The Four by Ellie Keel is an enthralling debut novel that captures the essence of dark academia with a modern twist. The story follows four scholarship students—Rose, Marta, Sami, and Lloyd—who navigate the elite, mysterious environment of High Realms boarding school. From the very start, these students are marked as outsiders, bound together by their scholarship status and an ominous secret that threatens to unravel their lives.

Keel's writing is atmospheric and intense, drawing readers into a world of privilege, power, and hidden dangers. The plot is meticulously crafted, with each character's backstory and motivations unfolding in a way that adds depth and complexity to the narrative. As the story progresses, the tension builds, leading to a climax that is both surprising and satisfying.

What I found particularly engaging about The Four is how it nods to classic dark academia tropes while introducing fresh elements that keep the genre exciting.

The Four focuses on four friends who attend an exclusive school via scholarship. All the other rich students look down their noses at them. There is one rich student in particular, Genevieve, who really dislikes the students, especially Marta. Then trouble arrives to test The Four's friendship.

This debut book was a slow burn, and I didn't really get into it until half way through. I thought the characters were quite well written, and perfect for the setting this story offered. The story is sold to us as dark academia, but that wasn't really the case I found, although I did find the story immersive in places.

¼
(Rounded up to 1 for the review system)

We were always The Four. From our very first day at High Realms.

What drew me to the book: As always I thought it sounded interesting and like something I'd enjoy.
How long it’s been on my TBR: Since I heard about it online which was a few months back maybe.
My expectations: I expected a good, tense book with all the normal trappings of a Dark Academia book.

My thoughts whilst reading: I didn't write a lot down because after a certain point, the book felt like a chore, anyway the first thing I wrote was that I was only 2 paragraphs in and I was already hooked and I liked that it was implied that Rose was an unreliable narrator. Not long after this, I found the book a little basic (what specifically led me to feel this way I don't remember as I didn't clarify but that way I felt). I liked the sense of foreboding and all the little clues that something was bound to go wrong. And I was excited to see how the dynamic between the characters played out. The next thing I wrote down was that at 28% something had finally happened. Next up was me just 'calling' that two characters were together. I found Sylvia's appearances to be far and few which was a shame as whenever she turned up things seemed to get interesting. Next up there is a huge skip where I basically went from 30% to 60% without writing anything down because apparently there was nothing worth writing down other than how another 30% of the book had passed, I didn't know because it was so dull. I definitely had expected more from the book at this point. Finally at some point around (or after) the 70% mark something interesting finally happened to get the story moving once again. The next thing I noted was that the book, whilst it had dealt with some dark and hard topics (including self-harm and Martas declining health (physical and mental)), it was difficult for me to read when there were mentions of rape and sexual violence in the past and then a character was raped in the present, whilst I understand it's not an easy subject to deal and is meant to make people feel uncomfortable I found most of it came out of nowhere (without any prior warnings at the start of the book) and all at once which made it more difficult to read. After that, I only noted down that I was 89% into the book and I wasn't enjoying it and hadn't been for a while.
Overall: I don't know where to start so, logically, let's start at the beginning (where pretty much all the positives were) so buckle up and beware the spoilers, as this will be Very spoiler-y.
The book starts strong, one of the first things we read is how life would've been easier had Marta shoved Genevieve out of a window on the first day, but that Marta hadn't pushed her and she didn't in the future either IF we chose to believe our narrator. I was into it, Rose (the main character and narrator) was telling the story from the future, recalling the events which clearly led to some big, awful and life-changing event later in the story and how they got there like I love stories like this (this aspect of the book actually let me down later but I'll get into that when it's time). The book goes on and nothing particularly major happens, the four scholarship friends get bullied, we get to know the characters better and we build up to the big disaster, but I found myself almost growing bored with it and then I reached around the 30% mark and BAM all of a sudden this big disastrous event happens and any hints of boredom vanish and it seems the book is finally going where I want it to go, unfortunately, looks (or rather big events) can be deceiving and things only went downhill from here and whilst big things did happen after this it took a while to get there and I wasn't really enjoying the book anymore (I was considering DNF'ing it at like 70%-ish) and just wanted to be done with it. I was also disappointed by the fact that all the things I thought would happen didn't like either I was reading too much into the text or I got my hopes up to high but it felt like so little paid off, with my number one example of this being at the end when (view spoiler), like it sort of came out of nowhere, after finally offering a bit of like hope for something better, it was immediately taken away and just left me feeling disappointed, and even more so by the fact it seemed to very, very vaguely hint that (view spoiler) only for that to go absolutely nowhere. We also see a lot of things which were rushed and forgotten such as we're told the Doctor lady (I forgot her name) can't be trusted by Max but then never really given a proper reason as to why, we're told that Sami's parents are slightly rich or he has a cosy life or something like that which causes an undercurrent of tension in the group (especially between him and Lloyd) only for it not to go anywhere, the way it was written as if to imply we'd see Genevieve again only for her to not return at all and another huge example of this is Genevieve forgiving Marta and saying she won't press charges yet it never goes anywhere, I don't even thing Rose told anyone (or at least Marta). As if all that wasn't enough, things still managed to go downhill with the epilogue which left me baffled, not only was it messy it felt as if it were written for a completely different version of the book, it takes a focus on bullying and acts as if the rest of the books main focus was bullying the whole time when it was only like 10% of the book and was such a confusing choice, especially paired with the fact that Genevieve had a dead sister who was randomly thrown in (her sister committed suicide due to bullying among other things and Genevieve didn't press charges against Marta because she looked like her sister (this really came out of nowhere)) like it really made no sense and didn't really add much to the plot either it was just thrown in. The epilogue also had 'loyal' Sylvia cheat on Rose then have her friends tell her to "take her back" like what? It was like it had belonged to a completely different book altogether. The relationships were also very weak in my opinion, including the one between Marta and her friends, I just didn't feel the friendship was there (considering they were put together and friends for quite a while before all this went down it just didn't feel like it), the only character whose relationships made some sort of sense was Lloyd who had the kind of knowledge they needed and was detached but willing to keep the secret and protect Marta. And I think that's it (that I can remember) but as you can tell, I pretty much disliked everything I read (the writing itself was fine though).
Miscellaneous: My rating of this book got lower the more I thought about it, I finished and was like I'll probably rate it 3 stars but then that 3 turned into a 2.5 and so on. The only truly memorable thing about this book to me was how much I disliked it. This review would have been better had I written it after finishing and my mind was fresher on it but I still have a lot to say (obviously).
Did it meet my expectations: No, I found the book was 'dark' at times but hardly 'academic' (there was a small amount of academia at the start but that was it) which was disappointing as it's advertised as a Dark Academia perfect for fans of The Secret History and If We Were Villains and yet it was hardly anything like those books. I also felt that the book's description felt very deceptive, it hints as the focal point of the book is Marta pushing (or rather not pushing) Genevieve, I feel it would benefit from the description being more focused on the marta hidden in a clock tower and her declining health aspect of the book as oppposed to something that happened and then was over, with what came after being basically what the book was about.

