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Highly Rated Dark Academia Books & Novels With Similar Vibes
By: Angela & Melissa
Updated:
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we may earn a referral fee from qualifying purchases.There’s something about the crackling leaves, the chill in the air, and the shorter days that makes a Dark Academia novel the perfect moody fall read. With back-to-school season upon us, why not step into an ivy-covered campus or slip into the shadows of a candlelit secret society through the pages of these Dark Academia books?
If you love the Dark Academia aesthetic, but want a lighter or twistier take, our list also includes plenty of contemporary book recommendations with similar vibes.
What is Dark Academia?
This subgenre, which features a distinct Gothic and moody aesthetic, overlaps with the categories of campus novels/academic fiction, mysteries, thrillers, and literary fiction.
The novels are typically set in elite boarding schools or prestigious universities, where the pursuit of knowledge takes on intense and often dangerous undertones. While traditional campus novels explore student life, Dark Academia digs into the shadowy corners, examining ambition, privilege, and intellectual obsession.
The Best Dark Academia Books
This subgenre is so varied, from thrillers and horror to fantasy and paranormal. We’ve tried to create a balanced list of recommendations to help you explore the wide range of options, but if we didn’t include your favorite, tell us about it in the comments.
The Secret History
Book Summary
This classic novel is set at Hampden College, a small, elite Vermont liberal arts school. Richard, an out-of-state student from California, is drawn into a close-knit community within the classics department.
Narrator Richard tells the events that led to the death of a fellow student. He recounts the influence that a professor exerted over a group of undergrads, and the dark path of secrets and corruption that the students went down, changing all of their lives forever.
The Book Girls Say…
Author Donna Tartt spent her undergrad years at Bennington College in Vermont, which is speculated to be the influence for the fictional Hampden College.
This book received mixed reviews from our readers who selected it as their Vermont book for the Read Around the USA Challenge, but it’s widely considered a modern classic within the Dark Academia subgenre and it has a 4.2 rating on Goodreads.
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Book Summary
Langhorne Academy, an idyllic and elite New Jersey boarding school, has a charming new English teacher named Francis Fox. While he beguiles many of his colleagues, his students, and their parents, others in the community have questions about his enigmatic resume.
When Fox’s car is discovered partially submerged in the pond of a nearby nature preserve and parts of an unidentified body are discovered scattered in the surrounding woods, everyone begins asking questions about the new teacher’s true identity.
The Book Girls Say…
This novel is considered Dark Academia, thanks to its academic setting and classic Gothic vibes, but be aware that it leans more heavily into dark, psychological aspects than traditional examples of the subgenre.
With a career spanning six decades, Joyce Carol Oates is widely regarded as one of the most important voices in American literature in the 20th and 21st centuries. Published the day after her 87th birthday, Fox is her latest novel, but she has been consistently publishing a mix of novels, story collections, essays, and nonfiction works throughout the past sixty years.
Ninth House
Book Summary
Raised in LA by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school at a young age and landed in a world of dead-end jobs and drug dealer boyfriends. And it only got worse from there. At age twenty, she was the sole survivor of a horrific multiple homicide. But then, while lying in her hospital bed, she is unexplicably given a second chance at her future – an offer to attend Yale University on a full-ride scholarship.
When she arrives in New Haven, Alex still does not understand how or why this opportunity has landed in her lap. All she knows is that her mysterious benefactors have tasked her with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies.
These societies are well known as the haunts of future rich and powerful leaders, from Wall Street and politics to Hollywood. But Alex discovers that their activities could actually be more sinister and extraordinary than anyone has previously imagined.
The Book Girls Say…
It is well known that Yale University does, in fact, have real-life secret societies, such as Skull & Bones and Scroll & Key. But this story, written by a Yale alumna, reimagines those societies, each with its own magical specialization that its members can wield for further power and influence in morally questionable ways.
Blending a dark, academic setting with elements of fantasy and horror places this novel firmly in the world of Dark Academia. In fact, Ninth House won the Goodreads Choice Award for Readers’ Favorite Fantasy in 2019.
Be aware that this novel leaves some loose ends, which set up the sequel, Hell Bent. While the main mystery of the book is resolved in the first installment, providing closure for readers who prefer not to continue, there are also shocking twists near the end that set up unfinished character arcs, which lead into the second book, as well as the upcoming third book.
