I enjoyed this, but I nearly gave up on it. I did struggle to get through it, and it took me like a month to read it so I finished via audiobook. I really like the storyline and the characters are so interesting

When We Were Monsters was a classic Dark Academia narrative delivered superbly by Niven.

This is such an atmospheric read with that keen sense of isolation heightening the competition these characters are facing. The remote setting and the overhanging shadow of the infamous violence Meredith Graffam survived all those years ago sends a shiver down your spine. Ghosts are palpably surrounding each of our characters. Niven pushes this narrative to the forefront in a story that grapples with the processing of trauma and how it can inform our creative processes. We can mine our own stories and tell them in a form that works for us, but there is a thin line between showcasing and exploitation when others start to mine these themselves. This book examines this in forensic detail - essentially asking what can be used as inspiration and where do we draw the line? How much of our story are we willing to sell to immortalise ourselves?

It is interested with the process of creation and the all-consuming nature of art on an artist. The creative process is demanding and exhausting and cathartic and beautiful all at the same time, which is mirrored in the initial joy that moves into something darker and foreboding. Graffam is at the centre of it all with unorthodox methods that spiral further and further. The spectre of her past looms large as well, enticing and entrancing our characters too. I loved Niven’s characterisation and how each narrator felt fleshed-out and three-dimensional in a short space of time. You get to unpick their layers and understand their motivations for being there. Despite yourself, you start rooting for them, even knowing that there can only be one winner and it will end in bloodshed. In classic Dark Academia fashion, they are drawn to Graffam like moths to a flame and then chaos gradually unfolds. They applied for the chance to work with the savant but also because of her fame, her platform and the chance she could bestow upon them. When greatness is within reach, what might you do to achieve it?

When We Were Monsters is the perfect book to whet a Dark Academia appetite with a wonderful character focus as introspection turns to mayhem.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐️

When We Were Monsters by Jennifer Niven is a dual-POV YA dark academia thriller that pulls readers into the cloistered world of an elite boarding school where ambition, creativity, and danger collide.

At the heart of the school’s traditions is Jan Term, an exclusive short session in January where only a handful of students are handpicked for their storytelling talent. This year, eight students are chosen to work under the mentorship of Meredith Graffam—a celebrated yet controversial figure whose career has been shadowed by scandal. What begins as an opportunity of a lifetime quickly turns sinister when students start to disappear one by one, leaving those who remain with more questions than answers.

Among the selected are Effy and Arlo, whose fraught personal history adds an undercurrent of tension to an already high-stakes setting. Once romantically involved, the fallout from Arlo’s past actions has left Effy unwilling to trust him again—yet circumstances force them into close proximity. Their complicated relationship unfolds in nuanced ways: not quite a central romance, but a recurring thread that shapes their dynamic and raises the emotional stakes as the group faces mounting danger.

I initially expected this book to veer more into horror, based on the title and premise. Instead, it falls squarely into the dark academia thriller space. The boarding school backdrop, the creative intensity of Jan Term, and the slow peeling back of secrets deliver on the dark academia atmosphere, while the rapid pacing and taut, short chapters fuel the thriller aspect. It’s suspenseful without veering into supernatural horror, which may appeal to readers who enjoy darker YA but prefer grounded, psychological tension.

Effy’s character arc is particularly compelling. Haunted by the death of her mother—caused by a tragic accident at the hands of her father, who was later imprisoned—Effy grows up under her grandmother’s care, carrying nightmares that blur memory with trauma. Her experiences read as consistent with undiagnosed PTSD, which shapes not only her outlook but also her relationships with others. This thread adds a layer of emotional depth and realism, grounding the story’s more heightened elements in a very human struggle.

While the novel doesn’t center romance, it does explore the messy, complicated nature of Effy and Arlo’s past and how trauma, guilt, and desire can intertwine. Readers who enjoy YA stories with flawed, morally gray characters and emotionally charged relationships will find a lot to unpack here.

Overall, When We Were Monsters is an atmospheric, fast-paced YA thriller with a dark academic edge. It’s a story about ambition, survival, and the monsters we carry inside us. I’d recommend it to fans of YA dark academia like If We Were Villains (for a younger audience) or Ace of Spades, and to readers who like their thrillers layered with interpersonal drama and complicated romance.

This was so much fun! A dark, twisted and disturbing kind of fun!

A group of 17 year olds attends a writing retreat in an old, creaky manor surrounded by a deep forest: the very place where, years earlier, a girl was murdered.

Their teacher, the famous writer and actress Meredith Graffam, gradually reveals herself to be a strange and unsettling presence.

