Reading Hyped Dark Academia Books | I’M SORRY FOR WHAT’S ABOUT TO HAPPEN 💀

Hey everyone!

Dark Academia is one of the most talked about subgenres of books. Over the past two years, I read and adored Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo and Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. Therefore I thought I would get straight on this hype train, and explore some of the most popular books in Dark Academia.

~ overview ~

As you will soon discover, me and dark academia were not the new love I wanted. I had about a 50% success rate with some of my lowest-rated books this year. No surprise, the fantasy ones were my favourite. Being new to this subgenre, perhaps I should have done more research instead of being swept away by the hype, but I know I liked the sound of all the synopsises going in. But, alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

I really liked the use of the setting and atmosphere. It is so distinct and immersible. Plus, the characters can be complex, pretentious, arrogant so-and-sos, which I liked exploring. Academia is a rich white man’s world which requires substantial discussions. Yet I have mostly only seen class/money conversations. Thankfully, there are more books exploring topics surrounding race, gender, sexuality, and disability being published.

I personally would like to see the acknowledgement of education as a privilege. Not everyone gets an education, let alone a good one, so seeing respect for opportunities would be interesting. As well as characters who hate/avoid the education system, specifically toxic teaching methods/environments.

plain bad heroines by Emily m. Danforth

~ about the book ~

–

Our story begins in 1902, at The Brookhants School for Girls. Flo and Clara, two impressionable students, are obsessed with each other and with a daring young writer named Mary MacLane, the author of a scandalous bestselling memoir. To show their devotion to Mary, the girls establish their own private club and call it The Plain Bad Heroine Society. They meet in secret in a nearby apple orchard, the setting of their wildest happiness and, ultimately, of their macabre deaths. This is where their bodies are later discovered with a copy of Mary’s book splayed beside them, the victims of a swarm of stinging, angry yellow jackets. Less than five years later, The Brookhants School for Girls closes its doors forever—but not before three more people mysteriously die on the property, each in a most troubling way.

Over a century later, the now abandoned and crumbling Brookhants is back in the news when wunderkind writer, Merritt Emmons, publishes a breakout book celebrating the queer, feminist history surrounding the “haunted and cursed” Gilded-Age institution. Her bestselling book inspires a controversial horror film adaptation starring celebrity actor and lesbian it girl Harper Harper playing the ill-fated heroine Flo, opposite B-list actress and former child star Audrey Wells as Clara. But as Brookhants opens its gates once again, and our three modern heroines arrive on set to begin filming, past and present become grimly entangled—or perhaps just grimly exploited—and soon it’s impossible to tell where the curse leaves off and Hollywood begins.

A story within a story within a story and featuring black-and-white period illustrations.

~ my thoughts ~

Calling this book dark academia is a stretch, but it is surrounding murders at a school. Told in two timelines, the time of the murders and the making of the movie inspired by the murders over 100 years later. The movie plot being the most dominant.

Lucky for me, the movie plot was my favourite. We followed two actresses and a writer. Each one very different, unknowingly keeping the same lie and unfathomably connected. Together, they experience the haunting (or not) of the movie set, I loved the slow gothic suspense paired with the strong character focus.

Despite the two plots, I would consider it a relatively plotless book. It prioritised building suspense and horror in both settings. Emploring readers to get lost in the madness and question the reality.

It is a long book, but it was genuinely easy to devour. For me, more because of the comic writing tone, different characters, the dilute element of mystery and the multiple perspectives.

I preferred the start and middle sections to the end. The whole book has a meandering feel; “let’s look at what emotion is here”, “let’s talk women over there”, and “let’s appreciate Sapphics always”. The plot faded in and out throughout, with no epic conclusion. I enjoyed this approach until the end when I had to question the purpose of this novel. Still, it did have revelations, of which you could easily discuss the themes and character decisions.

I am thankful for the enjoyable qualities because they easily kept my interest. It gave me “no plots, just vibes” for a fun horror time.

~ RATING ~

★★★☆☆

bunny by mona awad

~ about the book ~

–

Samantha Heather Mackey couldn’t be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England’s Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort–a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other “Bunny,” and seem to move and speak as one.

But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies’ fabled “Smut Salon,” and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door–ditching her only friend, Ava, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the Bunnies’ sinister yet saccharine world, beginning to take part in the ritualistic off-campus “Workshop” where they conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur. Soon, her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies will be brought into deadly collision.

