I really enjoyed the first half of the book, but felt it faltered a little towards the last half. It was well written and conveyed the feeling of being young, powerful and unique; the friendships and trauma of being a teenager. I would read the next book by this author.

A brilliant and dark twisted novel.

A new girl starts a new school where she is privileged to get a place, sponsored because of a family tragedy. But the friends she makes are also suffering their own tragedy, a girl is missing.

With twists and turns and witchcraft thrown in, it is a modern day version of the craft

I should have loved this book, in fact, I really wanted to love this book but for some reason I just didn't 'get it', and it took me a long while to get into, which rarely happens with me.

Violet is attempting to get over from the loss of her father and younger sister in a car accident. If that wasn't hard enough, she is also the new girl at a prestigious private school. And being the new girl is always a struggle, even when you're not grieving!

Elm Hollow Academy has an unpleasant history involving witchcraft, taught to the girls in their advanced history lessons but sold to them as nothing more than mythology.

The girls though are at an impressionable age, and want nothing more than to believe the tales of witchcraft.

When a former missing person is found dead at the school, Violet is left wondering who she can trust. Can she even trust herself?

I heard great things so I was slightly disappointed wondering what the hype was. A typical YA story with bitchy girls and a slog to get through.

On paper I should have absolutely loved this book, but something about it just left me feeling disconnected from the story. It follows Violet as she recovers from the tragic death of her father and younger sister in a car accident while also becoming the new girl at a prestigious private school. Once there, she finds herself embroiled in a group of girls and what follows is an exploration of the ways in which girls can impact upon one another at an impressionable age. Also, throw in a late nineties setting and a little bit of witchcraft and it should be a recipe for perfection, but it just didn't quite work for me. I really liked the writing, which was much more lyrical than I expected, but I think my issues were with the plotting, which seemed a little disjointed and haphazard at times. I also felt that some elements stretched the suspension of disbelief too far to be credible, which threw me out of the story. What I would say is that there is a real authenticity to the relationships between the girls at the core of the novel - so much so, that it made me genuinely uncomfortable at times how easily influenced they were by each other. I also thought that the author tackled some difficult topics with grace and compassion, but overall, I was unfortunately left feeling a little disappointed.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Furies is an atmospheric YA novel of teenage rebellion, witchcraft and pack mentality. It tells the tale of the four teenage girls at a private girls’ school, where another teenager has been found dead, and the premise sounded so interesting, so I picked it up despite not usually reading a lot of YA novels.

We don’t know who main character Violet, who has been thrust into the school life after her father and brother die in a car accident, can trust – if she can even trust herself? – and there’s a sense of threat as she tries to navigate cliques, after school ‘activities’ and legends passed down which seem to be designed to scare and shock. Her friends and peers seem to be incredibly annoying, self-obsessed and scheming, and I didn’t find them at all likable – perhaps I’m just too old? – so I didn’t really care what happened to them, apart from Violet perhaps, but still appreciated the creepiness that unfurls throughout its pages.

Some of the novel felt a little long and for me could have been trimmed down. I know this is a novel about teenage girls, so it’s to be expected, but at times I felt like there was too much ‘teenagers desperately showing how cool and grown up they are’ , which reeked of desperation from Violet and her gang. I know that’s kind of the point of the novel, but damn they were annoying!

The Furies really is filled with teenage drama, so if that’s your cup of tea then this novel will be right up your street. It’s an entertaining and fun (if a little dark) read, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I expected to.

Violet is the new girl with a traumatic past at an elite school. She is befriended by Robin  and in turn invited to a secret group.

Teenage me would have loved this book, magic and spells but the violence and darkness would have put me off it then and still does now. The convoluted plot also didn't help,  there are often times were nothing much happens but there is a lot of reference to literature.

I didn't feel the characters were relatable at all unfortunately and there was too much description of other things rather than the characters.

The writing is good and very descriptive but that does not appeal to me.

I had high hopes of this, the blurb for this novel was very enticing. And, overall, I did enjoy it.

The Furies is a cross between The Secret History, Pretty Little Liars and Heathers, set in a British rundown seaside town. Now I should disclose that The Secret History is one of my favourite novels so I tried hard not to compare. But there are such obvious parallels, it was difficult not to.

One quibble I have is that the greek furies/witch angle, is just that, an 'angle'. It doesn't feel as if the girls are really committed to living and breathing being the furies and that they are just being teenagers. Saying that, Lowe's depiction of teenage girls with all of their anguish and heartache, self-doubt and self-confidence was superb. I could recognise all of them as similar to girls I knew at school.

I enjoyed the ending (no spoiler, promise!) and would definitely read another of Lowe's novels. A very impressive debut.

Set in a private girl’s school, this may have the typical topics of similar books, but with the addition of not only witchcraft, but also the mystery of a missing girl.

