An intriguing mystery set at a boarding school in the UK.

Similar to the Murder almost Unladylike series, our two strong female characters are trying to unravel the mysterious death of a fellow pupil. Obviously, being part one , we will have to read the sequel to find the answers!

I wasn’t really sure what my thoughts would be going into this book, I’d previously read and enjoyed a book by one author but dnf’d a book by the other author. But I did keep an open mind going into this and was pleasantly surprised.

I really enjoyed the plot of this, I was intrigued the whole way through. The book did start off pretty slow, but it picked up the pace pretty quickly. I did think this book could’ve either been a slightly longer standalone, or at the least, had a bit more resolution. However with how open the ending was left, I am anticipating the sequel even more.

I enjoyed the development of the friendship between Audrey and Ivy, it didn’t feel rushed or forced and I’m looking forward to seeing where their friendship goes in the next book. The side characters didn’t really leave any sort of impression on me, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.' This book is an easy read that at times, felt like the writing was very simple. I felt it picked up pace 40 pages in. But, it kept my interest and I finished the book and look forward to the rest of the serious.

If it wasn't for the incredibly disappointing ending, this would probably have been a four star read as I flew through it in a couple of hours. Unfortunately, the giant cliff hanger and completely unresolved mystery kind of spoiled it for me. Up until then, my only complaint was that the two perspectives felt very similar in tone and voice, which surprised me as they were written by two different writers. But from a slow opening, the ending felt rushed and unfinished. All the way through the novel, the mystery of what happened to Lola is built up and you don't even get a semblance of a resolution at the end.

When Audrey joins a prestigious boarding school to get away from something that happened in America, she wasn't expecting to find herself embroiled in the mystery of a student's death. The police have written Lola's death off as a tragic accident, a student too close to the edge of the cliff. But someone in the school is determined that this was no accident. But if Lola didn't fall and didn't jump, then that means someone must have pushed her. A series of podcasts send ripples of shock through the school and after a rocky start with her roommate, Audrey finds herself drawn into discovering the truth behind Lola's death.

There were some things I really liked about this book and the setting was definitely one of them. I really got the sense of the elite boarding school with draconian rules and a long and varied history. I loved the hidden passages and forgotten references hidden in paintings. I also engaged well with the characters, despite them feeling very similar. I loved the hunt through the school for clues and how the schools history and the elusive Magpie Society plays a part in the darker parts of the schools past. I engaged far less with the murder mystery and the podcast aspects of the book though. Part of this was because the revelation of who was behind the podcast was revealed far too soon. Part of it was because I couldn't see the hype and furore around the podcast; you get short snippets which suggest that each episode was a maximum of five minutes and very little real information is released in any of them. You get far more from Audrey and Zoe's hunt around the school than you do from this supposedly amazing podcast that becomes an internet hit.

The pacing also falls slightly flat here unfortunately. The first three quarters of the book are very, very slow only for things to spiral in the last fifty pages, but without actually explaining anything useful. Audrey's past is built up and hinted at throughout the novel, but the final reveal is hurled at you in a handful of paragraphs with no emotional resonance or consequence. The same can be said for some of the mystery reveals. I found the subplot with Teddy to be rather ridiculous and unnecessary; how you go from short, slightly flirty texts to being half naked and dressed like a pirate is slightly baffling to put it mildly. The two characters are virtually interchangeable, despite having very different backgrounds and being written by different authors. And of course you have the problematic ending. There is no resolution, the book just stops. Yes, this is clearly going to be a series, but it's like the authors just forgot to include the final few chapters of the novel. That's sloppy and pulled this down significantly.

So, whilst this has a fantastic setting and I really quite enjoyed the mystery search for clues through the halls of the school, there is a lot missing here. I was veering between three and four stars until I reached the ending. Because despite the problematic pacing, the interchangeable characters and the rather mundane podcast, I was drawn in by the setting and the mystery. But the cliff-hanger ending really detracted from the book and made the flaws ten times more noticeable. My arc copy also had multiple occasions of missing letters, making some words all but incomprehensible. The letters 'fi' and 'fe' seemed particularly prone to omission for some reason.

So, thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my free review copy of this book. Unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations.

Was really looking forward to this but the copy I have has too many letters missing in words, making it too difficult and I am not able to read it.

A quirky read to say the least. The book flits between the two main characters Ivy and Audrey. Book does end on a bit of a cliff hang so you will have to wait for the next book to find out what happens next.

I was really excited to read this book as I’ve been a fan of Zoe Suggs for years from watching her on You Tube, so I was intrigued to see what this book would be like.⁣
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Well, unfortunately it wasn’t for me. The two joint authors writing together worked well I thought. Their styles blended very well and if I didn’t know, I wouldn’t have realised there were two different people each writing the characters of Audrey and Lola. ⁣
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But, I just found it all very simplistic in its plot and writing style and clearly aimed at a much younger audience! I did also think at times that the authors were trying too hard to describe certain things, which ended up in too much detail being given and showed their lack of experience with writing. ⁣
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A couple of the plot lines that were clearly supposed to be a mystery that would keep you guessing, were in my opinion not much of a mystery at all and were really obvious! The ending was quite rushed and I didn’t feel like there was any big reveal or cliffhanger around who killed Lola! ⁣
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If you like YA crime / thrillers then this could be the book for you. Personally as a forty something woman, YA’s just aren’t my thing and I won’t be reading the sequel when it’s released.

2.5 stars ⁣
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The Magpie Society: One for Sorrow is one of those books that shouldn't work but really does and is a fantastic read that will have you impatiently waiting to get your hands on the next book in the series.
Fast paced with a clever plot and two very strong and identifiable lead characters, each with their own distinct voices, The Magpie Society is a very clever and compelling read.