The mystery was truly engaging! I loved all the twists and turns!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!!

The atmosphere was built up very well. The sense of isolation and foreboding grew the further the plot progressed. The growing tension between the students in this peculiar mansion in a cliff aided in the potential paranoia amongst the characters.
I felt the romance in this story was unneeded and disrupted the flow of the plot as the two characters would focus on one another. This also led the other students on this retreat to not be fleshed out as we don’t get to know them.
While it started off slow at the beginning, setting up the location, the characters etc; the final act was thrilling for a YA story. It’s a bit tame and not as shocking as other books similar. But as the prologue revealed, we readers know how things will end up so it can’t exactly be a shock.

When I read the blurb for this book it instantly intrigued me to find out what happens. This sounded like a creepy thriller with everyone hiding dark secrets. However I found it to be quite an average book with a few strange moments. Personally I could guess most of what was going to happen so there wasn’t really any surprises for me which was disappointing. I have to say I wish they’d mentioned the inspiration for some of the places at the beginning so I could visualise it better. I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

Every year at Brighton & Hove academy, an elite boarding school in New England, eight students are chosen to take part in a two-week exclusive writers’ retreat, but only one of them will walk out with a life-changing opportunity. This year's eight students include previous couple, Effy & Arlo , who haven't spoken for 3 years since Arlo ghosted Effy right after they hooked up. The mentor for this year's retreat is Meredith Graffam, controversial writer, director & actor, & as the challenges she sets become more dangerous, the students start to realise that they're not just fighting for the prize on offer.

This is a well-written & entertaining slice of dark academia. The student characters are OK, although we don't get to know any of them really apart from Effy & Arlo (I had to smile when Arlo points out that their couple name would have been 'Arffy') & I think a few chapters from a different point of view might have helped ratchet the tension up a bit more. That said, it was a gripping read & I found myself flying through it once it got going. Overall it's an interesting storyline & I think that it will appeal to its target audience - I certainly would have loved it at that age.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Penguin Random House UK Children's, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

📜✒️When We Were Monsters 🖋️📜

Jennifer Niven @jenniferniven

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Show of hands who else had their adolescence hearts broken by Jennifer Niven circa 2015? 🙋‍♀️ When I saw Jennifer Niven had a new book coming much, I was intrigued. I was even more intrigued when I saw it was a dark academia YA thriller (aka, the best genre in the world).

At an elite academy, every year eight of the best and brightest students are selected for Jan Term, a special programme taught by an illustrious alum. This years mentor is author and actress Meredith Graffam, famous for her novels about the scandal and murder she was caught up in during her years at the boarding school. We are immersed in the dual POVs of Effy, coming to terms with her father’s fatal betrayal of her mother, and Arlo, reckoning with the death of his best friend the summer before. Under Graffam’s unconventional tutelage, the students are forced to reckon with their dark pasts and undertake risky tasks that will result in tragedy.

Meredith Graffam herself was definitely my favourite character and I would have loved to see more of her glamorous and scandalous past – Evelyn Hugo-style – in flashbacks or an additional POV. Any story that revolves around writers is an automatic count-me-in. It worked so well in this book and paired perfectly with the dark academia. The girls with their preppy skirts and tights, the candles, the writing by hand, the slightly eccentric, unhinged mentor! Also, completely out of context for anyone who hasn’t read the book yet – the Scrabble squares! I loved that small detail so much – so eerie and creepy! (No spoilers, you’ll just have to read and find out).

If you enjoy dark academia boarding school settings, with intrigue and mystery and murder, I’d highly recommend this. It has the same eerie vibes, along with an isolated, coastal setting, as some of my favourite classics do, like Rebecca, If We Were Villains or The Secret History.

I enjoyed this book. I’m a big fan of Jennifer Niven and so I knew she wouldn’t disappoint.
That said, I expected a little more from this. I know why and that’s because I’m no longer 15 years old reading All the Bright Places. This novel is suited to a younger audience that unfortunately I am no longer truly a part of.
It was still a great story with so much in the plot and characters. I think I was thinking it would hold more depth like The Secret History, however that would not be right for the audience.
Perfect for a teen reader, and a great story, characters, and drama.

Do you know when you read a book & straight away you know this book is going to blow up on booktok this is one of them books!
This book had me hooked from the start I couldn't put it down!
I loved the characters, they setting & the story was amazing if you love dark academia & thrillers then this is a book for you.
You have effy who has had a bad childhood, arlo who is struggling with grief & they have a love hate relationship due to something that happened a couple of years previously, then throw in a nutter of an author, merridith graffam who is a mentorto them & a selection of other students, you know things are not going to be straightforward & bad things are going to happen!
I hope everyone will this this book as its do good & it won't leave you disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for giving me the opportunity to review this arc.

