Emily @21andsensory
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EBR's: 'when we were monsters' by Jennifer Niven ✍️
🕑 Added 2025-10-19 10:00:09 +0000 UTCWelcome to a another new Patreon segment that I’m calling:
• Emily’s Book Reviews •
Otherwise known as EBR’s 💫
I’ll be discussing books I’ve read recently and reviewing them - this will include books I’ve been gifted by publishers but also ones I’ve bought myself in local book shops.
So without further ado…
‘When we were monsters' by Jennifer Niven
So the premise is:
Eight students walk into an exclusive writers’ retreat, but only one will walk out with a life-changing opportunity to realize their creative dreams...
One of the students, Effy, is piecing together a story about the tragic circumstances that led to her mother’s death. Another, Arlo, hopes to publish a novel about losing his best friend – but he’s also trying to start a new chapter with Effy after he ghosted her three years earlier.
The mentor haphazardly running the retreat is Meredith Graffam a seemingly unhinged writer, director and actress. She has had her own near death experience… but it turns out it happened on the same retreat some years ago.
I really enjoyed this book - having never read any of Jennifer Niven‘s other books I was very much going into reading this with an open mind and I wasn’t disappointed!
What starts out as a healthy competition quickly spirals into dangerous territory and there’s the sense that something much bigger is simmering in the background. The story it told from the point of view of Effy and Arlo with chapters alternating between them.
I loved this as an introduction to dark academia (a genre I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get into or not) but this has definitely made me want to read more!
A twisty story that is very descriptive and I enjoy the world building I really felt like I could picture the retreat and each room.
EBR rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to Penguin for the advanced proof of this title in return for an honest review.
Comments
Egg
Oooh! Sounds good
