I was really looking forward to this, having wanted to read a good dark academia novel.

Unfortunately I DNF'd. I really struggled to get into the book. I kept stopping and starting, my motivational to read it just not there.

I can't really give a good reasoning for it, or even say its the books fault. Perhaps I just wasn't feeling it.

I'll try again but for the moment its a DNF for me.

[ad/gifted] These Mortal Bodies by Elspeth Wilson*, a review📚

*This ebook was gifted to me through @netgalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

synopsis: Leaving behind her childhood in coastal Scotland, neurodivergent Ivy Graveson arrives at a prestigious university and throws herself into the deep end of life on campus.
Though her fellow students all seem to come from money and to have known each other their whole lives, outsider Ivy is determined to belong. She embraces the world of secret societies, and as she discovers the legacy of her college, the parallels between its past and her present become striking. Because however hard she tries to ignore it, Ivy has always felt one with water and her own personal talisman, a heron, is never far away.
In just one life-changing year in these hallowed halls, Ivy will have to decide how much sisterhood means to her and how far she’ll go to become the person she was destined to be..🔍

rating: no rating/dnf😶

review: Unfortunately this book just did not give me what I wanted. I was really excited for this as I love a dark academia novel, however the writing style of this one just did not work for me and I found the structure to be extremely choppy and unorganised which led to me ultimately stop reading the novel. However, I think if you like a spooky atmosphere/campus setting and a seemingly unreliable narrator (I cannot vouch for this 100% as I did not finish the novel however the portion I did read did allude to this) then you should give this one a go!🖤

Thank you very much to @netgalley , the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book had everything in it that usually would really hit the mark for me. Dark Academia, history of witchcraft, women led colleges as well as battling toxic friendships and relationships with each other. I am unsure if this is leading up to a sequel or if this will be the start of a longer series which may lend to reasons this book for me felt a little unfinished. But that doesn't mean that this book doesn't have great merits!

I loved that these witches that are part of a secret society which I thought was a nod to the story of the sisters killed during witch trials. As you'd expect with these kinds of secret societies, this is where the toxicity of relationships are creeping in. They're toxic with a large dose of treachery.

These Mortal Bodies really does embody the "slow burn" as most of the real action in this story seems to kick into gear towards the final quarter of the book.

A huge thank you to netgalley and simon & schuster for these reader copy and should there be a follow up for this book I will look that up also.

Thank you Simon & Schuster UK, and Netgalley for this ARC.

This was a really interesting look into sisterhood through the lens of new age dark academia. I must admit, it was a bit of a tough ride. When I first read the synopsis, I was hooked—it sounded right up my street. However, it took a while for me to truly settle into the story.

The book is definitely character driven, and as I am someone who needs a bit of world building in my life, I felt that aspect was lacking. The characters gave off Mean Girls/The Craft vibes, but our FMC didn’t really evolve as the story progressed. In fact, she seemed to lose herself even more in her desire to be wanted and loved—especially by her friends.

What I did love was the detailed history of witchcraft, the secret societies, and their rituals. That’s where the real magic of the book lay for me, and I wish those elements had been developed further.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I wasn’t completely blown away, but I’m definitely curious to see what else the author has to offer. There were moments that really intrigued me, but others that fell a bit flat.

Leaving behind her childhood in coastal Scotland, neurodivergent Ivy Graveson arrives at a prestigious university and throws herself into the deep end of life on campus.
Though her fellow students all seem to come from money and to have known each other their whole lives, outsider Ivy is determined to belong. She embraces the world of secret societies, and as she discovers the legacy of her college, the parallels between its past and her present become striking.

I think the writing is wonderful. The way the narrator describes feelings and situations is excellent. It’s quite a slow burn that doesn’t quite ignite, sadly.

In theory, this was a perfect book for me - moody dark academia with a female protagonist? Sign me up. Unfortunately this book didn’t really hit the mark and felt a lot more childish than what I’m used to with dark academia. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me and I ended up DNF’ing it pretty early on.

Nonetheless thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love dark academia but unfortunately this one just didn’t do it for me. The premise was great but for me, it was very slow, I couldn’t get interested, and I just felt depressed reading it.

Sorry!

My thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to this book but unfortunately it failed to hit the mark for me. While I could grasp the intent of where the book was trying to go with the academia element, it just wasn’t compelling. It felt flat and honestly quite boring.

The way Cara was introduced had me believing she’d have more to give to the story, it piqued my interest, but alas she was only there to give meaning to some mental trauma for Ivy. it really felt like a missed opportunity.
Nothing really happened until 80% through and even then it was left wanting. It didn’t feel like any of the elements of the book were fully explored, just touched on leaving me wondering what was the real story here. The blurb claimed Ivy was neurodivergent but was she really?

I feel like this has the potential to be a really good book but as it is it’s just not there.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read this title.

2.5/5

I wish I had better things to say about this book but unfortunately, I struggled to get through it before ultimately DNFing it. Going in, I thought this would be atmospheric and dark (especially with that gorgeous cover!) but the story lacked in both these aspects.

