M. A. Bennett

Nine students. Three bloodsports. One deadly weekend. A twisting thriller for fans of gothic literature and The Hunger Games.

S.T.A.G.S

** spoiler alert **
           First book of the year yay! I read this last January 30. The ending got me shooked, why did it end like that? But it reflects reality though, rich people could get away with almost everything, it's crazy how much power they hold. It has its good parts, but I kind of wished for more :[

Emelie

3,5owls 

The twist at the end was not what I expected!

When something is dead, it's supposed to stay dead, right?

Dogs

Stags 2

Karolina Urbanowicz

Leyre Martin

en verdad es un 4.5
un libro que me ha tenido con el corazón en un puño

Alice

This is a direct consequence of my obsession with Dark Academia from two months ago. It might have hit differently if I'd read it then.

3 of the things that made me rate it 2 stars:

- The rushed conclusion. SOOOO much happens in the last 20 pages that could have easily taken 100 more. The vibe is the same as when a kid peacefully sits on the seashore and a wave crashes on them, and every time they sit up and try to suck some air in, another wave hits them square in the face.

- It quickly went from YA to middle-grade-ish? The characters' behaviour, the writing style, and the dynamics. And the romance *ugh*.

- The main character is such a moron. And connecting with anyone from the cast is so hard. 

If you want to get a concentrated feel of the novel, read this review. If you want a longer, spoilery version that made me laugh my head off, try this one.

A scholarship student at prestigious St. Aidan the Great School, Greer is delighted by an invitation to an exclusive weekend of "huntin' shootin' fishin'" until she learns she and the other misfits are the prey.

S.T.A.G.S.

Caitlyn DeRouin

3.5 stars.

I love stories that involve high society and mystery and then when you add in YA, honestly it makes it even better. In a lot of ways it reminded me of They All Fall Down, Dead Girls Society, and The Secret History (can you tell I like these kinds of novels?) S.T.A.G.S. grips you right away with the opening line "I think I might be a murder." I mean really, how are you going to put the book down after that? 

S.T.A.G.S. follows Greer Macdonald as she starts her first year at St. Aiden The Great School - also known as STAGS. She's been a bit of a social outcast, especially from the schools elite the Medievals. But all that changes when she's invited to spend a weekend holiday at the private estate of the Medievals unofficial leader, Henry de Warlencourt, for a weekend of Huntin' Shootin' Fishin', a tradition which is rumored to mean that whoever is invited for the weekend will be accepted into the Medievals. Greer is excited to be accepted into this group, especially by Henry, but when she arrives at Longcross, she realizes that not all is as it seems.

I found myself intrigued by the book and characters even before the main story line began. The whole idea and history behind STAG was fascinating and then there's this air of mystery around the Medievals. There's an eerie vibe from the beginning. Based on the first line, you know that something horrible is about to happen, Greer tells you so herself. She paints herself as the possible suspect and you have to wait until the third half of the book - Fishin' - to find out if she is or not. The story is filled with amazing imagery, mystery, debate of the old world vs. the new, as well as class and race division. 

I really did enjoy this book, the reason I give it 3.5 stars is because there were times when Greer was so wishy-washy, especially when it came to Henry, that started to get on my nerves. While I understand why that was so, and she acknowledges it because she's telling it after the fact, it just made my eyes roll a few too many times. But the writing was fast paced and interesting and kept my attention from the second I picked up the book to when I turned the final page. And that ending! That ending alone was incredible. On one hand I hope there's another book, but on the other? I don't know. Maybe this is The End?

Sam Kiszonka

I am going to start with the fact that this isnt your run-of-the-mill thriller. You start off knowing there was a “murder” and who the “murderer” is. I’ve put these in quotation marks because its debatable whether it could actually be classed as murder. However knowing this doesn’t ruin the story, the fun part is reading about how they got there.
 
I have seen a lot of mixed reviews for this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a dark, fun read that intrigued me from the start.
The characters are well thought out, we have our group of misfits that are invited to the country manor of Henry de Warlencourt, the leader of ‘The Medievals’. The Medievals are unofficial leaders of the school, these are the wealthiest kids in the school. They’re pretty much clones and hard to tell apart most of the time, this is essential to the story. 
 
The author has has done a fantastic job with the story line, the amount of twists left me reeling. Although it is quite obvious who is going to die, the story and all the plot twists are entertaining to say the least. The ending of this book is the best! I’m really hoping that there is a sequel!! 
 
