This 1990s, Northumberland-set dark academia has supernatural elements of possession and soul splitting in a sapphic Jekyll and Hyde-esque novel all about the power of female anger - and the men trying to repress and profit from it.

It is a deliciously creepy book. While there is certainly supernatural things happening, the question of exactly how much and how far it will go haunts the book. The supernatural also has some body-horror like elements, which I find particularly creepy (it's definitely much less than other books, such as JUNIPER AND THORN, but there's a little bit of it!)

The setting matches this very well - the north English countryside with it crags and cold and forests. I LOVED seeing the UK setting, and in a beautiful part of the country that's often overlooked for London. The autumn and winter timeframe plays well into the atmosphere too - it can get very cold up there and the loss of light across the book reflects the increasing danger.

As a dark academia, set in a university, it is full of literature and philosophy references. Lottie is takes English Literature courses (including Gothic Literature and its impact on readers) while Alice studies philosophy. I love academic references in books, and dark academia is the natural place for it - and it's done so accessibly. If, like me, you've never studied either of those topics, the book never once makes you feel dumb or on the outside of "getting it." And all the discussion of gothic literature fits in so well with the Jekyll and Hyde-esque nature of the story (though it is certainly not a simple retelling!)

I loved Alice and Lottie! There's a great contrast between the ever-angry Alice, seething against injustices and also minor frustrations of life, while Lottie is ever cheerful. The book explores how both paths are valuable and necessary - and neither are wrong, if handled thoughtfully and not allowed to run away (as both can be damaging to the self if taken too far.)

And of course, there's their slow-build and slow-burn relationship. I particularly liked the discussion of Lottie's asexuality - and the demi/grey-nuance of it. The fact that she is attracted physically now does not invalidate that she never was before.

I am looking forward to Laura Steven's next book!

This is a book that grew on me as I read it. I’d heard that the characters in this book were annoyingly pretentious and found myself agreeing at first. The character of Alice seemed unreasonably angry but by the end of the book I liked the anger. The plot was very clever and the plot twists were good. Not that type that make me stop and put the book down or give me goosebumps but enjoyable nonetheless. The narration was nice to listen to although both narrators mispronounced just a couple of words each.

So I saw dark academia and sapphic and jumped at the chance to listen to this but it really wasn't for me! I never connected with the characters or story line. I could see what the author was trying to get across but it just seemed so muddled for me. The romance was also so sudden and strange, Overall this really wasn't a book for me!

I really enjoyed this book, energies to lovers, the occult, girls kicking ass this book has it all.

Ten years ago four students lost their lives in the infamous north tower murders at the elite Carvell college. The college is reopening and Lottie is determined to find out what happened but her roommate Alice stumbles across a soul splitting ritual there’s a race against time to save both their lives.

Although this is partly a love story the chemistry between the characters was lacking.

I did enjoy how this explored women and anger and the it’s parallels with Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Gosh, I really wanted to like this book! It sits in the Dark academia mode which I really enjoy, and which I think is brilliant for a young adult audience. The story itself Is set up well with the two protagonists and narrators Lottie and Alice are nicely contrasted And there is a strong, relatable queer vibe to proceedings.

The mystery at the heart of the story, the ominous North Tower that sits at the heart of a fictional university in the North of England is engaging enough with whispers of dark ancient magic and possible Demon possession!

The issue here though, is with the audiobook. I do not blame the readers, who sound fairly young and inexperienced.

The producers on the other hand, really should’ve picked up on the multiple mispronunciations of not only names and places but also basic descriptive words and phrases.

It is pretty unforgivable in a book that Highlights philosophy, literature and mythology that Plato And Dr Jekyll are consistently mispronounced throughout. In a book set in a university That is housed in an old convent it would have been advisable to check the pronunciation of words such as dais.

I am normally very relaxed about the odd misstep by narrators in audiobooks, but there is a level of sloppiness here that is pretty unforgivable.

I would recommend either reading the print or digital version of the story or That the audiobook is withdrawn and checked for errors. Pick ups are perfectly possible and should definitely be prioritised in this case.

