Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
This is going to be a rant more than a review, so apologies in advance. Tldr: while the title and subject matter promise intrigue and mystery (ooh secret societies at Princeton!) this book fails to deliver on either, and overall is too jumbled and confused to come together cohesively.
I really wanted to like this book, but I had some problems with the way it was written. For (a small but annoying) example, the author assumes you're familiar with Princeton and their "eating clubs". There's no explanation of what that is. From context, obviously, it's clear that they are just frats. The protagonist (I forget if it was Maya or naomi; their stories run together too much for them to be distinguishable) says at one point, "they should be called drinking clubs", but that Princeton thought "eating" sounded better. And I spent about 100 pages stewing in how dumb that was - then I finally googled it and found that actually eating clubs were established because in the late 1800s there weren't enough places on or near campus to feed the students, so these places were established where students could go get a meal, and of course they became more social than just about food, and Princeton was anti-frat, so they just stayed as "eating clubs." And I was like, why didn't they just say that in the book??
Also, for a "super secret society", our lead characters seem to know everything about Greystone. Maya (or was it Naomi?) spots a forearm tattoo and immediately recognizes it as the super secret symbol of Greystone, which only Greystone members would recognize. But she recognized it? And wasn't a member at that time? So... apparently anyone can recognize it, I guess it's not so secret after all. Also how does she even know so much about that group, if it's so secret? I almost feel the author got her timelines mixed up and forgot that Maya hadn't been tapped for the secret society yet. Or, maybe Maya should state that there are rumors of a secret society or something, rumors that the symbol she sees tattooed is their symbol. Or that someone told her it's their symbol. Or something. But she just states - paradoxically like it's common knowledge - that the tattoo is the secret symbol that ONLY MEMBERS would recognize.
Maya and Naomi are too alike. The chapters switch back and forth in their POV, but they're both way to similar to be easily distinguished. Both are the same age at the same school, in the same frat and secret society, investigating the same things. The only way to distinguish them was by who they mentioned in their POV - are they talking about Liam (Naomi) or Cecily (Maya)? Everything became too mixed for me and I forgot who was who, and what they knew when, and honestly I just feel like this turned into a mess of a book. It felt too long, like it was dragging, and too much didn't make sense.
I really wanted to like this book, but I had some problems with the way it was written. For (a small but annoying) example, the author assumes you're familiar with Princeton and their "eating clubs". There's no explanation of what that is. From context, obviously, it's clear that they are just frats. The protagonist (I forget if it was Maya or naomi; their stories run together too much for them to be distinguishable) says at one point, "they should be called drinking clubs", but that Princeton thought "eating" sounded better. And I spent about 100 pages stewing in how dumb that was - then I finally googled it and found that actually eating clubs were established because in the late 1800s there weren't enough places on or near campus to feed the students, so these places were established where students could go get a meal, and of course they became more social than just about food, and Princeton was anti-frat, so they just stayed as "eating clubs." And I was like, why didn't they just say that in the book??
Also, for a "super secret society", our lead characters seem to know everything about Greystone. Maya (or was it Naomi?) spots a forearm tattoo and immediately recognizes it as the super secret symbol of Greystone, which only Greystone members would recognize. But she recognized it? And wasn't a member at that time? So... apparently anyone can recognize it, I guess it's not so secret after all. Also how does she even know so much about that group, if it's so secret? I almost feel the author got her timelines mixed up and forgot that Maya hadn't been tapped for the secret society yet. Or, maybe Maya should state that there are rumors of a secret society or something, rumors that the symbol she sees tattooed is their symbol. Or that someone told her it's their symbol. Or something. But she just states - paradoxically like it's common knowledge - that the tattoo is the secret symbol that ONLY MEMBERS would recognize.
Maya and Naomi are too alike. The chapters switch back and forth in their POV, but they're both way to similar to be easily distinguished. Both are the same age at the same school, in the same frat and secret society, investigating the same things. The only way to distinguish them was by who they mentioned in their POV - are they talking about Liam (Naomi) or Cecily (Maya)? Everything became too mixed for me and I forgot who was who, and what they knew when, and honestly I just feel like this turned into a mess of a book. It felt too long, like it was dragging, and too much didn't make sense.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
While this book should probably not be read when you’re about to send your child off to college, it was a great read nonetheless.
What really drew me in was the deep bond between siblings and the lengths they go to protect one another. That theme—alongside the backdrop of academia—was especially compelling. I love a good thriller and mystery, but it was the emotional core of the story, centered on family ties, that really stood out to me.
The multiracial identities of the main characters were also handled in a thoughtful and layered way. I learned afterward that the author drew from her own personal experiences, and it definitely shows. Lauren Ling Brown did a fantastic job capturing the emotional weight of identity, ambition, and belonging, while also exposing how a corrupt institution can undermine the good work of those within it.
This book is suspenseful, emotional, and socially sharp. A strong debut that blends family drama and dark academia with powerful commentary on privilege and power.
Fast paced mystery
Brown weaves the stories seemingly between past and present to allow the reader to keep guessing what really happened. Just when you think you figured it out,she adds another detail to twist the path yet again. A must read for a mystery lover.
Brown weaves the stories seemingly between past and present to allow the reader to keep guessing what really happened. Just when you think you figured it out,she adds another detail to twist the path yet again. A must read for a mystery lover.
dark
mysterious
tense
tense
fast-paced
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes