I was blessed to get an eARC of this creepy, insidious, and disturbingly prescient book ages ago and have been frankly terrible at writing reviews. So Netgalley, here I am, catching up.

The Goldens starts with Chloe being accepted and starting at her dream university set deep in the English countryside. The dream is not reality however her flatmates instantly leave her out based on her northern accent (poor and not posh) and she eventually makes a single friend in classmate Olivia as she shivers through a freezing first term until she finds a beautiful abandoned scarf embroidered with her initials in the library.

This leads her to Clara Holland, campus celebrity, wealthy, and an international influencer. They quickly bond and before she realises it, Chloe is attending lavissh parties and living in Clara's mansion. But as Clara's fame increases her behaviour becomes evermore strange and rumours start to surface. Will Chloe be Clara's next victim?

The book is gripping. The reader instantly feels for Chloe and is initially swept away in the excitement but obviously it's too good to be true and you find yourself yelling at her to listen to Clara's acquaintances and Olivia and hoping against hope when she briefly questions herself.

The story gets tender as the parties get wilder and Clara's following gets more cult like and the ending will gut you and leave you questioning how long before something like this actually happens.

It's a fantastic debut from Lauren Wilson and I'll be watching our for her next book.

A solid 3.5 stars, that could have been a 4 star, if it had a stronger ending.

Chloe dreams of being a writer and she is so grateful to win a place at a good university. She feel excluded and left out from the start, until a chance encounter brings her under the focus of Clara - a girl who seems to have everything. As Chloe falls under Clara's spell, she is willing to sacrifice anything to fly close to her sun - even her dreams. But what started as an innocent friendship, evolves into a cult. And everyone close to Chloe is begging her to withdraw and see reason.

The storyline developed well and its easy to see how impressionable girls could be seduced by an o[opulent and lavish lifestyle, that offers freedom and independence. It also explores an age where friendships become the core focus and how social media has impacted those decisions and potentially our values. Lots of great messages for this new generation.

I also enjoyed how the core characters evolved and took upon their "roles", almost like a stage. It was all beautifully described. I would have liked a bit more strength from Chloe and more dimensions to Clara, but overall a captivating read.

What starts as friendship turns into something far more sinister in this easy to read novel.

I tore through the pages to discover what the ending would be for. Chloe, did I feel sorry for her....maybe.

THE GOLDENS is a compulsive tale of charisma and manipulation, the lure of a glamourous lifestyle and a magnetic leader.

The book starts off slow, setting up Chloe's initial experience of university and the two friends who will define her time there - Clara and the "ordinary" girl Olivia. They're such opposites of each other, one steady and dull while the other is vivacious and changeable. The slower start really helps establish these three girls at the core of the book and their relationships. Without this, the push and pull of the second half wouldn't work.

And then the rumours start to trickle in along with subtle changes in Clara's behaviour to more overt forms of control. These help pick up the book's pace and tension, creating a sense of unease about Clara's motivations and worry where the book will lead the characters. The pace accelerates throughout this second half all the way to the frenetic finale where loyalty and horror collide.

Lauren Wilson does a good job of making you understand why Chloe stays with Clara, why she doesn't take any of the outs offered to her. Everyone around her is worried but she keeps brushing it off. You see it through her eyes (a reflective past tense), the allure of Clara and her lifestyle, the charisma that draws her in, and the need to be liked by her. The connotations of a cult are very appropriate and the book makes you wonder whether Clara always intended to gather a following around her or whether it was a more subconscious plan, driven by a need to be the centre of attention and loved. I ended the book unsure which possible version of Clara was worse - the one who planned to manipulate or the narcist who did it without thinking.

When Chloe heads to university she is full of optimism. Unfortunately, her first meeting with her flatmates shows them for the snobs they are and she struggles to find her place. She makes friend with Olivia, a girl on her course, but when she finds herself caught on the periphery of someone enigmatic, Chloe is easy prey.
The first part of the book sets up Chloe’s situation. Vulnerable, she is an easy target for someone charismatic. Clara Holland is a well-recognised face on campus. An influencer, daughter of wealthy parents, Clara is connected. So when she reaches out to Chloe, it doesn’t take long for her to get her hooks in.
We can see how Chloe falls under the thrall of Clara’s influence. She moves in with her, slowly allowing her thoughts and behaviours to be controlled by Clara. Though there is talk on campus and online about Clara’s behaviour, Chloe is one of her most supportive followers. Then things take a bizarre turn.
Clara invites girls to move in. They host parties and seem to be supportive of one another. But anyone ignoring Clara’s rules finds themselves ostracised. Chloe starts to question the point of this situation, but struggles to step away from it.
The signs are there. It doesn’t long before events build to a dangerous climax. Olivia is one of the victims, but there are numerous others. Having taken so long to get to this stage,things were resolved remarkably quickly. And, if I’m being honest, having thought Chloe rather vapid throughout the closing stages of the book made me wonder if she’d manipulated our views throughout in pursuit of a far more dangerous game.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this before publication.

