Review - The Furies by Katie Lowe

Title: The Furies

Author: Katie Lowe

Pages: 384

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: 2nd May 2019

Blurb from Goodreads:

1998. A sixteen-year-old girl is found dead on school property, dressed in white and posed on a swing. No known cause of death.
Four girls know what happened.
And until now they’ve kept their silence.

 
Violet is returning home, back to the sleepy coastal town which holds so many memories.

In 1998, after a tragic accident claimed the lives of her father and sister, she joins Elm Hollow Academy, a private girls’ school with an unpleasant history of 17th century witch trials.

There she is drawn to Robin, Grace, Alex and their charismatic teacher, Annabel; she is invited to join them in their advanced study group.

There they learn about art, literature and the grisly history of the school. Though Annabel claims her classes aren’t related to ancient rites and rituals, she warns them off the topic, describing it as little more than mythology. However, the more the girls learn, the more they start to believe that magic is real, and that together they can harness it.

But when the body of a former member of the society is found on campus nine months after the she disappeared, fingers are pointed at those closest to her. Leading Violet to wonder whether she can trust her friends, teachers, or even herself.

 Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My Review:

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley*

In 1998, Violet attended Elm Hollow Academy after the deaths of her father and sister in a car accident that she walked away from without a scratch.

The private girls' school has a history linked to the witch trials, and Violet finds herself drawn to three girls and a teacher who leads their study group about the dark history of the school, art, feminism and literature.

When a girl that went missing, who was part of the group, is found dead on the campus, Violet wonders if there is more to the study group than there seems, and whether one of her new friends could have killed her.

Is magic real?

Can Violet trust her friends and herself?

The blurb for The Furies really intrigued me - I liked the idea of a study group/society at a school as well as a body being found and the possibility of magic - but in the end, this wasn't for me.

I didn't really like any of the characters, apart from maybe Grace who I felt sorry for. Violet was okay but she didn't really seem to have much personality - at times it felt like she was just trying to be Robin.

I didn't like how toxic some of the relationships were, but it was interesting to see the dark side of friendships and what people can be capable of doing.

The plot was okay but took me a while to get into. I did lose interest towards the end.

The writing style wasn't one of my favourites and I struggled with it to begin with.

I am disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more.

Overall, this was an okay read.