'We all know exactly what beauty is. And we all know what it is not.'

First, some constructive criticism:
The narration of the POV characters felt very similar. On one hand, it makes sense because they are the products of the same flawed time, but on the other hand, there should still be flavors to them. It was only towards the end, when they talked/thought about each other, that it became apparent that they were, in fact, different people. I think if there had been more external reminders of what the other sounded like, e.g., halfway, one of the POV characters mentions that the other has a meeker voice, and vice versa, then it would've been easier to distinguish them.

The praise:
This book captures perfectly what it was like to be a young woman in the millennial generation. The brutality of the hierarchical ranking of girls in how they appease patriarchal systems. The extensive brainwashing that leads to external abuse and self-betrayal. All with a very engaging writing style.

I've read this in two days, and the moods I was in heavily shaped my experience.
On day one, I was in a bad mood because I was sick, sleep-deprived, and just all around bitter. Then I picked up this book with its dry and straight-shooting narrative, and it felt like exactly what I needed. I was no longer alone in my bitterness, and this book was like getting to confide in the kindred spirit I've been looking for my entire life! Every single description felt like hitting the nail on the head on an experience I thought I had long forgotten, but suddenly felt completely emersed in again.
The second day, I had enough sleep and overall felt better, and from then on, the book was just heartbreaking. I felt so much for the POV characters, and I found myself grateful for how far I've come in unlearning the horrors that were once normal to instill in the minds of young women.

Overall, great read.

Thank you for trusting me with the ARC. I have also posted on Goodreads.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC!

How far are you willing to go to balance the sanctity (depravity) of D1 school Greek life and maintaining a certain image? Heather Colley’s debut novel asks this question and more. With 2 first person POV’s and a 3rd person omniscient to get into the minds of more minor characters and add context, the book after about the first 1/3 really picks up pace and becomes something you won’t want to put down.

I think there is a lot in this book grounded in reality, but sometimes there’s a suspension of disbelief needed, at least for myself based on my own undergrad experiences being involved in Greek life at a smaller D1 school, ironically not super far away from Ann Arbor. However, for a reading experience, I could get around my suspension of disbelief and really enjoyed this novel.

Colley writes exciting and stimulating prose, and I am excited to read more of her work in the future. A solid debut novel. If you enjoy dark academia and the seedy underbelly of college life, you will enjoy this book.

Oh my goodness this was so good! So dark and disturbing and engrossing.

Colley put into words so many weird and sad and true feelings and experiences that happen during this time in life. This is definitely not a feel good book. The truths that Colley brings out about girlhood, college life, misogyny, and female friendships are really dark. That said - loved it. Totally worth the read.

I was hooked from the cover and description, it was everything that was promised and enjoyed the overall feel of this book. It was engaging and thought the overall storyline was so well done and was hooked from the first page. The characters had that feel that worked and I enjoyed how different the voices were in this type of book. Heather Colley wrote this so well and was glad I got to read this.

I love books set on college campuses and stories involving students. This title captured my attention immediately. I had a hard time putting it down because the intrigue of each situation was both disturbing and fascinating to me. I appreciate Colley’s writing style. If you're a fan of dark academia, like me, you will love this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This story is fictional, but the themes throughout ring true for me, and I'm sure many women would agree. The story is mainly told through the alternating point of view of two college-aged women, Stella and Penny. Both are suffering from body image issues as well as a few other things that I won't go into for fear of spoilers. The story is about the pressure women feel to look and act a certain way in order to fit in. The setting for the book is a college campus, but it could be applied to any location, to be honest. The things that women put themselves through, the mental battles within themselves, doing things out of character just to feel a little less like an outcast...I'm sure a lot of us have been through the same. That's not to say that men don't also deal with similar things, but this book is about women, and as a woman, I can agree.
The ending was exactly what I expected, and my heart broke throughout the book for these lost souls. Also-can we just get rid of sororities and fraternities for the love of baby Jesus? The cost both financially and mentally just to be "guaranteed" friendship is absurd.
This is a fantastic debut novel. I can't wait to see what the author has in store for us next!

The Gilded Butterfly Effect is a sharp and unflinching exploration of modern campus life. Set in a midwestern university, the story follows Penny, an introverted transfer student, and Stella, a glamorous sorority member, as their unlikely friendship spirals into obsession. Through alternating perspectives, Colley examines body dysmorphia, mental health, sexual assault, and the pressures of fitting in.

Colley’s writing is darkly comic and emotionally raw, capturing both the absurdities and grim realities of college life. The characters’ internal struggles are compelling, making them easy to empathize with despite their flaws. The novel’s exploration of identity, belonging, and the costs of conformity is thoughtful and resonant.