The spellbinding new novel from one of our most fearless chroniclers of the female experience, Bunny is a down-the-rabbit-hole tale of loneliness and belonging, friendship and desire, and the fantastic and terrible power of the imagination.

~ my thoughts ~

Going into this book, I knew to expect a story that won’t be for everyone and elements of weirdness. Having now read Bunny, I agree with this statement. Yet I end in the middle. This book isn’t for me, but it isn’t not for me either.

When reading it, I would drown in these words, or they would flow over me. It alternated every time I picked the book up. Sometimes it was a vague dream I struggled to recollect. Other times I felt bonded to the characters as I shared private smiles with them.

When people talk about this book, the plot is left behind the curtain as it is one you want to discover as you read. Just know it is a metaphor of feelings. I enjoyed the twisty way it explored loneliness, and the ending was certainly a take-notice one.

However, as you would expect, the “bunnies” were a significant part of this book, but I didn’t care for them. They had a singular point and distinct decor, then what? I struggled to distinguish each of them, and they felt lacklustre despite the presence they should have brought.

Regardless of my interest in the plot, I always loved the writing style. Poignant in decoration, obscure in points, both proud and scared of itself. It displayed a grand tapestry of emotions and meanings, yet it was the floral presentation I loved most.

~ RATING ~

★★★☆☆

if we were villains by m. l. Rio

~ about the book ~

–

Oliver Marks has just served ten years in jail – for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he’s released, he’s greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago.

As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.

~ my thoughts ~

This book is hard to review because my thoughts have a contradictory nature towards it.  

I was intrigued/fascinated/moved by the characters’ decisions (bar one). The writing was addictive and profound. The cast was dramatic, and the narrator wasn’t the most obvious choice. The symbolism you could spend days exploring. Yet, I wouldn’t say I enjoyed this book overall despite all these traits I admired.  

This is a mystery book, but I could not have cared less about the mystery. Initially, it had my attention, but every reveal was the most obvious choice. I felt let down by it continuously as it was so basic. By the end, I felt very uninvested. Worse still was the overreliance on simple jealousy as a plot device. 

On the flip side, I can’t state that it was a plain mystery because it was skirted with complexities. The exploration was sometimes on the sidelines, but it was there. Jealousy paired well with love and made the characters act interestingly, but I needed something more alongside it as it was very linear going from point A to B. 

I liked the characters because they kept my interest. However, there were too many to be explored in such a short book. Each character had only two traits to explore. It was almost enough. Almost. 

One of the biggest strengths for me was how it took evil acts and their consequences to be a display of an emotion associated with positivity. It made it more delicate, strong and poetic. Plus, the tragic moments were amplified with both sorrow and beauty because of it. It felt very clever. It was a saving grace in the end for me. Especially when you reach the ending because it most certainly stuck the landing. Pretty fucking powerful.

To sum up, it had too many weaknesses for me to completely enjoy, but the strengths feel too uniquely poignant to ignore. It captured both ends of the spectrum for me. I am glad I read it because it made me think and what the whole book was in pursuit of exploring made a powerful ending. Therefore I definitely had a good reading experience, but perhaps I would not call it an unequivocally spectacular book.

~ RATING ~

★★★☆☆

a deadly education by Naomi Novik

~ about the book ~

–

Lesson One of the Scholomance: Learning has never been this deadly.

A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.

There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

~ my thoughts ~

I struggled with this book to the point where I questioned why I was still reading it. It was advertised as “a magical school where the character has to fight for survival whilst handling dark magic”. The book provided this but in none of the ways I imagined.

I pictured atmospheric writing to transport into the magical, haunting setting. Instead, I got a colloquial, unedited textbook. It was very blocky, with a tangent on every other page about explaining the history or meaning. I am all for world-building, but this conversational tone of meandering thought was exhausting. I get it was going for a fun, quirky voice, but it made me want to scream. It was not fun!

As the premise details, the school is extremely dangerous because monsters are behind everything. You were reminded of this danger all the time. It was soo repetitive, and did you know that Galadriel/El was alone? Yes, because it was mentioned again and again and again (and AGAIN AND AGAIN).

Okay, so we have established I didn’t like the writing style *screams into pillow*. But, the writing is only one aspect of the book.

The world-building was a major part of this novel. The amount of thought that went into creating the rules and results created an impressive, logical structure. Sometimes I found the details pointless or over-explained, but I did appreciate the thought. Especially the use of a hierarchical structure to discuss the influence of cliques and social ranking.

