This was a gripping listen, addictive and un-putdownable... Four Millennial Scholars enter a privileged boarding school for the wealthy. The hierarchical school society is full of strange undercurrents, loyalties, deceit and lies and they struggle to survive and make something of themselves... some of the bullying scenes were really hard to listen to but like watching a car crash, I couldn't tear myself away. I related to the characters a huge deal as their position gets more desparate yet more entrenched... I really enjoyed the narration which brought Rose's character and the traumas they were going through to life. Needs some trigger warnings for certain scenes.

The Four by Ellie Keel is a captivating addition to the Dark Academia genre. I really appreciated Rose’s retroactive first person narration - I thought structuring it this way allowed for secrets to be revealed slowly throughout and the almost reminiscent tone felt cohesive with Rose longing to be back there. I found the entire story thrilling and heartbreaking in equal measure, and thought Keel did a great job at handling sensitive subject matter with a delicate and respectful manner. The vivid descriptions of High Realms were beautiful and made the boarding school setting a rightful character in itself.

My only critique would be that I wanted ever so slightly more from the characters. Don’t get me wrong, I thought all of them - the main Four and all surrounding characters - were well established and developed throughout, with their motives and desires clear. It’s just that I wish there had been more scenes of them becoming such a close-knit group, and the lines becoming blurred between them. There ends up being such a tangled web of who loves who, who hates who, who has a secret on somebody else, who has slept with who, etc. (that seems very accurate to boarding school life) that I started to question whether their behavior towards each other was warranted. In short, I needed them to be more freaky and feral for each other.

Ell Potter has quickly become one of my favourite audiobook narrators - she did such a brilliant job with this one and really brought Rose to life. The yearning in her voice was exquisite; she is so talented and is such a great addition to every project she’s a part of.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK Audio and NetGalley for an Audio ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was not the book I was expecting,, it was much darker. I enjoy a dark academia read and for the first third of the book this book unveiled as anticipated. It is turn of the century in a prestigious UK boarding school. Four scholarship students begin the first term and bond quickly as they are very different from the other students who have been there for years. They don't come from monied and connected backgrounds and settling in is mired with bullying, threats and getting used to this new world. They are bright and ambitious and the friendship develops until a serious of events happen and the book switches, delving into much darker depts.

I did like this one but I will admit I didn't realise it was a school setting before reading and reading about 16 and 17 year olds isn't my usual fare. I would suggest this is more of a mature Ya book exploring mental health, resilience , friendship and maturing. I did find some elements of the book a bit of a stretch but the quality of the writing kept me reading.

As did the audio, the narration on this one was great.

3 stars for me but for a younger reader this is a strong read.

I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook version of The Four by Ellie Keel.

The narrator did such a fantastic job! I think it made the story really come to life 🙌🏽❤️

This was my first dark academia and found myself shocked at several points through out the book. The morally grey behaviours depicted in the book was really well written and really had me thinking, what would I have done in their shoes?

It was gripping, uncomfortable, dark and captivating. I look forward to reading/listening more from this author.


I especially loved the authors way of writing from one main characters POV and constantly being reflective of her emotions, events and connections/relationships with the other characters. I’m so used to reading books with multiple POVS but found this quite refreshing and found I didn’t need the other characters POVs as the main character did a fantastic job of highlighting others emotions.


Fantastic!

Winning a scholarship to one the most elite boarding schools in the country fills Rose with such excitement, until she arrives and finds that she does not fit in with this elite world. Growing closer due to their fate as outcasts, Rose develops friendships with the three other scholarship students, ultimately tying her life to theirs.

Whilst this was an entertaining read, there is a lot to take in with and at places it feels like it gets intense for shock factor rather than moving on the plot, which meant I wasn’t always itching to pick it back up. Not one for binge reading, but to pick up, digest and then pick back up again.

Ell Potter’s narration here was fantastic at keeping you on your toes and like you were experiencing these things alongside Rose.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for an advanced copy of the audiobook.

This started off well, but I really started to struggle with the likelihood of the situations and sadly my interest started to wane in the end.

Ellie Keel's intensely dark and chilling psychological debut thriller certainly makes an impact which I listened to on audio, it is approximately 14 hours and 20 minutes long, ably narrated by Ell Potter, laced with the atmospheric drama, suspense, and tension that had me gripped once I became immersed in the story. This was despite what was at times the over the top melodrama, and the weaknesses in the characterisation, and a feeling that this bleak academia novel was probably meant for younger readers than myself. Four keen students arrive at the exclusive Devon boarding school, the highly prized private High Realms, on scholarships they had dreamed of, attained through a highly competitive process, which have the power to open future doors and the promise of opportunities that otherwise might not have been available.

