Verdict: A deliciously dark why-choose campus romance where a scholarship outsider gets pulled into the orbit of three dangerous girls at a Mafia-run university.
Best for: Readers who love reverse-harem sapphic romance, morally grey love interests, and a slow-burn claiming with a sinister undercurrent.
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (4/5 — possessive, high-tension, and steamy)
Rating: ★★★★ 4.18/5 average across 1,136 Goodreads ratings — a strong reader signal for a debut-series opener.
Tropes: Why-choose / reverse harem · Enemies to lovers · Sapphic awakening · Found family · Hidden identity · Dark academia
Some books hook you the moment the outsider walks into a room she doesn’t belong in — and Tricky Girls by Holly Thorne does exactly that. The first book in the Girls of Hazelhurst duet, it drops a scholarship student into a not-so-secretly Mafia-run university and surrounds her with three magnetic, dangerous women. If you’re building a reading list of the best dark sapphic romance books, this why-choose opener earns its spot.
What Is Tricky Girls About?
Tricky Girls follows a scholarship student at Hazelhurst University — an institution that runs on old money, dodgy lecturers, and a current of illegal dealings just beneath its polished surface. She keeps her head down and stays on the fringes, until one night she meets three women who refuse to let her stay invisible.
There’s Elly, with her gentle dominance and a huge heart; Haz, whose sweetness carries a dark, possessive edge; and Nic, the dangerous girl who seems to hate her. As the three close in and start claiming her as theirs, something sinister brews around Nic in particular — a secret that turns a heady romance into something far more precarious.
What Makes This Dark Why-Choose Romance Work
Thorne balances swoon and menace with a confident hand. A few things stand out:
- Three distinct love interests. Elly, Haz, and Nic each read as a fully separate person — different energy, different chemistry — which keeps the why-choose dynamic from blurring together.
- A genuine slow-burn claiming. The pursuit is relentless but earned, with the heroine’s “I want to lose the fight” surrender landing as real tension rather than a shortcut.
- A sinister undercurrent. The Mafia-run campus and the mystery brewing around Nic give the romance real stakes and a plot engine, not just vibes.
- Outsider-looking-in perspective. The scholarship heroine’s fringe status makes the world feel dangerous and aspirational at once.
- Dark academia atmosphere. Hazelhurst is drawn as gorgeous, corrupt, and claustrophobic — the perfect pressure cooker.
Book Synopsis
Our narrator arrives at Hazelhurst determined to keep to herself. She’s scholarship, forever on the outside of the money and menace that run the place, and she has no intention of getting tangled in any of it. Then a single night throws her into the path of Elly, Haz, and Nic — three women who were there exactly when she needed them.
What starts as gratitude curdles into something obsessive as the three set out to make her theirs. She feels herself losing the fight and, more troublingly, wanting to. But the closer she gets, the more she senses something is wrong with Nic — a hidden thread of danger that could unravel everything. To leave Hazelhurst unscathed, she’ll have to watch her every step around these tricky girls.
My Review
I went into Tricky Girls expecting a fun campus reverse-harem and got something with more teeth than I bargained for. Thorne understands the core appeal of why-choose — three people who each fill a different need — and she actually differentiates Elly, Haz, and Nic instead of leaning on interchangeable book-boyfriend energy in a sapphic wrapper. Elly’s warmth, Haz’s velvet possessiveness, and Nic’s hostile edge each land distinctly.
The heroine’s slow surrender is the heart of the book, and it works because Thorne lets it stay complicated. The “I want to lose the fight” refrain could read as passive, but here it captures the specific thrill of being wanted this intensely by people who scare you a little. The Mafia-university backdrop keeps the temperature high without tipping into pure fantasy, and the sinister thread around Nic gives the second half a real forward pull.
It’s worth being honest about the trade-offs. As the first half of a duet, Tricky Girls is very much setup — the sinister mystery around Nic is teased more than resolved, and the ending leaves you dangling rather than satisfied. Some readers also find the four-way dynamic moves fast in places. But if you like your sapphic romance dark, possessive, and layered with a mystery, this is a moreish, propulsive opener that made me immediately want book two.
| Element | In Tricky Girls |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Why-choose / reverse harem (heroine with Elly, Haz & Nic) |
| Core tropes | Enemies to lovers, sapphic awakening, found family, hidden identity |
| Setting | Hazelhurst University — a Mafia-run dark academia campus |
| Heat level | 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (4/5) |
| Series | Girls of Hazelhurst #1 (part one of a why-choose duet) |
| Content notes | Dark themes, possessive dynamics, mafia violence — check the author’s notes for the full list |
How Spicy Is Tricky Girls?
