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The Society for Soulless Girls
A sapphic enemies-to-lovers retelling of Jekyll & Hyde, this dark academia thriller follows two roommates who must solve an infamous cold case of serial murders on their campus after an arcane ritual gone wrong prompts another death.
Ten years ago, four students lost their lives in the infamous North Tower murders at the elite Carvell College of Arts, forcing Carvell to close its doors.
Now Carvell is reopening, and fearless freshman Lottie is determined to find out what really happened. But when her beautiful but standoffish roommate, Alice, stumbles upon a sinister soul-splitting ritual hidden in Carvell's haunted library, the North Tower claims another victim.
Can Lottie uncover the truth before the North Tower strikes again? Can Alice reverse the ritual before her monstrous alter ego consumes her? And will they give in to the ill-fated attraction that's growing between them?
Exploring possession and ambition, lust and bloodlust, femininity and violence, The Society of Soulless Girls is perfect for fans of The Secret History, A Lesson in Vengeance, and The Grimrose Girls.
Ten years ago, four students lost their lives in the infamous North Tower murders at the elite Carvell College of Arts, forcing Carvell to close its doors.
Now Carvell is reopening, and fearless freshman Lottie is determined to find out what really happened. But when her beautiful but standoffish roommate, Alice, stumbles upon a sinister soul-splitting ritual hidden in Carvell's haunted library, the North Tower claims another victim.
Can Lottie uncover the truth before the North Tower strikes again? Can Alice reverse the ritual before her monstrous alter ego consumes her? And will they give in to the ill-fated attraction that's growing between them?
Exploring possession and ambition, lust and bloodlust, femininity and violence, The Society of Soulless Girls is perfect for fans of The Secret History, A Lesson in Vengeance, and The Grimrose Girls.
448 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2022
384 people are currently reading
32282 people want to read
About the author
Laura Steven
10 books1,870 followersLAURA "L.K." STEVEN is a #1 New York Times, Indie & USA Today bestselling author from the northernmost town in England. She has published several books for young adults, such as the instant bestseller Our Infinite Fates, while the forthcoming Silvercloak trilogy, written as L.K. Steven, will mark her adult fantasy debut. When she’s not writing, you can find her trail running, reading chunky fantasy novels, baking cookies, playing old men at chess, or ignoring her husband and son to perfect her Stardew Valley farm. You can find her on Instagram (@laurasteven) and TikTok (@authorlaurasteven).
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Want to read
August 21, 2022saw someone on tiktok market it as legally blonde but if elle and vivian got together but with a supernatural murder and im sold tbh.
October 14, 2025
When I came across the plotline promising a dark academia retelling of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," adorned with gothic and supernatural elements, my excitement knew no bounds. I couldn't help but let out a joyful shriek as I embarked on this journey, eager to discover the mysterious adventures that lay ahead.
There were numerous aspects of the book that I adored, starting with the haunted school setting. Carvell Academy of the Arts, notorious for a tragic event that occurred a decade ago, holds the secret of four students' untimely deaths, leaving behind a trail of cold cases. Now, the academy is reopening its doors, attracting students who appear to be more interested in unraveling the past mysteries than pursuing a fulfilling education. Among them is Lottie Fitzwilliam, determined to delve into the secrets surrounding her friend Janine's presumed suicide by jumping from the haunted North Tower.
Lottie, a blonde aspiring hockey player, shares her room with Alice Wolfe, a goth and intellectual with anger management issues. Alice studies philosophy and chose the academy to be closer to her ailing mother, whose health worsens with each passing day.
The dark atmosphere of the school serves as a constant warning that something sinister lurks within its walls. Unexplained incidents start to occur, such as Lottie waking up to find herself covered in dirt without any recollection of where she spent the night. On another occasion, she discovers a ruby embedded in her neck, which seems to exert control over her whenever she attempts to leave the premises.
Things escalate further when Alice stumbles upon an ominous ritual described in a mysterious book within Carvell's library. Is the North Tower truly claiming more victims, and is there a cold-blooded killer lurking in the shadows, hiding behind their innocent eyes?
I appreciated the ideas behind the story, the well-developed characters of Alice and Lottie, and the gothic ambiance of the setting. However, the execution of the overall mystery fell short for me. The progression felt unrealistic and too far-fetched, the pacing dragged at times, and the conclusion left me somewhat unsatisfied.
In my opinion, the anger of young girls could have been portrayed in a more impactful manner.
As a result, I have decided to give this thrilling installment a three-star rating, as my expectations were set quite high, and I experienced some disappointment. Nevertheless, the author's brilliant ideas and well-crafted characterizations have piqued my interest, and I look forward to exploring more of her works in the future.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to NetGalley and Random House Children's/Delacorte Press for providing me with a digital reviewer copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts
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There were numerous aspects of the book that I adored, starting with the haunted school setting. Carvell Academy of the Arts, notorious for a tragic event that occurred a decade ago, holds the secret of four students' untimely deaths, leaving behind a trail of cold cases. Now, the academy is reopening its doors, attracting students who appear to be more interested in unraveling the past mysteries than pursuing a fulfilling education. Among them is Lottie Fitzwilliam, determined to delve into the secrets surrounding her friend Janine's presumed suicide by jumping from the haunted North Tower.
Lottie, a blonde aspiring hockey player, shares her room with Alice Wolfe, a goth and intellectual with anger management issues. Alice studies philosophy and chose the academy to be closer to her ailing mother, whose health worsens with each passing day.
The dark atmosphere of the school serves as a constant warning that something sinister lurks within its walls. Unexplained incidents start to occur, such as Lottie waking up to find herself covered in dirt without any recollection of where she spent the night. On another occasion, she discovers a ruby embedded in her neck, which seems to exert control over her whenever she attempts to leave the premises.
