Dark Academia

Yesteryear

Caro Claire Burke · Literary Fiction

***'My name is Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive…'*** Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle – and has the social media…

dark academia · psychological thriller · twist ending · unreliable narrator · gothic atmosphere

Mad Mabel

Sally Hepworth · Mystery & Thriller

Meet Mad Mabel. Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one years old. She's lived on her idyllic street, Kenny Lane, for sixty years--longer than…

psychological thriller · dark academia · twist ending · morally grey character

Ninth House

Leigh Bardugo · Fantasy

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class.

dark academia · urban fantasy · trauma recovery · ghosts · demons

Bunny

Mona Awad · Literary Fiction

Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University.

dark academia · magical realism · gothic atmosphere · coming of age · grimdark

Spoiled Milk

Avery Curran · Horror

“The haunted lesbian boarding school horror show we always wanted.

dark academia · gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · found family · paranormal romance

The Secret History

Donna Tartt · Literary Fiction

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of…

dark academia · psychological thriller · morally grey character · found family

The Raven Scholar

Antonia Hodgson · Fantasy

Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four years of peace, the reign of Bersun the Brusque has come to an end.

dark academia · slow burn · found family · twist ending

The Will of the Many

James Islington · Fantasy

The Catenan Republic—the Hierarchy—may rule the world, but they do not know everything.

dark academia · chosen one · quest

The Disappearers

Marlon James · Literary Fiction

MARLON JAMES'S TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO THE BOOKER PRIZE-WINNING A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS 'Darkness is a mood in Jamaica .

dark academia · historical fiction · grimdark · political intrigue

MAY WE FEED THE KING.

REBECCA. PERRY · Literary Fiction

dark academia · gothic atmosphere

The Vivisectors

Missouri Williams · Literary Fiction

A reclusive graduate student is forced into a friendship that destabilizes her life in this surreal, allegorical romance.

dark academia · magical realism · slow burn · found family · friends to lovers

The Palm House

Gwendoline Riley · Literary Fiction

From the Women’s Prize-shortlisted author of First Love 'I love this book' Sarah Perry 'Outstandingly brilliant' Claire-Louise Bennett Laura Miller…

slow burn · friends to lovers · dark academia

Katabasis

R.F. Kuang · Fantasy

'a formidable, timeless work, destined to be a modern classic' OLIVIE BLAKE 'A novel to savour.

dark academia · grimdark · morally grey character · found family · twist ending

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Heather Fawcett · Fantasy

A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love in the…

dark academia · cozy vibes · fae · slow burn · found family

Reliquary

HANNAH. WHITTEN · Fantasy

dark academia · gothic atmosphere

Babel

R. F Kuang · Fantasy

From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell…

dark academia · political intrigue · morally grey character · revenge plot · magic academy

Iron Flame

Rebecca Yarros · Fantasy

“The first year is when some of us lose our lives.

dark academia · magic academy · enemies to lovers · slow burn · chosen one · dragons

Immortal Dark

Tigest Girma · Fantasy

Nineteen-year-old orphan Kidan Adane, heiress to a fallen House of humans tethered to vampiric creatures called draniacs, navigates her duty to…

paranormal romance · dark academia · vampires · quest · found family

Phantasma

Kaylie Smith · Fantasy

Welcome to Phantasma. There are only two rules to the game. Stay alive. And don’t fall in love. When Ophelia’s sister disappears, there is only one…

enemies to lovers · dark academia · haunted setting · forbidden romance · quest · twist ending

Dead Beat

Leigh Bardugo · Fantasy

The highly anticipated, explosive conclusion to the Ninth House trilogy from #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo.

dark academia · gothic atmosphere · demons · found family

Nettle & Bone

T. Kingfisher · Fantasy

After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized…

dark academia · found family · slow burn · quest · redemption arc

A Game of Thrones

George R. R. Martin · Fantasy

***A Game of Thrones*** is the inaugural novel in ***A Song of Ice and Fire***, an epic series of fantasy novels crafted by the American author…

political intrigue · dark academia · morally grey character · revenge plot

A Deadly Education

Naomi Novik · Fantasy

“The dark school of magic I’ve been waiting for.”—Katherine Arden, author of the Winternight Trilogy I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after…

dark academia · enemies to lovers · chosen one · grimdark

Legendborn

Tracy Deonn · Fantasy

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants to escape.

dark academia · urban fantasy · found family · chosen one · magic academy

Heartless

Marissa Meyer · Fantasy

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere.

enemies to lovers · dark academia · slow burn · forbidden romance · redemption arc · morally grey character

A Sorceress Comes to Call

T. Kingfisher · Fantasy

From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T.

dark academia · gothic atmosphere · dark romance · forbidden romance · witches