Thank you to Lauren Wilson, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.
When I read this synopsis, I knew something intriguing and cult-ish would come and damn if it did. Chloe is a character with a need of wanting to be accepted and Clara gave her that. Clara was the type of glamorous and captivating person and influencer that did exactly that, captivated Chloe and made her feel accepted and loved and that her ideas and thoughts mattered. Clara knew what she was doing when she created her group The Goldens.
But the red flags started showing with the clothes and the permanence at the house, only the girls specially Chloe wouldn't see it. It was needed that something really drastic related to Chloe to happen (don't wanna say exactly what not to spoil it completely) for her to really see Clara's true colors.
The very last chapter with the gift Chloe's receives left me intrigued. Definitely worth the read. A good mistery well-constructed with interesting characters with so many layers like Clara specially so I recommend it and give it a 4 stars.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

A quick and chilling read that shows how quickly a cult can form. Fueled by the need to belong, a longing for female friendship, and a charismatic leader—that’s just a recipe for disaster!

3.5 stars

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC of The Goldens by Lauren Wilson.

What happens when loneliness, a desire to belong, and the allure of exclusivity collide? The Goldens explores just that—blending dark academia, cult-like devotion, and psychological suspense into a compelling narrative.

When a wealthy, adored influencer unexpectedly takes the protagonist under her wing, the question becomes: how far would you go to fit in? Would you follow blindly, even as things begin to spiral? Lauren Wilson examines the seductive pull of power and popularity, and the dangerous consequences that can come from surrendering your identity to someone else’s influence.

The story is suspenseful and fast-paced, with twists that keep you on edge—especially the ending, which completely threw me and left me wanting more. There’s definitely potential for a follow-up novel, and I’d be first in line to read it.

Fans of Bunny by Mona Awad will likely enjoy The Goldens—both share a similar tone, with a mix of dark academia, eerie group dynamics, and psychological unraveling.

An addictive, page-turning read. I’m excited to see what Lauren Wilson writes next!

DNF at 20% unfortunately felt way too YA for me and immature. Premise was interesting enough but if you’re older than 16 I don’t know would you enjoy it

Chloe is in her first year at her dream university when she meets the charming and influential rich kid Clara. She is swept up in Clara's world of fancy parties and famous friends and, as Clara's popularity skyrockets, Chloe finds herself mixed up in Clara's controversial world as her second in command to their group- The Goldens. This is a contemporary YA standalone.

This book had potential and I went into it really excited, unfortunately it did not resonate with me. I found myself struggling to fully engage with the characters and plot and found the book as a whole quite boring. The book as a whole felt somewhat bland and forgettable.

LGBTQ+ Representation
Female Empowerment
Found Family
Unreliable Narrator

Thanks NetGalley for this advance copy to review. I love a campus novel and this novel threw in an extra seasoning of social media and queer pressure that made for an intensely readable novel. Some of the plot points seemed prematurely abandoned to me but on the whole a very enjoyable reading experience. Thanks NetGalley!

I devoured this in a couple of hours and loved every second of it. Dark, thrilling and captivating on every level - superb!!

This book is inevitably going to be compared to ‘The Secret History’ and ‘Saltburn’, but is more appropriate for a YA audience!
We follow Chloe, a middle-class northerner who is admitted to a red brick university, where she befriends a rich influencer, Clara. The pair throw some wild parties and Chloe even moves in to Clara’s family home near campus, but the situation starts to spiral out of control.
I read this in one sitting, and it is very readable. I think as an older reader I couldn’t connect as much as the target audience might with the characters, I just wanted to give them both a good talking to! It was also a little predictable, but again, probably because of my familiarity with the genre.
I gave it 3.5 stars based on this, but I can imagine this will be popular with 15/16 year olds who are discovering dark academia. A strong debut from a fellow north-easterner, and I look forward to seeing more from this author.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc, in exchange for an honest and fair review!

I ate this up in a handful of hours like I'd been starved my whole life.

The Goldens is such an interesting story that totally blew me away, as much as a book can when you've stayed up until 2am reading and are slightly delerious. Still, I loved how we had a handful of key characters that were really built on giving such depth to them, their motivations and how much I cared for them as a reader. A sparkling debut.

The influencers have gone feral, thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC

The Goldens by Lauren Wilson is a dark and intoxicating thriller that pulls you into a world of glamour, mystery and chilling secrets. Chloe, an aspiring writer, finds herself drawn to the enigmatic influencer Clara Holland and moves into her lavish mansion. But as Clara’s fame rises, her behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, with wild parties involving strange rituals casting a shadow over their seemingly perfect lives.