The only issue I had with the book though is the reason The Medievals conduct the “Huntin’, Shootin’, Fishin’” weekend. Honestly I probably would have preferred it if the reasoning was that they were just rich privileged kids. 
 
This is a brilliant book with an intriguing story line. I would love to see this turned into a movie!!
Massive thanks to the author and Allen & Unwin for providing me with a copy of this book. This has not affected my view or opinions in any way.

Ruth Parker 

This book did nothing for me. I thought STAGS was a bit of fun - nothing special but I enjoyed it even though it was a hot mess. But DOGS was just... not good.

Huntin' Shootin' Fishin'

I love love love boarding school young adult books. I wanted to be a school boarder when I was younger - don't ask me why, I think it was to do with all of the midnight feasts I was promised with Enid Blyton that probably would never happen in real life - and I'm still fascinated with the idea of living at school during the week or even during the term.

I'm also a huge fan of mystery books set in schools, including clique style mysteries such as Pretty Little Liars and the Privilege series by Kate Brian. With this in mind, once I saw S.T.A.G.S on the shelf of my local bookstore, I snapped it up, hoping to be dragged into a world of suspenseful school mystery.

It was strange that almost immediately, the main characters leave the school and the majority of the action takes place at one of the popular students' estate during a weekend away. I was hoping for there to be a little bit more based in the school. But instead we are thrust into the fabulous home of Henry, where technology doesn't exist and there are no adults to monitor the kids, only servants to offer their services throughout the weekend.

Greer and two other lower ranking students are invited to Longcross, where they are promised the chance to up their popularity and perhaps become 'Medievals' in the school next year (similar to school prefects, I guess.) However, instead of this being a fun weekend of upper class jollys, things take a frightening turn and Greer and her new friends have to work out whether they are the hunters or the hunted.

I mostly enjoyed this book. I found the start to be a little slow at times, and I was hoping for a little more action to hook me as the reader in. However, I do no regret pursuing this, as I felt like the story kicked in towards a third of the way through and continued right up until the very end. In fact the twist right at the end was brilliantly done, even though I had a small inkling that it would happen (although it did surprise me as I thought the time for the twist had come and gone!) and I thought it was so good I bumped the book up a whole star rating.

My main issue was with the character of Greer. I hate to judge books by their main characters, as I feel like sometimes they are not supposed to be likable. But Greer clearly is. And so, some things she does and says really annoyed me. For example, she was constantly comparing every situation to films she had seen - I don't know if, in that situation, that would be one of the first things I'd think to do, and I'm a bit of a film buff myself. There's a real chance she and her friends might die and in her head is a commentary from a film she watched years ago. Why? Also, I didn't like the way she kept saying she was a bad feminist. She was a rubbish feminist because the first thing she noticed about a guy was that he was hot... What does that have to do with feminism? Or humanism? That's just appreciation, in my opinion. If you call yourself a feminist or a humanist or whatever, you still find people attractive as that is just human nature. 

Apart from Greer getting on my nerves at points, overall I found the story to be fun and fast paced after a slow start and I am massively looking forward to checking out the next book in the series. That twist has got me hooked!

Victoria Grace

I could tell about everything that was going to happen and the main charter bugged me now and then but the plot alone was good.

Well I liked this book more then the first one but that wasn’t that hard to do?.... since I gave it one star the only reason I picked this up is because I’m in lockdown and my library had the audiobook the only way I see myself reading the 3rd one witch by the way I am amazed is actually happening will be if there was another case of me being locked inside but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Justine Rose

*4.5ish.
I loved this book! It was so different and while it may not have been wholly shocking twist wise, it was such an interesting read! Greer was so enjoyable as a main character, she wasn’t full of herself but she could also call herself out whenever she was too ridiculous. 
While a romance aspect was missing for me, I actually didn’t mind that. 
It was a dark story, but at the same time I think it could have been (and maybe should have been?) darker, a bit more horrifying. 
Overall a great read, and I’ll be rereading someday!

M A Bennett

Nine students. Three bloodsports. One deadly weekend. A twisting thriller for fans of Looking for Alaska. It is the autumn term and Greer MacDonald is struggling to settle into the sixth form at the exclusive St. Aidan the Great boarding school, known to its privileged pupils as S.T.A.G.S. Just when she despairs of making friends Greer receives a mysterious invitation with three words embossed upon on it: huntin' shootin' fishin'. When Greer learns that the invitation is to spend the half term weekend at the country manor of Henry de Warlencourt, the most popular and wealthy boy at S.T.A.G.S., she is as surprised as she is flattered. But when Greer joins the other chosen few at the ancient and sprawling Longcross Hall, she realises that Henry's parents are not at home; the only adults present are a cohort of eerily compliant servants. The students are at the mercy of their capricious host, and, over the next three days, as the three bloodsports - hunting, shooting and fishing - become increasingly dark and twisted, Greer comes to the horrifying realisation that those being hunted are not wild game, but the very misfits Henry has brought with him from school...