I appreciated the honesty and depth, though some elements didn’t fully hit as hard as they could. Still, it’s a strong, intelligent, and emotionally engaging read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Three Rooms Press for the eARC.

3.5 rounded up. I enjoyed reading it but wished there was more dialogue between characters.
Instead of communicating nearly every character seems to internally spiral. Nothing mentioned of the parents after parents night? I needed a bit more to recommend it to someone

This book was dark! Darkness in the maniacal and deeply disturbed characters, darkness in the entire ether of Greek college life. I struggled a bit searching page by page for a thread of hope or to be given a reason to care about these very damaged characters. Yet all I felt was sad and angry and disgusted and that perhaps was the entire point but it just was so hopeless. I literally finished this book and had to immediately dive into another one just to rinse this one out of my mind.

The writing style of this book was intriguing - it pulled me in from the very beginning and kept me engaged throughout. It really felt that you were in the minds of the characters and immersed in their experiences. Despite the compelling prose and character depth, I found the overall narrative somewhat confusing.

That being said, if you’re a fan of a dark academia or interesting in exploring the darker side of college and the fraternities - this book might be right up your alley. It’s atmospheric and moody.

Thank you to Three Rooms Press and NetGalley for providing an advance reader's copy of The Gilded Butterfly Effect by Heather Colley.

The striking cover and intriguing title immediately drew me in, and the synopsis promised a compelling blend of dark satire and dark academia—genres I particularly enjoy. While comparisons to works like Mona Award are understandable, The Gilded Butterfly Effect lacks some of the sharpness and refinement of those more established voices.

That said, the novel had unsettling realism and emotionally complex characters. It left me feeling uneasy at times—in the best way. Depending on the reader's own life experiences, reactions to the story may vary widely.

Overall, this is a solid entry into the dark satire genre—a gritty, coming-of-age narrative set against the backdrop of a drug-fueled campus culture.

a fun book about our protagonists spiraling from beginning to end ingetting things aboved it. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Beautiful and haunting, this book examines what life is like for young women on a college campus today. Uniquely written with a distinct voice, I will be thinking about this book for a very long time.

The Gilded Butterfly Effect by Heather Colley is a darkly comic and unflinching debut campus novel exploring the brutal realities of college life through the intertwined lives of Penny, an introverted transfer student, and Stella, a glamorous yet damaged sorority girl.
Story told in alternating voices, it tackles themes like body dysmorphia, sexual assault, and the pressures of modern femininity with fierce humor and psychological depth.
Colley delivers a timely, twisted portrayal of friendship, identity, and survival.
This story is a gripping, compassionate dive into the complexities beneath the polished surface of campus life.

The Gilded Butterfly Effect is dark, messy, and beautifully written in a way that pulls you right into the chaos. The writing has this stream-of-consciousness style that makes you feel like you’re inside Stella and Penny’s heads, stuck in the same whirlwind of parties, pills, and impossible expectations. It’s not a book driven by plot, but more about atmosphere and emotion — a hazy look at how toxic college culture can feel from the inside.
Some of the party scenes felt repetitive, but that almost worked in the book’s favor. It captures how easy it is to lose yourself in the sameness of it all. The characters felt painfully real, and the sense of claustrophobia in their world was done so well.
It’s not an easy or light read, but it’s beautifully written and unflinching. Heather Colley has a really distinct voice, and this debut left me thinking about it long after I finished.
Thank you to Get Red PR and Heather Colley for the ARC — all opinions are my own.

“The interesting thing about the lifting of depression is how much Day there turns out to be, when you’re not spending lethargic hours— blurred, listless hours that feel so dead and wasted—with heavy animals on your chest, and when you’re not speaking to yourself in silly poetry about the deep dark sadness and how it births, grows, breeds, dies, and comes back again—it turns out there is loads of daytime within which to do other things.”

The Gilded Butterfly Effect follows Stella and Penny, who are total opposites but were destined to meet each other and be friends. Stella is a member of the prestige Kappa Alpha Sorority, and she used to be filled with life and color until spring of freshmen year when she was SA’ed by a fraternity member of The Church. Ever since, she has been seeing a psychiatrist in order to obtain an assortment of pills to help her suppress her hunger and to just get through life. Penny, on the other hand, was sick of her hometown in New York and always feeling depressed and anxious, so she decides to go stay with Leah, her friend from high school and a Kappa Alpha member. Penny is the type of person no one wants to get to know, so when she arrives to the sorority to stay with Leah, she gets forced to sleep and live in the living room of the sorority house and basically left alone while Leah lives her own life. One night after a party, Stella makes her way to the living room where she encounters Penny and that is the beginning of genuine friendship between them. Stella introduces Penny to drugs and partying but starts to distance herself when she witnesses Penny hanging around the members of The Church.