When rumours of a cult begin to swirl and a girl disappears after a notorious party, the tension escalates to a terrifying new level. Chloe must find a way to escape Clara’s dangerous grip before she becomes the next victim.

Rich with atmosphere and mounting suspense, The Goldens is an unputdownable story that will haunt you long after the last page.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for approving me to read this, I’m rating it 4.5 rounded to 5 stars.

I enjoyed this so much, the academic setting and that constant desire to belong. The way fitting in takes such a dark and sinister turn, it was interesting to say the least. I liked our FMC although she was delusional at points, but her heart just saw the best in people she shouldn't.

The vibes of the book reminded me of Bunny, but a lot less weird and fever dream like. Highly recommend for a book that will make you question how far you would go while thinking the whole time that this is definitely a cult.

Lauren Wilson’s The Goldens is what happens when the world of academia gets a glittering, social media fuelled facetune. Forget stories based around libraries and student unions, this book swaps the average student life for influencer culture, and the result is utterly hypnotic. It’s got all the classic hallmarks of the genre: An outsider lured into an intoxicating world, a web of toxic friendships, whispers of a cult-like existence, and of course, the creeping shadow of an unsolved mystery. Wilson’s world pulses with tremendous glamour, camera attention, designer gowns, and the slippery allure of online fame. Gossip Girl could NEVER!

At the heart of it all are Chloe and Clara, two girls bound together in a that codependent university friendship we all experience that feels both intoxicating and inevitable. However, Clara isn’t just popular. She’s alluring (tries not to make a Miranda reference), the kind of girl who makes you believe that standing next to her is enough to define your identity. And Chloe? She’s the rest of us at university with a combo of insecurity and eagerness, willing to mould to fit the world in which we want to belong, even if the cracks start showing.

The tension builds like a slow burn thriller, but without you realising. You know something is off, but you’re so invested in the characters and their relationship that trying to pinpoint exactly what will keep you turning pages at an alarming rate. Lauren Wilson’s writing is so immersive that, like Chloe, you will ignore the red flags of Clara waving in your face out of want to dive deeper into this world!

And then comes the unravelling. Wilson masterfully dials up the claustrophobia, twisting the high life of influencer-hood in university into something dark and unsettling. The eerie cult-like undertones, the obsession, the unanswered questions, it all crescendos into an ending that will not only shock but satisfy readers aswell. Is Clara a visionary or a villain? Was Chloe a willing participant or just another pawn? The Goldens leaves you haunted, questioning, and will have you absolutely desperate for more.

The Goldens is going to have you as obsessed as the student population is with Clara over this summer. Not only is it the perfect beach, holiday, friends trip read, it suits the likely stormy summer we’ll experience at home too. Ideal for anyone reading YA, this is one thriller I don’t want you to miss, and get preordering your copy now!

In today's world, where social media is deeply intertwined in the fabric of society, The Goldens is a cautionary tale about obsession, parasocialism and how that can bleed into your day-to-day lives. The protagonist of this book, Chloe, is a young girl who has just started at university. And so are the others who surround her. This really shows on page when you see their utterly juvenile behaviour regarding their campus celebrity, Clara Holland. Most people follow her online, and aspire to be like her.

What this book does a great job in is showing how much a screen hides from us. Online, Clara seems like someone to live up to. She has a massive amount of followers, knows a lot of famous people and lives in a huge mansion with everything she could every want. Yet in real life, her personality has a nasty undercurrent to it. Her personality shifts are quite visceral, and her red flags are visible from the get go. It becomes very easy to understandable why people would want to follow her.

Although my qualms with this book lay with the protagonist Chloe. It was difficult to connect with her, at least for me, as a lot of her thoughts felt weirdly repetitive. I felt like I didn't really know her enough, beyond the fact that she was somewhat shy, wanted to be a writer and that she was obsessed with Clara. I wish we had gotten to know her a lot better, because this book focused on Clara too much for me to actually like our protagonist (I loved how Clara was written).

I do think The Goldens is perfect for the younger side of YA, people who are still in high school (whether just joining it, or about to graduate), or even for those entering the university for the first time. It perfectly encapsulates the dangers of things that can happen online and how easily you can be manipulated into doing something that you wouldn't even think about doing.

The Goldens is a dark thriller about falling in with a cult and the part that social media can play in this day and age. It was good, although I'm not sure I was totally convinced by some of the characters actions and responses. The writing was good though, and I enjoyed it overall.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Goldens is a dark, twisted page-turning thriller that I couldn't look away from.
Much like the cult that starts to form around Clara I found myself completely drawn in, needing to know exactly what was going to happen next as quickly has possible.
The plot is perfectly paced, the tension growing with every chapter and all the characters are brilliantly written, making this a perfect psychological thriller.