3 for neutral. I tried on multiple occasions to read this book, but I just couldn’t get into it enough to finish. I will update if able to finish at a later date.

This wasn't a bad read but I felt the mystery element to it was dragged out when the extra time could have been used to go further into the many interesting areas of the story. This gave me some Pretty Little Liars/Harry Potter vibes which I thought was quite cute.

This is a least said soonest mended situation for me. The premise sounded interesting but the execution just didn’t work. Not sure about the writing tbh.

Audrey moves with her family to England after having been involved in an incident in her homeland, USA. She’s being roomed with overachiever Ivy. Ivy doesn’t want to share her room. This was supposed to be her year. Being head girl and concentrating on her studies and piano lessons.
In the end of last years summer party a girl drowned and despite conflicting stories, the police classified the death as an accident. But not everyone is willing to stop investigating and when an unknown person is broadcasting the podcast WKL -Who Killed Lola - Ivy and Audrey are beginning to question everyone.

I quite enjoyed this story. I am a bit of a sucker for a murder mystery book that is set in a school. I read this book quickly, it was quite fast paced and enjoyable. I am happy that I got the answers that I felt like I needed by the end of the story and I do believe that this book wraps up nicely. The characters seemed quite well rounded and interesting.

Audrey and Ivy couldn't be any more different, but they are stuck as roommates at their boarding school. They both begin to investigate the recent death of Lola, the last Head Girl, who just so happened to have their room before them.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ivy is from a poor background, and she has worked her arse off to be one of the top students at Illumen Hall. As a prefect, she was supposed to get a room to herself, but she gets stuck with the new girl.
When a podcast about Lola's death is released, casting a shadow on the school; Ivy is asked to investigate. As the most dedicated and driven student at school, she readily accepts.

Audrey finds her new life at a British boarding school very different to life in Georgia. She has lost her freedom and her friends, but she can also start afresh, away from all the drama.
Unfortunately, she arrives just in time to find her new school in the middle of a crisis. After a chance meeting with Lola's older brother, Audrey agrees to look into the Magpie Society, and how it was involved in Lola's death.

I liked how Ivy and Audrey eventually become friends, despite the bad start at the beginning of term. They quickly find out that they are better together, although this doesn't happen until after half-way.

The mysteries were intriguing enough that I wanted to find out the truth. The girls uncover their clues steadily along the way, and have several leads. It does keep you guessing throughout about Lola's death.

The not-so-good.
This was reeaally slow. In the first half nothing happens beyond Audrey getting lost and worrying about making friends; and Ivy pushing everyone away and worrying about getting into Oxbridge.
This goes on repeat.
I thought Audrey's tragic back-story was poorly done in the first half. You have sections wedged into her narrative without any logic. I kept getting thrown, thinking something was happening in the present, but it just happened to be not-subtle allusions to the fact that she has history.
The second half things get a little more interesting, and focused on the central plot; then a bunch of stuff got crammed in at the end.

A couple of the mysteries weren't even... I guessed the person behind the podcast immediately, and I didn't get why Ivy was being so dense.
It was also no mystery who Lola's mystery man was.

I didn't like how it all ended. The finale is less of a cliff-hanger, and more of a stop mid-story.
I also didn't like how Lola's story was wrapped up. I'm not going to give away what happened to her, but it felt like it was just hurried and put aside, so our characters could go back to focusing on the Magpie Society.

Overall, it was an intriguing idea, but didn't hit the mark.

This story is gripping from the first page. I am a total sucker for the creepy English boarding school trope and Illumen Hall has that in spades.

The dual narrative of Ivy and Audrey is well defined so you always know who’s account you are reading, and it adds layers to the story helping you unravel the mystery of what has happened at IH.

The boarding school setting reminded me a lot of MA Bennett’s S.T.A.G.S in that it was atmospheric, well described and above all immersive for the reader.

Characters were multilayered and interesting, and although I initially thought I would really hate Audrey the brash American, she grew on me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I was really excited about this book. After being a fan ion Zoe, receiving this arc was super exciting and I was anticipating it massively. However, although I found some characters interesting, I felt like the plot fell a bit flat.
I unfortunately didn't like it as much as I was hoping but I'm happy I read it nonetheless.

I don’t read a lot of mystery books but I think this is one of my favourites. I like the fact that the story was told from the point of view of more than one person as it allows more of a bigger picture. The prologue definitely pulled me in, every good mystery book starts with a dead body. It was also quite accurate how she made fun of the American it made me laugh. I’m very excited for the next book and to see how the story continues. I will be recommending this book to my friend who’s obsessed with mysteries

I was so excited to receive a copy of One for Sorrow, the first novel in a new series; The Magpie Society. The description of this novel was right up my alley but unfortunately I just didn't enjoy this read. I love reading YA, but the style of writing definitely felt like very young YA or even children's but then there were swear words so I just found it a bit confusing and couldn't enjoy the writing style, it may just be that I'm the wrong targeted audience! That being said, I enjoyed the atmosphere of the novel, it was the perfect read for this time of year and I enjoyed our two main characters and seeing things for both their perspectives.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read The Magpie Society: One for Sorrow by Amy McCulloch and Zoe Sugg in exchange for an honest review.

One for Sorrow was written by two different authors and this is seen in its disjointed writing. The story of a dead body found washed up on the beach is fairly captivating but the book doesn't have an ending, it finishes half way through a party, I presume to make you read the next book. This isnt the end of a series of a TV programme, its a book!

The book is gripping and a really good suspense novel. I know its target market is Young Adults but I'm older but I loved it so much and I also love the alternating author character chapters, it works really well.

I hated having to put this book down as it was so good