Things escalate further when Alice stumbles upon an ominous ritual described in a mysterious book within Carvell's library. Is the North Tower truly claiming more victims, and is there a cold-blooded killer lurking in the shadows, hiding behind their innocent eyes?
I appreciated the ideas behind the story, the well-developed characters of Alice and Lottie, and the gothic ambiance of the setting. However, the execution of the overall mystery fell short for me. The progression felt unrealistic and too far-fetched, the pacing dragged at times, and the conclusion left me somewhat unsatisfied.
In my opinion, the anger of young girls could have been portrayed in a more impactful manner.
As a result, I have decided to give this thrilling installment a three-star rating, as my expectations were set quite high, and I experienced some disappointment. Nevertheless, the author's brilliant ideas and well-crafted characterizations have piqued my interest, and I look forward to exploring more of her works in the future.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to NetGalley and Random House Children's/Delacorte Press for providing me with a digital reviewer copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
medium blog
Want to read
August 28, 2021Y'all "A sapphic retelling of Jekyll & Hyde in a dark academia setting" come onnnn it totally deserves more hype
July 17, 2022
I really wanted to like this book more than I did.
The pros:
- The mystery aspect is well-imagined. Right when I was about to give up on this book, that’s what sucked me in enough for me to finish it.
- I admired the parallels within this retelling of Jekyll and Hyde. I’m a sucker for literary reimaginings, especially when integral constructs are twisted on their heads.
- I enjoyed that it’s not a modern retelling, but based in what I assume to be the early 2000s. It fit the story well and added a nice layer of nostalgia for me.
The cons:
- I hate to say this, but I did not feel the chemistry between Lottie and Alice. I wanted to so badly, as a lover of sapphic fiction. But it just wasn’t there for me. The author promoted their relationship as a slow burn, but it seemed more like a no burn. These two characters came across more like friends than romantic interests throughout the book, and the “I love you”s exchanged between them felt like they were written by someone who’s entire personal romantic experience begins and ends with mediocre fanfiction. I was rubbed the wrong way by Lottie’s abrupt journey from self-declared asexuality to falling in love. Would it not have been more apt to mention aromanticism? Regardless of semantics, there wasn’t any self-reflection or identity confusion that I could sense, and what is being a teenager if not those things?
- The writing itself isn’t stellar. There are a lot of cliched metaphors and a great deal of the dialogue felt inorganic, particularly the over-embellished monologues by the various professors. The characterization generally felt off to me, too. It wasn’t so long ago that I was an undergraduate student being taught by renowned field experts, and I found the students’ views of the academic professionals off-putting. I think the author tried to convey a bit of the notion that patriarchal academia is one big self-gratuitous circlejerk (which I agree with) but the way the professors were written from the students’ points of view almost perpetuated it? I may return to this thought later.
- I felt there were inconsistencies within the characterization/plot as well. I looped back to this many times while reading, and couldn’t figure out Lottie’s thought process when it came to the first ruby. Why did she not attempt to get medical attention? Even if fear of expulsion or involuntary psychiatric admittance were at the forefront of her rationale, I can’t find any justifiable reason why a terrified teenager wouldn’t seek help even from another student. She doesn’t even consider it. Given that the sleepwalking is brand new to her and she is still completely in the dark, I couldn’t make sense of why she’d just accept it and deal with it alone. I also found it hard to believe that there would be zero legal repercussions for Mordue. Although not a murderer, she did cover up and lie about the circumstances surrounding these deaths. Lastly, I couldn’t make sense of Lottie’s cool acceptance of extreme violence. I do understand that she represents drastic level-headedness in contrast to Alice’s Hyde, but it was too far-fetched for me. Falling in love with someone who threatens to murder you on a regular basis? Who may or may not have snapped the neck of a cat? I very well may not have fully comprehended the author’s intention here, and that would be on me. But whether these are critical inconsistencies or false analyses, they took me out of the story.
- The big reveal of the story’s overall message made me cringe. I feel like a specific audience would really love this, but to me it felt a bit cheap. Maybe I’m jaded when it comes to overarching, substance-less female empowerment in fiction, but it felt like there could have been more to the general intention behind this book. It rubbed me the wrong way that the author elected to take the route of a fight club as the key means to work out deep, injustice-fueled anger. I was also bothered by the overtly gendered structure within this resolution. The characters make a point to dismiss Dacre’s archaic notions of “testosterone = men strong, estrogen = women irrational” as complete and utter bullshit. Then why does the author lean into this instead of the stance that we are all just people? Learning to fight and strength training in a reclaimed space is not the resolution I was hoping for. I think I might just be at a point where I need my heroes to channel that anger caused by injustice into a wild, unrestricted means of dismantling oppressive systems for due process.
Would I read it again? No. Would I recommend it to another adult? No. Would I recommend it to a gloomy, tortured, misunderstood 14 year old girl? Maybe.
This review in no way intends to discount the author’s efforts or intentions. It is just my honest opinion of the story as a whole.
The pros:
- The mystery aspect is well-imagined. Right when I was about to give up on this book, that’s what sucked me in enough for me to finish it.
- I admired the parallels within this retelling of Jekyll and Hyde. I’m a sucker for literary reimaginings, especially when integral constructs are twisted on their heads.
- I enjoyed that it’s not a modern retelling, but based in what I assume to be the early 2000s. It fit the story well and added a nice layer of nostalgia for me.
The cons:
- I hate to say this, but I did not feel the chemistry between Lottie and Alice. I wanted to so badly, as a lover of sapphic fiction. But it just wasn’t there for me. The author promoted their relationship as a slow burn, but it seemed more like a no burn. These two characters came across more like friends than romantic interests throughout the book, and the “I love you”s exchanged between them felt like they were written by someone who’s entire personal romantic experience begins and ends with mediocre fanfiction. I was rubbed the wrong way by Lottie’s abrupt journey from self-declared asexuality to falling in love. Would it not have been more apt to mention aromanticism? Regardless of semantics, there wasn’t any self-reflection or identity confusion that I could sense, and what is being a teenager if not those things?
