I actually quite enjoyed it ;)
I like Laura's books - the sas the female protagonists have - I will read everything she writes with pleasure.

There were bits of this story that I really enjoyed, but certain aspects of the plot definitely ran away and felt a little bit chaotic at times. I really enjoyed the building romance between Alice and Lottie!

I felt slightly mixed about this. On the one hand the mystery is really well realised, and it's a really fantastic retelling. However, I didn't really feel that the chemistry worked. It was promoted as a slow burn but it just didn't feel like it ever hit that for me, which was a shame as I was really excited for this.

This really disappointed me as I was expecting a slightly mystical dark academia novel but it just fell flat. The characters voices weren't developed enough and i just found them kind of one note and blah. The world building could have been better but this too felt weaker than it should be.

The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven is a deliciously suspenseful, atmospheric novel that’s perfect for Halloween!

The book has a Jekyll and Hyde vibe, but uses it to explore female rage and the injustices big and small that women have had to contend with for centuries — and how they get their revenge.

Steven's writing is evocative without being overwrought, setting the scene for this tale of murder and madness with haunting turns of phrase and grim imagery. The dark academia aesthetic is strong, and the vivid descriptions will make you feel like you’re on an autumnal college campus, surrounded by stark trees and forbidding buildings. There’s a slight disjointedness to the story as the characters black out and lose time, and they occasionally narrate as though they‘re looking back at events with knowledge of the horrors to come, which adds to the unnerving and ominous feeling that pervades the novel.

While it is a dark story, there are moments of humor. Lottie and Alice flirt and banter, and are dryly sarcastic. The language is also very current and playful (though the book appears to be set in the 90s, with references to Nokia phones and Walkmans), using phrases like “main character syndrome” and “final girl” that make the characters feel like real college students.

Alice is a little pretentious, but is at least self-aware (and occasionally self-deprecating) about it, and Lottie can be a bit too complaisant and forgiving. But their alternating points-of-view allow you to see what they’re really like and not the distorted perception of the other, which makes both of them more sympathetic. They both want to be more like each other, but they have more in common than they realize.

There’s some discussion of chronic illness and depression, and while no one identifies explicitly on-page, various characters appear to be on the autism spectrum, bisexual, and demi or gray-ace.

The ending does feel a bit rushed and expositional. There’s some infodumping, and everything wraps up a bit too quickly and neatly — a couple aspects strained my suspension of disbelief, even in such a supernatural story.

I also don’t totally buy Alice and Lottie’s romance. Alice’s rage is justified, but she sometimes veers into the territory of downright mean (though she does regret it) — and while some people deserve it, Lottie doesn’t. However, coping with that rage is a central part of the novel and, in Alice’s better moods, she and Lottie have some very sweet moments of connection.

Ultimately, this is a gripping and surprisingly relatable story that makes for a great fall read!

Be sure to check the trigger warnings on this one!

I have really struggled to put into (non-spoilery) words how much I LOVED this book!

It is the sapphic, feminist, horror book of my dreams.

The characters are so excellently crafted that they truly feel like real people I know (even the ones who died before the book started!).

The PLOT. omg. To stay spoiler-free I can't say much, but I can say that this book truly is the best representation of every Angry Girl to have ever lived and that the combination of magic, the occult, religion, and politics is so intricately woven together that I could really believe every moment.

And if you're looking for a top-level angsty romance (that will literally have you shouting "Just KISS already" at the book) then Alice and Lottie are the girls for you!!

I also can't not mention my autistic darling, Hafsah, who is so wonderfully authentic and just made me smile all the time.

Seriously - this book is FANTASTIC!

It's the perfect blend of horror - delightfully creepy, but not so scary that a wimp like me couldn't adore it from start to finish.

This was a unique retelling of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and I loved it. It was a fast paced, easy read focused on the anger of young girls and how they are treated by men combined with a supernatural nun and dangerous rituals. This makes for an intriguing read that you will love if you enjoy gothic stories.

I ended up really enjoying this. I'm still on the quest for the perfect dark academia - and this wasn't it - but this was a quick and engaging read which took a long hard look at female anger. Now, I have thoughts about that topic which would probably fill a book so I won't inflict it on whoever is reading this review other than to say that this fit my experience of being a teenager in the 90s (when this book is set) and the sort of messaging girls were getting then about anger coupled with the specific sexism of that time. (Spoiler alert but it is completely different now, not gone but definitely much better!) And I will also add that I think it could have been explored in a more nuanced way than just 'girls are allowed to feel angry, it can be empowering'. Well, yes obviously but undirected angry is just destructive and pointless. It's not enough to feel your feelings, you need to learn from them, use them and set them aside, not be governed by them. I also would not have pegged the Jekyll and Hyde reference if it hadn't been hammered in there. I'm not sure that was a great fit and it drew attention to areas of the plot which were a little threadbare.



However, I really liked both MCs and while the plot had its issues, it was compelling. This book definitely delivered on the enemies to lovers promise too. If the overall ending was little flat and puzzling, the journey getting there was a fun one.

