I would like to start this review by saying that Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé's 'Ace of Spades' is an incredible book and easily topped my list in 2021. I have been eagerly awaiting her follow up so very excited to read 'Where Sleeping Girls Lie'. We have so many themes which are a winner for me here - dark academia, a boarding school setting, mysterious motivations, corrupt characters, disappearances... It was not quite the winning formula to work for me this time around.

Sade is the new girl at Alfred Nobel Academy and after less than 24 hours, her room mate is missing in mysterious circumstances. Something is definitely wrong with this school and its corrupy underbelly with many secrets left to expose. We have the boys on the swim team who rule the school, we have the school mean girls, known as the Unholy Trinity, and we have a protagonist who has a few secrets of her own.

I enjoyed the key beats of this story. The revelations and twists are really exciting. However, the pacing, particularly in the middle, drags and it feels frustrating how long we have to wait for real pay off. So, while I enjoyed this, it does not reach the heights of 'Ace of Spades'. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Closer to 3.75 stars.

Faridah has such a clever written craft that I couldn't wait to pick up her second release (Out 14th March 2024). This is an intriguing, compelling and fast paced read that will further cement Faridah as one of the best YA authors around today.

Faridah strikes again with a, this time, very creepy thriller that kept me up at night because I simply couldn't put it down. It's such an atmospheric read and Sade's voice so compelling, with a slightly horror-y twist that kept me hooked right to the end. Faridah takes swipes at institutional racism, sexism and misogyny through this book, telling a gripping story with an unforgettable cast of characters. She is really cementing herself as one of the most exciting authors writing in YA.

This is a fascinating mystery. A brave girl unravelling secrets others would prefer to keep hidden. The story is set in a British private school, where all the buildings are named after famous people, particularly scientists. There was something about this that was just so effective at bringing the school to life. It was a fantastic setting for this story.

I found this gripping and the story was unveiled really well. The clues dropped all made sense and came in a way that felt well paced. There were some really clever little clues left. The mystery grows deeper in such a well written way that it never felt that things happened for shock value. It always felt like we were just gradually pulling the curtain back on something increasingly horrific.

I loved the friendship between Sade and Basil. It just made everything feel so much richer having the two helping each other and it made sense as to Sade’s interest in the disappearance of another student given Basil’s existing friendship with her.

This book is quite dark and there’s some sensitive content covered so it’s one I would recommend checking content warnings for. This was a fascinating read, completely gripping and I’m excited to read this author’s previous work as this was the first book of theirs I had read.

A darkly mesmerising tale of privilege, power, and what lies beneath the surface of dark academia, Where Sleeping Girls Lie explores a modern upper-class academy through the eyes of Sade, a recent orphan and entrant to the school, who finds herself investigating the puzzling disappearance of her roommate, as well as navigating messy, queer love quadrangles and finding darkness everywhere she turns. While the middle of the novel turns somewhat sluggish, under Abike-Iyimide's hands, well-plotted turns help to craft an enjoyable, intelligent page-turner.

{AD|GIFTED} After her roommate goes missing on Sade's first day at an elite boarding school, Sade becomes embroiled in a sinister web of misogyny, corruption, and dark secrets. The more she investigates, the more she reveals the truth of a corrupt system propped up by powerful men and women. Themes such as sexual assault, rape, suicide, and grief are explored in sensitive and nuanced detail. The authentic portrayal of rape culture and abuse of power is devastating yet powerful. This is a story of female rage, girls screaming to be heard and believed. It's brutal and raw yet unflinchingly honest.

Lest you think this is too dark a book, there is also sapphic yearning, the incredible Baz, and a stolen guinea pig called Muffin. Found family is an important element of the novel and I loved how Sade finally found her people. Baz was my favourite character and he must be protected at all costs. I don't want to reveal too much about the book or characters as there are surprises and reveals best enjoyed without any foreknowledge.

Anchoring the story with a queer Black protagonist haunted by grief and loneliness, the author has produced another unforgettable mystery shot through with rage and vengeance.

Absolutely amazing!

This is the first of Faridah's books I've read and I'm obsessed. I think I'm going to have to give Ace of Spades a go soon.

Add this to your TBR right now!

Wow, wow wow!

Such a page turner. Finished this book really quickly.
Deffo a fantastic train read.

