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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Bunny : a novel
Awad, Mona.
Paper Book
The Vegetarian meets Heathers in this darkly funny, seductively strange novel from the acclaimed author of 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more different from the other members of her master's program...
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 atlas six
Blake, Olivie
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller A Vulture Best Fantasy Novel of 2022 A Goodreads Best Fantasy Choice Award Nominee The much-acclaimed viral sensation from Olivie Blake, The Atlas Six--now newly revised and...
A deadly education : a novel
Novik, Naomi
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver comes the first book of the Scholomance trilogy, the story of an unwilling dark sorceress who is destined to rewrite the rules of magic. FINALIST FOR THE LODESTAR AWARD * "The dark...
My dark Vanessa : a novel
Russell, Kate Elizabeth
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER  "[An] exceedingly complex, inventive, resourceful examination of harm and power." --The New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice "A lightning rod . . . brilliantly crafted."--The Washington Post Recommended by The New York Times...
Piranesi
Clarke, Susanna
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction World Fantasy Awards Finalist From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set in a...
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...
The magicians : a novel
Grossman, Lev.
Paper Book
Lev Grossman's new novel THE BRIGHT SWORD will be on sale July 2024 The New York Times bestselling novel about a young man practicing magic in the real world, now an original series on SYFY "The Magicians is to Harry Potter as a shot of Irish whiskey is to...
The likeness
French, Tana.
Paper Book
Still traumatised by her brush with a psychopath, Detective Cassie Maddox transfers out of the Murder squad and starts a relationship with fellow detective Sam O'Neill. When he calls her to the scene of his new case, she is shocked to find that the murdered girl is her double. What's more, her ID...
A discovery of witches : a novel
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...
A discovery of witches : a novel
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 maidens : a novel
Michaelides, Alex
Paper Book
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** "Alex Michaelides's long-awaited next novel, 'The Maidens,' is finally here...the premise is enticing and the elements irresistible." --The New York Times "A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly...
The maidens
Michaelides, Alex
Paper Book
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** "Alex Michaelides's long-awaited next novel, 'The Maidens,' is finally here...the premise is enticing and the elements irresistible." --The New York Times "A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly...
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...

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