I was sold on this book because it's a sapphic retelling of Jekyll and Hyde and I immediately saw that tagline and was like...so much yes. Gimme. I've been super highly anticipating this book as a result and while I did enjoy it in parts, it did ultimately fall flat for me.

First of all, I literally did an entire research paper and source analysis on the Loudon possessions as well as a few other papers on possessions as part of a history module I did at University for Witchcraft etc, so I was living for that aspect of this!

While I did find the book to be quite gripping initially and I had a lot of curiosity about it, I found that interest starting to wane a little bit over the course of the book. One of my main issues with this is that I honestly didn't have a distinct voice for Lottie and a distinct voice for Alice and I'd frequently get confused about whose POV it was supposed to be as they were very similar and they weren't all that distinct from each other. While I initially liked the characters, I did start to get irritated at all the lack of explanation for why certain things were happening or why they were behaving a certain way which started to detract from the enjoyment of the book in my opinion.

Like many other reviewers have said, I feel like there could have been more depth to the book. More plot, more worldbuilding, more build up of the romance because I honestly spent a chunk of the book wondering how this was supposed to be sapphic and then it was kind of shoved in at the end and I'd been expecting a slow burn romance but this wasn't it.

I also thought it would be a little more darker but it reached a point when it was a little bit meh and things grew repetitive. I was also growing concerned about how the book wrapped up and I found myself ultimately disappointed with the ending. It felt a little bit rushed and convenient and the messages that were trying to be conveyed just didn't hit right and felt kind of shoved in at the end at the last minute.

All in all, this had a good start but it fizzled out and left me feeling quite disappointed. Perhaps my expectations were too high for what this was, although I did enjoy the references to Loudon and the possessions!

I have not read a book that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up for a long time!!
I was at the point of being a tiny bit scared that i can not read this to i cant put this down i need to know what happens!!
mystery and horror rolled into one is the best thing and i loved reading this!
I really hope there is more to come from Lottie and Alice.

This 1990s, Northumberland-set dark academia has supernatural elements of possession and soul splitting in a sapphic Jekyll and Hyde-esque novel all about the power of female anger - and the men trying to repress and profit from it.

It is a deliciously creepy book. While there is certainly supernatural things happening, the question of exactly how much and how far it will go haunts the book. The supernatural also has some body-horror like elements, which I find particularly creepy (it's definitely much less than other books, such as JUNIPER AND THORN, but there's a little bit of it!)

The setting matches this very well - the north English countryside with it crags and cold and forests. I LOVED seeing the UK setting, and in a beautiful part of the country that's often overlooked for London. The autumn and winter timeframe plays well into the atmosphere too - it can get very cold up there and the loss of light across the book reflects the increasing danger.

As a dark academia, set in a university, it is full of literature and philosophy references. Lottie is takes English Literature courses (including Gothic Literature and its impact on readers) while Alice studies philosophy. I love academic references in books, and dark academia is the natural place for it - and it's done so accessibly. If, like me, you've never studied either of those topics, the book never once makes you feel dumb or on the outside of "getting it." And all the discussion of gothic literature fits in so well with the Jekyll and Hyde-esque nature of the story (though it is certainly not a simple retelling!)

I loved Alice and Lottie! There's a great contrast between the ever-angry Alice, seething against injustices and also minor frustrations of life, while Lottie is ever cheerful. The book explores how both paths are valuable and necessary - and neither are wrong, if handled thoughtfully and not allowed to run away (as both can be damaging to the self if taken too far.)

And of course, there's their slow-build and slow-burn relationship. I particularly liked the discussion of Lottie's asexuality - and the demi/grey-nuance of it. The fact that she is attracted physically now does not invalidate that she never was before.

I am looking forward to Laura Steven's next book!

Following our two leads Lottie and Alice, we delve into the story of the newly reopened Carvell University which closed its doors ten years ago after a string of suspicious murders. Lottie is determined to find out what happened all those years ago but as Alice stumbles upon a soul-splitting ritual the North Tower claims another victim…

All of the characters are incredibly well written, leaping off the page as if they were real people and the dual POVs really add to this. If you’re a lover of enemies-to-friends-to-lovers then this is the book for you, sunshine girl Lottie and grumpy Alice are the perfect pairing and the development of their relationship is a joy to read

This book isn’t just about their romance though, it’s dark, twisty and downright unnerving at times. Steven perfectly weaves together the romantic elements with hard-hitting suspense and nuanced conversations around philosophy and (rightly justified) female rage. All of these elements combined with Steven’s wit and humour create a truly unputdownable novel.

The Society for Soulless Girls is the sapphic, dark academia, thriller book of my dreams!

I’m sorry but I wasn’t able to write a review as I didn’t download the book before it was archived. I still maintain that this looks like a very exciting book to read! Based on the blurb, I have put it as 4 stars and it’s certainly on my ‘want to read’ list!

This was a fun, gay read!

It's a Jekyll and Hyde retelling set in the world of dark academia, but you don't need to know the original novella to enjoy this - you don't even need a basic familiarity with the concept of Jekyll and Hyde (though I'm sure almost everyone does!).

