This was honestly an okay thriller for me. I requested the arc due to the plot and the idea of their secret tradition the “killing” game that they played with each other during college and decided to play one last time.
The characters were okay, I couldn’t really connect to any of them which was unfortunate, and I didn’t like one over the other. They came off super annoying, especially Sara. She acted like a child almost in certain situations and it rubbed me the wrong way.
For the mystery and thriller part, I was expecting a tad bit more. The synopsis made it seem like the game was more “high stakes” then it truthfully was. And because of the lack of high stakes, it was easy to figure out the potential twists and turns the story threw at you.
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

With Friends Like These by Alissa Lee is a compelling psychological thriller that delves into the complexities of friendship, loyalty, and betrayal. When a tragic event shakes a close-knit group, long-buried secrets begin to surface, unraveling their carefully constructed bonds. Lee skillfully builds suspense through layered character development and well-paced twists, resulting in a thoughtful exploration of trust and the fragile nature of relationships. A gripping read for fans of domestic suspense.

The story gently shifts between past and present, gradually revealing the reasons behind the characters' choices and the dynamics between them.

At times, the plot moves quickly and builds excitement, but it occasionally slows down in a way that interrupts the momentum. This uneven pacing can be a little jarring.

The characters’ struggles feel genuine and compelling. The twist in the story adds a meaningful layer and was a welcome surprise.

This is about a group of friends who play a dangerous game years after graduation. It’s more suspense than thriller and it is well-written. Her writing really captivated me and I loved the premise and the story. There are some big reveals at the end that tie everything together.

2.5 stars but rounded to 3. This is a "thriller" following former Harvard roommates who are bound by a ritual.
Mind you, this is a self-imposed ritual. The purpose of the "circus ritual" is to test loyalty and survival.
There are 6 roomies in the book: Allie, Bee, Dina, Sara, Wesley, and Claudine.
Claudine passes away tragically, so in her honor, the roommates decide to play another round of "circus ritual" in Claudine's memory.
This is where I struggled a bit with the plot. The plot was primarily centered around the remaining adults. How their lives have changed, their relationships, who they are today, and of course $$$. It almost felt like the "circus ritual" that I thought was going to be center stage was a subplot.
I got more drama and coming of age, finding oneself, rather than thriller.
It may just be me, but I think this book has great potential to be a thriller, but it just isn't one in my opinion.
It was a quick read, so if you want something dramatic and quick, this is a good one to pick up.
I think if the intention is to truly publish this as a thriller, the plot has to be recentered a bit with the relationships as a subplot.
The characters were decently developed. The plot was structured, the pace was quick.
Thank you to NetGalley and Alissa Lee for the opportunity to read this ARC.
Happy Reading, Friends!

I thought the description and plot would be great - however it didn’t quite deliver overall. I felt like the circus was a dumb game and just unrealistic for people in their age and life circumstances to be playing.

Rounding up to 3.5

A group of old college friends get together annually to play a game (The Circus). Each of the friends is assigned a target and must take them (using realistic “nerf” type guns) out by any means possible (there are a few rules, but we soon learn rules can change). After so many years of playing, some group members want out but soon learn that when the last game is played, they’re playing for a prize. The thought of life changing money ups the game, but when mysterious events start happening to each player, will they turn on each other or will long held secrets come out?

There is a quite a few characters (and some spouses/kids mentioned), so it took me a bit to remember who was who. I can picture college kids really playing, but not sure how serious adult women in their late thirties/early forties (and their families) would take it. All in all, a quick afternoon read for a mystery fan.

A group of friends who went to school together at Harvard are now in their 40’s. Each year they get together to play a high-stakes game of Assassin. But this year the game seems to be taken too seriously. This is a debut novel and it explores the college relationships that are formed between women and how complicated they can be once everyone grows up.

College roommates reunite to play a game called The Circus. This is a short character driven novel about women bound together by years of friendship coming together one last time to play the game. As they play, secrets are revealed and the game has the potential to ruin their lives.

ARC courtesy of Net Galley and Atria Books eGalley. I couldn't connect to the characters or any of the book honestly. I felt myself struggling to pick it back up. I thought it was going to have a big mystery/action element to it, but it fell flat for me.

“With Friends Like These” was full of surprises. I figured out the mystery of how Sara was seeing Claudine. However, I did not figure out who was behind the betrayals and backstabbing. The author does a good job of keeping the reader guessing. The five women around which the story revolves have secrets they are hiding from each other. One person might know the struggles another person is experiencing but the friendships/relationships between these longtime friends are not close enough to share their struggles with each other equally. And all of the women have considerable incentive for wanting to win the final incarnation of the Circus.

