🎭 The Circus Never Ends

⭐️⭐️

With Friends Like These promises a suspenseful ride through long-standing friendships, dark secrets, and a deadly tradition—but for me, it didn’t quite deliver.

The premise is undoubtedly intriguing: six Harvard roommates, now decades out of college, still play a secret elimination-style game called “The Circus.” It’s meant to be a nod to their youth and a tribute to a lost friend. But when stakes are raised with the promise of a small fortune, the game quickly turns into something more sinister, or that was the expectation.

Told from Sara’s first-person point of view, the story explores themes of friendship, trust, and nostalgia. I expected flashbacks to their Harvard days, scenes that would deepen character development and explain how and why this tradition began. Unfortunately, that never came. Without that foundation, I struggled to connect with the characters. They felt distant, and the lack of emotional depth left me uninvested in their outcomes.

The pacing was another challenge. Despite being a relatively short book, the chapters felt long and drawn out, with very little action in the middle. The beginning pulled me in, and the ending had potential, but the stretch in between dragged. The writing style, though polished, leaned too heavily on elevated language, making the narrative feel a bit inaccessible at times.

While marketed as a suspenseful thriller, this read more like contemporary fiction or literary drama. There’s tension, but not enough payoff. I kept waiting for the game to explode with dark, thrilling twists, or for flashbacks to reveal a deeper mystery, but neither truly happened.

This book may still resonate with readers who enjoy character-driven fiction about friendship and secrets, but for fans looking for high-stakes suspense or dark academia vibes, this may not be the right fit.

Thank you to Alissa Lee, Artia Books, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm a sucker for these academia thrillers and this was a fun debut. Sara and her five friends are Harvard students, and they play a weird, traditional fake-killing game called Circus throughout their campus years until one of them actually dies. The death was ruled an accident, but Sara never got over it. Now twenty-five years later, the girls are called together to resurrect this same game. Only this time there is a $1,000,000 prize. Sara is at first against it, but hey, $1,000,000 is $1,000,000. It soon becomes clear that the "rules" have gone out the window. I enjoyed this one even though I couldn't really connect with any of the characters and the beginning was a bit slow in the setup. This is actually a pretty short, quick read and the ending was one I did not see coming. All in all, a really good debut and I look forward to more from Alissa Lee!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Alissa Lee and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Instagram and other retail and social sites upon publication day of November 04, 2025.

This story follows Sarah, who has been playing a long-running game of mock-assassination with her college roommates, a tradition involving fake weapons medallions and a rule book. Years ago, one of their friends, Claudine, dies while playing the game. Though ruled an accident, the event left a dark cloud over their group, and Sarah—once considered a prime suspect—has never fully shaken the emotional aftermath.

Now, years later, the game is on again one last time. This time with a cash prize at stake, raising the tension between the roommates. Sarah wants to leave it all behind, but with the prize on the line and old wounds resurfacing, she’s pulled back in.

While the premise was intriguing, the writing style didn’t quite work for me. The pacing was slow, and there were moments filled with unnecessary detail that didn’t add much to the story. It took a while for the plot to become clear, and unfortunately, I didn’t feel connected to the characters or emotionally invested in what was happening. For a book that’s only around 200 pages, it felt like a surprisingly long read.

Overall, the concept had potential, but the execution just wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for my digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I love a story about the complexity of female friendships. Though the main character was hard to like and the ending wasn’t surprising, this was about a group of women helping each other after a traumatic event unfolded in college. This book gets dark, but I love exploring women bonded and trying to hold themselves and each other up. Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you, Atria Books, for providing a copy of With Friends Like These by Alissa Lee. This book was a slow-starter, but when it finally started to get going, I was entranced by story. Then it slowed down again, and never recaptured my interest.. I wish there had been more detail about the game and their relationships when they were in college, because the adult lives were disappointing. If you like surprise reveals, you will love this book, but I wanted more character development. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This one was hard for me to finish. The premise had potential, and the ending tied things up well, but getting there felt like a slog. The middle dragged with too many slow, drawn-out scenes that made it hard to stay engaged. There’s a good story underneath it all, but the pacing just didn’t work for me. It would’ve been much better with more excitement throughout the book. The beginning was good, and the end was good, but the middle felt like it dragged on forever.

The suspense on this one was top tier. I really enjoy when friend groups get murderous and this one took it to a new level.

I really wanted to love With Friends Like These by Alyssa Lee. The premise is cool—college friends who used to play a 'game' reunite years later to play one final round, this time with real stakes and big money on the line. So yeah, the setup is definitely intriguing.

The pacing is quick and the writing style kept me turning the pages—it was easy to read and didn’t feel like a big time commitment. I could see this being a solid one-sitting thriller for the right reader. I also appreciated the unique take on dark academia, even though most of the story actually takes place post-college.

That said, there were a few things that didn’t quite work for me. The “roommate” vs. “suitemate” thing kept pulling me out of the story more than it should’ve (I know it’s small, but it bugged me). The plot had a few holes that I couldn’t ignore, and while it’s technically a thriller, there weren’t enough big moments or twists to really keep me on edge. I kind of guessed who did what pretty early on.

The characters were a little pretentious, but not unlikable. I didn’t feel super connected to any of them, but I was still curious enough to see how everything played out.

This was an ARC for me, so not something I picked up on a whim—and I’m still glad I gave it a shot. Even though this wasn’t quite my kind of thriller, I think the author has a fresh voice, and I’d be interested in reading more from her in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This debut thriller sets up a juicy premise: a secret, high-stakes “game” between former Harvard roommates turns deadly twenty years later. Unfortunately, the story never quite delivers on its potential.

