With Friends Like These by Alissa Lee

As the final hours of 2025 tick away, I’ve found myself on a relentless hunt for one last five-star read to close out the year. My latest contender was a fascinating debut that, while not quite hitting that top-tier mark, certainly made for a gripping afternoon. At just 240 pages, it is a lightning-fast read with a writing style that immediately pulled me in. The story centers on a “semi-dark academia” concept where a group of schoolgirls plays a chilling game involving a chosen “victim” and a mock execution. However, the play-acting takes a tragic turn with the actual death of one of the girls, a moment that changes their lives forever.

What surprised me most was the structure; I went into this expecting a standard campus mystery, but the narrative quickly propels us into the future. Now grown women, the survivors reunite to play their deadly childhood game one last time, only now the stakes have evolved into a high-stakes gamble involving staggering amounts of money. It’s an addictive premise that explores how the shadows of our youth can follow us into adulthood.

I ultimately gave this a solid three stars. It is an impressive debut that excels in its pacing—it is truly a one-sitting book that never lets you come up for air. While the concept of the game is brilliant, I did find myself having to overlook a few plot holes to stay immersed. My main critique is that despite the breakneck speed, the story felt a little thin in terms of actual development. For a book about such high stakes, I was craving more visceral action and deeper psychological drama to fill out the pages. It’s a great, polished effort from a new author, but it left me just a bit hungry for more substance as I head into my 2026 reading list!

With Friends Like These by Alissa Lee