I hate to write a negative review, but in this case I was so irritated by the errors that really impacted on my enjoyment of the story.

The novel follows a dual narrative of two roommates at the infamous Carvell College.
Lottie; a jock on a hockey scholarship with an ulterior motive of solving the string of mysterious deaths at the North Tower on campus.
Alice: an aspiring judge studying philosophy with some serious anger issues.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had just the right amount of red herrings and I was taken by surprise at the reveal of the real villain in the conclusion.
It had the perfect combination of supernatural mystery, thriller vibes and a bonus slow burn romance.

The cover artwork for this edition is absolutely gorgeous.


Most of us have not forgotten the anxiety of going to university and being alone. This makes the main characters relatable, although not necessarily likeable. There is a creeping sense of foreboding and the unreliable narrators, really conjure an eerie mood, whilst your mind works to fill in the blanks. Genuinely thrilling and disturbing in places: I apprehensively listened to each chapter to find out what could possibly happen next.



The audiobook narrators are pretty good although there are a lot mispronunciations throughout, which I found very distracting and am surprised this wasn’t picked up on (I don’t mean regional dialect either). I would therefore suggest getting the ebook instead - 3.5 rounded down.

***Audio ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.co.uk in return for an honest review ***

I really enjoyed this book and, story wise, it is more like a 4 star. An enjoyable YA novel written to be accessible to all, with glimpses of gothic horror, humour, romance and paranormal making it appeal to a wide demographic. I also enjoyed the two main characters, who felt fleshed out and well written.

Listening to this on audiobook, though, was slightly distracting due to the narrators' mis-pronouncing words constantly. To err is human, but surely this should have been picked up in post-production and corrected? Would still recommend, but probably on Kindle or paperback if you're inner pendant can't be controlled!

Thankyou to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me the audiobook for The Society for Soulless Girls. I have not read anything from this author before but seeing her promote it on social media and reading the synopsis it intrigued me. and i wanted to give it a go I have to say that i really enjoyed this, being dual perspective and having different narrators for both characters it meant that i got into it a lot more. I loved the characters, the plot and the way that everything wrapped up. Will definitely read more from this author.

Tsfsg

Achingly beautiful. (I stole that from the book. Lol)

I’ve not read much dark academia, but after reading this, I can’t wait to check out more.
I knew I’d like this book but didn’t realise how much I would love it.

I was granted the audiobook via NetGalley, and have to say, for once, I was happy to sit back (or lie down in bed), relax and enjoy.
The (really) slow burn romance is one of my favourite elements. The fleeting glances and the gentlest of touches (along with other subtle signs) all add to the beautiful sapphic love story at the heart of this book.
Told from Alice and Lottie’s POV, I love that each narrator has a distinct voice. It made it easier to follow them and added another level to their already rich and complex personalities. I want to say I loved one more than the other, but they are both glorious, flawed and fabulously sarcastic. And I love sarcasm.

Then we have murder, rituals and a hell of a lot of rage that go into making this a haunting and compelling read. I love how it highlights the duality in all of us. Good vs Evil. Brilliant!

On a personal note: knowing a Steve, I agree that it is an impish name. Lol
And I enjoy the nod to the Sanderson sisters from Hocus Pocus. Now, this might be me making links that aren’t there, but it added to the eerie, spooky atmosphere.

Thank you so much, HarperCollins UK Audio & NetGalley, for the audio arc in return for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this one! Audiobook was done very well (only tiny issue is if someone has an accent you might was to check how the words La caunt sounds 🤣) . Anyway we follow Lottie , a happy go lucky hockey player and Alice , a thoroughly angry goth as they start their new university. The university has been recently reopened after some deaths ten years before . This is a tale of supernatural twists, sapphic romance, friendship, misogyny and wrongdoings and I loved it!