If We Were Villains
Book Summary
Oliver Marks was a young actor studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college. Both onstage and off, he and his friends play hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, and ingenue. But when secondary characters begin to usurp the stars, their plays begin to dangerously spill over into real life, and one of them is found dead. Oliver is found guilty.
Detective Colborne helped put Oliver in jail for a murder that he may or may not have committed. A decade later, Colborne is preparing to retire as Oliver is being released from jail. The detective wants to know once and for all what really happened, so he meets Oliver upon his release to ask just that.
The Book Girls Say…
This book comes highly recommended by several of our readers, but reviewers warn it’s a book that you will love to hate. If Dark Academia is your thing, this novel will pull you in and then rip your heart out.
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Sirens and Muses
Book Summary
This new novel will take you inside an elite NYC art school in 2011. America was in a recession after the 2008 crash, and the Occupy Wall Street movement was escalating. But at the school, students live in a bubble of their own world, spending days painting and sculpting.
New scholarship student Louisa feels adrift in the novel environment and is surprisingly attracted to her charismatic and wealthy roommate, Karina, and senior student Preston, an anti-capitalist online provocateur. As the relationships between the students force them to reconcile their identities and desires, Preston comes up with an explosive hoax that propels them into the cutthroat NYC art world.
The Book Girls Say…
This character-driven Dark Academia book contains many mature adult themes, from sex, drugs, and suicide to the complicated financial aspects of the art world. It won’t be for everyone, but it’s a great option if you love social commentary mixed with a sapphic romance.
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Babel
Book Summary
This novel is set in an alternate 1830s Oxford University, where students can study at the Royal Institute of Translation, also known as Babel. Here, a magical system called “silver-working” harnesses the energy released from the meaning lost in translation, and the silver bars are used to fuel England’s power and further its quest for colonization.
Robin Swift, a young orphan, is brought to London by a mysterious professor. After training for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, he is prepared to enroll at Babel. Soon, Robin realizes that his work there means betraying his motherland of China. He finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization that aims to quell England’s imperial expansion.
The Book Girls Say…
This novel, which was a Goodreads Choice Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Fantasy in 2022, is widely regarded as a definitive example of Dark Academia. However, it is also recognized for pushing the subgenre into new, politically charged territory by exploring the ideas of colonialism, racism, and systemic exploitation.
Book Summary
English professor Scarlett Clark is an exceptional teacher, but she’s even better at getting away with murder.
Each year, she plots the demise of the individual that she judges to be the worst man at Gorman University. She is meticulous in her planning, which has allowed her to avoid drawing attention to herself, but with the campus body count growing, the school is finally starting to dig deeper.
She determines that the best way to avoid being implicated is to insert herself into the investigation. She charms the woman in charge, and things are going according to plan… until they are not. Scarlett is beginning to lose control of the plan for her latest victim and risks exposing her double life.
Meanwhile, Gorman freshman Carly Schiller is relieved to finally be free of her emotionally abusive father and plans to put her head down and focus on her studies. She forms a close friendship with her cool and confident roommate, Allison. When Allison is sexually assaulted at a party, Carly’s plans change, and she becomes obsessed with turning her revenge fantasies into reality.
The Book Girls Say…
This novel is said to reflect a modern, thriller-infused version of Dark Academia. The cloistered, ivy-draped academic setting and the dark, morally ambiguous tone tie closely to the roots of the subgenre, but the plot skews a bit more thriller than literary.
Ghosts of Harvard
Book Summary
After her brother took his own life the year before, Cadence Archer decides to follow in his footsteps at Harvard University in hopes of understanding what drove him to it. Losing Eric has left a hole in Cady’s life, and her decision to attend Harvard risks tearing her family apart further; however, she feels that it’s the only way she’ll get the answers she needs.
The pressure of Harvard weighs heavily on Cady, but she is determined to investigate his final year, armed with only a notebook of Eric’s cryptic scribblings. She knew that he was struggling with paranoia and delusions of enemies, but she feels like something more must have pushed him over the edge.
Soon, she too is hearing voices that seem to belong to three ghosts who walk the hallowed halls of the university, one of whom is a name lost to history, and one of whom is a name everyone still knows today. Has Cady also developed schizophrenia, or has she simply tapped into another world? Will listening to the voices bring her closer to the truth, or lead her down a path of her own self-destruction?
The Book Girls Say…
While the mental health element of this novel is a bit of a departure from other works of Dark Academia, adding an element of psychological suspense in place of a heavily academic focus, it nonetheless exhibits all the other hallmarks of the subgenre.
