The Lilies: A Young Adult Paranormal Thriller of Dark Secrets and Deadly Time Loops

by Quinn Diacon-Furtado

Perfect for fans of The Atlas Six and One of Us Is Lying, this queer dark academia mystery-thriller debut brings a Groundhog Day twist to the young adult space, as four seniors are forced to relive their darkest memories during a lockdown at their elite, all-girls school.

Archwell Academy is shaping the next generation of exceptional young women, and everyone knows that membership to the Lilies Society is the best way to secure your ticket to a successful future. But like every secret society, there is something dark at the Lilies’ heart—sometimes Lilies disappear.

When four Archwell students find themselves trapped in a mysterious time loop on the day after the most recent disappearance, they discover that every one of them holds a clue that will unlock the truth of the Lilies. But they're each harboring a secret of their own. Something they would do anything to hide.

This fast-paced and compulsively readable mystery follows multiple unreliable narrators as they relive their worst memories and try to untangle the rot at the center of the Lilies’ origin…before it destroys their futures forever.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Fantasy, Dark Academia, Contemporary, Thriller, LGBT

336 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2024

About the author

Quinn Diacon-Furtado (they/them) is a writer and creator who explores gender, magic, intuition, and memory across multiple genres.

A 2022 Lambda Literary Fellow, Quinn holds a BA from the University of Virginia and an MFA in Creative Writing for Children from Hollins University.

They enjoy hiking, tarot, and toys from the '90s.

Reviews

[benedicta · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ 'Perfect for fans of The Atlas Six and One of Us Is Lying'

okay, perfect 💋🖤🩸💅🏾

✔️ One of Us Is Lying 🤝🏽 A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
✔️ queer representation
✔️ dark academia thriller
✔️ all girls institution
✔️ dark mysteries of secret society
✔️ time travel

... sometimes girls disappear. When four Archwell students find themselves trapped in a time loop, they must relive their worst memories, untangling the Lilies’ moldering roots and unraveling the secrets at the core of their school … before they destroy their futures forever.

it was very bingeworthy and interesting. i have not read a story like this before and i imagined everything so well. i just think how it ended was underwhelming, more could have been explained. i wanted to know how the loop affected everyone else who wasn't trapped in the closet. yes, Lilian and Charlotte disappeared into time but where and how, and it took only taking a poem vow to bring them back. something still feels missing to me but i really enjoyed it.

[Brend · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm very sorry but this is a no for me; it gave me the feeling of watching a grown person try to be cool and hip in front of teenagers (teenagers who are in fact, also cringe)

[Lizzy Brannan · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED THIS UNIQUE YA THRILLER FANTASY. I wasn't expecting it. The message is significant and redemptive. I recommend this one to all of my YA enthusiasts.

Archwell Academy has a secret society called The Lilies. It's an honor to be initiated and be considered for this long-standing tradition. But there is something darker underneath. One of the initiates is missing, and The Lilies have a history of missing girls. When four Archwell girls find themselves stuck in a time loop, they must relive their worst memories. The only way out is through. As they relive these memories, they begin to discover what may have happened to the missing girls, uncovering the secrets of Archwell Academy.

What a captivating concept and storyline. The character development is stellar since we get the interchanging POVs of all four girls. I loved this aspect of the writing. Cleverly, Quinn Diacon-Furtado captured details I missed by incorporating another character's angle of the same event. This quadruple POV gave so much depth to the characters and scenes. I could see through their eyes the entire time. Quinn wove in a beautiful message of inclusion and acceptance as these wildly different girls battled through their worst memories together. What a satisfying story.

A special thank you to Quinn Diacon-Furtado, Harper Collins, and NetGalley for this awesome eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Trevor Abbott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah no

DNF

[Quill&Queer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is almost a time loop, but not quite, as a group of students find themselves reliving the worst day of their lives. Each time they diverted from the original events, the loop would reset, and they're forced to confront what happened - and admit their faults to each other. While starting off as fairly basic characters, I felt they became more like real people as the story progressed.

This is camp, and I really liked it, but it was messy. Trying to work out what actually happened with the Lilies and the events that caused the loop could get confusing, but I loved the diverse rep and the discussions of Queer culture. Drew is our non-binary rep, and I related to their difficulty trying to be seen as they are in a school intended for girls.

