Hunting: On the first day they go Stag hunting. At this point I will happily admit that all the hunting elements in this book are meticulously researched. Good job! I really enjoyed STAGS, it was a huge hit with my book club, so I was really looking forward to discussing this one with them too. We will discuss it, but for me it just falls a bit flat. It feels as though it’s grasping onto the success of its predecessor. While the aristocratic setting and characterisation of the Medievals is spot on, particularly Bennett’s descriptions of their plum-in-the-mouth way of speaking, the actual plot verges on being a little too far-fetched. The blood sport action also feels too easily resolved, even though the conclusion is open ended; more of the huntin’ shootin’ fishin’ would have gone down a treat to really amp up the eerie atmosphere and make it feel like these characters might not make it out alive. I don’t even know what to say. I love the characters, I love the writing, I love the history sprinkled throughout the narrative. Also, the female characters cutting their hair and wearing suits? Ugh, a dream. I’m in love. This book was just so fun, and I have no idea where the storyline is going.

When she arrives at the manor house, she discovers that the other two guests are also misfits at her school. There's Chanel, who is rich, but oh-no! It's new money. Totally the wrong kind. And there's Shafeen, who's from India, and yes we're going to play the race card here. There are also all six of the snobby kids here. I grew up in my grandmother's cottage in the grounds of the stately home where she worked, so I saw the landed gentry at close quarters. My childhood was my research - I used to be in and out of the house all the time, and as I grew up became friends with the heirs to the estate. I knew as soon as I started reading this that I was going to enjoy it and I wasn't proved wrong. With twists and turns right to the very end, readers will love this book - so easy to follow with brilliant characters (I could certainly see the attraction with Henry) and a seriously captivating plot.

I won't describe how the story starts, and what happens. But I will say this what grabbed my attention to read on was the very first line. When someone's dead they're supposed to stay dead right? When Greer receives an invitation from the most popular boy in school to go to his family estate for the weekend, she is beyond excited. Maybe finally she can make some friends and be included. Greer has just received a scholarship to the prestigious S.T.A.G.S boarding school. As expected though, she doesn't fit in. These kids are the ultimate in privilege; years and years of entitlement and 'Old money' have led to a 'mean girls' like group known as medievals.

So much of the book made absolutely no sense. Like you know, I get it's an elite school full of kids who are really loaded but... The cliché starts with the subject matter: family dysfunction, specifically divorce. This is certainly a legitimate subject for literature, but it’s not a promising one – it’s been done so many times lately that any book that wants to do it again should really do it differently than any other book has. This book doesn’t. Cliché continues with the title, which like too many recent verse collections uses a coyly clever pun (Stag’s Leap – the favorite wine of a couple – of whom the husband is the stag who “leaps” free by divorce – get it?) to place a friendly arm over the reader’s shoulder: I’m smart enough to make the pun, and you’re smart enough to understand it, so off we go together!” It did feel a bit too long. There were parts which felt like it dragged a lot. It was definitely longer than the first book which I'm not sure it needed to be. Archaic class systems and social hierarchy have been overarching themes to many a book, film and TV series, but rarely is it pushed to such fatal extremes as in M A Bennett’s debut novel . Featuring nine students, three blood sports and one deadly weekend, STAGS is a darkly compelling and twisted YA thriller that explores bullying, traditional upper-crust pastimes and cult-like societies. This was a unique, creative, and thrilling novel that is not typical within the Young Adult genre. It almost felt as if it was a combination of "Pretty Little Liars" by Sara Shepard and the movies "Scream" and "Mean Girls". It was a different story and not only in the idea but the execution of the crimes.The de Warlencourt estate is also used to show how upper-class life is unrecognisable to most people. Greer thinks she is in the Great Hall, and learns that she is in the boot room. The de Warlencourt’s wellies enjoy better accommodation than most working class families. The relationship between the team of servants to the family reminded me of Rebecca. Greer is politer to the servants than any of the ‘Medievals’, but like the second Mrs de Winter, her manners mark her out as somebody who doesn’t belong at Longcross. Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark...

I had zero connection with any of the characters in this book. Yes, their appearences were described, but I never got a sense of who they were as a person, and so honestly, I didn't care what their fate would turn out to be, whether they lived or died... meh.In films, you see, if someone's still alive, whatever state they're in, they leave the face uncovered - obvs - so the person can breath." I also thought it quite ingenious how the author wrote the book in five ‘acts’ exactly the number that traditional Elizabethan and Jacobean plays were written of that time. Having the story set locally to me also attracted my interest and I could vividly picture the medieval school and the daunting woods at Longcross. One thing that seriously bothered me was how the MC, Greer, continuously, and what felt like in every second sentence, made a movie reference. From the Godfather Part II to Lawrence of Arabia, The Princess Diaries to The Jungle Book...every movie under the sun is referenced by Greer. We get it. Your dad is a cameraman and you have a mutual love for films. CALM DOWN. MA Bennett's S.T.A.G.S. series is currently in production and there are now four books in the series, including the latest, T.I.G.E.R.S. Greer MacDonald wins a scholarship to the prestigious STAGS (St Aidan the great school). She finds it hard to make new friends as old money trumps new and it’s an old establishment where one’s ancestry is very important.