Nine students. Three blood sports. One deadly weekend.

STAGS

Samira 

This book is everything I could've hoped for. Dark, thrilling, exciting and powerful. I loved the first book and throughout the series it continues to get better and better. Every book is nervwracking and takes you through a world where nothing is as it seems. You can't put this book down. 

Leelynn Brady

Had some thoughts about Shafeen and the others. Still enjoyed the book though.
Find out more on my blog Sometimes Leelynn Reads

Eilidh 

DNF'ed at 40%

I wanted to know what happened but I was forcing myself to finish this book and it wasn't worth it there are other things I want to read in my spare time. 

The synopsis of this book sounded really interesting, and I was really intreaged by it. But the book it's self really wasn't something I was enjoying. 

I didn't enjoy the whole weekend away point. Why spend a weekend away with someone you don't know? Someone who you DO know is a bully? Greer was warned not to go but she still did. The plot sounded interesting but then the whole Chanel getting chased by the dogs? It didn't sound right. I understand why Stags are hunted, and that wasn't the part that effected me, what effected me was the fact that it was fully described, when the Stag was shot, when Perfect cut it open, when Perfect pulled out the inside and the deer's liver? It made me feel sick!!

This book wasn't enjoyable for me but I feel that anyone could I enjoy it these are all my personal opinions. But I know that everyone has their own opinions and are allowed to express those.

"Gossip Girl meets The Hunger Games." --Bustle "Like Mean Girls, but British and deadly. . . . This book is great, from start to finish." --Hypable Get ready for one deadly weekend in this twisting thriller for fans of Pretty Little Liars and One of Us is Lying that explores just how far the elite at an English boarding school will go. Greer MacDonald has just started as a scholarship student at the exclusive St. Aidan the Great boarding school, known to its privileged pupils as STAGS. STAGS is a place where new things--and new people--are to be avoided. And in her first days there, Greer is ignored at best and mocked at worst by the school's most admired circle of friends, the Medievals. So, naturally, Greer is taken by surprise when the Medievals send her an invitation to a sought-after weekend retreat at the private family estate of their unofficial leader, Henry de Warlencourt. It's billed as a weekend of "huntin' shootin' fishin'." As the weekend begins to take shape, it becomes apparent that beyond the luxurious trappings, predators are lurking, and they're out for blood. OPTIONED FOR FILM BY FOX 2000 AND CHERNIN ENTERTAINMENT--WITH HUNGER GAMES CO-WRITER TO ADAPT! "Reinvigorates the boarding-school thriller." --The Guardian

Jessica 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | (4.5) Full review also found here. 

As a note, an e-galley of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way. 

S.T.A.G.S. is the type of novel that you need to really be in the mood for. If you're not in the right state of mind for the book, it will certainly not be your cup of tea and border on dull or lifeless. But, it's exactly its dreary tone of danger that captivated me from the get-go. S.T.A.G.S. is smart and indulgent, mysterious and gray, compelling to a quality beyond its age range. It's perfect for fans of Kate Brian's beloved Private series and twisted in just the right way. There's something utterly compelling and fresh to S.T.A.G.S. that I can't quite explain without spoiling the story.

So what do you get when you mix (1) Elite school for mostly over privileged kids (3) Outsiders longing for the chance to no longer be on the outside looking in (6) Of said Elite School's "most admired group of friends" called the Medievals and one weekend outing full of all the bleak and luxurious perks of being part of a clique? A twisted game of hunt or be hunted that will, without a doubt, do your head in with all the suspense that follows.

Straight away, we're introduced to the narrator/main character Greer MacDonald. Greer is a very solid narrator and frankly, the story wouldn't have worked from anyone else's point of view (sans, perhaps, Henry--but we'll get to that later) because she truly speaks to readers. As it happens, Greer's voice is exactly how you'd expect it to be--she is thoughtful, shaken and somewhere between child and adult.

I wasn't sure I'd like how the narration would be set up--in something like a retrospect--but it truly worked. I liked that we saw Greer's life as it was before the event; her quiet observation of her fellow classmates, the ones who isolate, ignore or mock her, the admiration she had at first for the clique known as the Medievals and in particular the ringleader, Henry de Warlencourt.