Favourite character: None.
Favourite relationship: Rose and Sylvia but that's only because there were no other, more memorable relationships that I enjoyed.
Favourite scene: None.
Favourite quote: I didn't have one.

Why I rounded the review down*: Because I didn't enjoy it.
Will I be reading the sequel: Not applicable but if it were, no.
Will I be investing in a physical copy: No.
Do I regret reading it: It's not that I regret reading it per se, I just didn't enjoy the book all that much.
Do I recommend it: I'm sure that there are people out there who would enjoy it but I can't think of a single person I'd recommend it to.
*(For rating systems such as Goodreads)

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ for the E-ARC.

Unfortunately this was not the style of book I usually read. It was quite good, but felt that as it was not my style of book I did not finish the
whole book. I feel that I could not give an accurate response due to the fact I did not completely read the book to the end.

This book appealed to me as I usually enjoy books with a school setting. Maybe I've read too many of them because I just couldn't get into this one & had to abandon it. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me try & review this book.

A story about a boarding school in the UK. This school seems to be left in the dark days of Dickensian rules and controlling by fear. Four new pupils who enter on scholarships into the 6th Form are set upon by the bullies of the school as soon as they arrive, they are different, highly intelligent and thus treated with distain by the prefects and even some masters. The school atmosphere brings back memories of Enid Blyton's Mallory Towers, though the bullying is at a much more frightening level! Evil. To the extent this could never happen in real life, could it?
The four pupils, Rose, Marta, Sami and Lloyd stick together and support each other through childish loyalty, maybe misplaced, but that is the innocence and ignorance of a child even if they are 16/17 yrs old.
Thankfully the school will eventually change its ways as a result of the happenings that result in a death. This takes place in the early 2000's so no instagram or many mobile phones even. Goodness knows what may happen in schools now with these applications in the hands of pupils.
As a 67yr old I found this book disturbing and perhaps not aimed at my age group, though I wonder if children/young teens should read it either???

Wasn’t sure about this one at first as it’s quite a dark read but highlights the bullying that goes on in schools.
This made it quite difficult to read at times as some of the cruelty was in the extreme.
So not for the feint hearted & not everybody’s taste.
Well written but slow moving the story is about four teenagers who get a scholarship at an elite boarding school High Realms.
It is set in 1999 & is narrated by a girl named Rose who is one of the four.
Bullying is rife in this close knit environment as the power struggles take hold.
One of the four becomes involved in an accidental injury of another girl & the other three try to support her.
The four forge a strong bond in the face of their aggressors which come from both staff & pupils.
This was quite a gripping dark read.

