Looking for the perfect cozy dark academia book for a chilly fall night? 🖤 Here are some of our best dark academia books for the Back-to-School Season. 🍂📖
These captivating stories are filled with intrigue, psychological tension, and deadly rivalries that will keep you guessing until the very last page.
Let’s explore the mysterious and suspenseful world of dark academia together! 🖤
Trigger & content warnings ⚠️
If you’re into dark academia, keep in mind that these books often have intense, graphic descriptions and gothic vibes. Most are geared toward adult readers, so make sure to check trigger and content warnings before diving in.
If you know certain themes might be triggering, consider exploring other works by the authors or doing some research first. 🫡🫡
Our 13 Dark Academia Books for Back-to-School Season
1. Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
Hell Bent is the second novel of the Alex Stern series. It follows the fantastic dark academia book The Ninth House, a fan favorite and award-winning title.
Hell Bent, this dark academia meets occult mystery, tells the story of Galaxy “Alex” Stern, determined to rescue her mentor Darlington from the depths of hell. 👹 As she and her allies navigate a world of sinister magic, hidden societies, and ancient secrets, the line between the living and the dead blurs.
How far is Alex willing to go—and what will it cost her—to bring Darlington back? 😱
2. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
“Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.”
A Deadly Education is Naomi Novik’s first book in The Scholomance series, a gripping tale set at the Scholomance, a school where survival is the ultimate test.
El, a powerful yet outcast sorcerer, struggles against the lethal creatures that roam the halls and the sinister magic within her. But with no allies and a reputation for destruction, can she survive long enough to graduate—alive? 🙊
If you’re looking for those dark academia books featuring deadly magic and complex characters, A Deadly Education might just be the thrill you’ve been looking for! 😌👻
3. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Olivie Blake crafted a captivating tale where six talented magicians are chosen to compete for a place in the secretive Alexandrian Society, the world’s most elite group of magical scholars. 🧙
The six potential initiates will fight to survive the next year of their lives, and if they can prove themselves to be the best among their rivals, most of them will. Most of them… ☠️
With betrayal, mystery, and high stakes, The Atlas Six explores the boundaries of ambition, where only five will survive—and no one can be trusted. 🫢
This dark academia book highlights what a ‘deadly education’ could be, and we’re so here for it!
4. Bad Habits by Amy Gentry
From the author of Good as Gone, A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, Bad Habits is Amy Gentry’s third and probably best novel yet! Why? It’s the perfect mix of dark academia meets obsession and betrayal. 😌✨
Simply put, Bad Habits explores the fine line between success and self-destruction in a world where ambition knows no bounds. It’s a satirical take on higher education that will keep you entertained while rooting for the antihero. *Antihero by Taylor Swift starts playing*
When former grad school friends reunite, their secrets and dangerous ambitions resurface. Prepare for an electrifying psychological thriller that will keep you guessing as rivalries boil over and academic pressure turns deadly. ☠️
5. Vicious by Victoria Schwab
“What makes a hero, and what makes a villain?”
Victoria Schwab is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over twenty books, including the acclaimed The Shades of Magic Universe series, City of Ghosts, and Villains series.
Vicious, the first book in the Villans series, features two college friends who discover the secret to superpowers—and the dark cost that comes with them. 😈
If you’re a fan of superhero/supervillain stories, this dark academia book will have you questioning and guessing what it means to be truly evil. 🙊 Pick up Vicious as your next read for a thrilling blend of science, revenge, and gothic atmosphere!
6. An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
From the acclaimed author of The Year of the Witching and House of Hunger, An Academy for Liars is a campus novel that features rivalry, a unique magic system, and a hint of forbidden romance.
If you love dark academia books, goth/horror, morally gray characters, and secret societies, you can’t miss this one! 🖤The story is set at the prestigious Aldridge Academy, where Evie, a skilled liar with a dangerous secret, navigates this world where everyone has something to hide. As she uncovers the academy’s sinister mysteries, she must decide how far she’s willing to go to protect her lies—and will the truth be worth the risk? 🤐
7. A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
“Magic doesn’t have to be magic for it to mean something. That sometimes magic is a salve over a burn, and it’s the only way you can heal.”
Looking for that dark and mysterious atmosphere with intriguing love interests and a plot full of twists and turns? Victoria Lee’s A Lesson in Vengeance will have you (magically✨) glued to your seat! 😈
Dark academia meets witchcraft and obsession in this haunting tale set at Dalloway School, where the past never truly stays buried.