Oof what to say.
This book definitely exists in the ace of spades universe. This book tackles so many topics at once. Grief is a really big part of the story and how Sade resents herself and is made to feel like a bad omen by her family. Her mental health when she enters the school is Nooooott great. But we see her make friends, begin to socialise through her sleuthing adventures.

I love how Faridah makes such interesting sleuthy books. And how she makes the characters so inclusive from race to gender identify to sexuality. LIVE for AND LOVE THE REPRESENTATION .

Side note (We see this Muslim character who goes to this expensive ass rich school, not able to access halal food options. UMMM THAT gave me pause. )

Theres so many things as POC we go through which are reflected in this book. Such as asking to call us a simplified name ‘can I call you Sadie, I don’t think I can pronounce that’.
I’ve definitely saw myself reflected in the main character Sade.
This book deals with the sexual harassment triangle and how ‘boys will be boys’ mentality is very prevalent in rich society (obvs not just in rich society). It was so interesting to see which characters were complicit, and how status be and end all in this society.

Honestly it was a great read. Definitely can’t say everything I need too in this short review summary.

But read it!

Where Sleeping Girls Lie is an atmospheric mystery following Sade, a new student at a prestigious boarding school. It gives off creepy, dark vibes from the beginning, almost to the point that I thought there might be a supernatural twist. But it's truly just a contemporary story about power given to those who don't deserve it, and those willing to help them cover up their terrible deeds.

The story starts with a dead body, and rewinds 5 weeks to see everything that happens in the build up to that moment. We soon learn this isn't the only mystery within the story, as Sade uncovers more secrets of those around her, and we learn her own past.

Recommended to fans of YA mysteries and thrillers.

The dark academia vibes were incredibly vivid from the first few pages of the story, and stayed strong throughout the book, but I think it upset the pacing a lot. There were moments where the book felt very slow, and within a few sentences something dramatic had happened, and then it would revert to being slow again.

The characters all had incredible depth, and they hugely impacted the story, and enhanced the dark, mystery vibe of the book.

An addictive read that deals with some difficult, relevant issues and does so very well through the eyes and experiences of the well developed and relatable characters.

The school setting is a clever one to use and I loved the diverse nature of the novel, realistic in its portrayal of an eclectic group in a closed environment.

It does follow some fairly predictable lines along the way, but it's difficult to avoid that when approaching this particular subject matter. I think the one small thing is I felt it was a bit over long and I could have skipped a fair bit and still had the full experience. That is of course subjective.

This author is a brilliant writer who uses the narrative to get inside your head and really make you consider the themes they are exploring. For that reason I recommend this read.

Firstly thankyou to Netgalley for allowing me to read this arc.
I really enjoyed this book, not as much as Ace of Spades however, but it was still an interesting and mysterious read. I thought Sade was a fab character, strong, independent and I felt really close with her throughout the book. This book tackles some real world issues and I felt they were addressed and used in a way that's so powerful for the reader. I was seething reading some of the chapter by the pure audacity of a few of the male characters. The only issue I have with this book is it felt quite long, some of the chapters felt like filler to get to the crux of the ongoing situations. But overall a twisty, engaging read.

This is an important book. I’d even say urgent. Though, readers should be mindful of the content warnings prior to diving into ‘Where Sleeping Girls Lie’, because it casts a bleak and unwavering spotlight upon sexual assault within the sphere of the UK public school system and date rape as a cause of suicide in schoolgirls. This is Dark Academia where ‘dark’ denotes a hard and often brutally direct study of the machinery of privilege and misogyny that tolerates and enables sexual assault.

[I really wanted to include citations in my review, to illustrate some of the strongest points of this novel. So, paying due respect to Usborne Publishing Limited and the wishes of Àbíké-Íyímídé, I would like it noted that I’m quoting from an uncorrected proof copy and have been unable to compare these quotations with the finally revised text. As such, citations are provisional and subject to change.]

In the early movements of this novel, Àbíké-Íyímídé’s narrative signals the horrific instance of the young Black Lives Matter activist Oluwatoyin Salau’s assault and subsequent disappearance, prior to the discovery of her body. With the final movements of the book, the backstory revelations of two of the female characters strongly reminded me of Audrie Pott and Daisy Coleman, raped and then terrorised by their own communities, specifically sheriff Darren White and mayor Jim Fall, and the young women’s resultant suicide (documented in the film ‘Audrie and Daisy’).

