Laura Steven

Hooked by the premise and mesmerized by the author’s storytelling.

The Society for Soulless Girls by veteran author Laura Steven had me spellbound from page 1, with two strong female, young adult protagonists, a setting that fairly oozed Gothic ambiance and heart-poundingly horrific paranormal elements. I was hooked by the premise and compelled to keep turning pages by the author’s mesmerizing storytelling.

The story unfolds from the alternating viewpoints of two first-year students and roommates at the newly re-opened Carvell Academy. At first glance, Lottie and Alice couldn’t be any less alike or compatible, but their similarities begin to show as the story progresses. Both question their personal value and their right to even be at the prestigious school, and both lack confidence in their abilities and future success while outwardly displaying strong façades. There is much misunderstanding between the two because their feelings of not being good enough have made them defensive. At eighteen, they have well-established ways of dealing with what they perceive as danger/hurt/embarrassment; one strikes out in quick anger while the other maintains an unshakably sunny demeanor. They suffer strange and eerie happenings alone for much of the book until they eventually reveal what is going on to each other.

The mysterious incidents at the school are not limited to just the two roommates, though. There is suicide, and another first-year student is experiencing her own living hell with barely contained feelings of rage. This student is somewhat isolated from others because she is living in a single-occupant dorm room. Are these girls targeted for being on the edges of the student body community and easier to access by whoever or whatever affects them, or are they more susceptible because they lack emotional support?

The plot surges ahead as Alice and Hafsah’s episodes occur more frequently. While suspecting the involvement of the faculty, or at least their undisclosed knowledge of what was going on, I kept wanting the girls to approach the dean with their problems. The male professors all gave off weird vibes, and I would never have said anything to any one of them. As for vibes, though, one of my favorite characters has to be the librarian Kate Feathering, with her distinctive look, attitude, and overall vibe. The author crafted natural, authentic dialogue with humor and occasional literary quotes. As the girls are students of English literature or philosophy, many intriguing books are mentioned that readers may want to note and add to their TBR piles.

The story picks at the very real issue and history of the suppression of women in a startling and unique way. A long-dead nun suppressed in life but with the power to reach out from the grave brings home the story with unparalleled clarity and transferability to modern circumstances. The realization was eye-opening, to say the least.

To top off a mesmerizing storyline, the author has created a darkly atmospheric setting at the Carvell Academy. The ancient buildings of a former convent with a tragic history serve as the perfect backdrop for the creepy and malevolent tale. However, some excursions from campus highlight the sights of Northumbria and may pique the interest of readers who like to travel.

With its unique plot, characters, and setting, I recommend THE SOCIETY FOR SOULLESS GIRLS to young adult fiction, mystery, or horror readers.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through TBR and Beyond Book Tours.… (más)

A thrilling paranormal mystery about feminine rage. Lottie is obsessed with the 4 murders that happened at the university 10 years ago. When the school re-opens, she applies, determined to solve the case. Alice is angry at everything, including her sunshine roommate Lottie. When strange things start happening to them both, they have to team up to get to the bottom of it, before someone else dies. The thing I loved most about this was the pure rage Alice feels, especially about the oppression of women, relegating their anger to madness over the years. Through its supernatural lens, it shows the injustice of it all. Also loved the asexual (demi?) rep in Lottie.… (más)

Reviewing based on early review copy received from Netgalley.

Age range: older teens, 15+ due to language and violence.

Genre: Supernatural mystery, romance, feminism.

Told from the perspective to two main characters, Lottie, and Alice, who are both 19. They are entering their first year of university which you’ve likely already gathered from the synopsis, is the backdrop for a tale of mysteries. Ten years ago, four students died without a reasonable explanation. Lottie grew up with the consequences of those deaths through her family’s relationship with one of the victims. She is determined to figure out what happened. She is also a jock, a tall blonde who has been accepted based on a field hockey scholarship into the English program. Alice has ambitions of becoming a judge and is studying philosophy. She chose this university so she can stay close to home since her mother is ill. Alice can be described as a goth and struggles with “anger” issues throughout the story.

Both characters are affected by the supernatural pulse of this location. Lottie starts sprouting rubies out of her neck and Alice splits her soul in two through a ritual. Philosophy and gothic literature are ruminated on through the girls’ perspectives. There are some witty thoughts, to be sure. I particularly enjoyed the descriptive imagery produced by the author.
“With a strength I never knew I had, I stood firm, rooted like a tree, immovable despite being vastly outnumbered. I felt invisible roots burrow down into the earth, and the dragging grasps were nothing more than a gentle breeze among my leaves”.

Overall, the pace is good, I was well engaged throughout the book and read it within a few days. Action is saved till the end of the book. The romance aspect felt like it could have used some additional development. But then, it is YA so maybe my expectations are higher than they ought to be. The ending was not believable for me but made for an interesting symbolic tale concerning female rights and power in modern society. Almost all characters of focus were female. I would recommend this book to young women.… (más)

I don’t know with this one.
There’s an old gothic boarding school with bricked up walls and possibly some demonic possession, which makes for an awesome setting. And the setting was great. It truly felt like a gothic school that slowly corrupts its students and staff.

The first half felt very slow, and not in the ‘something is going to happen, I am on the edge of my seat’ kind of slow. I genuinely felt like I was waiting for something to happen.
Once the first person died though, the book became very interesting. I truly had no idea what was going to happen and it made me question which supernatural elements were real and which ones were imagined.

Secondly, I felt like ‘feminine rage’ from the blurb was a bit of an overstatement. I expected it to be a big theme, woven all through the book, explored in its many facets. Instead it felt more like the solution to a mystery. It was by no means bad, I really liked the connection between anger, the supernatural and women having their revenge on terrible men, but I felt like it could have been more in depth.

My least favourite part of the book were the main characters. I didn’t dislike them, but they felt almost cliche at times. It felt had to distinguish them in the beginning and at some point Alice thinks: “I realised my dark side was returning in earnest a couple of weeks after the ritual”, which sounds like a basic stock phrase.
Lottie and Alice dislike each other because???
Lottie reminds Alice of the girls who bullied her and Alice makes Lottie feel inadequate because she dresses alternative and has philosophical books. Understandable, but why would something as surface impressions that create such odds?
I hoped for an academic boarding school romance, but I didn’t care for them together at all.… (más)