Follow Felicity Morrow as she hopes to move on from the tragic death of her girlfriend. But when enigmatic new student Ellis arrives, Felicity is pulled back into the dark allure of the occult. 😱
Is the danger real, or is it all in Felicity’s mind? 🚨👀
8. The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino
“The things you believe, the things you were taught… they don’t align with the way you were treated. Be kind to yourself now. Worry about eternity later.”
The Devil Makes Three is one of those gripping and suspenseful dark academia books that combines demonic horror in a chilling tale set in the depths of a cursed library. 🕸️📖
When Tessa, a reluctant library assistant, and Eliot, a brooding student, accidentally unleash an ancient demon, their world spirals into a nightmare. As the demon tightens its grip, Tessa and Eliot must uncover hidden secrets and face their deepest fears—but can they outwit such an evil force on their own? 👹
If you enjoy stories that weave together themes of magic, the supernatural, and the battles between good and evil, Tori Bovalino’s The Devil Makes Three will go very high up your list! 😌
9. The Cloisters by Katy Hays
“On the wheel of fortune, who will emerge on top… and who will die?”
Katy Hays’s crippling debut novel features Ann, a curatorial associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a circle of researchers, who discover a hidden 15th-century deck of tarot cards that might hold the key to predicting the future.
But what begins as an academic curiosity quickly turns into obsession, as Ann becomes locked in a race for answers, and the line between the ancient and the modern blurs. 😶🌫😶🌫
A sinister and atmospheric dark academia mystery/thriller that will grab all your attention that no book has done since The Secret History. 👀
10. Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
“It’s like I keep stumbling into a dark room, searching for the switch to make things bright again…”
After the very well-acclaimed novel Ace of Spades, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is back to break our hearts again (in a good way, though)!🖤
Where Sleeping Girls Lie was a highly-anticipated novel in 2024, and it’s another dark, gripping masterpiece that dives into a chilling world of secrets, lies, and betrayal.
This dark academia book follows Zara, a student haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her best friend. As she digs deeper, Zara uncovers a web of dangerous secrets within the academy’s hallowed halls. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more she realizes that some secrets need to stay buried. 👀🪦
Will Zara uncover what happened before she becomes the next one to disappear? Discover it all in this thrilling novel that will captivate you until the very end! 😌
11. Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown
“That’s the thing about love, isn’t it? When you find someone who sees you in a way no one else does, who understands you and makes you feel like you can’t be whole without them, it wraps you in a vise and makes you forget how to live without them.”
Society of Lies is so much more than a murder mystery! Lauren Ling Brown’s thought-provoking debut novel delves into sisterhood, privilege, and elite college societies. 🎓🏛️
The story is set at the prestigious Princeton University. Maya is drawn into an exclusive secret society where she uncovers shocking truths threatening her future and life. 💀 When a young woman is found dead on her college campus, her sister doesn’t believe it was an accident—and her search for answers leads her closer to home than she ever would have imagined.
But how far will Maya go to protect herself—and discover the truth?
Find it all out in Society of Lies, which will captivate all dark academia book lovers! 🖤
12. Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison
“I thought lies had power until I saw what silence could do. No. You never apologize for something you didn’t do wrong.”
In this new psychological thriller, J.T. Ellison tells a story set at the prestigious Goode School, where only the best and brightest are allowed. But beneath the polished surface, the students here hide dark pasts and dangerous ambitions.
When a popular girl is found dead, rumors of murder and betrayal spread throughout the elite campus. 😶🌫 In this perfect world, how far will the girls of Goode School go to protect their secrets—and their lives?
Capture all the tension, intrigue and hidden darkness in Good Girls Lie, one of those dark academia books that will make you question how deep the lies can go. 👀
13. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
Did anyone say whodunnit mystery, dark academia, suspense, psychological thriller, women’s fiction, and drama?! 👀 If you love any of these (or all of them!), I Have Some Questions for You has it all for you. ✨
The riveting dark academia mystery tells the story of Bodie Kane, a successful podcaster, as she returns to the boarding school where a classmate was murdered years ago. Bodie is forced to confront her own memories and the unsettling truth about what really happened. But as the past unravels, she wonders: Is she seeking justice—or putting herself in danger? ☠️
Tap into the psychological tension, and make space on your TBR for I Have Some Questions for You! You can thank us later.
Still perfecting your dark academia books list?
We’ve got you! 😌 Dive into more ancient secrets, hidden betrayals, and dangerous obsessions with our other Best Academia Books and Dark Academia, Campus & Mystery recs for the upcoming spooky months!
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