The characters were different. El, the lead, had a cynical and occasionally humorous tone. You get to know her quite well as the book is predominantly El talking to you. Orion was a uniquely classic take on the hero character. They bounced off each other well. I also liked how big a focus there was on female friendships.

I can see its merits, but the writing destroyed it all. It truly felt like such a drag to get through. Sadly, it was a book I forced myself to finish. The ending did intrigue me to an extent, but I cannot face any more of this.

~ RATING ~

★★☆☆☆

Catherine house by Elisabeth Thomas

~ about the book ~

–

Catherine House is a school of higher learning like no other. Hidden deep in the woods of rural Pennsylvania, this crucible of reformist liberal arts study with its experimental curriculum, wildly selective admissions policy, and formidable endowment, has produced some of the world’s best minds: prize-winning authors, artists, inventors, Supreme Court justices, presidents. For those lucky few selected, tuition, room, and board are free. But acceptance comes with a price. Students are required to give the House three years—summers included—completely removed from the outside world. Family, friends, television, music, even their clothing must be left behind. In return, the school promises its graduates a future of sublime power and prestige, and that they can become anything or anyone they desire.

Among this year’s incoming class is Ines, who expects to trade blurry nights of parties, pills, cruel friends, and dangerous men for rigorous intellectual discipline—only to discover an environment of sanctioned revelry. The school’s enigmatic director, Viktória, encourages the students to explore, to expand their minds, to find themselves and their place within the formidable black iron gates of Catherine.

For Ines, Catherine is the closest thing to a home she’s ever had, and her serious, timid roommate, Baby, soon becomes an unlikely friend. Yet the House’s strange protocols make this refuge, with its worn velvet and weathered leather, feel increasingly like a gilded prison. And when Baby’s obsessive desire for acceptance ends in tragedy, Ines begins to suspect that the school—in all its shabby splendor, hallowed history, advanced theories, and controlled decadence—might be hiding a dangerous agenda that is connected to a secretive, tightly knit group of students selected to study its most promising and mysterious curriculum.

~ my thoughts ~

I have read this book, I promise you. Every word from this book has entered my head in the correct order. Still, I am at a loss with the plot. I knew this book had a lot of mixed opinions, but I wanted to give it a shot because the premise sounded so good. I mean, locked in the school for 3 years, but you are promised to achieve power and your desired life. How deliciously intriguing. 

I was upset that this unique premise was not used to its potential. Ines. Ines, darling. The main character (who I do lowkey adore) should not have been the lead. The book is centred around ambition, but Ines just happened upon situations. She didn’t really want to be there and only acted if pushed. 

I believe the book discusses the “American Dream” and what it costs. So following an unconventional character with different goals from the norm can deepen the discussion. But I don’t feel confident in saying this because the book never showed me this exploration in a take-notice way. 

More than this was the nature of the plot. It was atmospheric with a great voice. Beautiful, but I felt mad and confused whilst reading this book. It was only fun sometimes. I didn’t know why it focused on what it did because it didn’t feel necessary to entertain or add to the purpose. 

I would enjoy analysing this book (in another life) to decipher its meaning with someone. Without that extracurricular activity, I was stuck embodying the sentiment “Wut?”. 

Therefore, I feel my experience with this book was partly my fault and part down to the story. It leaves me feeling a little uncomfortable in rating it, but I am being honest about my experience. I’d love to know anyone’s thoughts or analyse on this book if you’ve read it. 

~ RATING ~

★★☆☆☆

the atlas six by Olivie blake

~ about the book ~

–

The Alexandrian Society is a secret society of magical academicians, the best in the world. Their members are caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity. And those who earn a place among their number will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams. Each decade, the world’s six most uniquely talented magicians are selected for initiation – and here are the chosen few…

– Libby Rhodes and Nicolás Ferrer de Varona: inseparable enemies, cosmologists who can control matter with their minds.
– Reina Mori: a naturalist who can speak the language of life itself.
– Parisa Kamali: a mind reader whose powers of seduction are unmatched.
– Tristan Caine: the son of a crime kingpin who can see the secrets of the universe.
– Callum Nova: an insanely rich pretty boy who could bring about the end of the world. He need only ask.

When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they must spend one year together to qualify for initiation. During this time, they will be permitted access to the Society’s archives and judged on their contributions to arcane areas of knowledge. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. If they can prove themselves to be the best, they will survive. Most of them.

