When we were Monsters by Jennifer Niven

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✦ BLURB ✦

At an elite New England boarding school, eight students are selected for an exclusive storytelling workshop with the one and only Meredith Graffam—an enigmatic writer, director, and actress. For sixteen days, they will live in the isolated estate of the school’s founder, surrounded by snowy woods and a storm-tossed seas. Only one of the chosen will walk away with a lifechanging opportunity to realize their creative dreams.

Everyone, including Graffam, has a compelling reason to be there—Effy, the orphan, Isaac, the legacy, Ness, the wallflower, Ramon, the outsider, and Arlo, whose unexpected arrival leaves Effy spiraling—but only the most ambitious will last the term. Graffam’s unorthodox methods push the students past the breaking point, revealing their darkest secrets, taking unthinkable risks, and slowly starting to turn on one another. But Graffam never expected they would turn on her . . .

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places comes a psychological thriller about the monsters who walk among us—even in the glittering upper echelons of society—and the ways in which we seek redemption for the wrongs we’ve done.

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Pre-Reading Thoughts
The premise had me immediately: a dark, claustrophobic take on the storytelling retreat. Boarding schools, secret competitions, stormy estates—those gothic touchstones always call to me.

Post-Reading

• As I thought… The atmosphere was lush and heavy, the perfect storm of candlelight, snow, and creeping unease. I loved how the setting itself felt like a character—one that slowly closed in on everyone.

• It surprised me by… How much time the novel spent in its characters’ heads. There are long stretches of reflection and introspection, which sometimes slowed the pace for me. But for readers who crave the psychological side of thrillers, that’s exactly the draw.

Music Pairing

• 🎵 Featured Song: “Seven Devils” by Florence + The Machine — a chilling anthem for ambition turned monstrous.

• 🎶 Vibe Album: Strange Mercy by St. Vincent.

• 🎧 Artist Recommendation: Billie Eilish, whose work thrives on whispery menace and the threat of chaos just under the surface.

Vibe Check

• 🎨 Colour Palette: Snow white, candle-gold, ink-black.

• 🎼 Soundtrack: A string quartet tuning up in a haunted theater.

• 🍂 Season: Winter, endless and sharp.

• 😶 Mood: Elegance shadowed by dread.

• 🌹 Scent: Old books, spilt wine, and smoke from a dying fire.

Tarot Pull
🗡️ 7 of Swords, Nightfall Tarot — A man sneaks away from a camp beneath the moon, arms full of stolen blades. This story is steeped in secrecy and betrayal, where ambition drives people to take what isn’t theirs, no matter the cost.

For Fans Of

• If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

• Black Swan (film)

When We Were Monsters publishes on the 2nd September, 2025. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.