This book pulled me in from the very start. I wanted to know what was going to happen at the turn of each page. Bennett uses twists and turns to make you think one thing whilst leading you down the path of another. You just don’t know who to trust amongst the popular Medievals and you are always worrying about the Savages.
Towards the end, you start to relax when the main characters tell the Head Teacher and all seems to be sorted but the final twist comes right at the very end. All you want to know is, “What will happen next?” I hope there’s a sequel - I’m looking forward to the next instalment. Well written and exciting throughout.

I’ve always loved boarding school stories, and this is no exception. The bulk of the book is a compulsive read, but it’s the twist that is a stroke of genius.

This is one that I read through with scarcely a break- I really wanted to know how it all turned out! Although this is a YA book,probably because of the age of the narrator, this was a good well paced thriller for any age.

Greer Macdonald starts in the sixth form of the prestigious boarding school of St Aiden the Great. She struggles to fit in with the wealthy entitled pupils. When she is invited to spend an exeat weekend, huntin' shootin' & fishin' with the 'in' crowd she is unsure what to do. Her room mate (who has hardly spoken to her all term) is suddenly chatty, saying what an honour that is. Almost against her better judgement she goes along, but it soon becomes obvious that the reason she, along with two other have been invited is something nasty.

This was a great read. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review it.

I liked this book more than The Island, the writer's second book.
The first half was really good. The characters were interesting. The setting and the pacing were spot on. I enjoyed being dragged into this atmosphere. But, as I moved along, I started to lose interest and the pace has come down. Finally, the end was predictable to me.
I like Bennett's writing and she achieves to put a good set up. I wish she continued the same. Nevertheless, it was a solid 3 star read for me. Good YA mystery.

I am glad I am not a teenager growing up in this era! That said I thought this book.was fairly original and will be enjoyed by the YA audience.

"I'm a murderer in the way foxhunters are murderers - They are each responsible for the fix's death, even though they hunt in a pack"

I knew as soon as I started S.T.A G.S that I was not going to be disappointed. It gripped me and kept me intrigued right to the very end. Filled with twists and turns, with a lot of thriller and a sprinkle of darkness.

Greer MacDonald is a scholarship student at the prestigious school STAGS which is the oldest school in England. At Greer's school, technology is labelled as 'savage', and highly frowned upon by the most prestigious group of people: The Medievals, who are a group of six upper class students from old money led by the handsome Henry de Warlencourt and his five closest friends. They don't tolerate different people: scholarships, new money or the dark skinned. This is why Greer and two other outcast students are suprised to get an invitation to the "huntin' shootin' fishin'" party for Justitium weekend at the Longross Hall owned by no other than the de Warlencourt family. Greer accepts the invitation in hopes that she'll finally make friends and be socially accepted into a group of people after being deprived of that by her awful roommate 'Jesus'.

A murder has been committed, as revealed on the first page, this has bonded three outcasts in a way they may never have done if it wasn't from, quite frankly the weekend from hell.

The writing and storyline itself was superb and I really can't fault it. I would recommend this read for the older end of young readers (possibly) but a great read for everyone who loves a good nail biting, sitting on the edge of your seat thriller.

It also rings true about the effect of technology and how it can take over our lives, the Medievals were right: it's like Pandora's box, we live through our screens rather than in the movement which totally rings true. I'll bear that in mind from now on!

I was provided a copy on netgalley and I am really thankful for the opportunity to read it. It is available to buy now, and it is definitely worth the read!!

This is a great, fast paced YA mystery.

The story explores some very interesting and prevalent topics in a way that i think will appeal to a teen audience much more than it did myself.
That being said i still really enjoyed reading this book, i was entertained by the story and found the characters to be likeable and interesting.

Overall a solid 3.5 rating from me.

If you like reading about pretentious rich kids talking down to other kids, picking on their choice in clothing, mocking their voices or just generally being horrible to each other then by all means pick up this book, but I just couldn't tolerate it. I hate reading about bullies, it makes me genuinely feel uncomfortable to imagine how awful it must feel to be that person being laughed at, and more so it makes me utterly loathe the characters who are being horrible in the first place. If I could see that this was a book to encourage people to not be bullies, to widen the available literature out there which educates people on how much damage that kind of behaviour causes, then maybe I could get behind it. And whilst I kind of get that that may be the idea of this book - to hate the nasty characters - that's just not my idea of fun when there's no point to it.

The idea of the story is interesting - STAGS is a school, and some of its students have decided to invite other students to a weekend event in which there will be three sporting events to take part in. So unfolds a few graphic discussions on how deer might be hunted by dogs (equally deplorable to me and not something I wish to read about), lots more picking on the "poor" kids, and some entirely obvious mysteries to determine who is trying to hurt some of the other students.