~ my thoughts ~

It is best to go into this book with the correct expectations. Thankfully, because of Katja’s review, I did. It has the classic plot of a group of six characters coming together who have to fight for the five spaces in The Alexandrian Society. I would say it weirdly reminded me of The Hunger Games. Set in an academic arena, aiming to get through to the next round, using mental warfare play-acting with trust and support. 

I expected a more “buddy-buddy” group dynamic, as “the true journey was the friends were made along the way” is almost everyone’s kryptonite. But, no, this was not this book.

Each character has their own goal and method. You focus on their individual intent to create six journeys influencing each other. 

How they all interact with each other is dependent on how it will help them. It made for a darker read, as they all use each other to an extent. But it is done in a way where you almost don’t know who to trust, so it is a tangle of likeable qualities with manipulation. It was a lot of fun intrigue with genuine heartfelt moments too. I made you question why they are doing it and whether should they be doing it.

Due to this setup, the entire book felt like part one of the characters’ journeys without any major direction. There was a plot, but it moved the characters, not the story. Therefore I would only suggest this book to unconventional character lovers who like philosophical tangents and small-scale worldbuilding. 

~ RATING ~

★★★★☆

the secret history by donna tartt

~ about the book ~

–

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last—inexorably—into evil.

~ my thoughts ~

This was one of the most unsatisfactory experiences I’ve had with a book in a long time, to the point where the good aspects of this story didn’t improve my experience.

I had built an image of what to expect with this book, and the reality didn’t match. I expected a mysterious, poetic novel. But the mystery was erased when the prologue stated who died. I get it was going for something else but no mystery was there! The poetic writing (and it was genuinely poetic) was sabotaged by its tedious nature. Even if the food on the plate has a meaning, I don’t want to hear the list. The natural elegance made it easy to read, but I was bored. It spent so long on little details. For some, this will be its asset, but describing the science behind a kettle doesn’t always make boiling water extraordinary.

The characters didn’t earn much gravitas, either. I won’t remember any of them as I found them unremarkable and quite lifeless. But, I will say the narrator is worth paying attention to. I think the genius of this novel is who is telling it and why they are telling it as such. The over-explaining, his bias (especially concerning Bunny), his persuasion, sympathy, tone and motive. Pay attention to these, and you get a different experience. I consider him a liar, and we (as the audience) are never told the truth. But it doesn’t resolutely hold onto this tone which was the one thing I liked.

This is a fascinating concept. One that makes you want to start a book club and dissect everything but the book itself; snoozefest! I didn’t like (borderline hated) the plot and characters. I hated the use of suicide, and the conclusion lacked any impact. You may be reading this review and thinking this book was wasted on me. Perhaps you are right, but all I can say is… never again!

~ RATING ~

★☆☆☆☆

legendborn by tracy deonn

~ about the book ~

–

–

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.

And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.

The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.

She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.

~ my thoughts ~

Legendborn. Ah. Legendborn saved me. I have struggled with YA fantasy books lately because I felt they had lost their spark, but not Legendborn. Whilst it contained many traits beloved in YA books, it didn’t feel like a haphazard collection of tropes joined together because they are popular. It was a perfect journey that came together because of thought and care.

Bree is the heart of this book. She displayed a range of emotions that pushed and pulled her story. Bree was such a good character to follow. Vivid, emotional reactions interlaced with strength and a good heart. You root for her from the get-go. I think this is such a pivotal part of a YA novel.

The plot was continually moving with new information or characters to grip me immediately, which happens rarer and rarer now. I cannot tell you how easy it was to get lost in this world. The story effortlessly captured the adventurous side, but I was surprised by how much the mystery kept me going. There were many reveals, and even when I predicted them, I felt entranced by the book and compelled to read more.

The modern take on Arthurian legend was excellent because it is not a retelling. It is a magic system built on old legends to create a new world to explore. One perfectly suited for telling this story of grief and resilience. I can’t wait to see where this series goes because it has the potential for further exploration, and I am besotted with the characters.

As mentioned, Bree was an angel with emotional range. Nick, whilst not my favourite (I never trust blonde boys for some reason), had a cookie-cutter charm and behaved very exemplary. Then, Selwyn was perfect. The epitome of the brooding character; fragile, never accepts help and cynical. I really do need that sequel!

I am not doing this book justice, but I loved it so much. Trust me, it felt epic and alive. Most books only dream of doing this.

~ RATING ~

★★★★★

Do you like Dark Academia? Have you read any of these books? Did you enjoy them? Have you got any Dark Academia recommendations?