Dark academia is one of my favorite tropes. What's better than a school with 'secrets'! Welcome to Dorley Hall is dark academia, dark society, dark sexual torture?, dark everything.

Stefan is a lonely university student whose only friend is an older boy named Mark. One day, Mark disappears. Just...vanished. Stefan tries to move along with his life. A year later, Stefan sees a face at the supermarket that bears a striking resemblance to Mark, but this time, it's a woman named Melissa.

Before Stefan can ask too many questions, Melissa runs away and Stefan starts his look into Mark's disappearance and Melissa's appearance.
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Yo....this book is WILD. Problematic men attending university being kidnapped, imprisoned and FORCED TO BECOME WOMEN??? This is beyond dark academia, and more into forced feminization. This....is veering into torture, yet Alyson Greaves is able to take this VERY sensitive topic and write out a masterpiece.

Being that this is the first of a series, I'm already anxious about the next story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Welcome to Dorley Hall is a debut novel with a premise I don't think I've read before. I love it when books delve into important topics while also telling a story at the same time and as I've always been intrigued by how people explore and portray gender no matter the media, this one was a good read for me.

Unsure if I will carry on when the next releases, but only time can tell.

Welcome to Dorley Hall is an electrifying debut that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page. Alyson Greaves has crafted a story that is both a gripping mystery and a deep exploration of gender and society. The novel’s unique premise, combined with its well-drawn characters and intense atmosphere, makes it a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and speculative fiction. I found myself completely absorbed in the world of Dorley Hall and highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a page-turner that challenges conventional thinking.

First of all, not only does this book have an amazing, fresh plot, but the characters are pretty fabulous as well! I absolutely flew through this book and loved every minute of what one would call a fever dream. This was unhinged and exciting! I would definitely recommend this to people who love thrillers with queer representation!

I got 40% through and will be dnf-ing unfortunately. The concept is intriguing, and the plot is solid enough that I could describe what happened to someone else. I felt I could tell where this was going early on, and was ready to go on this journey, but the journey is far too long. So much has happened already, but I still don't feel like we're really at the crux of the story, and I just want the plot points without having to read to get there. What made me to 100% give up was finding out this was the first book in a trilogy, so I wasn't going to find a definitive ending by finishing this book alone. So unfortunately its a 1 star dnf from me.

I initially requested this book because the premise sounded interesting.
However, when I started reading this, I didn't like what was happening in the book. Therefore, I did not finish.
I think if you enjoy reading about mind control and changing bodies, this might be the book for you.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. You should read it!

I loooooved this book. It had adventure, love, hope, and an ending that left an opening for sequels! Stefan Riley's surrogate big brother, Mark Vogel, vanished from the Royal Collage of St Almsworth seven years ago. Two years after that Stefan sees a girl who looks exactly like Mark and starts wondering. Now he's documented over two dozen boys who've mysteriously vanished from St. All sorry and found d girls who physically match 6 of them. The girls share one other thing. They all live in Dorley Hall on the edge of campus. Stefan thinks Dorley is a shadowy charity organization that helps closeted trans girls with hostile families. Girls like Stef. He's wrong. That is NOT what it is! But, Stefan mentions what he knows to a pretty girl who lives in Dorley, Christine Hale. Not a good move. Now he's sitting in a cell underneath Dorley with a bunch of vile bastards waiting to be feminized. And from there things get very complicated. It takes a couple of chapters to really get going but the plot generally hangs together, the multitude of characters are all well written and parts of it sooooo funny. And the women of Dorley are the best sisters you ever want to have. I loved the ending and how each character is slowly revealed for who and what they are! The book brings up some really complex issues of what male and female gender actually is.

