The Society for Soulless Girls

Ten years ago, four students died in the North Tower at Carvell College of Arts, an elite institution which was forced to close following the deaths.Carvell has now reopened and new student Lottie is investigating what happened when her roommate, Alice, stumbles upon a ritual hidden in the library and the North Tower claims another victim.Can they work together to solve the mystery before more students die?This is a modern retelling of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with a feminist twist. It explores possession and the violent impulses women have, that everyone has and what would happen if we lost control of our anger. It also highlights the abuse inflicted on women throughout history when they allowed their deepest emotions to be seen.This is dark academia with a creepy convent setting, an immortal cat, a ghost nun and strange arcane rituals that were all, honestly, fabulous fun. It is also poignant and extremely well written, a lovely flowing read, it is character driven in terms of chapters alternating between the points of view of Lottie and Alice but the location is a character too and it is really well done.A dark sapphic fantasy with supernatural edges that is perfect for crisp autumn nights. 4.5 stars

Carvell College of Arts in Northumberland reopened its doors after ten years. It’s infamous after four students were found dead near the North Tower. The building used to be a priory and one of the nuns became the first victim of the North Tower.Lottie is from Kent, from a fairly well off family. She got into Carvell on a hockey scholarship to study English Literature. However, underneath it all, she is desperate to discover what happened ten years ago.Alice is from Northumberland from a working class background. She grew up with brothers and she is sharp around the edges. Her mother suffers from lupus, that’s why Alice applied to study Philosophy at Carvell – she wanted to stay close to her family. There is a brewing anger inside of Alice, and it’s ready to spill…The two opposites become roommates. Lottie is desperate to be liked and makes it her mission for her and Alice to become friends, much to Alice’s dismay and indifference.Soon, strange things happen to Lottie. She sleepwalks and each night wakes up at the foot of the North Tower. Is she about to become its next victim?Meanwhile, Alice finds an old book about soul purifications. She decides she had enough of being constantly angry and pushing people away, so she performs a ritual written in the book. However, she is completely unaware of the ramifications of her actions…When another person is found dead at the bottom of the North Tower, can Lottie and Alice finally uncover the truth about Carvell?I really enjoyed this audiobook. I liked the idea of two narrators, one reading chapters relating to Lottie, and the other to Alice. It really brought the characters to life.There is an underlying theme of female anger featuring in the book and how it’s negatively regarded by the society, particularly men. I feel that the author portrayed the issue with merit.I loved the supernatural element in the story, the talk of rituals and possessions.This is an older YA novel, it’s gothic, tense. Definitely a perfect read for the upcoming Hallowe’en season.

This was a brilliant dark academia read! I loved the characters and the wonderfully woven story. So good and will read it again alongside more from this author

I have never come across a Jekyll and Hyde retelling before so with that cover and that title and the promise of a dark academic setting and a good dose of mystery thrown in I was looking forward to getting into this book.I’m not going to lie it took a little while to settle into this story, I think because our first taste of Carvell and its history is through the main characters who are not the most compelling. The story is told through two POVs, Alice, who feels like everyone is against her but uses that mindset to judge everyone automatically, and Lottie, who always seems very bright and bubbly considering everything that happens to her and around her.Alice is certainly not the most likeable character to start with, she does have a redemption arc but her spiky demeanour doesn’t seem to come from anywhere in particular which makes her quite difficult to connect with at first. She does start to very slowly open up but is in between bouts of terror and suspicion which means that when it does hit she almost feels like a very different character.Lottie is a lot more likeable but, her sunshine outlook becomes her whole personality in the story and it just didn’t quite fit, within the first part of the story some very unusual things start to happen to Lottie and it seems like it doesn’t really affect her, and when she is confronted with what is happening to Alice she is a lot calmer about it that I imagine anyone would be. There was a lot of scope in the story for some real tension between the characters and instead it was like we barely got to scratch the surface.I think the same can be said of the plot, the premise is exciting and mysterious, the setting should be atmospheric, but it never quite materialised the way I had hoped it would. Don’t get me wrong the story was entertaining enough. I did want to find out what was happening to each of the characters (although I’m still not sure I fully understand the purpose of what happened to Lottie) but this felt more like a parody of a scary story rather than a story that was wholly invested in itself.The revelations in the story felt a little forced, I think that there should have been a little more foreshadowing because it felt like the biggest reveal came out of nowhere and at a time when I should have been at the edge of my seat with anticipation of what was going to happen next, I was wondering how the characters had arrived at the conclusions that had brought them to this point. I felt like I was left with more questions than answers.It maybe didn’t help that there was a lot of telling rather than showing in the story, I think that being told that the characters are flirting or that Alice is vicious and wild but then Lottie seems fine to be around her, or that suddenly the women can be empowered, doesn’t let us get involved enough to really invest.There could have been less telling if there was a bit more depth given to the characters because we would have discovered more about them through their conversations and interactions rather than revealing everything about themselves through their internal dialogue. To be honest it made the romance aspect seem a little tacked on as if it was put in for the readership rather than something that came up organically through the characters. I could have believed enemies to friends but I didn’t feel enough chemistry between them to feel like it was an authentic romance.The Society for Soulless Girls was enjoyable and the narration was great, there was a different narrator for Alice and for Lottie which helped to define their voices a little more. I think I have probably been fairly critical of this book because I could see the potential in the premise for something amazing and it is always a little disappointing when a good book doesn’t live up to what it could be.

I devoured this book in an afternoon. Loved the pacing, loved the characters, loooved the setting. I enjoyed this as much at 28 as I would have done as a teenager.

Devoured this book and adored it. Not just thoroughly entertaining but poignant and thoughtful too. Would recommend this book. Excellent.

very excited, came in good condition

I really enjoyed Alice and Lottie’s relationship.Glad the ending gave them a hopeful future. Sunshine end up prevailing after all.

It just was not for me I went into it thinking it's going to be completely different and the story line took turns that angered me but the writing is really pleasant

The good: the first three quarters of the book are great. The girls are flawed and profound. The context is detailed and warped and deeply unsettling. The side characters draw you in to the story, constantly add.The bad: As soon as it turned into a metaphor about feminism I was lost. I love a good book about female rage (Hell... I'm a plus sized 5'8 latino lesbian... I love female rage) but the one dimensionality of the "bad guy" as him being a misogynist and that's it. Nah... Too simple, too easy, too obvious. The ending felt like an essay, not like a story.