- The writing itself isn’t stellar. There are a lot of cliched metaphors and a great deal of the dialogue felt inorganic, particularly the over-embellished monologues by the various professors. The characterization generally felt off to me, too. It wasn’t so long ago that I was an undergraduate student being taught by renowned field experts, and I found the students’ views of the academic professionals off-putting. I think the author tried to convey a bit of the notion that patriarchal academia is one big self-gratuitous circlejerk (which I agree with) but the way the professors were written from the students’ points of view almost perpetuated it? I may return to this thought later.
- I felt there were inconsistencies within the characterization/plot as well. I looped back to this many times while reading, and couldn’t figure out Lottie’s thought process when it came to the first ruby. Why did she not attempt to get medical attention? Even if fear of expulsion or involuntary psychiatric admittance were at the forefront of her rationale, I can’t find any justifiable reason why a terrified teenager wouldn’t seek help even from another student. She doesn’t even consider it. Given that the sleepwalking is brand new to her and she is still completely in the dark, I couldn’t make sense of why she’d just accept it and deal with it alone. I also found it hard to believe that there would be zero legal repercussions for Mordue. Although not a murderer, she did cover up and lie about the circumstances surrounding these deaths. Lastly, I couldn’t make sense of Lottie’s cool acceptance of extreme violence. I do understand that she represents drastic level-headedness in contrast to Alice’s Hyde, but it was too far-fetched for me. Falling in love with someone who threatens to murder you on a regular basis? Who may or may not have snapped the neck of a cat? I very well may not have fully comprehended the author’s intention here, and that would be on me. But whether these are critical inconsistencies or false analyses, they took me out of the story.
- The big reveal of the story’s overall message made me cringe. I feel like a specific audience would really love this, but to me it felt a bit cheap. Maybe I’m jaded when it comes to overarching, substance-less female empowerment in fiction, but it felt like there could have been more to the general intention behind this book. It rubbed me the wrong way that the author elected to take the route of a fight club as the key means to work out deep, injustice-fueled anger. I was also bothered by the overtly gendered structure within this resolution. The characters make a point to dismiss Dacre’s archaic notions of “testosterone = men strong, estrogen = women irrational” as complete and utter bullshit. Then why does the author lean into this instead of the stance that we are all just people? Learning to fight and strength training in a reclaimed space is not the resolution I was hoping for. I think I might just be at a point where I need my heroes to channel that anger caused by injustice into a wild, unrestricted means of dismantling oppressive systems for due process.
Would I read it again? No. Would I recommend it to another adult? No. Would I recommend it to a gloomy, tortured, misunderstood 14 year old girl? Maybe.
This review in no way intends to discount the author’s efforts or intentions. It is just my honest opinion of the story as a whole.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2023
My quote:
‘An intimate exploration of women's anger, bladed with mystery and sapphic desire. Laura Steven has cut a modern Gothic gem, leaving room for glints of her trademark humour.’
‘An intimate exploration of women's anger, bladed with mystery and sapphic desire. Laura Steven has cut a modern Gothic gem, leaving room for glints of her trademark humour.’
September 2, 2022
Actual rating 2.5/5 stars.
Carvell College of Arts was once an elite and well-renowned institution. Now, the only thing it is known for is the series of murders that occurred there, ten years ago. It has reopened its doors and students flock there, despite its history. Some have more than the desire for an education as their reason for attending there, however.
I was so sad and shocked not to find myself loving this one more. I love isolated settings, elite academic institutions, and the dark academia genre so felt sure to find much to appreciate here as it delivered all three. However, the supernatural twist didn't wholly work for me, despite my immediate bond with these characters and my interest in the setting they were placed within.
I found some of the twists to be predictable but also the journey there felt a little prolonged and repetitive, on times. I wished for this to venture into darker territory and for more of the setting to be traversed. However the characters were brilliantly executed and my favourite aspect about this novel were how authentic and individual each appeared. They ensured Laura Steven to be an author I sample from, in the future.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Laura Steven, and the publisher, Electric Monkey, for this opportunity.
Carvell College of Arts was once an elite and well-renowned institution. Now, the only thing it is known for is the series of murders that occurred there, ten years ago. It has reopened its doors and students flock there, despite its history. Some have more than the desire for an education as their reason for attending there, however.
I was so sad and shocked not to find myself loving this one more. I love isolated settings, elite academic institutions, and the dark academia genre so felt sure to find much to appreciate here as it delivered all three. However, the supernatural twist didn't wholly work for me, despite my immediate bond with these characters and my interest in the setting they were placed within.
I found some of the twists to be predictable but also the journey there felt a little prolonged and repetitive, on times. I wished for this to venture into darker territory and for more of the setting to be traversed. However the characters were brilliantly executed and my favourite aspect about this novel were how authentic and individual each appeared. They ensured Laura Steven to be an author I sample from, in the future.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Laura Steven, and the publisher, Electric Monkey, for this opportunity.
September 23, 2025
odio cuando alguien tiene una idea interesante para un libro pero la ejecuta para el reverendo culo
June 30, 2023
thank you netgalley for the arc !
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ 3/5 stars ✩࿐
read if you like:
♡ slow-burn sapphic enemies to lovers romance
♡ grumpy x sunshine
♡ dark academia
♡ dual pov
♡ dr. jekyll and mr. hyde retelling
♡ feminine rage
⁀➷ a knife-sharp sapphic dr. jekyll and mr. hyde retelling, the society for soulless girls worries at the wound of feminine trauma and unleashes its rage with blood dripping from every page. as laura steven wittily divines in the dedication, this one is “for the girls who were born angry”.