Welcome to Dorley Hall was a book I wanted to read for a long time and it did not disappoint my expectations, but far exceeded them. I don’t really know which genre I would put this book in, honestly, because there is mystery surrounding the whole Dorley Hall project, where it came from, how is it functioning, there’s the sheer angst the characters are going through, there are day-to-day troubles the girls who exited the program are facing, but this book has genuinely funny parts where the writing is extremely witty and charming.
Stef was such an interesting character, a deeply closeted trans woman who decided to go through a forced feminization program, and the way he was written made me care so much for him. Stef was literally at the wrong place in the wrong time, but it was clear from his point of view that this was the only choice he could make. I deeply sympathized with the way he decided to embrace his situation, and really loved his characterization of a deeply closeted trans woman – not just the way he viewed himself and his body, but also the way he saw himself undeserving of she/her pronouns and how he viewed his potential transition and the program.
Christine was also such a great character, as it added so much depth to the story to see the whole Dorley program from the point of view of someone who was in the later phases of it, but not being a trans woman. I think the whole conversation Christine and the others had about the differences between being a trans woman and transitioning versus the girls who went through Dorley Hall was such a great addition. Christine’s guilt and empathy makes her such a well developed character and her parts in the book were really nice as they added so much context to Stef’s story.
Overall, this book is really good and I think it serves perfectly as the first one in a trilogy. It establishes characters and the whole setting of Dorley, while also leaving so many things for the next books to uncover.

This is unlike anything I’ve read before. A deep dive into gender dysphoria, transitioning and (literally) breaking down toxic masculinity. Dark academia with brilliant trans characters and a mysterious, thrilling plot. Stef was such an incredible character, Christine too. There was a kindness in this that you don’t typically get with dark academia, and I really enjoyed it. A great exploration of gender and sexual identity that I haven’t experienced in fiction before and am now thirsty for more!

If you like dark academia, trans rep (by a trans author), and phenomenal characters — this one’s for you!

this fueled my dark gothic heart. SUCH a deeply enthralling read with writing that captivates you until suddenly it’s 3 am and you can’t put the book down. highly recommend for lovers of jane eyre, with a modern touch of mexican gothic

I have no reason to give this anything other than 5 stars. 😭 Transbian dark academia?? Written by a trans woman?? Thank the stars, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I can’t wait to read the next one. I did request this through NetGalley and am eternally grateful to the publisher and author for allowing me to read this FOR FREE. I will absolutely be getting a physical copy, so it comes full circle. I can’t believe more people haven’t found this gem?? Pride month isn’t over yet, y’all get on it. The writing is enthralling, I adored the characters and the way they’re so thoughtfully written. This author gives her all when writing and it absolutely shows.

*this review is also posted on Goodreads

An interesting premise that deals with some hard topics. I feel like the initial idea was interesting but it felt underdeveloped and disjointed. The scenes felt too episodic and separate from each other at times, which made the characters seem unimportant.

The cover and description of this book really hooked me in and I was SO excited to read it.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get very far into it before determining that I couldn’t keep going.

The writing style just didn’t work for me. I will admit that I am American and this book is *very* British and so it’s possible that some of the elements that I attributed to inauthentic writing (many of which were due to the dialogue) may be due to cultural differences in communication. I personally also really think this book could have benefitted from being written in first person. Having a present tense narration style coupled with a close third person narrator is part of why I found the writing really difficult to get through. I wanted to be closer to Stefan and really get in their head.

It also felt like there was a lot of tantalizing tension in the description of this book, but I found by the end of the first chapter, all the excitement of the description was just….gone? Like, I thought it was going to take us more time to get to the real thesis that is promised by the blurb, but instead it was just laid out on the table almost immediately.

There may be another entirely different thesis that comes later, but because the description doesn’t hint at any of those other sources of tension, I felt like I didn’t have any intriguing questions to make me keep reading.

I’m giving it two stars (instead of one) because I really do love this premise and it breaks my heart that I couldn’t get into it. Aside from being American, I believe I am 100% the target audience for this book — speculative? Queer? Subversive? YES PLEASE. But this just didn’t work for me. think it really could have benefitted from some more work with a talented developmental editor in order to bring out the story in a more compelling way.

A very unique and special story.
Couldn't put the book down.
I loved the characters and the scenery.
I will definitely continue to read books from this author

I honestly loved this book! I was hooked in after the first couple pages and found myself dying to know what happens next. I was surprised that we learned pretty early on what exactly goes on at Dorley Hall. There are a couple things I would have wished for, 1. For there to be more mystery for longer around what Dorley Hall is actually doing, and 2. To learn more of the back stories behind the main characters. I did find myself getting a tad bored towards the middle of the book, so much dialogue that felt a bit fluffy to me. However I loved going back in time at the end of the book to learn a little bit more about Aunt Bea and Grandmother. Either way, it was a great read and I’m looking forward to the next books in the series! Can’t wait to see how Stef might be a game changer!