Many of the chapters end with a kind of suspenseful "there's going to be a murder any second" kind of feel, but in reality what follows is paragraph after endless paragraph of description and dull narrative which was the same as the start of the last chapter where you thought a murder was about to happen.

This may be a case of a story not meshing with me, rather than there being a problem with the story/writing/characters, because there are a lot of themes in here which just don't sit well with me personally which others might not mind, or perhaps other would see a deeper message behind the plot, but I can safely say I won't be continuing on with the series.

I really enjoyed this book. This is bullying and trying to belong on a whole new level. There is a lot packed into this story. It is well written and well thought out. I can definitely see younger readers enjoying it.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

‘I think I might be a murderer. Although, as I didn’t mean to kill, I suppose it was manslaughter, so technically I would be a ‘manslaughterer’, although I don’t think that’s a word.’

I finished S.T.A.G.S way back towards the end of April, but it’s almost impossible to find the time to review the books which I’m reading at the moment. (Blah blah blah, insert something about juggling a baby and a job.) That’s why it’s taken me so much time to start work on this review. Such a long amount of time, in fact, that I’ve actually dropped my rating from 4 stars down to 3 stars, because I can no longer remember exactly what it was that charmed me so much about S.T.A.G.S in the first place.

Split into three sections – huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ – S.T.A.G.S follows scholarship girl Greer into the exclusive world of the Medievals, a gang of prefects who rule her school. Greer gets invited to a weekend at head Medieval Henry’s house, and she believes they’re giving her a chance to finally fit in, but the truth of the matter is far darker than that. The other two invitees, Chanel and Shafeen, are openly ridiculed and hated by the Medievals, and the only reason that they’re all invited is so that they can do huntin’ shootin’ fishin’ on more than just animals…

The first half of S.T.A.G.S is absolutely brilliant. The pacing, the setting, the characters: it all falls into place, dragging you into the world of the Medievals and making you yearn along with Greer to be a part of their gang. Henry seems like the stereotypical posh player, but you want to believe that he has a soft heart underneath all of the swagger. You want them to be knocked down a peg or too, but you also begin to think that they really might be untouchable.

But then things begin to change. Somewhere between huntin’ and shootin’, my attention began to waver. It might have been because I read the majority of this book in one sitting, but suddenly Greer’s constant film references began feeling tedious rather than quirky. The plot seemed predictable – of course it would, with the approaching murder foreshadowed in the first sentence and taking a painfully long time to arrive – and I couldn’t muster the energy to care anymore.

When I eventually reached the end I think I was more excited about finishing the book than the events which occurred, which is why I rated the book so highly in the first place. Looking back I feel fondly towards the first half of the novel, but something about the shift in pacing and the slow reveal makes it impossible for me to keep such a high rating in place.

I’m going to read M.A. Bennett’s second novel, The Island, because she has an intriguing writing style that lends itself well to thriller writing, but S.T.A.G.S just isn’t the greatest way of exercising that skill. Hopefully Bennett’s second novel will give her a chance to balance things more equally, and a bit less foreshadowing will keep the reader guessing rather than revealing her hand far too early.

Based off of the ending there’s a good chance that S.T.A.G.S will get a sequel, something which I’m actually hoping for. It would be great to revisit these characters and see how Bennett develops the world.

Greer MacDonald has won a scholarship to the sixth form of St Aidan The Great School (S.T.A.G.S. to its students), a prestigious and ancient boarding school for the offspring of the British upper classes. It is, quite literally, old school - the oldest school in England!

Greer finds herself ostracised and alone, very much a 'Savage' (the outsiders at S.T.A.G.S. - the scholarship students, the foreigners, the new money) in a world of 'Medievals' (the posher than posh old-money landed gentry). Just when she thinks she'll be spending the whole two years alone and friendless, she receives an anonymous but prestigious invitation to spend a weekend at a grand stately home, revelling in the traditional country pursuits of Huntin', Shootin', Fishin'.

When she discovers that the invitation is from Henry de Warlencourt - the most popular (and attractive) boy in school, she thinks things are starting to look up. But what - or rather who - are the intended prey?

That someone dies is revealed on page one, even though the death doesn't occur until near the end of the book. We also find out who dies - and who is responsible - very early on, so I wouldn't call this book a murder mystery (the only mystery is how and when the death happens). Rather, it is a tense, atmospheric British horror-thriller, with plot twists that keep coming right until the end. It reads like The Wicker Man meets Midsomer Murders with teens!

