Just because the sun is in, doesn’t mean dark academia books are out! Here are some books with dark academia vibes to have on your radar šāļø
The IncandescentĀ by Emily Tesh
Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series meetsĀ Plain Bad HeroinesĀ in this sapphic dark academia fantasy by instant national and international bestselling author Emily Tesh, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.
“Look at you, eating magic like you’re one of us.”
Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood School and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school’s boundaries from demonic incursions.
Walden is good at her jobāno, Walden isĀ great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. Itās her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And itās possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe fromāis herself. Out on 5/13/2025!Ā
The Atlas Trilogy by Olivie Blake
The Atlas series Boxed Set contains all three volumes of the dark academia viral sensationāThe Atlas Six,Ā The Atlas Paradox, andĀ The Atlas ComplexābyĀ New York TimesĀ bestselling author Olivie Blake
Each decade, only the six most uniquely talented magicians are selected to earn a place in the Alexandrian Society, the foremost secret society in the world. The chosen will secure a life of power and prestige beyond their wildest dreams.
But at what cost?
Each of the six newest recruits has their reasons for accepting the Societyās elusive invitation. Even if it means growing closer than they could have imagined to their most dangerous enemiesāor risking unforgivable betrayal from their most trusted alliesāthey will fight tooth and nail for the right to join the ranks of the Alexandrians.
Even if it means they wonāt all survive the year. The box set is out on 9/02/2025!Ā
The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu
Sixth SenseĀ meetsĀ Stranger ThingsĀ in T. L. Huchu’sĀ The Library of the Dead, a sharp contemporary fantasy following a precocious and cynical teen as she explores the shadowy magical underside of modern Edinburgh.
WHEN GHOSTS TALK
SHE WILL LISTEN
Ropa dropped out of school to become a ghostalker ā and they sure do love to talk. Now she speaks to Edinburghās dead, carrying messages to those they left behind. A girlās gotta earn a living, and it seems harmless enough. Until, that is, the dead whisper that someoneās bewitching children ā leaving them husks, empty of joy and strength. Itās on Ropaās patch, so she feels honor-bound to investigate. But what she learns will rock her world.
Ropa will dice with death as she calls on Zimbabwean magic and Scottish pragmatism to hunt down clues. And although underground Edinburgh hides a wealth of dark secrets, she also discovers an occult library, a magical mentor and some unexpected allies.
Yet as shadows lengthen, will the hunter become the hunted?
ViciousĀ by V.E. Schwab
Victor and Eli started out as college roommatesābrilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.
Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can findāaside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revengeābut who will be left alive at the end?
InĀ Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
A super-powered collision of extraordinary minds and vengeful intentionsāV. E. Schwab returns with the thrilling follow-up toĀ Vicious.
Magneto and Professor X. Superman and Lex Luthor. Sydney and Serena Clarke. Victor Vale and Eli Ever.
Great partnershipsānow soured on the vine.
But Marcella Riggins needs no one.
Flush from her brush with death, sheās gained the control she always soughtāand will use her newfound power to bring the city of Merit to its knees. Sheāll do whatever it takes, from taking over the mob to collecting her own sidekicks, and even leveraging the two most infamous EOs, Victor Vale and Eli Ever, in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
With Marcella’s rise, new enmities create surprising opportunityāand the stage of Merit will once again be set for a final, terrible reckoning.
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book’s content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries.
Devon is part of The Family, an old and reclusive clan of book eaters. Her brothers grow up feasting on stories of valor and adventure, and Devonālike all other book eater womenāis raised on a carefully curated diet of fairy tales and cautionary stories.
But real life doesn’t always come with happy endings, as Devon learns when her son is born with a rare and darker kind of hungerānot for books, but for human minds.