Old wrongs and new collide here, as they start to see the parallels between what happened to them, and what happened to their ancestors in the past. Racing to fix both timelines, they cause events to change forever, leading to an unexpected final chapter, which I think may divide readers - but I really loved it.

[Izzys_Internet_Bookshelf · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25/5

I feel so bad not liking this book as much as I thought I would. ESPECIALLY because it is my botm for June. I just felt like trying to juggle FOUR mcs when they couldn’t really be told apart except for some small character differences make it really harsh to keep everything straight. I believe my main issue was the pacing and the lack of personalities between the characters. It also went over my head that this book had a time loop and that is one of my least favorite tropes in the world because it just gets repetitive. And the climax didn’t really do much for a shock factor for me. I just thought “ok that’s done, yippee, the ending is going to be all fun and right”. If this book hadn’t been for my book of the month I can honestly say that I would have ended up dnfing it

[Abigail Goess · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should have been a hit for me. A secret society, an all girl's school, secrets, disappearances, and a mystery that spans decades. Unfortunately, while the concept had immense potential it failed in the execution. The author clearly had a message they wanted to send and a list of things they wanted to discuss but that desire hindered the plot of the story they were actually telling. This was very heavy handed. Without getting into spoilers, the ending was incredibly frustrating as well. I really thought this would be a five star read but I was left disappointed.

[Keara Clancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I seldom DNF, but I could only make it to page 30 on this book. The plot seemed like it was there but the writing style was a little too…. Try-hard. It reads like an adult *trying* to fit in with the YA audience.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second book in a row to let me down 🥲 I don’t know what happened with this one to be honest. I was pretty interested in this book before I even started it and once I did start it, I was still invested. That is, until the middle of the book where I started to get very bored.

The time loop element was really cool and interesting, especially in a murder mystery plot. However, the murder mystery thriller part was none of those things. I knew early on what happened pretty much but just didn’t know all of the details until the very end. It felt less of a mystery and more like a whole book about traveling time and replaying the worst night of their lives.

I don’t know, this one just fell very flat for me and makes me very sad since it was suppose to be for fans of One of us is Lying and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. It really wasn’t anything like either of those stories.

There were some great elements like the dark academia vibes and LGBTQ representation but overall, I didn’t love this one like I thought I would.

Read if you like:
- Time travel
- LGBTQ rep
- Multiple POV’s
- All girls private schools
- Dark academia
- Secret societies

[Bbecca_marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lilies
By Quinn Diacon-Furtado

Blurb:
One of Us Is Lying meets A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder in this don’t-dare-to-look-away dark academia thriller that explores how secrets can rot an institution—and the people who uphold it—from the inside out.

✨ My thoughts:
This book is such a moody read! I was influenced by @booksparks and their #SRC2024 #GameSetRead reading challenge to buy and read this book. The Lilies is a fun fantasy thriller that you could totally binge if you wanted. My favorite parts of this book were the time loop aspects of this story and the dark academia. It’s mysterious and full of secrets, so if you’re into that I’d recommend it! Well actually if you enjoy read YA and books about secret societies, this is one you should consider reading. The Lilies is out now.

Happy reading 📖 ✨

[Caitie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was…not good. There were some good plot points and it could’ve had potential, but it didn’t work for me. There was just too much going on here: a mystery, secret societies, lgbtq+ themes—that it was just hard to stay focused on what the plot actually was. The writing felt choppy, with a lot of things like “there’s the bell, time for class.” It felt like a high school creative writing class project at points.

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

The entire first chapter felt like I was scrolling through brain rot tik toks.

[Shannon Miz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lilies may require some suspension of disbelief, but has some great messages that make it quite worth it. We encounter four young people who are attending a swanky boarding school for girls. Some of them live and breathe the culture, some want out and are biding their time. Either way, these four have secrets- and as it turns out, they're stuck in a time loop until they crack the code.

First of all, there is a ton of discussion (among the characters, and in the narrative) about diversity. The biggest problem at the school in general is their intolerance- heck, they call it a "girls'" school, and are much less than keen when someone identifies differently. There is also a lot of discussion on racial issues, class issues, LGBTQ+ issues, and the list goes on. The way the author handles it feels authentic and not forced, which I appreciated.

