#Laura Steven
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While I can't blame people for trying to market new releases, I would very much like to see them stop the comparison of every book with an academic setting to TSH. They truly are doing themselves a disservice since a lot of people will find the author making the comparison pretentious, or they will be overly critical because of that. And most importantly, people just get disappointed in the end when the tone of the book is completely different or it doesn't follow a similar storyline.
Books about academia can exist without being compared to The Secret History and be just as good as TSH.
This has been bothering me since I started to read more "dark academia" books. It just saddens me since, in the end, the most talked-about part is that the book is like TSH, which mostly ends up not being true, while the people who would like the premise probably miss it.
I understand that comparisons are helpful, but at this point, I believe they're overdone.
#books and reading#book characters#dark acamedia#dark academia books#the secret history#donna tartt#booktok#if we were villains#bunny#mona awad#m l rio#the society for soulless girls#laura steven#the truants kate weinberg#babel an arcane history#babel#rf kuang#these violent delights#micah nemerever
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books i read in 2024:
"the society for soulless girls"
laura steven
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
genre: dark academia, horror, mystery, wlw, ya
synopsis:
A dark and funny YA thriller with a supernatural twist. From the winner of the Comedy Women in Print Prize
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 student Lottie is determined to find out what really happened. But when her 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 can they stop flirting for literally fifteen seconds in order to do this?
Exploring possession and ambition, lust and bloodlust, femininity and violence, The Society of Soulless Girls is perfect for fans of Ace of Spaces, The Secret History and The Inheritance Games.
#the society for soulless girls#laura steven#aesthetic#moodboard#litedit#book moodboard#booklr#books and reading#book recommendations#lgbt books#horror aesthetic#gothic literature#gothic moodboard#gothic#gothic aesthetic#dark academia#dark academia aesthetic#dark academia literature#wlw books#wlw literature#sapphic books#sapphic literature#my moodboard
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Obsessed!!
#booklover#booklr#books#booksbooksbooks#books and reading#book lover#current read#every exquisite thing#laura Steven
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Fave Five: Queer Dark Academia
For even more recs for dark academia fans, check out this post of Queer YA for Dark Academia Lovers. (Shopping links are affiliate; using them earns a small percentage of income for the site.) Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven (Bks) All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters (Bks) Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo (Bks) The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton (Bks) These Violent Delights by…
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#All That Consumes Us#An Education in Malice#Dark Academia#Derek Milman#Erica Waters#Laura Steven#Lee Mandelo#Micah Nemerever#S.T. Gibson#Society for Soulless Girls#Summer Sons#Tara Isabella Burton#The World Cannot Give#These Violent Delights
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✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨
The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
[instagram]
Oooh this was a great combination of dark academia, crime thriller and horror. It had so many good elements all working together to create a story that had me absolutely hooked.
The concept was so fascinating. Rituals to split anger from the soul that obviously inevitably go wrong and the hunt for the cure, a strong of mysterious on-campus deaths, midnight hauntings, religious and philosophical motif’s woven throughout. It was all just so interesting.
I really loved the relationship between Alice and Lottie. They were the beating heart of this story and their slow-burn romance honestly had me in a chokehold.
If you’re looking for something dark and twisted but also a little bit sweet, I definitely recommend giving this a go.
#the society for soulless girls#laura steven#books#bookedit#book review#dark academia#queer dark academia#queer horror#horror#asexual rep#sapphic romance#lgbtqia+#mine*
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🌈June Books🌈
I used 🌈 before the title to indicate LGBTQ+ featured characters within the book. I rated each book from ⭐️ - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The books are listed in the order that I completed them.