This could have been a very serious book, especially with the dark academic backdrop, but it didn't take itself too seriously (although, on that note, I do think the dark academic backdrop was a tad superficial) and it never felt weighed down - it was just a fun weekend read!

Feminism and female rage are apparent throughout and typically any book that explores female rage gets an extra star from me! One aspect that surprised me, however, is that - within the spectrum of YA - this book felt on the younger side of YA, and yet its characters were on the older side.

I think this was a 3/5 stars for me BUT I'm giving it a 4/5 because the issue is with me and not the book, which I think slightly younger readers will really enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me with a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Society for Soulless Girls is a fantastic Jekyll and Hyde retelling featuring angry girls, witchcraft, and feminism!

The supernatural twist is fun, but the real reveal at the end struck such a chord with me, and maybe will for many people out there.

Rounded up from 3.5* to 4* because the last 1/3 of the book was absolutely spectacular.

I ADORED this. The relationships between the girls; the history of the school; the whole premise of the Society. It screams all that is brilliant. The fact it was set in the North East too brings me such joy! Just delicious. I would read a sequel in a heartbeat.

Sapphic, dark academia, Jekyll and Hyde retelling? Sign me TF up ✨

3.8 stars ⭐️ This story was UGH, everything. I can’t tell you how hard it is finding sapphic dark academia so when I found this I jumped on it like Edward Cullen when Bella gets a paper cut.

The Jekyll and Hyde inspo was really awesome to see, it’s interwoven so effortlessly and I really appreciate the way the author blends feminist themes through the original tale. It’s incredibly smart and just a breeze to read.

We’ve got college roommates, enemies to lovers, a shared bed trope with a prominent WLW romance that’s just there in the peripheral making you grin like an idiot. (I’m obvi a total sap.) Blend that with witchcraft and spooky academy vibes and well, that was me sold.

Both MC’s are WLW, and the main romance in the book is sapphic centred.


TW’s listed below (skip if you don’t want vague spoilers.)






TW//CW// SA themes (no heavily described scenes though) Mention of SA of minor (Brief), Suicide mentions, Depression, Harm to animal, Police interrogation scenes, Grooming mentions, Strangulation, Violence, Scene with vomiting, Gaslighting.

I really, really enjoyed this book! A sapphic retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is such a fun concept, and setting it at a uni in the 90s added some nostalgia and interest. I think the relationship (a slow burn sapphic enemies to lovers vibe) worked well, although I was never entirely convinced of the "enemies" part of the story.

I do think that the plot became a bit too convoluted-- there were a few too many characters, many of whom I was less invested in than the main romantic couple. I also think that, because there were so many extraneous characters, the reveal at the end about how and why and what has been happening throughout the book was less satisfying than I might have hoped.

THAT BEING SAID, this was still and incredibly fun, fast, interesting read for anyone interested in queer retellings of classic novels. I will definitely be recommending it to friends.

The Society for Soulless Girls was a good enough book, without ever really threatening to become great. This may sound harsh, but it’s a book I never really thought I would do more than like and that prediction bore out.

We follow two main characters in this book: Lottie and Alice. Both are in their first year of study at the newly reopened Carvell College of Arts, which had closed 10 years previously after a series of mysterious and unexplained deaths amongst its student populace. Now, though, they’re attempting to put that all behind them. Both Lottie and Alice find themselves drawn to the site of the deaths, however, setting into motion a series of sinister events.

It’s hard to really describe how I feel about this book. I tried to think about the plot, for example, and even though I only finished it yesterday, I could only say in vague outlines exactly what happened. It feels almost a bit like a series of scenes, strung together in something that might loosely be described as a plot, but not in a way that makes it feel particularly disjointed. Just that, it felt quite light on plot. While not being that light. I mean it was a 400 page book, and I don’t think that much really happened. Or at least, not in depth.

This depth point probably extends also to the setting: it never felt particularly atmospheric, and I think this is a story that would have benefited from more time spent on that. Partly, I think that might be a weakness of the writing: for all that it was good writing, it never really built up a sense of mystery that would have been good. Possibly in part I was being told too much and not shown enough, possibly because the main characters found it far too easy to discover what was going on. It’s not like there weren’t points where there could have been mystery, though, and this is why I think the issue here may have been the writing style.

It also, slightly, extends to the characters. Probably the best I can say about them is that they were alright. I didn’t love them, but I didn’t hate them. They were, pretty much, archetypal jock and goth, and not hugely more. They were readable without being particularly memorable to me.

Of course, all of this could easily be an “it’s not you it’s me” issue: a raft of 4 and 5 star reviews are testament to that. But if I’m looking at why it didn’t work so well for me, these two things would probably be it. (Also I just learned today it’s set in the 1990s and honestly? I hadn’t even noticed.)

But! If this is a premise that catches your interest, I would still recommend you read the book. You may enjoy it a lot more than I did.

I could not get on with the narrators of this book at all, I got about 1/3rd the way through it and just couldn't continue. I didn't really get what the author was trying to do, the voices of the characters just grated on me and were really too whingy for me with very little happening.
Premise itself was good but execution was not great.