There's this sort of innocence to her at first. I am reluctant to use that exact term but there's nothing else quite sufficient to refer to the picture of Before that she paints in her narration. Because the story is told in comparison to life Before and After one fateful weekend.

Other elements included in the story are: cruelty, privilege, friendship and what it's like to grow up in a word of insiders as an outsider.

At its core, S.T.A.G.S. could be seen as something not terribly unique. Upon first glance, I'll admit, I thought it'd be just another private school mystery that had little substance. But Bennett surprised me with her descriptive writing, richly drawn history and spine-tingling suspense that built up slowly and in what felt like real time.

You see, she has this way of writing her characters that feels incredibly real. Like you already know them. Greer could be your very best-friend, a girl from your class, your sister. Chanel could be much of the same. And of course, so can Shafeen. These three serve as the moral center of the novel and feel very much like the sort of kids I'd have befriended during my teenage years--I loved that quality. You truly wanted them to get out of their ordeal alive.

As for the Medievals, they too felt like kids you knew in high school... but with a dreadfully dark and disturbing twist. That being said, I'm not sure why many reviewers are titling this story as something similar to the film Mean Girls. Plot-wise, the story is completely different and far more creepy due to its subject matter and the so-called game at hand. Come to think of it, there's nothing quite like it that I had ever read before and that's what made it so appealing to me, plot-holes and all. The only book I can think to compare it to, in its genre, is the above mentioned Private (and Privilege) series by Kate Brian.

In fact, Henry feels like the perfectly suitable counterpart to Private/Privilege's deliciously charming and utterly evil Ariana Osgood. I remember thinking, for the most part, how similar they were in tone and personality. Admittedly, Ariana was the much more sympathetic villain but they are both deeply compelling because of their gruesome games.

But back to S.T.A.G.S.

I'm not going to tackle the plot-holes that made me knock my rating down half a star because they're more personal preference ticks than actual faults of Bennett's delectable tale. S.T.A.G.S. was more than any flaws it had and that's what makes it so brilliant and atmospheric; it isn't perfect but it sure is easy to get wrapped into.

Essentially, the story's biggest focus is the Medievals and their clique's ways. You know the type... until you don't. Because these kids aren't exactly the mean girls and boys you've known your entire life. What I found to be most intriguing about them was not their personalities or lack of quirks, it was the way they owned the school and its students with barely any whisper. They had this eerie control over everyone and everything, to the point that their word was basically law.

And there's this whole conspiracy on just how deeply their word runs in the entire area, even beyond the school. Including some interesting trends they set--like the distaste for technology and social media, not something you see everyday in this particular age group. It begs the question... who else is under their thumbs?

They are true hunters; stylish in their arrogance, intelligent and conniving. They lure you into a sort of comfort before going in for the kill. Quite literally. The worst of them all, of course, is Henry. He is clearly the mastermind behind everything and calls the shots in his own time. What's worse is he is the type of character that chills you to your bone as you wonder if you should distrust him or if it's all in your head.

That's the biggest theme of the novel: you just don't know who to trust and if you, and the characters, are overreacting.

Every year, at half-term, (?) the Medievals host a weekend away at the estate of Henry's family. The place is old and luxurious, setting further the tone and atmosphere that Bennett had set up at the just-as-old-and-creepy school, and the purpose of the getaway is supposedly to scope out new prospects for their little clique.

During this time, the group of six known as the Medievals would get to know a group of three and partake in "
  huntin' shootin' fishin'
". This, of course, makes one outsider suspicious from the get-go and the other two are seduced into this idea that, one day, they'd be a part of the group for real. Any teenager who has felt loneliness or like they don't truly belong in school would have felt the same, and that vulnerability serves as something obtainable for the audience.

It also serves as something the Medievals rely on when it comes to their own games.

Soon, the weekend turns from fun to a nightmare and the three outsiders have to find a way to beat the others at their own game. One thing is for certain: none of them are safe and the hunt is on.

With a chilling pace and fascinating twists and turns, S.T.A.G.S. proves itself to be one of the best YA books of the year and one of the funnest debuts I've read in a very long time. My heart was pounding at a constant pace throughout the many thrilling moments and my mind is still reeling from that final twist. And the way that it ended was truly and completely satisfying! I loved S.T.A.G.S. and cannot wait to hear more from Bennett in the future.

S.T.A.G.S

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