In a fluent fictional expression of this, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé articulates a date rape survivor’s cancellation at the hands of the Great White Male figure (here, her school headmaster), in a scene exactly like that in the recent Carey Mulligan movie, ‘Promising Young Woman’. In one of the most crushing scenes of Àbíké-Íyímídé’s novel, the headmaster tells the female character, who has just brought him proof of being date raped: “I just want you to know what is at stake here. I think you are brilliant and could really go far, so I want to make sure that you’re thinking clearly about your future.” When she queries, “You’re saying that I could be kicked out for coming forward about the truth?”, he replies: “I’m saying that as I haven’t seen any evidence of the events that you’ve recounted, I suggest you focus on what I think could be a very bright and promising future instead of jeopardising that for yourself, and Mr ______. I will talk to [him], and ensure he knows not to be silly again.”
Àbíké-Íyímídé describes her character, at the rape being described as the schoolboy’s ‘silliness’, as feeling ‘enraged and small and powerless all at once.’ The headmaster hammers home: “If that’s all, I wish you a wonderful rest of the week, Miss _____.”

Yet, none of this shocking content comes explicitly into play until the 65% mark, and this could definitely deliver readers a sharp shock if they’ve been lulled into thinking that this is simply a boarding school mystery/thriller.

So, really, I find that there are two facets to ‘Where Sleeping Girls Lie’ to be considered: firstly, the novel as a social artefact, a crucial contribution to current knowledge, understanding, and awareness of the ways sexual assault is borne; then secondly, the novel as a literary work, subject to analysis of such elements as structure and pacing. The former, I find authoritative and would rate highly; the latter, I find problematic, and this brings my rating down.

To my view, the structure isn’t quite robust enough when placed under scrutiny. When I reached Chapter 38, ‘Two Years Ago’, every fibre of my being felt like screaming, “You should’ve led with that!” What a great opening line of a novel that would have been: ‘They were what some people in Nigeria called “ibeje”.’ I can see the novel working better for me - and perhaps it’s just my personal taste - with chapter 38 broken up and interspliced, but with much less whim about it; the hints and the diary entries for me are just too self-aware, I’d almost say ‘all show and no substance’. If the definitive, factual character background that comprises chapter 38 was used instead of cryptic fragments of diaries and anagrams, I would have found the structure of the novel much less problematic. The payoff for the anagram, ‘I Sleep, I Drown, I Disappear’ comes so late in the novel that it was like a popped balloon for me, deflated.

I agree with other reviewers who feel that the novel is overlong, in my opinion, muddied by the (what I think is needless) inclusion of the ghost of the main character’s deceased family member, which is – as remarked above – only dealt with come Chapter 38. This devalues the storyline. I yearned for the ghostly visitations to be cranked up, or, if not, then not used at all. Inserting the hauntings at the start, then leaving the explanation for them till 80% in, just didn’t work for me. Perhaps if they’d been sustained throughout the middle two-thirds of the novel?! But abandoning them in the middle slump only contributes to the fact that it’s a slump. The novel is undermined by a collapse in its middle, distinguished by an impassivity of plot and disaffinity between characters.

Yet, the author has no problem writing tension when there’s real tension to be had. Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé demonstrates command when she lobs chapter endings that often made my stomach drop (chapter 40’s nearly gave me a heart attack)! In the last quarter of the book, the pacing is so riotous that I wanted to keep reading and reading and reading, even given the distended slump that I’d just powered through. Sadly, the mis-pacing up to the 65% mark, might end up deterring readers, and that is exactly what mustn’t happen, given the novel’s importance in raising awareness of taboos placed upon speaking out after sexual assault.

In her note on the text, Àbíké-Íyímídé attests that ‘Where Sleeping Girls Lie’ is ‘part suspense-mystery, part contemporary romance coming-of-age, part anti-hero journey.’ It’s interesting that these descriptions are all principally about characterisation. Memorable characters are essential if a novel is to be ‘the standout YA book of the year’, as this has been called. Yes, the characters in ‘Where Sleeping Girls Lie’ are diverse and rendered with meticulous care, but I found their interactions with one another to be marked - for the most part - by disinterestedness. Even though the author speaks of the ‘necessity of community and the importance and joy of platonic relationships’ to the novel, I found Sade and Baz’s friendship unconvincing stilted. For me, there was no compelling emotional connection in it. The bond between Elizabeth and ‘Jam’ is perhaps the strongest/most authentic relationship depicted in the novel, yet it occupies but a microscopic part. Likewise, the protagonist’s sidelined love-interest could almost be described as apathetic, in my view, and I do think that promotion and reviews are overdoing the ‘Sapphic’ QPOC selling-point, given that it only occupies the very last three or four pages.