Written by a Harvard alumna, this novel incorporates many real Harvard locations and traditions, providing an authentic feel.
Truly, Devious
Book Summary
Shortly after the school opened, Ellingham’s wife and daughter were kidnapped, leaving behind a mocking riddle signed with the pseudonym, “Truly, Devious.” It has remained an unsolved crime since the early 20th century, but a new first-year student named Stevie Bell has an ambitious plan to finally solve the cold case. But first she must adjust to the demands of her new school and get used to her new housemates.
Before Stevie can solve the old case, a murder shocks the campus. It appears that Truly Devious is back.
The Book Girls Say…
While this book is considered squarely rooted in Dark Academia, the emphasis on puzzle-solving and sleuthing is a bit of a divergence from the typical literary and philosophical nature of the subgenre. Additionally, the writing is considered, by some, to make it a bit more approachable for those new to Dark Academia, with a bit of humor to balance out the dark themes.
The first book in the series ends on a cliffhanger, so be prepared to pick up books 2 and 3 as Stevie continues her quest to solve both the past and present crimes.
Book Summary
Ann Stilwell is a post-grad student from the Pacific Northwest who has been looking forward to her summer internship at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. When she arrives, she’s surprised to learn that she’s been assigned to The Cloisters to assist a group of researchers studying the history of divination. This is outside of Ann’s area of study, but after she discovers a hidden 15th-century deck of tarot cards, her academic curiosity quickly becomes an obsession. Do these cards hold the key to predicting the future?
When there’s an unexpected death at The Cloisters, everyone is a suspect. Ann finds herself caught in a dangerous game of power and ambition.
The Book Girls Say…
Blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, this atmospheric and suspenseful mystery has been compared to Donna Tartt’s classic novel, The Secret History.
It was a Read with Jenna pick in November of 2022, but the Goodreads rating is lower than most of her selections. It appears to be most popular among traditional Dark Academia fans, but some reviewers feel that the pacing is too slow, especially early on.
The Cloisters Museum & Gardens is a real branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Located in Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River. This Gothic museum, which opened in 1938, is dedicated to the art, architecture, and artifacts of medieval Europe.
Society of Lies
Book Summary
A decade after graduating from Princeton, Maya is returning to campus to attend her little sister Naomi’s graduation, as well as her own reunion. It’s shaping up to be the perfect weekend until Maya receives word that Naomi has died in what police are calling an accident. But Maya is convinced there is more to the story.
She begins piecing together the final months of her sister’s life, and learns that her sister was keeping a lot of secrets from her. Despite warning her against it, Naomi had joined the Sterling Club, the same exclusive social club that Maya belonged to. Maya also suspects that Naomi was likely tapped for the secret society within the Sterling Club.
Others in the secret society have turned up dead in the past, and every clue is leading Maya back to a decade-old secret of her own.
The Book Girls Say…
Despite being a Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Readers’ Favorite Mystery & Thriller, this Reese’s Book Club pick has a bit of a lower Goodreads rating (3.5) than many of the other books on our list.
Author Lauren Ling Brown received her BA in English literature from Princeton University, where she set her debut novel.
Book Recommendations With Elements of Dark Academia
For each book listed below, we’ve identified, in the “Book Girls’ Say” section, which traditional elements of Dark Academia are present, as well as how the book differs from others in the subgenre.
The Broken Girls
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
99% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
In the 1950s, Idlewild Hall was the place for girls deemed troublemakers – those who were too smart for their own good and unwanted. Rumors swirl through the small town that the boarding school is haunted. After four roommates bond over their whispered fears, one of them disappears.
Six decades later, in 2014, journalist Fiona Sheridan learns that an anonymous benefactor is restoring Idlewild Hall. She can’t stop thinking about the night twenty years earlier when her older sister was found dead in a field near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. Then, a shocking discovery during renovations links her sister’s death to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past.
The Book Girls Say…
This book is often described as part Dark Academia and part ghost story, but unlike other books in the Dark Academia subgenre, this book does not include a focus on intellectual pursuits or academic rituals.
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Book Summary
The Goode School is a prestigious all-girls prep school that sits atop a hill in a tiny Virginia town. Known as a Silent Ivy, it matches the prestige of the Ivy League while operating in a quiet manner that protects the privacy of the rich and influential families who send their daughters there.