⁀➷ after a string of four unsolved murders in its north tower resulted in the closure of illustrious carvell college of arts - now, ten years later, the doors are once again open for enrolment. affable lottie with her field-hockey scholarship and sharp-edged alice are thrust together as roommates, with neither of them too happy with this arrangement. with both of them holding their cards close to their chest as to why they’ve come to carvell, the ever-widening distance between the two of them is all but unbridgeable. when the cycle of deaths is once again set into motion, alice and lottie will have to set aside their differences before it’s too late.
⁀➷ with the extreme marketability for feminine rage in media right now this book is more than timely. that, and how perfectly its contents slot it into the dark academia sub-genre raises flags as to why it’s not a huge hit as of yet. indeed, despite a raft of positive reviews and a warm enough reception, the response seems a little underwhelming, all told. whilst i may have my own misgivings regarding the slightly unmoored plot, the society for soulless girls is well and truly a strong contribution to the dark academia body of work. the nods to the secret history were tasteful without being derivative and the transfiguration of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde was inspired rather than parroted. the writing itself was clean and tidy, albeit struck occasionally by a few instances of overwrought mfa-adulterated prose. i found myself utterly caught up in futile attempts to uncover the secrets infused within the walls of carvell more than once to no effect - to my surprise. i enjoy a good plot twist as much as the next person, if not more. safe to say i was caught off guard more than once with the sinister mysteries scoring every page and with all those character blackouts.
⁀➷ in having alice and lottie be essentially two sides of the same coin, the characterization made manifest the different symptoms of feminine rage. their extreme dissimilarity and the head-butting it then necessitated contributed significantly towards the tension thrumming throughout the plot. not to mention that this core struggle then inevitably compensated for when scenes seemed to be taking on a desultory pace and really picked up the slack. a testament to steven’s writing, the dual pov seamlessly circumvented the all too common pitfall of the characters' voices ever bleeding into one another. alice with her cigarette pants, litanies of famous philosophers she’d name-drop apropos of nothing and her air of affected meanness that was fooling no one, could not have been further from her elle woods coded, effervescent counterpart, the indomitably cheerful lottie. if you haven’t gathered from my slightly derisive description, i found alice to be grating a little too frequently for my taste and therefore really strained to care much for the romance between herself and lottie - much as i felt an affinity for the latter.
➸ conclusion :
a meandering but otherwise pulsing with sinister fun read, the society for soulless girls is a grimoire in female anger.
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ 3/5 stars ✩࿐
read if you like:
♡ slow-burn sapphic enemies to lovers romance
♡ grumpy x sunshine
♡ dark academia
♡ dual pov
♡ dr. jekyll and mr. hyde retelling
♡ feminine rage
⁀➷ a knife-sharp sapphic dr. jekyll and mr. hyde retelling, the society for soulless girls worries at the wound of feminine trauma and unleashes its rage with blood dripping from every page. as laura steven wittily divines in the dedication, this one is “for the girls who were born angry”.
⁀➷ after a string of four unsolved murders in its north tower resulted in the closure of illustrious carvell college of arts - now, ten years later, the doors are once again open for enrolment. affable lottie with her field-hockey scholarship and sharp-edged alice are thrust together as roommates, with neither of them too happy with this arrangement. with both of them holding their cards close to their chest as to why they’ve come to carvell, the ever-widening distance between the two of them is all but unbridgeable. when the cycle of deaths is once again set into motion, alice and lottie will have to set aside their differences before it’s too late.
⁀➷ with the extreme marketability for feminine rage in media right now this book is more than timely. that, and how perfectly its contents slot it into the dark academia sub-genre raises flags as to why it’s not a huge hit as of yet. indeed, despite a raft of positive reviews and a warm enough reception, the response seems a little underwhelming, all told. whilst i may have my own misgivings regarding the slightly unmoored plot, the society for soulless girls is well and truly a strong contribution to the dark academia body of work. the nods to the secret history were tasteful without being derivative and the transfiguration of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde was inspired rather than parroted. the writing itself was clean and tidy, albeit struck occasionally by a few instances of overwrought mfa-adulterated prose. i found myself utterly caught up in futile attempts to uncover the secrets infused within the walls of carvell more than once to no effect - to my surprise. i enjoy a good plot twist as much as the next person, if not more. safe to say i was caught off guard more than once with the sinister mysteries scoring every page and with all those character blackouts.
⁀➷ in having alice and lottie be essentially two sides of the same coin, the characterization made manifest the different symptoms of feminine rage. their extreme dissimilarity and the head-butting it then necessitated contributed significantly towards the tension thrumming throughout the plot. not to mention that this core struggle then inevitably compensated for when scenes seemed to be taking on a desultory pace and really picked up the slack. a testament to steven’s writing, the dual pov seamlessly circumvented the all too common pitfall of the characters' voices ever bleeding into one another. alice with her cigarette pants, litanies of famous philosophers she’d name-drop apropos of nothing and her air of affected meanness that was fooling no one, could not have been further from her elle woods coded, effervescent counterpart, the indomitably cheerful lottie. if you haven’t gathered from my slightly derisive description, i found alice to be grating a little too frequently for my taste and therefore really strained to care much for the romance between herself and lottie - much as i felt an affinity for the latter.
➸ conclusion :
a meandering but otherwise pulsing with sinister fun read, the society for soulless girls is a grimoire in female anger.
April 27, 2023
Star Rating: —> 4 Stars
This book was so good! Occult (sort of) horror & sapphics! Sounds like heaven? It is. Haha oxymoron, I know but i was infatuated while reading!!!
I definitely recommend for YA gothic and/or dark academia fans, & horror/thriller/ mystery readers!
This book was so good! Occult (sort of) horror & sapphics! Sounds like heaven? It is. Haha oxymoron, I know but i was infatuated while reading!!!
I definitely recommend for YA gothic and/or dark academia fans, & horror/thriller/ mystery readers!
June 1, 2023
4.25/5
The real reason they encourage little girls not to fight. So that we won’t know how.
