With Friends Like These has a special premise with old college roommates and good friends not wanting to lose their bond. The women made up a game called “Circus” where they would all come together once a year to “play”. The game seemed very extreme and potentially violent. I didn’t like the game, but still had to read to see what happened. The women had a lot of different personalities and there were many twists and surprises, I wish that we could have known more about each woman, maybe from each of them having a chapter with their own point of view.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this ARC

What a ride! Loved this original concept. I was fully engrossed and excited to see where this went. Unfortunately the ending fell a bit flat for me.

At no point did I know where the book is going. It was full of emotion and great writing! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Friendship through the highs and lows, self-importance, finding what is truly important, and the art of listening, paying attention. Too many secrets and lost morals weave around a game they maybe should have never played, but raises the question of why they did - and maybe after it all, they ask the same.

I was immediately attracted to this book by the title and cover alone! A group of Harvard alumni come together 20 years later to continue this tradition of a “harmless” elimination style game.

Parts of the book I enjoyed was the relationships between the women but I felt that the book could have been even more compelling if the game wasn’t being played in current day. I think you will either love or hate this book. It’s a quick read with an intriguing premise!

With Friends Like These tells the story of a group of women bound together by years of friendship and a mysterious game from their past called "Circus." The premise had potential—a group of longtime friends hiding secrets from each other always sets the stage for drama—but the execution felt a bit uneven.

The characters were distinct enough, but not all of them felt fully developed, and at times their motivations seemed inconsistent. The game "Circus" was intriguing in concept, but it never fully came together in a way that made it feel central or cohesive. The secrets the women kept from each other added tension, but the reveals were sometimes predictable or lacked emotional payoff.

The writing was fine—nothing groundbreaking but serviceable for a light read. Overall, it was an okay book about friendship, loyalty, and the ways time can pull people apart or bring them back together. It’s not a must-read, but it might satisfy readers looking for a drama-filled story about complicated female friendships.

Thank you so much @atriabooks & Emily Bestler Books for the eArc! I devoured this book and really enjoyed the in a different direction than I anticipated.

This is a story for people who saw the movie Tag and liked it BUT wanted more murder and fewer dudes.

I really enjoyed this book- it’s the perfect kind of thriller to read in one setting, with quick pacing and a tense thread throughout. The twist felt predictable BUT the plotting that got us there was excellent and I would love to see this one adapted.

Rating: 4 out of 5

ARC courtesy of NetGalley. Releases November 4, 2025

This novel has a wild premise: a group of women who went to Harvard still meet up every year to play an intense water gun game they created back in school. Sounds silly, right? And it kind of is but that’s part of the charm.

The story follows Sara as she prepares for what might be their final round of this bizarre tradition. What begins as a nostalgic reunion quickly shifts as tensions rise, secrets bubble up, and past wounds resurface. The game is less the focus than the history behind it and the relationships that have frayed over time.

Sara is the only narrator, which works in some ways but also limits the emotional range. Some of the other characters clearly had more going on beneath the surface, and I would have loved to explore their thoughts too. Still, the pacing is steady, the atmosphere is tense, and the writing kept me turning pages.

This isn’t a twist-heavy thriller. It’s more of a psychological story about loyalty, guilt, and the strange things people do to avoid facing the truth. There were a few moments that stretched believability, but I was still invested the whole way through.

Perfect if you enjoy character-driven suspense with a slightly offbeat setup. I’ll definitely be checking out more from this author in the future.

With Friends Like These is about a group of friends that are Harvard alums who get back together to revive a game that they played while in school. The summary gave me a secret society that dealt with deceit, but the story didn’t give me all that I wanted. The writing is great and at around 200 pages, it can be easily read in a sitting or two. While I was expecting more, this was not a bad debut novel for Alissa Lee.

*Thank you NetGalley & Atria Books for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.
This book just wasn't for me. The idea of grown Harvard-educated women running around NYC 'killing' each other with fake weapons in this day and age feels ridiculously dangerous. It's a game they played (called 'The Circus') when they were still in university, but stopped when one of them was actually killed.. 20 Years later they decide to.play it again? It felt ridiculous
I tried, but just couldn't get into the story and DNF.