This one runs hot. Expect a solid 4-out-of-5 heat level, driven as much by the possessive, claiming dynamic as by explicit content. The tension of three women pursuing one very willing target does a lot of the work, and the payoff scenes are steamy and charged.
It leans more sensual-and-intense than clinical — the darkness and dominance are part of the appeal rather than window dressing. If you want a reverse-harem that’s spicy without losing its emotional thread, this hits the mark.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you adore sapphic why-choose romance, morally grey love interests, dark academia settings, and a slow-burn claiming with a mystery ticking underneath.
You may want to skip it if: you dislike cliffhangers, prefer a single love interest, or want dark themes kept off the page.
In short: a propulsive, atmospheric opener for readers who like their sapphic romance dark, possessive, and just a little dangerous.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tricky Girls a standalone?
No. It’s the first book in a two-part why-choose duet (Girls of Hazelhurst), so the story continues — and ends — on a hook that carries into book two.
Is Tricky Girls a true sapphic romance?
Yes. It’s a fully sapphic why-choose romance, with the heroine in a developing relationship with three women: Elly, Haz, and Nic.
How steamy is Tricky Girls really?
Quite steamy — around a 4 out of 5. The heat is amplified by possessive, dominant dynamics and the charged pursuit of a reverse-harem setup.
Does Tricky Girls have a happy ending?
Not a full resolution — as the first half of a duet, it ends on a cliffhanger with the central mystery and relationships still unfolding. The emotional payoff arrives in book two.
Do I need to know anything about the Girls of Hazelhurst series first?
No. This is the series opener, so it’s the ideal entry point — just be ready to continue straight into the next book.
If You Loved Tricky Girls, Read These Next
If Hazelhurst’s blend of dark academia, possessive love interests, and simmering danger worked for you, you’ll find plenty more to devour in our roundup of the best dark sapphic romance books — from mafia obsession to morally grey enemies-to-lovers.
The Bottom Line
Tricky Girls is a moreish, high-heat sapphic why-choose opener that pairs three distinct, magnetic love interests with a genuinely sinister mystery. It’s setup-heavy and ends on a cliff, but Holly Thorne makes Hazelhurst dangerous enough — and the girls compelling enough — that you’ll want book two immediately.
Check Tricky Girls on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
Our house scorecard, weighing the book across the dimensions that matter most to dark sapphic romance readers.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall — ★★★★ 4.2/5
- ✓ Anchored to a strong 4.18 average across 1,136 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ A standout entry in the sapphic why-choose space
- ✓ Propulsive, atmospheric, and hard to put down
- ✓ Loses a touch for cliffhanger-heavy pacing as a duet opener
Romance — ★★★★ 4.0/5
- ✓ Three genuinely distinct love interests
- ✓ Slow-burn claiming that earns its surrender
- ✓ Possessive dynamics handled with real tension
- ✓ Central relationships still developing at book’s end
Characters — ★★★★ 4.0/5
- ✓ Elly, Haz & Nic each read as separate, vivid people
- ✓ A relatable outsider heroine to anchor the reader
- ✓ Nic’s hostility masks an intriguing mystery
- ✓ Some secondary players left thinly sketched
Writing — ★★★★ 3.9/5
- ✓ Confident, propulsive prose
- ✓ Strong dark-academia atmosphere
- ✓ Balances swoon and menace well
- ✓ A few fast transitions in the four-way dynamic
Emotional Impact — ★★★★ 3.9/5
- ✓ The pull of being wanted this intensely lands hard
- ✓ Real stakes from the sinister undercurrent
- ✓ Found-family warmth beneath the danger
- ✓ Full emotional payoff deferred to book two
Heat Level — ★★★★½ 4.5/5
- ✓ High-tension, possessive, claiming energy
- ✓ Steamy payoff scenes
- ✓ Heat serves the story rather than padding it
- ✓ Dominance dynamics amplify the spice
Ending — ★★★½ 3.5/5
- ✓ Effective, hooky cliffhanger
- ✓ Sets up book two with real momentum
- ✓ Mystery around Nic left tantalizingly open
- ✓ No standalone resolution — by design
Re-read Value — ★★★★ 3.8/5
- ✓ Fast, addictive comfort re-read
- ✓ Rewards re-reading once the mystery unfolds
- ✓ Distinct love interests keep it fresh
- ✓ Cliffhanger makes it best paired with book two
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