Obviously, the secrets and the mysteries are this story's bread and butter, so I am going to keep this brief. The story itself is very readable, in part because of the mysteries and in part because the characters were both relatable yet flawed. I also thought the ending wrapped things up neatly, and the book as a whole contained a lot of great commentary. Looking forward to more from this author!

Bottom Line: Wonderful commentary and full of secrets, just suspend your disbelief a bit and you'll definitely be rewarded!


You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This captivating novel blends dark academia and time loop elements. It follows four students at Archwood, trapped in a cycle where their deepest secrets are unearthed. To break free, they must confront their past. Intriguing and suspenseful. Perfect for fans of dark academia, and psychological thrillers.

A very special thanks to the author and Booksparks for the gifted copy.

[Crim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just have one question: wth was going on with Lillian's pronouns? After having every character use Drew's preferred pronouns even in their PoV while also not respecting Drew as a person, which is hilarious, they all use "she" for Lillian. Am I misunderstanding that Lillian was a trans guy? This bit was confusing, which was the cherry on top of a book with quite a few flaws.

One other thing: these characters are teenagers so I suppose self-righteousness and a limited self-centered understanding of the world are to be expected, but the book was so rife with it, while also having preachy / safe space undertones. I thoroughly disliked the juxtaposition. Regardless of age, it sets my teeth on edge to hear someone say "the laws might have changed but we have it as bad as [insert time or place where something would have resulted in imprisonment, at best]". Not because it's so extremely privileged, though it is, but because laws can change again and rights can be lost. It is NOT all the same and it is actively detrimental for someone lucky enough to not live through worse to act like it isn't. There are several such tone deaf moments. And then ofc there is the nonsensical happy ending. There was something profoundly unsatisfying about this book.

[cam ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Shelby Wright · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately this was not my cup of tea.

[seasalted.citrus (Topaz, Oliver) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps I’ll give this 3.5 stars in StoryGraph?? I’m not sure. (Probably not.) But to be honest, although this was only a 3 star read for me, this was a very entertaining 3 stars. I was still engrossed in the mystery and tenseness of the time loop from beginning to end!

With that said, I have my reasons for keeping this at 3 stars. While I appreciate this sticking true to the rules of dark academia and actually critiquing the institutions it takes place in, the commentary was *very* heavy-handed. A lot of it felt surface-level—more like talking points than room for proper discussion, which was a shame, because practically all of its main characters are in the margins and have their own way of being wronged or ignored by Archwell Academy.

(Also, some of the mystery was predictable.)

And the other reviews have pointed this out before me, but the ending was incredibly abrupt. I have several questions about the altered reality in the end of the novel. And one other factor I won’t name for spoilery reasons.

Final criticism: Every main character had something to like about them, except for Rory!! I don’t care about her trauma and her reasoning. Her “redemption” was super rushed, her motives for most of the book were just “wanting to be like her mom” because of the power and respect she commanded, despite the harm she inflicted on other students being pretty noticeable throughout the loop, and it got a little repetitive reading that in her POV. And it still feels like an excuse for everything?? Fine, she’s a teenage girl with mommy issues and little knowledge about how her actions hurt people, but…still.

I don’t think I’d recommend this out of the blue unless I encounter a specific kind of YA reader I know would love this story(I’m thinking of a particular friend/cousin figure who might enjoy this, actually), but maybe I’ll pick this up again in the future if I’m looking for a book I’ve already read and know what happens in. (The irony!! But also, reading’s a coping mechanism for me, so you never know.)

[Roberta R. (Offbeat YA) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mini blurb: After the disappearance of a sophomore, four students at an exclusive all-female academy are forced to relive again and again the dreadful night in which she vanished, and to share their most shameful secrets in the process - but ultimately, the loop has its roots in a more distant past...