With Friends Like These has a clever premise—a group of Harvard friends still playing an elaborate elimination game decades after college—but the execution doesn’t quite deliver. While the writing is accessible and the story moves quickly, the characters lack depth and the game itself stretches believability. Told solely from Sara’s perspective, the narrative would’ve benefitted from multiple POVs to better explore the group dynamics. The twist near the end is decent but predictable, and the emotional stakes feel underdeveloped. It’s a fast, mildly entertaining read with promise, but not one that fully lives up to its potential. Solid debut, but not unforgettable

This book just wasn’t for me. I found the whole premise of the game a bit absurd. Grown women tackling each other on the sidewalk and breaking into each other’s homes in an attempt to use water pistols to shoot each other? I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable and found it hard to believe they were still friends. It was a slow read that only picked up at the end, though the end did have a couple of good twists. I think I would have liked it better if they had cancelled the game, split the money and then focused on the origins of the game. Why was the game so important to Claudine that they would keep it alive for 20 years when it had the potential to destroy all of their lives? 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

I am about 60% into this one and I LOVE the writing style, the length is perfect for what my brain is craving currently, the cover is really neat too, so I am into it. I will say I wish there was a bit more action happening at this point (versus one or two small build ups) but this is a fun read regardless currently.

70% in and this definitely isn’t my favorite thriller ever, but its a fun quick read.
80% in this is sad, I don’t think this one is for me, but I am interested in reading other books by this author!

Finished. This is probably not the book for me and I do not think I am the reader for it, but I think it’s a quick thriller and I enjoyed the writing style. Just because this was not my favorite, doesn’t mean it won’t be yours!!

Thank you Net Galley for the free eARC! I am leaving this honest feedback voluntarily.

okay so this one had me hooked for the first half—i love a good messy friend group with secrets and tension simmering under the surface. the setup was strong, and the writing was easy to get into. it gave off big little lies vibes in places, which i was into. but somewhere around the middle, it started to drag a little. like i kept waiting for something big to drop, and when things did unravel, it just didn’t hit as hard as i wanted it to. i wasn’t bored, but i wasn’t fully invested either. i think it could’ve been a 4-star read with a tighter ending and more punch to the reveals.

Alissa Lee’s *With Friends Like These* is a moderately engaging thriller with an interesting premise but uneven execution. The story follows five former Harvard roommates who reunite every year to play an elaborate elimination game called “the Circus”. This is a ritual tied to a tragedy from their past. This time, however, the stakes are higher, and the game takes a darker turn. While the plot has potential, the pacing is slow at times, and some characters come across as more irritating than intriguing. Having never read anything by Lee before, I found her style readable, if not particularly gripping. The suspense builds gradually, with a few twists that help maintain interest, especially toward the end.
Not the most exciting read, but decent if you're in the mood for a character-driven mystery with a touch of drama.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publishing house for this book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion in this review is my own.

This was a great concept and was overall very good. It comes from the POV of Sara, who is a part of a group of friends who play a game every year together. One year, one of the players died and they continued to play this game years after in memory of their lost friend.

It started kind of slow, but it did get better in the last half. I would consider this more of a “suspense” instead of a “thriller”. The twist was decent, but predictable. The characters were okay, but they needed to be more developed. I would’ve liked to get the POV of the other characters. It was still a fun time. Sometimes, a 3-star mystery is what you need. I do recommend this book if you’re looking for a quick and fun time.

I really wanted to love this. The cover, the premise but it just wasn’t one I could enjoy. It was hard to get through and I felt myself skimming. This story especially would have benefited from a dual POV. It was a quick read but not one I would really recommend. Thank you NetGalley for the early reader copy.

This was a super interesting concept but I felt like it could have benefitted from being longer and perhaps multiple POVs

II found many of the other friends to be more interesting than Sara, and being stuck in her mind made this book slow at times. This author has potential and would be interested in her future works

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this ARC!!

This book has a really interesting premise with old college friends still keeping a tradition alive, but it fell a little short for me. They didn’t really seem like friends anymore. The book didn’t seem to keep my attention until 60% through. The twists at the end were good, but overall not my favorite read.

Obsessed much. But such a good book. Loved it so much thank you for letting me read in advance. I couldn't put it down all night long.