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé includes a direct address to the reader in the eARC edition of the text, affirming that ‘Where Sleeping Girls Lie’ is about ‘the many valid ways we respond to painful experiences’, and ‘[more] than anything, this book is about survival’. And so, if you are, as the author words it, a reader ‘who might see themselves in this story’, or are upset by reviews of the content of this book, please reach out and talk to someone at The Survivors Trust on 08088010818 in the UK, and in the US, the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network on 800.656.HOPE. For the rest of the world, consult the Rape Crisis Information Pathfinder at ibiblio.org for sources of help.

My thanks to the Usborne Publishing and Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé for providing me with an early review copy of ‘Where Sleeping Girls Lie’.

Thank you for the early access into this book. I read this book without checking the synopsis because I enjoyed the author's debut, and wow. Usually I'm able to predict plot twist as early as 10% into a book but this novel proved how wrong I was. The twists are twisted and I enjoyed it so much, it's well paced too. I can't wait for more readers to get into it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for granting me access to this e-ARC!

I am a big fan of Ace of Spades, it was one of the books that initially got me back into reading after a big slump and so I was really really excited to read this new release! Overall, I found this book to be ok. It wasn't as good as Ace of Spades in my opinion, and the plot and execution just didn't feel as strong. However, I did find it tense and easy to follow and I was mostly engaged with the story. I think that lots of people will adore this book but for me it just fell a bit flat.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded to 4

This was a darkly atmospheric mystery which started off extremely strong with an elite academy setting, plenty of creepy and unnerving vibes and a FMC with possible skeletons in her closet. I warmed to the MC immediately and was very invested in the story but something about the pacing was a bit off for me - it felt really slow and kinda lagged at stages where I felt it should pick up a bit.

Overall the plot was intriguing and although I guessed a few twists I was still taken by surprise a couple of times too. I'd say don't go in expecting a full thriller. It's definitely more mystery vibes!

I LOVED Ace of Spades, so as soon as I finished it I dove straight into this one! And while there was lots to love, there was also a lot that didn’t really work for me.

I really enjoyed the start and end of this book. The introduction to the boarding school was great, with a nice mix of pop culture references and spooky mystery. The final 20% or so of the book was filled with twists and turns, and a conclusion that was frustrating in the best kind of way.

In between was where it was let down for me. The pace slowed right down, and tonally it felt quite scattered. It was so long but it didn’t feel like the characters or their relationships were explored as much as they could have been. As much as I enjoyed the reveals towards the end of the book, there was my least favourite kind of plot twist, which is an unprecedented reveal about the main character’s history. It’s a real pet peeve of mine, and it really bugged me when it could have had such a good build up!

Overall, this was a good book that was just one ruthless edit away from being a brilliant book.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

Really engaging read. It's like a mystery where the story is a mystery but so is the MC.
There were some great twists and turns and i liked the reality of what happened to the bad guys in the end.
It felt t very truthful, upsetting and real to the world we live in.
This book felt a bit too real for me. Somewhat to close to home but absolutely necessary.
Love this author, they are someone who writes fiction that you can tell they gave something of themselves to write it. But also grips you with the story. While being true to the absolute trauma of surviving. Will be recommending this book everywhere.

Another good story by this author. The main protagonist was an interesting character, although I finished the book wondering if I really knew her. The pacing was a little slow but the ending tied everything up well. I liked the boarding school setting, the underlying dark themes, and how they were dealt with in a sensitive way. Another good read by this author and look forward to the next one.

Thank you NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

4.5⭐️

I really enjoyed this book, it’s so well- written and thought out and the mystery of the book reeled me in from the very beginning. I really love how the author blend really important issues into her books, and I thought it was done really well here.

I did feel a little let down when the mystery was revealed, even though it gave the characters a somewhat of a happy ending I did think it could have been done a different way. But that’s my only drawback from the story.