***

First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on Edelweiss. Thanks to Harper Collins for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

There were elements of The Lilies that I really enjoyed, while others not so much - but I'll admit that this is one of those books that work better for their age demographic than for adults who like YA, so take my review with a grain of salt.
The mystery and the time-travel aspects were intriguing, though a bit confusing for reasons that I'll come back to in a moment. There was a great amount of (often intersectional) representation in the gender/sexual orientation/ethnicity/mental health departments (e.g.: NB protagonist, assigned female at birth, who likes girls; Black lesbian protagonist with PTSD; a couple of transgender female characters, though only one of them with agency; etc.), and the story featured/touched upon a number of issues, namely misgendering, transphobia, parental abuse, generational trauma, drug addiction, ADHD, kid molestation. The four protagonists started a bit too much like dark academia teen prototypes for my tastes, and their voices tended to sound a bit similar, but I appreciated their coming-of-age arcs. I'm not sure if the supposed parallel between the past and present Lilies' erasures (I use this word for a reason) held, except for the practical circumstances, and how cruelty and shame tied in with all that, since the two characters who disappeared didn't have those in common (though they were both impacted by them). Last but not least, I found the ending a bit simplistic, if uplifting, and as a long-time reader and watcher of time-travel stories, I thought that the outcome's impact on the protagonists was underplayed. Then again, I'm happy this book exists for all the teens who feel invisible and "wrong", and I'm sure it will find its people, which is the most important thing at stake 🙂.

Note: definitive review (I don't have enough to say to justify writing a full-length one later).

[Karie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Flop.

[Ruth Ireland · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
Unique and different

[Kerrie Best · Rating 2 out of 5]

I literally didn’t care for any character in the book. Or the setting. Or the book. It’s going to the little library.

[Caitlyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this book needed some more work. the characters didn't really feel fleshed out and the story just felt like it was missing something.

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The perfect YA thriller for fans of queer dark academia & time travel.
⏰
Four students. All with terrible secrets from a celebratory night at Archwell Academy that left one girl missing. When a lockdown at the all-girls school has them trapped together in a closet, they soon realize this closet has a special ability to time travel back to their worst mistakes in the hopes of changing the outcome. Each character follows their storyline while the others watch or help, but each has a reason for keeping it a secret.
⏰
This was…okay. The cover is stunning and the dark academia concept and lgbtq rep was what drew me to the book in the first place, but the writing was a bit juvenile, like it was trying too hard. It was hard to keep track of all the POVs. I will say the storyline was unique and not one I’ve read before so give this one a try and let me know what you think!

CW: misgendering, death, forced outing, drug and alcohol use, transphobia, school shooting/lockdown, classism, racism

[Juan Pablo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could've been a 2.5 but Goodreads wouldn't give us half stars.

Interesting concept. Time loops are tricky in movies so I expected they would be in books but this was a bit simplistic, which is ok since this is a YA book. The 4 POVs are pretty much interchangeable in terms of voice, but I'm not gonna go into that.

I understand the overarching theme—generational trauma and how breaking it brings rainbows and unicorns to the current and future generations, but sometimes, it was a bit on the nose.

[Rachel Dalton (relisedreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

Archwell Academy was a private all girl school with the goal of shaping exceptional young women. Attendance is enough to build connections for their future, but being admitted to the schools secret society, The Lilies, would guarantee their success. But after a girl goes missing, it's clear there is something dark about The Lilies. Four Archwell students find themselves trapped in a time loop that will lead to them uncovering the secrets of missing girls dating back to the beginning of the society.

I love a secret society so I was very excited to read this. It's full of a diverse cast, with trans and non-binary characters, queer characters, and POC character. The diversity in the cast also plays into a lot of the themes the book looks at, including race, class, homophobia, transphobia, and addiction. I feel like these were covered with care which was nice.

I loved the addition of a time loop and how it showed that the past really does repeat itself. I think it also says a lot about the legacies we leave behind; Rory was so connected to her families legacy and familial duties that she struggled to separate herself from them enough to see what's wrong. I think this book had a lot of important things to say but the overall meaning got a bit convoluted and hard to follow.

[Natalye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books slayed! It was def a mindfuck but I loved it the whole way.

[anna ୨ৎ · Rating 1 out of 5]

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓵𝓲𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓼 (dnf at 9%)
♡🥀♡ 1 star ♡🥀♡
🩵?+🩷 (?/10🌶) (ya terms)
࿐𝓰𝓮𝓷𝓻𝓮: not sure
࿐𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓼: not sure
࿐𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼
This was all over the place and confusing. The cover looks really good and I almost bought it but I got it from the library. Dodged bullet.

[Jason Bradley]

A little too YA for my taste at the moment.

[Parthena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of meh story that built up suspense but fell short with the ending.