Reviews with content warning for Grief - Where Sleeping Girls Lie

Please check content warnings before reading.

Initial thoughts are 4.25 stars but I need to process. I thought it was good with important messaging and an intriguing plot. However, it was a little longer than it needed to be and I think the same effect could've been achieved with fewer moving parts in the plotline.

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hayleyjames24's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I really really enjoyed this, surprisingly it did not feel like a 500+ page book while I was reading it.
It dove into some really really deep topics and themes: grief, friendship, loss, the nature of school politics and the power of the elite. I would recomend checking out the trigger warnings before reading but I found that despite being heavy and quite extensive they were done with so much love and care and definitely werent graphic. It was more so the mystery behind the actions and the thrill of seeing whether justice would be served that carried these themes rather than giving us deets on what actually happened. It was great to see these teenagers try to tear down systems and break the status quo. Even if they weren't quite able to really do it it's such an important topic for Young Adults to be reading (and very realistic)

I enjoyed the dark academia side of the story as well and I think the setting was perfect.
I also really enjoyed that they did normal things like actually going to class hahaha, especially because it's set in a prestigious school and Sade has a scholarship.

I loved Baz!! He was such a great friend and seemed to be such a well rounded character. I wish Sade was slightly less mysterious and we got to know her a little better but the reason she was so mysterious was the main plot point lol.
Persephone was also a very interesting character and I loved the way her and Sade's relationship blossomed.
I did like that it didn't necessarily end with it all being tied in a pretty bow (though good things do come out of it) because in real life these situations don't have an easy answer or finish.

Will definitely pick up Ace of Spades at some point.

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lydiareads247's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

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lovelikethiswillendintragedy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Absolutely wonderful :0
I was worried for a bit that a trope that I *despise* (

A male love interest that’s covered in red flags but still ends up with the main character

) would happen, but nope!

The guy is actually a creep, and way worse than what she thought.

I feel kind of bad for being relieved, because the outcome was way worse for the characters that were involved, but I am just so damn tired of the alternative where

the guy is really such a good guy and everything’s fine with him.

But enough about that. The characters are wonderful, I thought it was interesting that the iconic popular girl trio wasn’t mean like I was preparing for them to be. They’re actually really sweet and it reminds me a lot of my school!
I loved Baz’s reactions to things, he managed to be the lighthearted “funny character” while still being down to earth and bringing the focus back to Elizabeth when necessary. Absolutely wonderful chaotic good boyo and I love him with my entire heart.
All in all, this book wasn’t what I expected. (Don’t get me wrong, I expected to love it, just not for it to play out the way it did.) The themes the author intended were strong throughout the book, and I read it in like a week, it was so good. 10/10, Baz can steal my soul if he wants, he deserves it

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kaylamoran's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I didn't find this nearly as anxiety inducing or scary as Ace of Spades, but I don't think it was meant to be. Overall I enjoyed this, although at times it was very hard to listen to.

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iridescentdreams's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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