The narrator is Rose, one of the group of scholarship students, along with Marta, Sami and Lloyd, so looking forward to their time there. They have no idea what is waiting for them, for they are made to feel far from welcome, which in itself is an understatement, given the shocking challenges they are to be confronted by. The four draw closer to each other, finding support from the friendships that spring between them, a friendship that will be tested to its limits, but essential given the unchecked and hauntingly horrifying circumstances they find themselves in. The abuse and bullying gets wholely out of control, culminating in a dangerous climate of fear and violence, they are despised and treated with contempt, particularly by Genevieve.

The close knit group are pushed to discover just what and who they are and what they prepared do to remain at the school after a nightmare situation arises, becoming mired in secrets, mental health issues, how it will shape them as individuals, and the long lasting future repercussions. Keel's ability to ratchet up the pressure in her plotting raise the levels of tension and suspense, skilfully driving the twists and turns in the narrative to the conclusion, and partially help to overcome the suspension of disbelief required, and the glaring weaknesses of the text in other areas of this compulsive heartbreaking debut thriller which incorporates a queer romance. I can recommend the audio narration which kept me hooked and entertained! Many thanks to the publisher for an ALC.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I'm bit on the fence with this book. I enjoyed the setting and storytelling, but wasn't convinced by the characters and the plot. My main problem was that the main 4 only knew each other for a couple of months - their dedication and codependancy felt forced, especially after they started gaining new friends/acquaintances. I think the situation would have felt more tense and important if the main plot setting would have been moved to winter/spring semester, and thus give more time for the main 4 to grow closer.

I feel like this probably would have been a more enjoyable book for me to read physically rather than listening to it, when I was listening to it I honestly felt like most of it was going over my head

This is quite a dark YA novel with a lot of trigger warnings. None of them bothered me, but if you suffer from triggering issues, you may want to check them out first.

Four students arrive at High Realms having earned themselves a scholarship. They are looked down upon by all of the rich pupils and have to band together in order to have any friends. They are bullied in different ways and have to learn to survive. One of them snaps, causing a popular girl to have a serious accident and goes on the run.

We then go through the anguish that the others feel when dealing with her disappearance and all that follows.

It's narrated very well by Ell Potter who doesn't go at a snails pace like so many narrators do.

The titular characters are thrown into the elitist world of boarding school when the institution aims, on paper at least, to appear inclusive. With two motherless and one an orphan the four form the strongest of bonds. This may be boarding school but it’s no Mallory Towers. The competition in every aspect of school life - not just academic - is fierce and there’s some horrific bullying of the ‘free-loaders’. And as their friendship is tested and truths of their more privileged counterparts comes out, a sinister reality emerges.
Be warned, this book does not shy away from some horrendous topics including abuse and rape at times whilst well handled by the author still make for a very difficult read. It is an amazingly well written story that will have a profound affect on the reader and is sure to be on everyone’s lips this year.

The Four by Ellie Keel follows four academics at a prestigious boarding school, these characters are able to attend this school because of a scholarship. Whilst attending this school, the group are treated horribly by their peers and have become quite close knit as they only have one another. When a pupil falls from a building and one of the core four goes missing, a manhunt is put out to track them down and bring them to justice. Filled with secrets and tension, The Four is an addictive dark academia thriller that explores themes of friendship, grief and mental illness. This book feels like the perfect entry point into the dark academia genre, with just the right mix of complex characters and thrilling plot!

Dark academia has been having a bit of a moment, and surely this must be as dark as it can get.

This well-written novel is unremittingly bleak, documenting extreme bullying at an elite school, and centred on four scholarship students who attract the wrong sort of attention from the prefects who have been given unlimited power to discipline those guilty of infractions in the school’s code.

Told in first person, it is as intense as anyone could wish, and, I’ll be honest, way too intense for me. Three stars from me usually means that I believe a book is good but that I personally didn’t fall in love with it. In this case, it’s the tone of the narrator that alienated me from the novel.

I do wonder about the classification as adult, and whether this is solely because of the level of violence? Everything else about it is Young Adult - the preoccupations of the narrator; the focus of the plot; the level of suspension of disbelief needed. The level of stupidity shown by school staff and police is the same as that in Scooby Doo. In the 70s TV show that worked because the audience was children and teenagers. In The Four, I’m not sure I can muster the same level of naïvety. Literally all the police needed to do was follow the scholarship kids and they would have found the missing person. 🤷🏻‍♀️

In short, if you like dark academia and don’t mind suspending your disbelief through several hundred pages / 12 hours of listening, then The Four is the book for you.

