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12 BEST DARK ACADEMIA BOOKS

Perfect for winter reading

The dark academia genre is essential fall & winter reading. Here are the best dark academia books with school settings & Gothic vibes - both fantasy novels & mystery/thrillers!

WHAT IS DARK ACADEMIA?

• a sub-genre of fiction that's set at an old college or school with a (sometimes) sordid past and/or Gothic features

• dark & moody, characters are on a quest for knowledge

by Donna Tartt

THE SECRET HISTORY

A group of Classics scholars at an elite New England college seek a new way of living - beyond the boundaries of normal life.

by Leigh Bardugo

NINTH HOUSE

A girl with strange abilities joins a secret society that's in charge of keeping Yale's other secret societies (and occult activities) in check.

by Ashley Winstead

IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE

A woman returns to her Southern college for a 10-year reunion with her tight-knit group of friends. But someone thinks they're responsible for murder.

by R. F. Kuang

BABEL

This epic historical fantasy novel (set in the early 1800s) follows a group of students at Oxford University’s (fictional) center for translation and magic.

by M.L. Rio

IF WE WERE VILLAINS

Seven Shakespearean theater students at an elite arts college live in an isolated off-campus home. One of them is found dead, and everyone is a suspect.

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