🌈 “Breasts and Eggs” by Mieko Kawakami ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌈 “The Society for Soulless Girls” by Laura Steven ⭐️
🌈 “Sunbringer” by Hannah Kaner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“The Princess Bride” by William Goldman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌈 “The Invocations” by Krystal Sutherland ⭐️⭐️⭐️
“The Dragon Republic” by R.F. Kuang ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌈 “The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“The Iliad” by Homer; translation by Emily Wilson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌈 “This is How You Lose the Time War” by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌈 “Siren Queen” by Nghi Vo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌈 “Jade City” by Fonda Lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️
#reading#breasts and eggs#mieko kawakami#the society of soulless girls#laura steven#sunbringer#hannah kaner#the princess bride#william goldman#the invocations#krystal sutherland#the dragon republic#r.f. kuang#the song of achilles#madeline miller#the iliad#homer#emily wilson#this is how you lose the time war#amal el mohtar#max gladstone#nghi vo#siren queen#jade city#fonda lee#book recommendations#month in review#books#june#lgbtq
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My top 5 reads of 2023
(I wanted to include all new books as I did a lot of rereads this year)
#mine#my photos#books#booklr#top 5 reads of 2023#hell bent#leigh bardugo#strong female character#fern brady#the study of poisons#Maria V Snyder#the invisible life of addie larue#v.e. schwab#every exquisite thing#Laura Steven
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books I’ve read in 2024
The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven
"Anger left to run free is like wildfire, indiscriminate in its destruction. But if you learn to tame it, to position it, to take aim with it? Then it becomes a candle. And what is the candle but one of mans greatest assets? It warms. It nourishes. It shines a light in the darkest of places, and it illuminates the path forward."
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My headcanons (?) about Alice appearance from "The Society For Soulless Girls" by Laura Steven
The only details I remember from book descriptions that she had red hair, ice-blue eyes and scar on her lips that crooked when she smiled? Sorry, I have such a bad memory 😭
#my art#my fanart#digital art#The society for soulless girls#Laura Steven#book fanart#artists on tumblr#small artist#queer lit#sapphic books
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Penny Paxton is the daughter of an icon. Her supermodel mother has legions of adoring fans around the world, and Penny is ready to begin her journey to international adoration, starting with joining the elite Dorian Drama School. When Penny’s new mentor offers her an opportunity she cannot refuse, to have a portrait painted by a mysterious artist who can grant immortal beauty to all his subjects, Penny happily follows in the footsteps of Dorian’s most glittering alumni, knowing that stardom is sure to soon be hers. But when her trusted mentor is found murdered, Penny realises she’s made a terrible mistake – a sinister someone is using the uncanny portraits to kill off the subjects one by one. As more perfectly beautiful students start to fall, Penny knows her time is running out . . . A seductive and searing exploration of beauty, identity, and what the pursuit of perfection can truly cost.
"Girls don't want beauty. Girls want power. And sometimes beauty is the closest substitute".
Laura Steven's Every Exquisite Thing is a YA feminist and sapphic retelling of The Portrait of Dorian Gray, with elements from the classic being woven in an interesting way. Without getting too much into spoiler territory, the link isn't as tenuous as one may think at first. The book comes with a much appreciated note at the beginning, detailing the book's trigger warnings.
The narration in first person serves the novel well, highlighting the main character's growing unease with the very real threat to her life and with the supernatural happenings around her. We get to feel her helplessness and see her struggle with anorexia in a way that is disconcerting and unnerving.
The book delves deep into the themes of beauty, control, and identity, aided by a prose that is stunning in its simplicity. The execution is lacking in some parts, especially in the second half, but the book makes up for it with its heart; perhaps the revelations towards the end might have been foreshadowed better.
Queer longing permeates the pages, with the tension between the two leads coming to an end in a frenzied scene that works all the better because the ending softens the edges and makes this novel a very real journey of self-discovery that can only end with healing. But while the main trio, and the relationship they shared, is well-developed, the other two recurring characters in Penny's set of friends end up being criminally underdeveloped. The adults, on the other hand, are written better, especially the tragic figure of Penny's mother.
Every Exquisite Thing is a book that helps young women.
✨ 4 stars
.
📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:
* I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me, by Jamison Shea
for: deals, sacrifice
[You can find more of my reviews about queer speculative fiction on my blog MISTY WORLD]
#laura steven#every exquisite thing#lgbtq books#queer lit#queer books#queer#sff#queer sff#sff books#books#book reviews#reading#gealach reads#gealach writes
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New Young Adult Releases! (September 19th, 2023)
___
Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!