The setting of the story is as important as any of the characters. The town itself is bleak and desolate, while Elm Hollow Academy is where an accused witch was burned in the 17th century. Violet’s friends (and teacher) all seem untrustworthy, as she tries to figure out what happened to Emily, their friend who mysteriously disappeared before she arrived.

A a great book which will keep you guessing throughout.

I was left feeling really underwhelmed. The story was boring and bordering on the predictable. This could have been so much better.

I found this book to be overwhelmingly uninteresting. I found it hard to remain interested in the plot as the characters were so unbelievable and predictable. Their friendship, which was the main crux of the story, seemed little to non-existent. I wouldn't read a Katie Lowe book again.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a copy of this book.

I absolutely did not like it and I'm wondering, from reading other reviews, that maybe it was just not my type of book?!

The characters did nothing for me and I felt no connection to any of them, which is a shame as the synopsis was promising.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK, for the review copy. This is an unbiased review of the author's work and style. If you want plot lines and spoilers please see the publishers blurb and other reviewers' reports.

When I read the publisher's blurb I wondered if I was witnessing the initial blooming of a successor to J K Rowling's wizarding tales, sadly I wasn't. This story starts with good clear writing and promise, but soon it seems to diminish into a coming of age saga.
The narrator, also a protagonist, was intriguing then slowly become boring, the tale slowed and I gave up. I am sure if you are interested in the woes of growing up and the angst that comes with it, the then this book is for you. If like me you like your stories to move along the path the publisher promised, without to many detours and side issues, then possibly it is not for you.
I do not blame my disappointment on the author - albeit some of the prose is overwritten, I am willing to admit the fault probably lies with me.
There is no doubt that Kate Lowe can write, and I am sure she will have a great future in the Gothic genre. I wish her luck. I have awarded four starts, as I think there was such promise in the opening pages that she is bound to entertain those who like this type of novel.

Definitely was not a fan of this book. I wasn't able to finish it. There was something about the writing that just didn't bode well with me. Try as I may, I just couldn't get through it all.

What a fantastic début!

I found “The Furies” to be a thoroughly enjoyable and first-class read. Katie Lowe told this story with great skill and I adored the throwback to the 1990s. The wicked comedic aspect added a touch of lightness to the grimness and noir.

Thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK and the author, Katie Lowe for my complimentary copy of The Furies. My honest review is entirely voluntary.

This book has some interesting topics, teenage drinking, drugs and rape, mixed with murder. It should feel a little dark and indie, but instead it feels bright and chirpy. This story is about 4 girls who are dabbling in the dark arts, bound by the actions they do, and a need to be accepted, or escape - but its also about loss and fighting back.

Back in 1998, a sixteen-year-old girl is found on school property, dressed in white and posed on a swing, with no known cause of death. The Furies begins with this image, told to us by the narrator called Violet who is looking back on the night it happened from the present day. Then we return to the beginning where a series of events lead up to the girl's murder.

Violet joins Elm Hollow Academy after an accident involving her Dad and sister. Elm Hollow has an unpleasant history as the site of famous 17th-century witch trials. Violet quickly finds herself invited to become the fourth member of an advanced study group, alongside Robin, Grace, and Alex - led by their charismatic art teacher, Annabel.

But whilst Annabel claims her classes aren't related to ancient rites and rituals, the girls begin to believe that magic is real and that they can harness it. It's not until a body of a former member of the society is found nine months after she disappeared, Violet starts to wonder who she can trust.

I found this book quite difficult to get into and there's a lot of reference to drugs which could be distracting for the reader. The writing is descriptive too so this was difficult to engage with at specific points which meant I probably missed vital points towards the story. The focus on female friendships was particularly powerful in this story, I'm just unsure whether I would read this again.

I wanted to like this book and some elements I did. I devoured the book and wanted to keep reading but reflectively, I’m not entirely sure why. The characters were insufferable, some not entirely necessary and none seemed to be fully fleshed with motivation.

The story was disjointed, jumping from scenario to scenario with no logical flow.

Not quite a fan.

2/5 Stars

I would like to thank Netgalley and Harper Collins Uk for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alright, let me be honest from the beginning: it was me, not the book. The premise is super interesting but god I could not get into it. I was bored and found the characters insufferable and, mostly, I could not follow the writing. What I mean is that it confused me and was just not to my taste at all.

I can definitely understand why people would love this book but I didn’t and ended up skimming the last 30% because I simply could not continue reading. If you know me then you know that I never DNF but this book almost brought me to do it. But this is all literally because of my personal taste in books and writing. So if you think you’ll like this book, then go for it! It simply was not the book for me.

This book was not what I was expecting from the description. However I really enjoyed the story.

The tale begins with a sixteen year old girl found dead on school property with no known cause of death. We then hear from Violet and her recollection of the events leading up to the discovery.

The story does not rush to the end and this helps you get to know the characters and get entwined with the story.

I was reminded of both the Craft and partly of Gentleman and Players through the narrative and thoroughly enjoyed it.