In this story we follow 8 students who are invited on an exclusive writing retreat where they will partake in extreme assignments in order to gain advantages above other students to be the writer to walk out with a life-changing opportunity.

It seems throughout our main focus is on Effy and Arlo who are no strangers. We learn about their pasts and what brought them to this writing retreat, and we get to see how they overcome their feelings for one another. There isn’t much focus on the other 6 students but we are made aware of the odd details we need to know about.

The main relationship throughout this story is Effy and Arlo. We learn about how they have previously met and how now they must be civil and get along with each other and not let their animosity affect their comrades or themselves. Ness and Effy have a very close friendship that is slowly tested throughout the book and we watch as they try to remain friends even when others try to separate them. Relationships between all 8 students at the start of the book isn’t prominent and this is shown in their fights to prove themselves to Meredith but as the story unfolds we see this relationship grow as the students work together which was nice to see.

For me the writing style was quite simple and easy to read. I did struggle with the location due to names as I kept thinking this was based in the UK, even now I cannot confirm if it is or isn’t! I did love the setting of the old manor that was in the middle of a forest and this was amazing to picture, I loved finding out where Niven found her inspiration for the Manor!

I did enjoy reading this book, again an easy read and I would massively recommend to anyone interested in mystery & thrillers. I look forward to buying this when it comes out!

Brighton Hove is a college set near the woods of north-eastern Massachusetts. Every year in January, the college holds 'Jan Term' where eight of the brightest and luckiest students are invited to live and study at Moss House (the sprawling house in the nearby woods built by the college's founder; the same forest where a girl was killed years earlier). This year's lucky students include Effy, Isaac, Vanessa and Arlo who will spend 16 days being mentored by Meredith Graffam, the famous writer director and actress. At first, the group are excited by the opportunity and in awe of Graffam, but as her teaching methods being to grow increasingly unorthodox, the group start to wonder if this really is the opportunity of a life-time.
I've been reading an increasing number of YA books recently and have very much enjoyed them, so when I saw When We Were Monsters on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to read it.

Told in dual narrative from Effy and Arlo's point of views, it is clear that the main characters all have 'issues' they are harbouring: for Effy it's the fact that her father killed her mother in a road accident when she was six; Arlo is still trying to come to term with the death of his best friend; Vanessa is quiet and just wants to be accepted; whilst Isaac is struggling to live up to his family's expectations. Each is being encouraged to dig deep within themselves and step outside their comfort zone in a way they could not have expected, but under the guise of needing to be vulnerable to help develop their writing. The more you read, the more you discover about each character's individual demons and how they influence their lives. But how much are they prepared to take in order to win that one coveted scholarship?

There is a real darkness to this book. Yes, it's set in January in an old and sprawling house in the middle of the woods; yes, they are cut off during bad weather; yes they are without mobile phones and phone lines - these are things that help to build the atmosphere. But the real darkness comes from the teaching; the expectations Meredith has on each character; the secrets that she is determined to prize out of them and the deepest thoughts she wants them to reveal. She is a character who is fascinating: enigmatic and compelling yet happy pit the students against each other to get to her end goal.

The book is well-paced and made the perfect read for my homeward flight yesterday evening. It's a thrilling read, especially as the first chapter hints at what is to happen which means some of the suspense comes from not knowing when or how things are going to happen.

Publishing on the 4th September, When We Were Monsters is a darkly immersive YA that will make the perfect read at the start of a new school year as the nights start drawing in.

Eight gifted kids are secluded in a stately home surrounded by foreboding forests, furnished with antiques, whispering secrets, and manned by staff members who never look at you. This is the excellent set up to the new book by Jennifer Niven. It is so compelling right from the start and the story has a lot of twists along the way.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for approving me to read this book, I’m rating it 4.25 stars.

This book has a very Good Girls Guide to Murder vibe mixed with The Goldens and it works very well. There’s an eccentric and unprohibited edge to the book from the get go pushing our characters out of their very well built boxes. The characters are asked to be vulnerable, honest and daring in order to improve their storytelling for this semester to win a monetary prize towards a scholarship which could decide their futures. The semester is headed by Meredith Graffam who is known in the creative world as a survivor and career forger, always reinventing herself to suceed and pushing boundaries to get there.