This book is a true replication that friends can go through anything and still come out of it stronger than ever - no matter where life takes you. With Friends Like These has a great storyline with just enough mystery and wholesomeness to keep any reader engaged. Highly recommend to anyone that was a page turner with a plot twist you probably weren’t expecting!

It was ok...more of the changes in the friendship among the women than the mystery. They all met in college and used to play a game;;"the Circus" and continued well into their 30s. The circus is what teenagers in my area call the assassination game--money goes into a pot and you need to take out your given opponent , you get them you then take out the next until you are the last standing and rules do apply. It seems the women don'
t really know each other as well as they thought and with money on the line, there is now more of a reason to win this last time playing the circus. Of. course, they always want to make sure their professional lives are unaware of this "game." However, it seems one of them might be playing dirty--sending ominous notes or even appearing as their dead friend. Their friend died in college by falling out of a window--were there unusual circumstances?? don't know--tbd--her parents definitely blamed the girls. And there was unresolved friend issues at the time. It is only now that the women begin to discuss these issues. Meanwhile, who is making the game more intense?? They all have a reason to want the money at stake.
Writing was fine, however every now and then I felt like a beat was missed. I suppose there was other ways to take this concept of their "circus" but it ended up being way too much of the friendship during college to present
Quick read.

With Friends Like These, by Alissa Lee, tells the story of a group of college friends, former roommates, have continued a tradition of playing a "murder game" every year since they graduated. After twenty years, some of the group are ready to stop playing, only to find out that a small pot of money they created way back when, for the last time they would play, has been extremely well invested and grown to an amount they just cannot say no to. However, as they start playing, strange and dangerous things start to happen - are some of the roommates taking the game too far, and too literally, in order to gain access to the money?

Although the story takes place more or less only over the course of a week, there is a lot of character development and flashbacks, through which we learn why some of the relationships are so fraught, what happened to the roommate they used to have, and who really is behind all the danger and violence.

While at times the story felt a little slow, and some parts of it seemed a little unnecessary, I didn't see the twist at the end, and would recommend it to those who do like a surprise ending!

I liked the blurb about it and expected a page turner but I didn’t connect with the characters and I thought the game was just sad in the end. I did enjoy the writing style and this may work well for others.

Six friends meet at Harvard where every January they play an assassin like game. One dies while there. Now it’s twenty years later and the five remaining have gathered in NYC to play one last time. A twist is that money they threw into the pot many years ago has grown into a large sum, winner takes all. Some don’t want to continue the tradition but if they don’t play, all of the money must be donated to Harvard due to their previous agreement. The game begins. All of the women have reasons, some secret, for wanting to win. Lee does a great job of developing the characters and inserting some major twists which I didn’t see coming. What I didn’t buy into was the overall premise that successful 40 something’s would spend a week of time trying to “kill” each other with squirtguns. It’s a bridge too far for me. I give it 3.5 stars. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a pretty quick read for me. I enjoyed the idea behind the Circus and the 5 friends getting together annual to participate in it. The discovery of how Sara and the girls viewed themselves and others versus what others thought about them was I think a great addition. We focus so hard on how we think we ar perceived we overlook how we actually are. And I think this brought out a good topic for book discussions: honesty between friends. Had they all been upfront with the way they feel, their connections would've been more than just this game. I loved those final pages.

My only dislikes: the twist was figured out right away for me. There wre just multiple giant red flags the entire time the character was mentioned or in scene. And the other was some backgrounds were more fleshed out than others. Otherwise I quite enjoyed the thrill of the book.

The beginning of this book had me both confused and bored. I love the aspect of this group of friends having an ongoing game since they were in college. We get more of a back story on some characters than others. I really was not rooting for one character or another to win. I was able to guess the twist pretty early on and it really had no shock value for me. The premise of this book was super promising, but it just didnt deliver.

3 ⭐️

What I liked:
1. I was definitely kept guessing as to what was actually going on.
2. The group of friends were interesting to learn more about and better. understand their history/motivations.
3. The premise of this sounded really great.

What I didn’t like:
1. The Circus started out as an interesting premise but then it started to feel unbelievable as a driving force for the women to continue playing.
2. The reveal felt forced IMO.
3. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the execution of the story.

Overall, it was not my favorite—I’m sure there are people out there who will love this type of thing, but it wasn’t for me.

I always love a good college friendship story and with a mystery thrown in, With Friends Like These by Alissa Lee was right up my alley. Sara, Wesley, Dina, Bee and Allison were roommates at Harvard and 20 years later they have all taken different paths in life. Yet, they meet annually for a game of Circus, where one roommate wins by taking out the others in a fake assassin scheme. When they meet for a last game of Circus, the stakes are higher and each woman is facing challenges of their own as they compete for money and ultimately, their lives. I enjoyed the way friendship was portrayed and I didn’t see the final twist coming! Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Alissa Lee for this advanced reader copy!