The real reason they encourage little girls not to fight. So that we won’t know how.
June 12, 2022
I have really struggled to put into (non-spoilery) words how much I LOVED this book!
It is the sapphic, feminist, horror book of my dreams.
The characters are so excellently crafted that they truly feel like real people I know (even the ones who died before the book started!).
The PLOT. omg. To stay spoiler-free I can't say much, but I can say that this book truly is the best representation of every Angry Girl to have ever lived and that the combination of magic, the occult, religion, and politics is so intricately woven together that I could really believe every moment.
And if you're looking for a top-level angsty romance (that will literally have you shouting "Just KISS already" at the book) then Alice and Lottie are the girls for you!!
I also can't not mention my autistic darling, Hafsah, who is so wonderfully authentic and just made me smile all the time.
Seriously - this book is FANTASTIC!
It's the perfect blend of horror - delightfully creepy, but not so scary that a wimp like me couldn't adore it from start to finish.
It is the sapphic, feminist, horror book of my dreams.
The characters are so excellently crafted that they truly feel like real people I know (even the ones who died before the book started!).
The PLOT. omg. To stay spoiler-free I can't say much, but I can say that this book truly is the best representation of every Angry Girl to have ever lived and that the combination of magic, the occult, religion, and politics is so intricately woven together that I could really believe every moment.
And if you're looking for a top-level angsty romance (that will literally have you shouting "Just KISS already" at the book) then Alice and Lottie are the girls for you!!
I also can't not mention my autistic darling, Hafsah, who is so wonderfully authentic and just made me smile all the time.
Seriously - this book is FANTASTIC!
It's the perfect blend of horror - delightfully creepy, but not so scary that a wimp like me couldn't adore it from start to finish.
![Profile Image for julia ☆ [owls reads].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1636739475i%2F5520447._UX200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
July 28, 2023
I understand what The Society for Soulless Girls was trying to do with tackling female rage, but I don't think it did it successfully at all? Especially when it attached that to a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde situation.
That seemed to be too much of a complex theme for Steven's writing style and the way this story was paced and developed. The book was told in two different perspectives that weren't distinct enough and I had a real issue with how rage = violence here. And content warning here for one scene with graphic animal death.
The romance was also very... meh. And the Society element didn't come into play into around 80% which was also when we started getting answers about the murders that happened on campus. It was all weirdly rushed and underwhelming.
The setting was pretty cool, though!
That seemed to be too much of a complex theme for Steven's writing style and the way this story was paced and developed. The book was told in two different perspectives that weren't distinct enough and I had a real issue with how rage = violence here. And content warning here for one scene with graphic animal death.
The romance was also very... meh. And the Society element didn't come into play into around 80% which was also when we started getting answers about the murders that happened on campus. It was all weirdly rushed and underwhelming.
The setting was pretty cool, though!
October 31, 2022
Content warnings: Violence, blood, murder, death, magic rituals, bloodlust, animal murder (on page ), physical abuse (both from a partner and non-partnered people too), curses, probably others that I've forgotten.
Rep: Lottie is asexual and sapphic, Alice is bisexual (not stated on page but she's been in relationships with a guy and a girl). Side POC characters. Side queer characters.
I loved this from start to finish.
My audio book was dodgy (took Scribd literal weeks to fix it) but it got fixed in the end, and it was fantastic.
I loved Lottie and Alice's characters. The way they were distrustful of each other, but ultimately needed to come together because shit was getting real.
When they talked about angry girls, I felt that in my bones.
This was just phenomenal to me.
I talk about books at these places: Instagram / Twitter / TikTok / Blog
Rep: Lottie is asexual and sapphic, Alice is bisexual (not stated on page but she's been in relationships with a guy and a girl). Side POC characters. Side queer characters.
I loved this from start to finish.
My audio book was dodgy (took Scribd literal weeks to fix it) but it got fixed in the end, and it was fantastic.
I loved Lottie and Alice's characters. The way they were distrustful of each other, but ultimately needed to come together because shit was getting real.
When they talked about angry girls, I felt that in my bones.
This was just phenomenal to me.
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October 16, 2022
The writing is terrible. The author tries to pick the harshest sounding words and ends up misuing them more often than not. This book needed severe editting.
The characters felt flat. Even their so called "rage," was just meh. I get what the author was trying to do, but the characters were too underdeveloped for me to care.
Would not recommend.
The characters felt flat. Even their so called "rage," was just meh. I get what the author was trying to do, but the characters were too underdeveloped for me to care.
Would not recommend.
July 7, 2022
On my blog.
Rep: bi/pan mc, lesbian mc
CWs: sexual harassment, animal death, self harm
Galley provided by publisher
The Society for Soulless Girls was a good enough book, without ever really threatening to become great. This may sound harsh, but it’s a book I never really thought I would do more than like and that prediction bore out.
We follow two main characters in this book: Lottie and Alice. Both are in their first year of study at the newly reopened Carvell College of Arts, which had closed 10 years previously after a series of mysterious and unexplained deaths amongst its student populace. Now, though, they’re attempting to put that all behind them. Both Lottie and Alice find themselves drawn to the site of the deaths, however, setting into motion a series of sinister events.
It’s hard to really describe how I feel about this book. I tried to think about the plot, for example, and even though I only finished it yesterday, I could only say in vague outlines exactly what happened. It feels almost a bit like a series of scenes, strung together in something that might loosely be described as a plot, but not in a way that makes it feel particularly disjointed. Just that, it felt quite light on plot. While not being that light. I mean it was a 400 page book, and I don’t think that much really happened. Or at least, not in depth.
This depth point probably extends also to the setting: it never felt particularly atmospheric, and I think this is a story that would have benefited from more time spent on that. Partly, I think that might be a weakness of the writing: for all that it was good writing, it never really built up a sense of mystery that would have been good. Possibly in part I was being told too much and not shown enough, possibly because the main characters found it far too easy to discover what was going on. It’s not like there weren’t points where there could have been mystery, though, and this is why I think the issue here may have been the writing style.