___
New Standalones/First in a Series:
Nightbreaker by Coco Ma
When A Brown Girl Flees by Aamna Qureshi
How to Find A Missing Girl by Victoria Wlosok
A Prayer for Vengeance by Leanne Schwartz
The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie
Of Dreams & Destiny by Sandhya Menon
All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
Champion of Fate by Kendare Blake
The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven
The Only Girl in Town by Ally Condie
The Collectors by Various
Running Past Dark by Han Nolan
Archives of Despair by Caleb Finn
New Sequels:
Shadow Coven (The Witchery #2) by S. Isabelle
A Crown So Cursed (The Nightmare-Verse #3) by L.L. McKinney
___
Happy reading!
#New Releases#September 2023#Features#Coco Ma#Aamna Qureshi#Victoria Wlosok#Leanne Schwartz#Kathryn Purdie#Sandhya Menon#Hannah V. Sawyerr#Ava Reid#Kendare Blake#Laura Steven#Ally Condie#Han Nolan#Caleb Finn#S. Isabelle#L.L. McKinney#young adult#yalit#yareads#tbr#to-read#on books#on reading#read#reader#reading#long text post#book list
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I'm reading the Society for Soulless Girls for the first time and if Lottie doesn't hit Harris with a hockey stick for Alice I'm gonna loose it
#lottie x alice#lottie/alice#laura steven#society for soulless girls#Carvell College#sapphic books#axin reads#sapphic#ya#mystery#thriller#jekyll and hyde
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books i read in 2024:
"every exquisite thing"
laura steven
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️, 5
genre: dark academia, thriller, wlw
synopsis:
A feminist YA horror-thriller-romance retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray by the TikTok sensation and author of The Society for Soulless Girls. Penny Paxton is the daughter of an icon. Her supermodel mother has legions of adoring fans around the world, and Penny is ready to begin her journey to international adoration, starting with joining the elite Dorian Drama School. When Penny’s new mentor offers her an opportunity she cannot refuse, to have a portrait painted by a mysterious artist who can grant immortal beauty to all his subjects, Penny happily follows in the footsteps of Dorian’s most glittering alumni, knowing that stardom is sure to soon be hers. But when her trusted mentor is found murdered, Penny realises she’s made a terrible mistake – a sinister someone is using the uncanny portraits to kill off the subjects one by one. As more perfectly beautiful students start to fall, Penny knows her time is running out... A seductive and searing exploration of beauty, identity, and what the pursuit of perfection can truly cost.
#dark academia literature#booklr#book recommendations#books and reading#litedit#every exquisite thing#every exquisite thing aesthetic#every exquisite thing moodboard#laura steven#aesthetic#moodboard#book moodboard#dark academia moodboard#dark academia aesthetic#my moodboard#lgbt books#wlw books#sapphic books#sapphic literature#lesbian books
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#booklover#booklr#books#booksbooksbooks#books and reading#book lover#current read#Laura Steven#the society for soulless girls
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March 2024 Deal Announcements
Adult Fiction Ziyad Saadi‘s THREE PARTIES, a tragicomedy pitched as inspired by Virginia Woolf’s MRS. DALLOWAY, in which a gay Palestinian refugee in modern Detroit prepares to throw himself a birthday party that, unbeknownst to the guests, will also double as his coming out party, amid an escalating torrent of romantic, professional, and familial surprises, to David Ross at Hamish Hamilton…
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#All Those Strangers#Allie Levick#Angry Robot#Avon#Ben Alderson#Boy Maybe#Chloe Seager#Christopher Hartland#David R. Slayton#Emma Cleary#Emma Hinds#Erin Cotter#Jennifer Azantian#Keylight#Kristian Nairn#L.D. Lewis#Laura Steven#Lauren Magaziner#Lex Croucher#Mason Deaver#Nicole Ellul#Nona Footz#Pete Knapp#Petra Lord#Piper L. White#Queen of Faces#Realm of Fey#Sam Wachman#Sonora Reyes#Stuti Telidevara
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There would always be cats. Cats hated you regardless of your thoughts. They could judge you, but it was probably too much effort, and anyway, they’d rather be left alone.
Laura Steven, The Society for Soulless Girls
#razreads#book quote#laura steven#the society for soulless girls#cats#judgement#solitude#queue have a good day now
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