Dunham captures the claustrophobic atmosphere brilliantly: the velvet ribbons, the whispered rumors, the strange games at midnight. The Belles are equal parts glamorous and predatory, and the cult-like bond between them makes the story thrum with tension.

The writing is sharp and immersive, and I especially loved how Dunham nailed the dizzying hunger of adolescence—the need to be seen, to matter, to fit in—even when the cost is high. The novel spans decades, weaving a twisted journey that lingers with a creeping dread. When the darkness finally breaks through, it does so quietly but devastatingly, leaving an ache that feels true to the story.

If I had one critique, it’s that parts of the narrative felt a little too slow, and at times I wanted just a bit more clarity about Deena’s secret and the full weight of Bellerton’s sinister history. But those quibbles didn’t stop me from being swept up in the atmosphere.

Richly atmospheric and brimming with tension, The Belles is an evocative exploration of privilege, belonging, and the shadowy corners of girlhood. A strong and haunting debut.

I could not finish this it was so boring.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

📖 Title: The Belles- a standalone

✍🏾 Author: Lacey N. Dunham-debut author

📅Publication date: 9/9/25 | Read: 9/8/25

📃 Format: e-Book 304 pgs.

Genre:
*Horror
*Historical Fic
*Mystery/Suspense
*YA
*Women's Fic

Tropes:
*dark academia
*ghosts
*coming of age
*female friendship
*wealthy/privilege
*hidden truths
*secret identity
*gothic, atmospheric
*LGBTQIA+ rep

👆🏾POV: 3rd person multiple

⚠️TW: ghosts, cancer, missing girls/accidents, SA, murder

🌎 Setting: VA-Bellerton College 1951 and 2002

Summary: Deena arrives at the wealthy and prestigious Bellerton College for Girls. She reinvents herself to fit in at all costs. Her friend group is hailed The Belles by the college president's wife Mrs. Tibbert who awards and punishes the girls as she sees fit. Ghosts, doll rituals, and missing objects plague Bellerton along with stories of missing girls. Deena and her gang break the rules with betrayal of each other.

👩🏾 Heroine: Deena E. Williams-17, an orphan raised by her grandmother (now deceased). Her mother died when she was six and her father (who doesn't want to claim her) provides her a monthly allowance.

🎭 Other Characters:
The Belles:
*Nell Lawton-Peters-17, from Phila. and Catholic
*Sheba Wyatt-17, wanted Deena's room, Fred's BFF
*Winifred "Fred" Scott-17, androgynous & closeted, from Boston
*Prissy Nicholson-17, spoiled girl from TX, her father is a trustee
*Ada May Delacourt- 17, her great grandfather founded the college, and father is a trustee

*Mary Burden- a girl at Bellerton Deena talks to her
*Deena's Grandmother-a maid
*Peggy Donovan-senior class president 1951 who comes back for the 2002 Bellerton's 150th anniversary
*Mrs. Tibbert-the president's wife-an evil woman
*The poet professor-teaches Literature
*Ann Goodchild-Peggy's BFF in Bellerton

🤔 My Thoughts: I'm a fan of dark academia and this didn't disappoint. Deena was taught to survive by her grandmother, and how to fit in with the privileged. The Belles had secrets that could have ruined them, and they lied and cheated to keep them under wraps.

Rating: 4/5 ✨
Spice level: 0/5 🌶️

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Lacey N. Dunham for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

Wow, these ladies were ruthless in the 1950s! I don’t read a ton of dark academia that isn’t set in more present times so it was a nice change of pace to go back a few decades and see women behaving badly. I enjoyed how the college’s dark history unfolded throughout the story. However, the ghost aspect felt undone and almost like it was added as an afterthought since it was never fully developed.