It also, slightly, extends to the characters. Probably the best I can say about them is that they were alright. I didn’t love them, but I didn’t hate them. They were, pretty much, archetypal jock and goth, and not hugely more. They were readable without being particularly memorable to me.
Of course, all of this could easily be an “it’s not you it’s me” issue: a raft of 4 and 5 star reviews are testament to that. But if I’m looking at why it didn’t work so well for me, these two things would probably be it. (Also I just learned today it’s set in the 1990s and honestly? I hadn’t even noticed.)
But! If this is a premise that catches your interest, I would still recommend you read the book. You may enjoy it a lot more than I did.
Rep: bi/pan mc, lesbian mc
CWs: sexual harassment, animal death, self harm
Galley provided by publisher
The Society for Soulless Girls was a good enough book, without ever really threatening to become great. This may sound harsh, but it’s a book I never really thought I would do more than like and that prediction bore out.
We follow two main characters in this book: Lottie and Alice. Both are in their first year of study at the newly reopened Carvell College of Arts, which had closed 10 years previously after a series of mysterious and unexplained deaths amongst its student populace. Now, though, they’re attempting to put that all behind them. Both Lottie and Alice find themselves drawn to the site of the deaths, however, setting into motion a series of sinister events.
It’s hard to really describe how I feel about this book. I tried to think about the plot, for example, and even though I only finished it yesterday, I could only say in vague outlines exactly what happened. It feels almost a bit like a series of scenes, strung together in something that might loosely be described as a plot, but not in a way that makes it feel particularly disjointed. Just that, it felt quite light on plot. While not being that light. I mean it was a 400 page book, and I don’t think that much really happened. Or at least, not in depth.
This depth point probably extends also to the setting: it never felt particularly atmospheric, and I think this is a story that would have benefited from more time spent on that. Partly, I think that might be a weakness of the writing: for all that it was good writing, it never really built up a sense of mystery that would have been good. Possibly in part I was being told too much and not shown enough, possibly because the main characters found it far too easy to discover what was going on. It’s not like there weren’t points where there could have been mystery, though, and this is why I think the issue here may have been the writing style.
It also, slightly, extends to the characters. Probably the best I can say about them is that they were alright. I didn’t love them, but I didn’t hate them. They were, pretty much, archetypal jock and goth, and not hugely more. They were readable without being particularly memorable to me.
Of course, all of this could easily be an “it’s not you it’s me” issue: a raft of 4 and 5 star reviews are testament to that. But if I’m looking at why it didn’t work so well for me, these two things would probably be it. (Also I just learned today it’s set in the 1990s and honestly? I hadn’t even noticed.)
But! If this is a premise that catches your interest, I would still recommend you read the book. You may enjoy it a lot more than I did.
July 4, 2022
Dark academia is a thing these days. We all love the mysterious and rather grey main characters and the magical atmosphere of ancient schools and former convents. So in reality it is a challenge to write a book that incorporates all that, but it is something else to stand out in the overwhelming offer of dark academia fiction. And as it happens: Laura Steven does just that.
The Society for Soulless Girls has two POVs, Lottie's and Alice's, two roommates who don't really get along when they first meet. My friends, if you vibe with the enemies to friends to lovers trope, than this book is one for you. And even if it isn't, the relationship between Lottie and Alice burns so slow, very slow even. In such a way that they take a piece of your heart when you flip the last page. The yearning, the quiet burning moments, every small touch: this book is full of them.
I don't want to give away too much, but just like any other Laura Steven book: this story is more than just a story about two girls uncovering the secrets of the rather violent past. It is a story about anger and how society treats furious and angry girls and women. It is a story about all the consequences of staying silent and keeping sweet. But aside from that, it is also a story about love, friendship and hope.
The Society for Soulless Girls is brilliantly written, and it hits the mark so very well. And to be honest, it is sometimes rather funny too. It wouldn't be a Laura Steven book if it wasn't. Truly, I really recommend it. And if this review didn't, than let the presence of an immortal cat convince you to read this.
What can you expect?
Inclusive cast, f/f pairing, friendship, murder and lots of supernatural mystery!
The Society for Soulless Girls has two POVs, Lottie's and Alice's, two roommates who don't really get along when they first meet. My friends, if you vibe with the enemies to friends to lovers trope, than this book is one for you. And even if it isn't, the relationship between Lottie and Alice burns so slow, very slow even. In such a way that they take a piece of your heart when you flip the last page. The yearning, the quiet burning moments, every small touch: this book is full of them.
I don't want to give away too much, but just like any other Laura Steven book: this story is more than just a story about two girls uncovering the secrets of the rather violent past. It is a story about anger and how society treats furious and angry girls and women. It is a story about all the consequences of staying silent and keeping sweet. But aside from that, it is also a story about love, friendship and hope.
The Society for Soulless Girls is brilliantly written, and it hits the mark so very well. And to be honest, it is sometimes rather funny too. It wouldn't be a Laura Steven book if it wasn't. Truly, I really recommend it. And if this review didn't, than let the presence of an immortal cat convince you to read this.
What can you expect?
Inclusive cast, f/f pairing, friendship, murder and lots of supernatural mystery!