Greer was a likeable and (mostly) relatable protagonist. I did find myself getting a little annoyed at her blindsided determination to fall for The Bad Guy, although Bennett does manage to make this feel quite realistic. The book also had a fantastic atmosphere - the tension, menace and faded glory have stayed with me long after reading.

I would recommend this book to older or more mature students, although this is more to do with interest and subject matter than anything explicit or gory.

Loved this! First of all: love the cover ❤ (M.A. Bennett’s second book The Island looks just as good.) Second of all, I was totally gripped by STAGS from the very beginning.

Our narrator is Greer and I loved her. Her internal monologue is endearing and funny and vulnerable. I liked her frequent film references. She starts – with the benefit of hindsight – by telling us some of the bad things that have happened, so you feel constantly on edge with a sense of foreboding: you know it’s not going to be good but you remain in the dark about exactly how things are going to pan out. Greer’s story is compelling and you really feel for her and her peers.

There are beautiful descriptions within that bring to life the school and the house and the surrounding countryside. It was easy to picture the locations and the various characters. Some of the passages were uncomfortable to read but were not gratuitous and were necessary for the plot.

I think I felt every emotion while reading this book: anxious, appalled, pitying, horrified and angry, but there were also some key points when I wanted to punch the air and cheer. The climax to the events was good, but the final twist in the tale left me literally open-mouthed. Brilliant stuff!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Zaffre for the ARC of STAGS.

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What a strange yet wonderful book. The concept is pretty scary but pretty well thought out. It's fast-paced and we're introduced to how the school works, from the point of view of an outsider. A really gripping read!

This novel was a surprise, in more than one way. I had heard about it online and seen it in multiple book stores so naturally I wanted to read it for myself. However, I think the hype around it may have been a little too excited for this novel.
The writing is great, as are the characters and their development throughout. However the ending left a little to be desired, it was too neat and then on the final page,a spanner is thrown in, to get the reader thinking about the future of Greer and her pals.
A good read, just the hype prior to reading it, gave me a sense of something amazing. This will be popular with younger readers.

The premise of this book was great and I found the opening scenes very intriguing. I love a stately home setting and Longcross Hall was described evocatively. As the plot went on, I found the story a bit predictable and the action scenes felt a bit tame. A lot of readers have enjoyed this book, but overall I feel it wasn't for me.

Poor girl wins scholarship to rich public school, and then it gets mysterious. Starts off setting the scene, and then gets going. Not a book I'd read late at night, but good, good scene setting, and a good plot.

Review goes live 08/11/2017

Greer McDonald is not finding her new school easy. St Aidan The Great boarding school is one of the oldest and most exclusive schools in the country and as a scholarship student she's struggled to fit into the privileged, elite world it presents. Then an invitation arrives to spend part of half-term with the most influential, important group in S.T.A.G.S,  the Medievals, and Greer thinks things are looking up. The story however begins with Greer looking back on what led to that weekend and calling herself a murderer.

I didn't quite know what to expect going into this book and I wasn't sure if the book would 100% be for me. That said, I love the boarding school setting (I have ever since I was young and read Enid Blyton books which completely romanticised it - I'm sure I'm not alone there) and I also, as many of you know, really love a good crime story and thriller. Therefore this book had a lot to offer me and I wanted to read it. While I went into the book without many preconceptions, I came out at the end having really enjoyed the book and found it a really pleasant surprise.

Bennett's debut is the type of book you cannot put down. I read it it in just one sitting as the slowly creeping sensation of doom came out and I wanted to know just what had Greer done and just how it had unfolded. It's compulsive and compelling and as it progresses, more and more tense and you read the book wishing you could stop some characters.  The world the book inhabits is almost ruleless and the central clique within it at first seemed almost absurd (with some of their style and general choices) which really made me unsure but I am very glad I continued with the book.

Greer is a well developed character; smart, opinionated, defiant and herself. I liked that she and the book weren't set in London, where so many YA books seems to be set but in the countryside instead. Not only that Greer felt imperfect, flawed and more realistic without the reader's need to root for her being compromised.

Bennett deftly leaves the story open for a sequel and I would most definitely be happy to dive back into this world and Greer's story. Either way, I'm intrigued to see what M A Bennett writes next.

I definitely felt awkward reading this book on my Kindle but it was a thrilling read I liked the ending a lot. It did have a slow start for me. I'm glad I kept going with it!
I enjoyed the writing style a lot and I think this book was a story I've never read before and I don't think I've read anything like it!
I will be recommending this gift to lots of my friends!

I liked the idea of this however I can't get past the waffle in the story stopping me getting to the action