At Goode, appearances are everything. But behind the school’s pristine façade lay dark secrets — whispered rumors, cruel secret societies, and rivalries that can turn dangerous fast.
When Ash, a new transfer student from England, arrives with a tragic past, she’s thrust into this world of ambition and pressure. As she navigates friendships, betrayals, and Goode’s eerie traditions, a shocking death of a popular student rocks the campus. Was it suicide? Or something far more sinister?
The Book Girls Say…
This novel, which is told through alternating perspectives, is described as dark, twisty, and addictive. While the academic setting, secret societies, and Gothic undertones lean toward Dark Academia, many readers say this book is better described as a thrilling, modern suspense.
Book Summary
April, Hannah, Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily became inseparable friends during their first term at Oxford. April was the ultimate It girl, bright, vivacious, and sometimes vicious. But by the end of their second term, April was dead.
Hannah and Will went on to get married, and ten years later, they are expecting their first child. The man convicted of killing April has just died in prison, and Hannah is excited to start her new chapter in life and leave the past behind.
But when a journalist shows up claiming to have evidence that the man might have been innocent, Hannah reconnects with old friends and realizes more happened in the past than she previously realized.
The Book Girls Say…
This novel is often included under the Dark Academia umbrella, though it leans more toward psychological suspense/campus thriller than the full, brooding intellectual version of the subgenre.
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Very Dangerous Things
Book Summary
J. Everett High is not a typical high school, but rather a specialized academy where students train in forensic and investigative skills. At the end of each year, the criminology students test their knowledge with a high-stakes murder mystery game.
The event kicks off with student Xavier Torres being found poisoned in the greenhouse. But he’s not just playing the victim. He’s actually dead, and the police investigation that ensues is no game. The evidence points to Sierra and Dulce, Xavier’s ex-girlfriend and ex-best friend, respectively.
Sierra recognizes that Dulce knows the school better than any investigator, so she asks Dulce for help clearing her name despite their past bad blood. There is no shortage of suspects and possible motives roaming the historic halls of J Everett High.
The Book Girls Say…
This murder mystery is described as Dark Academia meets classic detective fiction. Set within a stately mansion that houses the school, complete with historic halls and a greenhouse laboratory, the setting exudes a gothic, moody charm perfect for the genre. But reviewers say it has more of a cozy mystery vibe compared to classic works of Dark Academia.
The Academy
Book Summary
Set over the course of one year at a New England boarding school, the mother-daughter writing duo of Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham introduces readers to an intertwined cast of characters inspired by Shelby’s lived experience attending a fancy boarding school in Rhode Island. Elin wrote the adult perspectives for the book (parents and teachers), while Shelby wrote key scenes from the student perspectives.
As students move in for the fall semester, America Today releases the newest rankings, and Tiffin Academy just jumped seventeen spots to number. But how can that be when the dorms need to be renovated, the sports teams never win, and the students excel far more in their social lives than in their academics? On the other hand, Tiffin does boast a beautiful campus, small class sizes, and an acclaimed New York chef running the dining hall.
But something strange is definitely going on. One by one, scandalous items begin appearing on phones across the campus thanks to the new ZipZap app. It appears that everyone has something to hide – students and staff alike, from international influencer Davi and resident queen bee Simone, to the young new history teacher and even the admissions director.
The Book Girls Say…
This novel includes recognizable Dark Academia elements, but with a modern, ensemble-driven twist rather than the classic Gothic-styled, brooding tone. Early readers say that the mystery elements will keep you guessing, and that the story is perfect for fans of Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl, and The Dead Poets Society.
The Academy is said to be the start of a new series, and we can’t wait to read it.
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Reconstructing Amelia
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
89% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Kate is in the middle of an important meeting when she gets the frustrating call that her daughter has been caught cheating at her exclusive school.
When she arrives to pick Amelia up, the school is surrounded by emergency vehicles, and Kate learns that her daughter jumped to her death. At least that is what she believes until an anonymous text tells her that Amelia didn’t jump.
This mystery novel provides a great insight into the increasing role of social media during the 2010s and the damage that comes along with it.
The Book Girls Say…
We see the story through teenage eyes via the emails, text messages, and blog posts that Kate pores over as she attempts to piece together her daughter’s final days.
While this novel incorporates some elements of Dark Academia, including the pressures of an elite prep school, it’s more squarely within the mystery and thriller genre because it lacks a Gothic, academic-obsessed aesthetic.
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