October 25, 2022
well, that escalated quickly.
i was okay with the start of the book, because the old murders interested me. the writing was so-so, but it wasn't terrible, so i thought maybe this would end up a three star read.
then we entered the last two hours in the audiobook.
if i end up reading one more book, that contains these half-brained, twitter level ideas about womanhood and feminism, i most likely am going to scream.
first the author starts to lay down the groundwork for this idea, that violence in women should be celebrated and alice is a victim of society, because she's not allowed to stab somebody with a fork when she gets angry. women should own their anger!
but wat, no, it's actually men.
the women, poor creatures that the are, aren't actually accountable for their anger because it was caused by men.
and the murders were by men!
what exactly was the message? women should be able to be violent without consequences? women are always victims, never the perpetrators?
so yeah, now i’m not only angry but i feel insulted as well.
also, i hated the romance.
i was okay with the start of the book, because the old murders interested me. the writing was so-so, but it wasn't terrible, so i thought maybe this would end up a three star read.
then we entered the last two hours in the audiobook.
if i end up reading one more book, that contains these half-brained, twitter level ideas about womanhood and feminism, i most likely am going to scream.
first the author starts to lay down the groundwork for this idea, that violence in women should be celebrated and alice is a victim of society, because she's not allowed to stab somebody with a fork when she gets angry. women should own their anger!
but wat, no, it's actually men.
the women, poor creatures that the are, aren't actually accountable for their anger because it was caused by men.
and the murders were by men!
what exactly was the message? women should be able to be violent without consequences? women are always victims, never the perpetrators?
so yeah, now i’m not only angry but i feel insulted as well.
also, i hated the romance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
September 11, 2022Dnf 9%
December 31, 2022
4.5
ten years ago, four students were murdered at the elite carvell college of arts, forcing the school to shut. now, the school is reopening, and lottie is determined to find out what really happened. when her roommate, alice, stumbles upon a ritual and the north tower claims another victim, lottie is sure she has her culprit. alice, though, desperately wants to reverse the effects of the ritual that gave her a monstrous alter ego.
these two reminded me so much of wednesday and enid! (except lottie and alice actually got together.) i loved their interactions and character growth.
also, the story itself was really interesting. it definitely kept me on my toes and i could not put it down! i recommend this to anyone wanting a spooky read with a good mystery.
ten years ago, four students were murdered at the elite carvell college of arts, forcing the school to shut. now, the school is reopening, and lottie is determined to find out what really happened. when her roommate, alice, stumbles upon a ritual and the north tower claims another victim, lottie is sure she has her culprit. alice, though, desperately wants to reverse the effects of the ritual that gave her a monstrous alter ego.
these two reminded me so much of wednesday and enid! (except lottie and alice actually got together.) i loved their interactions and character growth.
also, the story itself was really interesting. it definitely kept me on my toes and i could not put it down! i recommend this to anyone wanting a spooky read with a good mystery.
July 17, 2022
i love how this book portrays and discusses female rage and how the world we live in keeps making us think that to be angry as a woman is basically wrong and considered as madness. plus the dark academia setting and the sapphics make this book even better !!
May 21, 2024
♫ — “no one likes a mad woman, you made her like that.”
the second i heard this was a sapphic dr jekyll & mr hyde retelling??? i was so sold. after reading a lesson in vengeance i needed to read something in the same vain to keep the sapphic dark academia theme going on.
the concept of this book was really interesting & i genuinely had such a fun time reading it! esp in the sense that this is such a great homage to angry girls :)
”she was human sunshine, and i was the deep, dark woods. she was bound to grow tired of the shade.”
SAPPHIC COUPLE 🙌🙌 i really loved the development between lottie & alice’s relationship, it was SO SWEET. i wouldn’t say they were enemies to lovers like some were saying, more so they got on the wrong foot and worked through their miscommunication LMAO. but when they got together oh gosh IT WAS SO CUTE 😭😭 they’re very gentle with each other i was quite literally a puddle.
i only had a few issues! i’m not a huge fan of pop culture references in books and this had a lot. second, some scenes felt a bit underwhelming?? the ending wasnt really like a big final showdown. third, some things are just never explained? (eg salem) maybe im just dumb but they’re never really explained to their full extent and that kind of bothered me.
NONETHELESS, it didn't bother me too much and i still enjoyed the book a lot!!!
songs:
★ mad woman; taylor swift
★ cassandra; taylor swift
★ the exit; conan gray
”i told you i was sherlock. scooby-doo can fuck all the way off.”
regardless, i still love a silly read. is it peak literature??? absolutely not, but i had fun reading it + i got a cute sapphic couple out of it, u can’t possibly expect me to be upset!!!!
(also i LOVED all the sherlock references!!!!)
the second i heard this was a sapphic dr jekyll & mr hyde retelling??? i was so sold. after reading a lesson in vengeance i needed to read something in the same vain to keep the sapphic dark academia theme going on.
the concept of this book was really interesting & i genuinely had such a fun time reading it! esp in the sense that this is such a great homage to angry girls :)
”she was human sunshine, and i was the deep, dark woods. she was bound to grow tired of the shade.”
SAPPHIC COUPLE 🙌🙌 i really loved the development between lottie & alice’s relationship, it was SO SWEET. i wouldn’t say they were enemies to lovers like some were saying, more so they got on the wrong foot and worked through their miscommunication LMAO. but when they got together oh gosh IT WAS SO CUTE 😭😭 they’re very gentle with each other i was quite literally a puddle.
i only had a few issues! i’m not a huge fan of pop culture references in books and this had a lot. second, some scenes felt a bit underwhelming?? the ending wasnt really like a big final showdown. third, some things are just never explained? (eg salem) maybe im just dumb but they’re never really explained to their full extent and that kind of bothered me.
NONETHELESS, it didn't bother me too much and i still enjoyed the book a lot!!!
songs:
★ mad woman; taylor swift
★ cassandra; taylor swift
★ the exit; conan gray
”i told you i was sherlock. scooby-doo can fuck all the way off.”
regardless, i still love a silly read. is it peak literature??? absolutely not, but i had fun reading it + i got a cute sapphic couple out of it, u can’t possibly expect me to be upset!!!!
(also i LOVED all the sherlock references!!!!)
June 4, 2022
My review will be up later on, but trust me, it’s worth pre-ordering this book! This has some really great dark academia elements with a slight horror feeling!