⭐️⭐️💫 (2.5 stars)

The narrative follows Sara and her old college crew—still calling each other “roommates” despite the two-decade gap and clearly fractured relationships. It’s hard to believe they’re truly friends when so much of their dynamic feels cold, distant, or outright hostile. The emotional stakes just didn’t land for me.

And speaking of the title—With Friends Like These? It doesn’t meaningfully connect to the story. If anything, the book is about estranged acquaintances clinging to a tradition that lost its purpose years ago.

Beyond that, the structure made it tough to stay engaged. Chapters dragged on far too long, bogged down by overly detailed passages that didn’t move the plot or develop character. And yet, when the real action kicks in, it's rushed or glossed over. The suspense? Minimal. The antagonist? Obvious. The payoff? Lacking.

Stylistically, the language felt more showy than purposeful. Simpler choices would have made the story more accessible and fluid. And the dialogue? Often hard to follow, with little attribution or clarity about who was speaking, something that pulled me out of the moment again and again.

This story might’ve worked better with multiple POVs, more concise chapters, and a heavier editorial hand to trim and tighten. There’s potential in the core idea, but the execution didn’t quite come together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this ARC!
With Friends Like These follows a group of five roommates two decades after the tragic death of their sixth roommate, Claudine, and their graduation. Every January, they reunite to continue the deadly game that claimed her life. However, this year feels different.
With Friends Like These certainly keeps you on your toes, constantly questioning the characters' choices. Nevertheless, I found it somewhat challenging to read. I struggle to comprehend why a group of 40-year-olds would still engage in a game that has the potential to ruin their lives, especially one that led to their roommate’s death. The chapters were relatively long, which contributed to the book feeling longer than it actually was. There were moments when I considered giving up, but my curiosity for answers kept me engaged. While it wasn't entirely my type of book, it was still an interesting read!

Thank you NetGalley and Artria Books for this Arc copy. I actually really like this book. I loved the 5 women who had been friends since college. They all had their own battles to deal with but their friendship was real. Even though they had some mistrust about each other they remained loyal.

What if the game you made up in college to have fun turned real...and there is a large sum of money involved? This read had an interesting concept with the who done it vibe but there was something missing for me. It might have been the unlikable/untrustworthy characters. I enjoyed my time reading it but I probably won't pick it up again.

Read if you like:
❓ Dark Academia
❓ Clue
❓ Elite Society
❓ Gossip Girl

Thank you to the publishers and NetGally for this Advanced Release copy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the ARC ebook. All opinions are my own.

This Novella really wasn't up my alley. The story had some large plot holes and I thought it was kind of easy to guess the ending. I came away feeling like there was a better story buried in here somewhere.

While it was a fast-paced book, it didn’t feel like all that much happened, it could have been giving a lot more action and drama to draw to a more satisfying conclusion.

Decent novel. Thought I was getting a thriller, and it has some of those elements, but it really reads more like a Sarah Dessen novel featuring middle aged ladies. This novel is about relationships, particularly close friendships between a group of smart women who have been friends since college. Well written, highly recommend.

I enjoyed With Friends Like These and would highly recommend. It was a fast paced book and I enjoyed the ending.

This book had great potential- a group of friends in an annual game called the circus where they “kill” each other for the glory of being the winner. I thought this would be more of a thriller with twists and turns along the way, and was disappointed with the lack of action and suspense.

This was way shorter than I expected it to be. I loved the atmosphere of the book, and I felt like it definitely had some plot twists. I do think that it could have been longer to flesh out the characters, but it's not really a big complaint. Fast paced and easy to get through. Definitely recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of With Friends Like These!

This one sounded super interesting based on the summary, and I was hopeful going in. It’s a short read—only around 200 pages—but unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me.

The pacing felt really rushed, and the writing style wasn’t my thing. I kept waiting for it to click, but it never quite did. There were a few moments of potential, but overall it didn’t pull through the way I’d hoped.

2 out of 5 stars

I was expecting a lot more from With Friends Like These. I was more so expecting a thriller, some action with the Circus game they were playing and a lot of just blah.

The theme is there but the execution lacked for me.

It’s a shorter book but not necessarily a quick paced read.

Although the description sounds like a thriller, I wouldn’t exactly put this under the thriller category. Semi dark academia.

Just because it wasn’t my favorite doesn’t mean someone else won’t love it!

Thanks to netgalley and Atria books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

With Friends Like These is taking itself way too seriously for the story it is telling.

Six Harvard roommates-turned-besties create a game that begins on New Year’s Day and lasts the first week of the new year. The game involves prop guns is essentially just assassin — they run around and try to secretly “kill” each other, and the last one standing wins. For some unexplained reason, they call this “The Circus” and act like it’s the wildest and most crazy thing anyone has ever done. Like, the way they talk about this game had me certain I was missing something. Their senior year there’s an accident, and one of the roommates dies — and the book tiptoes around how this happened until nearly the end, and the payoff was not great.

So I guess the real plot is that 25 years later, they still play but a few of them want to stop until they find out that conveniently some money they put in years ago as the pot for the winner has been invested and is now like a million dollars. And these best friends, instead of splitting the money between them, decide to do one more round of The Circus and have the winner take all. And again — they, and everyone around them, acts like The Circus is this wild, dangerous thing. I don’t get it!

All of the characters are so unpleasant, the mystery is so uninteresting, and the ending of the book made me roll my eyes.

I think if you’re looking for something that is light and sort of silly, this could work. For me, I was left feeling a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more to the story.