As we get to know these characters and Meredith it’s clear how u orthodox her methods are and how far she’s willing to go. Limits are tested and all involved are left feeling exposed. They say it’s ‘A cornered or wounded animal that is the most dangerous’, but I think it might just be a group of elite boarding school students trapped with rivalry, deceit and desire.

Perfect read for fans of YA murder mystery with an academic setting.

Okay, that was something! I didn't really know what to expect going into this book, apart from the fact that it was to be a thriller/ mystery within a school.

I think this book will be perfect for you if you want a ya thriller where it's super easy to follow along, or if you want to start reading books in this genre. If you're already a big thriller/ mystery fan, this book may not live up to your expectations like it did mine. For me, I already managed to figure out or piece together moments that were meant to be big twists very early on in the book.

I think the pacing and the atmosphere Niven creates really made this book super fun to read. Though there were cliches and moments where I predicted what happened, for me personally, I enjoyed the way she told the book. The relationships between the students could have been worked on a bit more because often the bond or the tension that were supposed to be seen between them can fall flat. I think that after the main moment of action and revelation wasn't needed. There were only 2 chapters after, but to me, they added nothing of real value to the book.

This was good! I’ve not read a Jennifer Niven book in many, many years so this was an exciting foray back in to her writing and this did not disappoint.

I loved how suspenseful this book was. There were constant mind games and manipulation at play, and so many times I wanted to shake the characters to see the signs around them!

The atmosphere of this book was excellent and I really liked the setting of the House / forest and how they were almost characters themselves with how much they had to do in the novel.

I saw one of the final plot twists coming but not another and WOW! I think it really shows what you can be capable of when pushed to the edge.

The main group of characters weren’t always likeable, but they were always interesting. I was never not invested in where their stories were going.

Sometimes the monsters we have to face are within, and sometimes they are very much external. In this psychological thriller Niven forces her cast of teenage stereotypes into a potentially deadly setting, and forces us to watch as they have to decide just how far they’ll go to get what they desire.
The setting is a fictional academic one, centred on a school of privilege and where those in attendance are expected to do great things. We begin with a cast of eight aspiring writers, each selected for the honour of participating in the program known as Jan Term. The students will be mentored by a well-respected figure in the art world, and the winner will receive a jetty prize fund and the possibility of publication.
The only stipulation is that the students must pledge to immerse themselves in the experience, and to see it through to the end. Easy enough to do when you don’t know what exactly that will entail.
Our setting is suitably remote. The key characters have interesting back stories and it’s clear who is going to play a part in the final events.
I didn’t want to give any spoilers; suffice to say these teenage characters are happy to do what’s needed.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this prior to publication.

A richly atmospheric YA dark academia thriller.
We follow a group of students as they take part in an exclusive writing retreat with a renowned and eccentric author as their teacher.

Throughout this book I was kept of edge. The atmosphere was eerie and well created, making the experience of reading the book so immersive.

It was a bit slow to start, after the initial opening. However I didn't mind this, because it helped to establish our characters a little better, and once we got into the twistier thriller elements, I was hooked.

I've read and love Jennifer Niven's writing in the past, but I wasn't sure what to expect from this genre shift, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved her writing style just as much as always.

The only reason it didn't hit a full 5 stars from me, is because I did find elements of it predictable. But I still loved the book.

4.5/5

Thank you Netgalley and penguins for an eARC of this book.

I LOVED this book. I was immediately hooked by the description and it did not disappoint.

A group of students on a prestigious course learning to write. Secrets unfold and all are not as they seem…

This book was perfectly written - with the opening chapter giving us a flash of the future and leaving us wondering how things happened. On top of that the short chapters made this book incredibly easy to read. The YA style writing also meant that this book was straightforward and again easy to read but the author manages to do this without making the book boring. The romance helps keep the readers attention but it is light enough that it does not take away from the plot.

No complaints - fantastic book!

4.5 stars

I remember having my brain chemistry permanently altered when I read All the Bright Places as a teen, so I jumped at the chance to read Jennifer Niven’s new book - a twisty, gothic, dark academia thriller about a group of writing students staying at an old mansion by the sea and competing for a prestigious scholarship. But what happens when they discover that their mentor might have some sinister goals of her own?

This book has it all - the flawed characters of The Secret History, the rivalries of Voice Like a Hyacinth, the trippy dreamlike writing of Bunny, and the gothic atmospheric setting of A Study in Drowning. There is a twisty plot where you don’t know who to trust, plus a cute little second chance romance on the side. I loved following each of the students as they go from competing against each other to putting aside their differences and working together to ensure they leave with their bodies, minds, and reputations intact.

Overall, I loved it! Definitely a must-read for dark academia fans.