This started off well but, suddenly it turned into a teenage rage against adults and teachers. I disliked this book immensely. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Disappointed by this - didn't grab me and am not sure who the intended reader is. Found it to be a slog unfortunately.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The plot is one that is engaging and I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

I really wanted to rate this book higher as I was certainly gripped by the story, but I just could not get over how little the story made sense. All the characters make bizarre choices that I couldn't understand. Horrific things are happening in that school, and not one single member of staff seems to care? Two students break another students wrist in front of a member of staff and not a single thing is done about it? It was certainly an entertaining read but I can't say I enjoyed it too much sadly

Well this story is enough to turn you off boarding schools for life! Set in an exclusive boarding school, 'The Four' refers to four students who have won a scholarship to join for sixth form. They are viewed as outsiders and treated largely with disdain by the other students.

The story centres around a tragic accident in which a student is badly injured. One of The Four is blamed and assumed to be guilty. The story then gets darker as the backstories of the characters are revealed and there are some very sensitive topics covered. This isn't one for the feint hearted. I didn't really feel the suspense unfortunately and I predicted how the story would end, however this is a good debut and does hold your interest.

Thank you @netgalley and @hqstories for the opportunity to review.

#libraryatsevern #bookwormmum #bookworm #book #reading #bookstagramuk #londonreader #bookreviewfeature #bookreview #bibliophile #bookstagrammers #readersofinstagram #reader #igreads #bookblogger #goodreads #bookshelf #bookreviewer #bookstragram #bookstagrammer #netgalley

I really wanted to enjoy this one however I just don’t think dark academia is for me.

I enjoyed the atmosphere & the queer representation.

I just could NOT take this book seriously. It almost read like a comedy. It was so far fetched. It didn’t read like a tense thriller at all. Everything was so over dramatic that it took away from the themes.

Many thanks to Net Galley and HQ Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
This is the story of four scholarship students at High Realms privileged boarding school. Rose is narrating the story and her 3 friends are Marta, Sami and Lloyd. These four are not popular and a number of the other students go out of their way to make life difficult for them, they are cruel and spiteful.
There is an accident when Marta pushes a popular girl who ends up in intensive care, Marta goes into hiding, when the other 3 eventually find her they enter into the dangerous game of subterfuge as they endeavour to keep Marta hidden. They tell lies to the college teachers, the other students, Marta’s father and the police and this goes on for months, they are trying to make it to Marta’s 18th birthday as she feels she then won’t have to return home to her father with whom she has a difficult relationship. They save food for her and spend time with her as often as they can.
The story is long and drawn out, it’s dark, intense and a little unbelievable, but I did become invested.
Marta becomes unwell both physically and mentally, the 3 need to tell someone! The ending was unexpected.
The book is well written, covers friendship and mental health and I would be keen to read more from this author.
3.5 stars

I was really looking forward to this but it was unfortunately not to my taste. It felt a bit too fantasy and cheesy for me.

I am giving this book 3 stars as I struggled to read it in all honesty, I had to keep putting it down as I personally fel it was slightly darker than I has anticipated. I personally feel that the book should have come with trigger warnings with the bullying, self harm, sexual assault and suicide in it.

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.

I am only giving these two stars as in hindsight I'm possibly not the target audience. I did pick this to review knowing that it wasn't my normal type of book but the description led me to believe that there may be something about it that I'd like.

While it was a decent enough read I felt that it was maybe more of a young adult type novel with a tale centred around the friendship of 4 young people who are outliers amongst a group of other young people at a a prestigious boarding school. On many occasions I didn't feel that the story, such as it was, was particularly going anywhere however persevered with it and did finish the book however it's not one that drew me back when I'd put it down or make me want to keep reading. The characters themselves are well written and there are some twists and turns throughout the story but not enough that I would say it was an enjoyable read. As I stated I don't think that I am the target audience of this book and probably wouldn't be seeking to read anything further by this author.

Thanks to netgalley, the author and publishers for my review copy.

Something so different four friend that met up in uni and remained friends. However within the group there an secrets. Will the four survive the fall out of when the past comes close to the present.

Brilliant story of friendship and deceit

Dark and twisty academia at its finest. The description of cliques and snobbery within boarding school life is on point in this story of four scholarship students adapting to life at a private boarding school.

The book is emotionally dark and hard reading at times really covering the trauma the characters have suffered. They a slow start from part two the plot moves swiftly with you uncovering the lies and deceptions that have bought them to this point..