Three Word Review: extreme bullying kills.

‘The Four’ by Ellie Keel is a captivating, disturbing and emotional addition to the dark academia genre. Through the eyes of Rose - the clever and sensitive daughter of a London cab driver - we hear a story of wonder and excitement giving way to hatred and horror as she and three other scholarship recipients attempt to navigate life at exclusive boarding school High Realms.

Without revealing too much of the plot, some of my favourite features of this novel were:
- The first-person narration which allowed secrets to be slowly revealed and gave the whole book a reflective tone
- The vivid descriptions of the school’s intimidating beauty and vast immersive grounds which transported me absolutely
- The distinct personalities of each member of The Four - especially northerner Sammy who I had a soft spot for
- The eviscerating dread permeating every chapter as things spiralled more and more out of control

I wish we’d heard more about life after High Realms, and did find some sections incredibly dark, but this was a four star novel for me, and is a must-read for all fans of the genre.

Ell Potter expertly and evocatively narrates the audiobook, which made me feel closer to Rose and resulted in the story being even more hard-hitting. I’d definitely recommend the format - also because we are treated to a revealing Q&A with Keel herself after the final chapter…

I received an Advance Listening Copy of this audiobook from the publisher Harper Collins UK Audio via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I had high hopes for this. The early chapters paint an accurate picture of what it is like being the scholarship student at a private school. However, the plot quickly nosedives it to a house of cards made of more and more unlikely scenarios. Whilst the characters are interesting, this is very much a yp novel with limited complexity or maturity.

Rose, Marta, Lloyd and Sami are four new scholarship students at the elite High Realms boarding school, hidden in the Devon countryside. However, some of their peers are less than happy with their arrival and after a tragic accident, things take a turn for the worse and they are faced with the ultimate test of their loyalty towards each other.

The plot was gripping, and I didn’t find it predictable in the way many boarding school thrillers are. I did find some of the characters difficult to relate to, and couldn’t keep up with the ever changing relationships between them, but did find that this made them feel quite authentic sixth-formers in a way.

There are lots of stereotypical boarding school themes, which gave a YA dark academia feel to the book, but there are definitely a lot of darker elements too and some very heavy topics covered throughout which felt much more akin to an adult thriller novel. Please check the trigger warnings before reading!

The Four is available from tomorrow. Thank you to Ellie Keel, HarperCollins Audio and NetGalley for the advanced audio copy of this book.

Possible spoilers

I listened to the audio of this, and found it pretty addictive.
I think I was racing through it to see if things could get any worse for our characters, and turns out, every time I had half hour to listen, they could, and did.
Some fascinating characters, some dark stories, it kept me glued to my headphones until the charge ran out!
Excellent stuff!!!

This novel firmly adds the dark to dark academia. There is a hell of a lot of extremely disturbing and distressing content. I’m tempted to say too much, yet somehow, not.

I enjoyed the way the book was written in a look back at the past, and found the idea of scholarship kids interesting, and I could easily see how they singled out. The students at the school were all manner of despicable and I believed it. However there were parts of the story that felt a bit shoved together, or to just happen out of nowhere.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins U.K. audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

I’ve been looking forward to this book’s release since I heard about it and I was not disappointed. I LOVED this so much! It was gripping right from the start & the narrator was excellent. I listened to the whole thing in one day.

“The Four” are a group of scholarship students at prestigious boarding school “High Realms” and are bullied by other pupils (Marta is particularly badly treated). Their friendship is really tested when Marta is accused of committing a crime and the others try to help her. The book is very dark and really explores friendship & loyalty and far people will go to help someone they care about.

The book covers some difficult topics and there are definitely parts that were hard to read so I'd recommend checking for triggers before jumping in.

I also loved the addition of the Q&A session with the author at the end of the audiobook, it was great to hear her answer some people’s questions.

I’ll be reading the physical copy once it is released and Ellie is now on my “must-buy” author list.

One of my most anticipated books of 2024 that I have been eyeing for months!
It's a dark academia setting with the story following 4 scholars who join High Realms. Life here is guided and the new bees find it difficult to fit in due to several reasons but one in particular is about to strangle them in dark corners.

The book had me hooked from page 1, the plot is totally gripping and it felt absolutely perfect. The pacing is fast enough for a thriller, and the way the pupils guard their dark secrets, and how they manage the activities at the premises are what got me 100% invested in the story and I couldn't help but keep reading nonstop until I knew how this ends. This was devastatingly good.

Thank you @netgalley @ellieclarekeel @harpercollinsuk for the ARC.
Genre: #darkacademia #mystery #thriller
Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️