Dark Academia

Dark Academia is a subgenre of books that features an academic setting and usually has a dark twist or sinister undertones. Books in this subgenre are often either fantasy, mystery, thrillers, or literary fiction.


Updated August 21, 2024
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They never learn
Fargo, Layne
Paper Book
From the author of the "raw, ingenious, and utterly fearless" (Wendy Walker, USA TODAY bestselling author) Temper comes a dynamic psychological thriller about two women who give bad men exactly what they deserve. Scarlett Clark is an exceptional English professor....
The secret history
Tartt, Donna.
Paper Book
A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK * ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME * INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * A contemporary literary classic and "an accomplished psychological thriller ... absolutely chilling" (Village Voice), from the...
Ninth house
Bardugo, Leigh
Paper Book
"The best fantasy novel I've read in years, because it's about real people... Impossible to put down." --Stephen King Enter a mesmerizing world of power, privilege, and dark magic among the Ivy League elite in the first book in the Alex Stern series. ...
Hell bent
Bardugo, Leigh
Paper Book
#1 New York Times Bestseller * Goodreads Choice Award Winner "A tour de force of suspenseful pacing and empathetic writing." ―The New York Times "All hail the queen of dark academia!" ―NPR Wealth. Power....
The historian : a novel
Kostova, Elizabeth.
Paper Book
The record-breaking phenomenon from Elizabeth Kostova is a celebrated masterpiece that "refashioned the vampire myth into a compelling contemporary novel, a late-night page-turner" (San Francisco Chronicle).  Breathtakingly suspenseful and...
Babel : or the necessity of violence : an arcane history of the Oxford Translators' Revolution
Kuang, R. F.
Paper Book
Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War   "Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial...
A discovery of witches
Harkness, Deborah
Paper Book
Book one of the New York Times bestselling All Souls series, from the author of The Black Bird Oracle. Look for the hit series "A Discovery of Witches," now streaming on Netflix "A wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy with all the magic of Harry...
A discovery of witches
Harkness, Deborah E.
Paper Book
Book one of the New York Times bestselling All Souls series, from the author of The Black Bird Oracle. Look for the hit series "A Discovery of Witches," now streaming on Netflix "A wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy with all the magic of Harry...
The reformatory : a novel
Due, Tananarive
Paper Book
*Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner * New York Times Notable Book * Locus Award Finalist * Winner of the Bram Stoker Award and the Shirley Jackson Award * "You're in for a treat...one of those books you can't put down...Due hit it out of the park." --Stephen King ...
The St. Ambrose School for Girls
Ward, Jessica
Paper Book
The newest student at the elite St. Ambrose School for Girls must navigate a sinister social clique and the treachery of her own mind in this "complex psychological thriller" (CrimeReads) that is perfect for fans of Megan Miranda and Layne Fargo. When Sarah Taylor arrives...
I have some questions for you
Makkai, Rebecca
Paper Book
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by TIME, NPR, USA Today, Elle, Newsweek, Salon, Bustle, AARP, The Millions, Good Housekeeping, and more "Unputdownable and unforgettable." --Andrew Sean Greer, author of Less is Lost...
To shape a dragon's breath
Blackgoose, Moniquill
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER . WINNER OF THE NEBULA AND LODESTAR AWARDS . FINALIST FOR THE ASTOUNDING, LOCUS, AND BRITISH FANTASY NEWCOMER AWARDS . "My favorite book of the year . . . a coming-of-age story that is cozy and hair-raising in equal measure."-Charlie Jane Anders, The Washington Post

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