This book does a great job navigating the complexities of friendships and lifestyle in college as well as exploring trauma and mental health disorders. Make sure to read trigger warnings since the book does navigate very heavy issues. The writing style was a little hard to get into in the beginning but it grew on me. I couldn’t put the book down because I needed to know what happens. The author does a good job with foreshadowing because I knew something bad was going to happen, it was just figuring out who it will happen to. I was expecting a lot more out of the ending, and didn’t like how it ended. Overall, it was a good and interesting read! Thank you to Get Red PR for this arc ✨

Many thanks to NetGalley and Three Rooms Press for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Stella and Penny are in college and very involved in greek life. They deal with a lot of issues that face women who are in college or just young adults starting out. The themes addressed are not for the faint of heart and will be familiar to all women. This is a disturbing look into body dysphoria, drug abuse, coping methods and the sexual assault epidemic in american greek life.

This is a well written, well paced story about the dark side and toxic nature of greek life on campuses. The tension builds and never lets up. Albeit depressing, this is an excellent read! Just make sure you are ready for the ride!

The Gilded Butterfly Effect is dark, painfully sharp, and the kind of campus life/coming of age novel that flutters under your skin a little. Colley nails the mix of absurdity and heartbreak that comes with trying (and failing) to reinvent yourself in college. Some parts felt a bit uneven, but overall it’s a smart, unsettling look at identity and belonging in your young adult years.

Thanks to NetGalley and the published for the ARC!

a big thank you to Three Room Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review 💚

If you're looking for messy academic drug fueled and stream of consciousness, definitely pick this up

I enjoyed this even though it's not exactly my cup of tea, I think is was an entertaining debut 💚

Dark, sharp, and eerily real ........this book dives deep into the messy side of college life and the desperate need to belong. Penny’s friendship with the magnetic but damaged Stella pulls her into a world of secrets, obsession, and self-destruction.
Colley captures the chaos of campus life with brutal honesty and haunting beauty. If you love toxic friendships, flawed characters, and dark academia vibes, this one’s for you.

this gave me more of the craft vibes and i loved every second of it. The characters where well developed and the story was structured to tell the raw truth and more. dark academia and secrets ..... please give me more..

I was emerged fully into the campus environment and the mind of the characters, with stunning descriptions, the narrations is witty, sharp and emotive. Focusing on the toxicity in female friendships, the state of college mental health service and the harmful culture that is cultivated within sorites. This book was an in depth experience I will not forget!

Bleakly funny and insightfully observed, shines a light on sorority life and the lengths people will go to fit in-- and the costs that follow.

So yeah this was miserable and I gobbled it up. Also men suck. Always and forever. Ok byyyeee. Oh and def can see the comparison to MYORAR - Stella is Narrator in college before she totally gave up fr.

I don’t think this book is for everyone, and honestly I get why it can be a miss. It’s one of those novels that knows the point it wants to make, but spends most of its time circling around that point instead of landing it cleanly. But weirdly, that worked for me, the messiness actually mirrored the characters themselves.

What really stuck with me is how the book leans into tragedy without apology. And I’ve realised I’m kind of a sucker for tragic endings. Not because I enjoy watching characters fall apart, but because tragedy sometimes feels like the only honest ending. Especially coming from a country where sexual assault is so common and the culture of silence is so normalised, the sad part is that most stories don’t end with justice or healing. They just… end. And the book doesn’t pretend otherwise. It validates that reality without glamorising it.

Penny especially broke my heart. I’m mad for her, but I also didn’t see her ending going any other way. The way she was moving, using someone else as a shield from her own problems, clinging to Stella like she could fix her, it was always going to fall apart. And the book doesn’t romanticise that type of dependency. It shows the uncomfortable truth: using someone as a distraction from yourself never ends well, not in friendships, not in love, not in anything.

The novel’s strength is how it captures girlhood in its rawest form, desperation, obsession, trauma, beauty, and the need to be wanted. It’s uncomfortable, slow-burning, and sometimes disjointed, but that’s also why it feels real. Nothing about girlhood, especially in unsafe environments, is neat or narrative-perfect. Sometimes the story just unravels because the people inside it are unraveling too.

So yeah, it’s not a flawless book, but it’s an honest one. And sometimes honesty hits harder than perfection.