Such an insanely good concept with writing style that echoes the trans rage and reclamation of Andrew Joseph White. This book was so good.

Welcome to Dorley Hall was a wonderfully written book, I'm unsure of what genre is would fall into but parts felt very sci-fi/dystopia forward. Stefan is our lead character, he is a closeted trans woman, who works tirelessly to make it into Royal College of Saint Almsworth because he has come up with an insane theory regarding the number of boys disappearing from the school. He developed this theory because his best friends older brother disappeared from the school, but he happened to run into a girl the same age that looked strikingly like him, that's when Stefan decided there was an underground surgery ring helped trans woman created new lives for themselves. Little did Stefan know the reality went much deeper, though with Stefan was holding out hope for himself his theory was right. This book had a lot of wonderful transgender representation and opened the door for lots of conversations and I really enjoyed it. I haven't read lots of books with trans characters, but this book seemed to do an incredible job taking us through the experience of trans people and their emotions, even if they are forced into transitioning.

The further I got into the book the more boring it became and I'm so sad about it because the story/plot was such a great idea. But overall you get most of the information in the first third of the book and after that passed everything feels extremely slow because it's written very repetative.

This is truly one of the more original and interesting treatments of the trans experience I have ever read. I genuinely couldn't say if it would have found a home with a traditional publisher due to the premise alone, which may scare some off. To balance that, let me say that this is one of the most immersive and thorough examinations of transness (mostly MTF) that I have ever encountered and for a book about forced transitions, it's remarkably cozy and sweet.

The characters are the real strength of this book. They are truly brimming with empathy, deeply attached to each other as they have gone through "the program" and seek a depth of connection they have never found outside the relative safety of this one place that knows their secrets and transforms them completely.

Stefan idolizes his across-the-street neighbour, Mark. When Mark disappears, Stefan is sad and lost, desperately seeking answers, until he meets a young woman in the market who looks almost exactly like Mark and learns her name. In between discarding various explanations, he arrives at the least likely one that he secretly hopes for: that Mark was part of a secret program that helps trans women transition and gain new identities in the world. Through unfortunate circumstances, Stefan finds himself trapped in a basement under Dorley Hall and assigned a "sponsor" who thinks he did wicked deeds and thrust into a group of other young men who have been deeply toxic and hurtful to others for mysterious reasons.

Christine is a deeply insecure but empathetic young trans woman who was the cause of Stefan being trapped in "the program" and when she discovers that Stefan is a trans woman and would love to embrace the (free, top-class) transition forced upon the young men trapped in the basement, she's faced with some tricky decisions.

The most interesting part of this whole book is how Stef remains deeply uncomfortable and traumatized by the outside world, which rewards toxic masculinity, and also inside Dorley Hall, which punishes toxic masculinity and seeks to strip these young men of masculinity altogether. The proof that the program works? Christine and so many other beautiful, empathetic, and well-adjusted young women in Dorley Hall and outside of it, including Melissa (formerly Mark) are leading happy lives and adjusting well in society and have formed bonds that will last them all their lives with their sisters (and sometimes girlfriends). However, will the process designed to break down a person altogether to build them back up again in a different mould be more harmful than helpful to an actual trans girl caught accidentally in its web?

The relationships between all the characters are so deeply moving and sweet, that it genuinely makes me tear up. These women are the best people they can be and happier as their new selves, but they must constantly question if the program is really the only way to rehabilitate these men before they manage to irreparably harm someone.

Each of the many main characters has their own insecurities about their transition, their femininity, their performance of cisgender femininity for the outside world, and abandoning all their friends and family from their past life while embracing their new sisters through the trauma of forced transition. The book never shies away from debating whether the approach can work and whether it should have been used at all and showing us the results. This is a skillfully done back-and-forth with very human and sympathetic characters in the centre.

This is an absolutely incredible book and I can't wait to read the subsequent installments in this story.