My first thought when reading this was “This is such a crazy story, I love it”. The society for soulless girls was a brilliant story following Lottie and Alice on their very bizarre first year of university. This book did a great job of balancing experimentation with the occult with coming of age friendships and romance. Although this book is a YA story it still explores the very important topics of the double standards and systematic power imbalance between men and women. I enjoyed the way this book handled the subject of how the female character learn to deal with their anger and frustration, learning to find healthy outlets instead of being magically fixed by a magic spell. The mystery had me gripped from the start and the resolution was satisfying and as realistic as a story with magic and rituals can be. Although at some points the characters were frustrating and not very likeable I found this book an enjoyable read.

The storyline took a twist!!! Wasn’t expecting how eerie and spooky this Story would get!!! Fantastic Story! I listened to this one and I actually wish I read it as an ebook as at the beginning I kept mixing up the two main characters. Other than that, absolutely loved this book. Such contracts between the two main characters and we see how their relationship grows! Also I’m obsessed with the cover, such a fab edition to any bookshelf.

I don't know what I expected when I went into this book but it wasn't this. I really enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine character mix and the blossoming of the friendship/relationship between Lottie & Alice.

Well written and completely gripping from the start. A perfect spooky read for the autumn months

I was expecting an ok but fun YA boarding school slightly spooky story, this is a bit more adult (a bit!).

This is set at a university and our main characters are 19…and most importantly act like it.
It is more Secret History than One of Us is Lying. This is an exploration of the “angry woman” trope, a murder mystery, and pretentious academics. Was some of the logic….just not there especially when came to how believable the romance came to be….but also 19 year olds aren’t the most logical sooooo. The mystery is gripping and setting is fun - set in the late 90s so no laptops or internet or app to be seen with logical explanations.

The narration is great, with two voice actors for each main character and their various chapters…with appropriate accents! The atmosphere is fab, very 90s and dark academia vibes.

I adored this book. I loved the gothic, witchy, dark academia vibes. I loved how different Alice and Lottie were and I have an image of both of them in my head. I loved the mystery and the voodoo style plot. It was a really good read!

At first I thought this would be a run of the mill YA witchy fiction…but I loved it! A great look at ‘the anger of women’, where it comes from and why,historically, women have been made to feel that their anger is wrong.
A great sci-fi, horror, murder mystery with a feminist theme.

You know that book that you listen to/ read and within 10 seconds you immediately know it’s a winner? You know you’re going to be hooked and you won’t be able to stop thinking about it? Yeah, this is that book!

It took me a while to warm to the characters as I got to know them, they slowly started to grow on me. I think. They both kept flicking from ‘I like them’ to ‘ugh not sure now’ and then back to like again. Especially Alice who is battling her demons and often overcome with anger and really dark thoughts. It was a clever entwining into the plot overall but it certainly didn’t endear me to her character!

I feel in love with the authors style of writing though and it was such an easy book to slip into. It was an effortless read (or listen in my case as I had an audiobook copy which was great. The narration made for enjoyable and easy listening). I think I flew through it in near a day!

It went to places I wasn’t expecting and was strangely compelling and the need for answers definitely consumed. The plot slowly started to unravel and this dark Jekyll & Hyde style plot was an amazing and interesting take on this well known tale!

I went into this story hoping to find something like Truly Devious and A lesson in Vengeance and whilst yes, I definitely found that, I didn't love this because of my hatred for the characters. They were insufferable throughout the story and it completely ruined everything I was enjoying about the storyline. I did enjoy the concept of the mystery, definitely fun and unique and I loved the inclusion of rituals but with stories such as these, characters are so important and I just couldn't gel with either POV no matter how hard I tried.

The audiobook is great, I enjoyed my listening experience. The narrator was good and clear, good pacing and I think consuming a mystery like this via audiobook is the best way for it.

This a dark fantasy, with humorous touches, for older YA. The audio version has two narrators who capture the two female leads perfectly. Alice has major anger control issues and Lottie is determined to get to the bottom of deaths at Carvell. Can these young women find a way to trust each other and solve the mystery? Read this slick, fantasy murder/love story and find out. Thank you to Harper Collins UK Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.