I was looking forward to starting this, but the further I got into it, the more it fell flat. It's long in a, doesn't *actually* go anywhere kind of way, and the main character didn't feel fleshed out. For this reason, it was very difficult to make myself care about her point of view or anything that happened to her. Furthermore, Ivy is a neurodivergent character who doesn't come across as being neurodivergent.

Unfortunately, this isn't a book I'd want to finish or recommend. However, thank you to Simon & Schuster UK for the opportunity to review it.

I struggled to get into this story. I was really hopeful and thought with myself as someone who went to university, that was connected to a dark, gothic church, I would have gotten into this story more but I just couldnt. However I am grateful to NetGalley for and ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I see the potential, but I don't think it managed to fulfill it. It was lengthy, and the ending was quite confusing. I don't think the book addressed a genuine conflict, so I'm unsure what kind of resolution ultimately took place at the end.

It's interesting how Ivy forgave Martha so easily and was happy to move on, but refused to even look at George in the eye for the same offense. Talk about double standards.

Unfortunately this book just was not for me and I DNFed at about 25%. I had high hopes for it considering the blurb but unfortunately I didn't feel particularly hooked into the story and the main character, Ivy, felt very shallow - especially as her backstory seemed to just be constantly brushed over so we just got thrown into her point of view without any knowledge of her past. I also didn't think the book was particularly atmospheric, but maybe that's just a me issue.

An atmospheric dark academia novel about obsession, infatuation and womanhood. Ivy arrives alone and isolated at a prestigious university, hiding from her past she throws herself into life on campus. She’s determined to belong, despite everyone around her coming from money and having known each other for years. Its a world full of college legacies and secret societies. You can only hide from the past for so long, and Ivy needs to decide how much sisterhood and the future matters to her.

The original blurb for this book describes Ivy as neurodivergent and I struggled to see that in her depiction, having people in my family who are neurodivergent. It came across more as someone struggling to process trauma and is experiencing anxiety because of it.

The aspects of sisterhood and the history around the coven were really nicely done, but I struggled to find the rest of the plot. It just felt quite flat and like it didn’t really go anywhere.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but as much as the writing was beautifully lyrical it didn’t really hook me in.

If you’re a fan of boarding school type stories, with mostly character focused stories you might enjoy this book more than I did.

Many thanks to Netgalley and to Simon and Schuster for my digital review copy.

Happy Reading! xx

I did enjoy this as the aspects of the sisterhood and relation to the coven was nicely done but other than that the overall plot kind of just fell..flat.

Ivy is described as neurodivergent, but as a fellow neurodivergent, ivy doesn’t come across as such, she’s gone through trauma and is having trouble processing it with a sprinkle of very briefly mentioned anxiety that is “healed” through sisterhood of the coven.

The use of educational settings throughout was good but could of been better, there’s constant moments where we are told Ivy is at college when she is actually in university (it didn’t bother me until I really noticed it and now I can’t unsee it)

I’d still recommend this if you’re interested in Dark Academia and witches but that’s about it

I regret to say I personally didn't get in with this book and couldn't finish it. I had high hopes I would really enjoy this one but something just didn't click for me. I found myself not caring about going back to it and I unfortunately had to make the decision to drop it. It may be entirely someone else's love but it just didn't work for me.

Thank you so much for giving me an ARC of this book. It was a good read. I was really looking forward to reading this as the blurb really captured my attention. Neurodivergent main character and dark academia were what first attracted me. It took me longer than expected to read as it took a while to hook me. Thanks again for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc!

This book was interesting enough to hold my attention while I was reading but I didn’t immediately want to keep picking it up!

Overall it was a good read

A light grey academia-lite
—
Ivy leaves behind her hometown and a tragic incident to start at an (annoyingly) unspecified collegiate university. There she meets new female friends and together they join a drinking society with links to an historic coven allied to her women’s college, while university life swirls them up and spits them out of heartbreak, parties and academia.

Ivy is supposedly coded as neurodivergent but on the page this doesn’t come across (read the brilliant Life Hacks for a Little Alien for an awe-inspiring depiction of neurodivergence); perhaps she is so grief-stricken by the (at first) undefined tragedy that her emotions are dialled down and therefore susceptible to others’ dominating personalities, but the writing gives few clues. Although the age of the characters is 18+ and much of the thematic subjects are clearly adult-oriented, this read as more of a YA novel, and a not very well put together one. The historic coven is threaded throughout but simply as a flourish, not a signal of any genre crossing, and instead the focus is on the relationships between Ivy and her new friends, with barely any mention of her life before university, or anything that might come after.

This wants to be the Life and Death Brigade meets Mean Girls but fails to reach even that relatively low bar. The themes and subjects could have formed the basis of a true dark academia novel, one where Ivy’s responsibility for the past tragedy echoes into her new present, a Carrie redux if you like, but this feels like a missed opportunity.

A good story, atmospheric and enthralling. Liked it
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

These Mortal Bodies is a moody, lyrical debut that treads the line between dark academia and contemporary coming-of-age. Elspeth Wilson explores themes of identity, belonging, and the murky edges of female friendship, set against the backdrop of a secretive university world. There are whispers of witchcraft and ancestral magic, but they remain just that - whispers. If you’re looking for a fantasy-forward read, this might not scratch the itch, but if you enjoy atmospheric writing and character-driven narratives, there’s plenty to appreciate here.