October 3, 2022
This book is not as described. Neither fun nor humorous, with gratuitous animal murder that doesn’t even advance the plot. The audiobook narrators also mangle multiple common words, as well as the names of famous writers like Foucault and Capote. DNF at 50%.
October 3, 2023
3.5 ⭐️
If you just want Dark Academia with a mystery to solve you may like this book
It definitely delivered and the dark academia vibes, I liked the writing style, it was very Atmospheric and eerie
If you went into this expecting even a little romance (which is my fault) you’ll be deeply disappointed
The story is definitely intriguing and new, but the whole mystery was very predictable, and there was a lot of repetition
Our MCs: Lottie: who full name is Charlotte and goes by Lottie? Anyway I didn’t like her very much to be honest, and I wasn’t very impressed with her hero complex bullshit, and she made me angry many times
Alice: I felt more contacted with her of course because i am an angry person as well, and honestly her character was more interesting and has more depth
So overall i enjoyed reading it and will definitely check more books by the Auther
“Perhaps I was spikiest to the people I was closest to because I was trying to find the outer limits of their love; to see how much the boundary would give.”
If you just want Dark Academia with a mystery to solve you may like this book
It definitely delivered and the dark academia vibes, I liked the writing style, it was very Atmospheric and eerie
If you went into this expecting even a little romance (which is my fault) you’ll be deeply disappointed
The story is definitely intriguing and new, but the whole mystery was very predictable, and there was a lot of repetition
Our MCs: Lottie: who full name is Charlotte and goes by Lottie? Anyway I didn’t like her very much to be honest, and I wasn’t very impressed with her hero complex bullshit, and she made me angry many times
Alice: I felt more contacted with her of course because i am an angry person as well, and honestly her character was more interesting and has more depth
So overall i enjoyed reading it and will definitely check more books by the Auther
October 5, 2025
Іноді під час читання в мене було відчуття, що це якась повна дурня і я просто гаю час… 🥲
Книга читається швидко. YA з елементом детективу — «що сталося з жертвами?» і «чи виживуть героїні?» в антуражі dark academia наче непогана, але спочатку поведінка дівчат викликала роздратування й подив, як і деякі сцени, у які їх ставила авторка.
Попри це, обидві героїні досить сміливі, відчайдушні й безстрашні. Романтична лінія майже не чіпляє.
Ближче до кінця сюжет стає динамічнішим, навіть з елементами спортивного роману. Також авторка через цю історію порушує теми спалахів жіночого гніву та злості.
Книга читається швидко. YA з елементом детективу — «що сталося з жертвами?» і «чи виживуть героїні?» в антуражі dark academia наче непогана, але спочатку поведінка дівчат викликала роздратування й подив, як і деякі сцени, у які їх ставила авторка.
Попри це, обидві героїні досить сміливі, відчайдушні й безстрашні. Романтична лінія майже не чіпляє.
Ближче до кінця сюжет стає динамічнішим, навіть з елементами спортивного роману. Також авторка через цю історію порушує теми спалахів жіночого гніву та злості.
January 19, 2025
3.5 - I really liked the writing style, it flowed nicely and was more complex, without being clunky or flowery. I liked the main characters well enough too, they had good chemistry. I think the plot/mystery is the weak link here. Solid book, just not a favourite.
November 11, 2023
everything was great, i loved the book so much… and the end ruined it: one of the mc’s is asexual. she says so multiple times and then suddenly, she’s attracted to her roommate and not asexual anymore bc she met the “right person” which is what every ace has heard at least once in their life and it’s just not how that works. she could’ve been figuring out her attraction throughout the book and then at the end say she’s demisexual at least but nope. and bc of that, i cant give this more than three stars and part of me wants to give it less.
April 30, 2024
If I read this as a physical book instead of audio im not sure I would have finished it as it was just too slow for me personally at the start which meant that I struggled getting invested. Saying that it was a fun kinda quirky little story and when things did happen it was enjoyable.
Want to read
February 10, 2022sapphic.. jekyll and hyde retelling … enemies to lovers……. this is not a want but a NEED
November 23, 2025
"The Society for Soulless Girls" is a dark, inventive twist on dark academia that delivers atmosphere, mystery, and a touch of horror in all the right ways. Laura Steven creates a campus setting that feels both gothic and modern, filled with whispered legends, dangerous secrets, and an undercurrent of something distinctly supernatural.
The dual POV works especially well here. Both characters bring different emotional tones and perspectives, and watching their stories slowly intertwine adds depth to the narrative. Their complicated friendship, simmering tension, and conflicting motives give the book a strong emotional centre amid all the eerie happenings.
The mystery surrounding the school's past and the missing girls is engaging, and the way the author blends psychological elements with true supernatural danger keeps the plot unpredictable. The pacing is deliberate, with suspense building gradually before hitting bursts of action and revelation that keep you hooked.
The writing is sharp, witty, and atmospheric, playful in some moments, unsettling in others. And the themes of grief, guilt, and anger are explored with nuance, making the characters feel fully human even when the world around them leans into the uncanny.
Overall, "The Society for Soulless Girls" is a moody, clever, and immersive read.
The dual POV works especially well here. Both characters bring different emotional tones and perspectives, and watching their stories slowly intertwine adds depth to the narrative. Their complicated friendship, simmering tension, and conflicting motives give the book a strong emotional centre amid all the eerie happenings.
The mystery surrounding the school's past and the missing girls is engaging, and the way the author blends psychological elements with true supernatural danger keeps the plot unpredictable. The pacing is deliberate, with suspense building gradually before hitting bursts of action and revelation that keep you hooked.
The writing is sharp, witty, and atmospheric, playful in some moments, unsettling in others. And the themes of grief, guilt, and anger are explored with nuance, making the characters feel fully human even when the world around them leans into the uncanny.
Overall, "The Society for Soulless Girls" is a moody, clever, and immersive read.
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