Last year I managed to discover some amazing new genres whilst taking part in readalongs, book tours and reading mail outs. One of these was dark academia. Whilst I may be a bit behind when discovering this darkly fantastic little genre, this year was the first time I actually managed to sit down and read one and what a journey it was!
Here are some of the best dark academia books I discovered in 2023 that you should definitely pick up on 2024.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
A list of top dark academia books wouldn’t be complete without this gem. Absolutely wild, dark and with a cast of terrible terrible characters, The Secret History by Donna Tartt is the ultimate booksta favourite when it comes to dark academia and was my first of this genre. I was lucky enough to buddy read this one with another lovely bookstagrammer and loved comparing notes on all of the twists and gasp-worthy moments in this!
Check out my full review for The Secret History on Bookstagram >
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
And the rest of the series. Ninth House is one of my favourite dark academia books from 2023 and I absolutely loved its sequel Hell Bent, I can’t wait until we get another installment of the series!
In Ninth House we meet Alex Stern, a not-quite-squeaky-clean witness to a horrific event who gets a free ticket to Yale in exchange for monitoring its darker activities. Such a brilliant dark academia series and I would definitely recommend picking it up!
Check out my review of Ninth House on Bookstagram >
Bunny by Mona Awad
Oh goodness this one was a wild ride! With a group of experimental writers who call themselves ‘Bunny’, this had all of the drama with the creepy backdrop of the Bunnies and the Warren.
This was such a fantastic twisted book that gave me all the dark academia vibes with a preppy twist. I was obsessed with the sinister depths it went to and loved the twists! If you are after a thrilling dark academia read with just a smattering of fantasy, this book is perfect!
Check out my Bookstagram review of Bunny >
Saturnalia by Stephanie Feldman
Set at the mystical time of Saturnalia, this new release from Verve books was the perfect dark academia read for autumn.
Saturnalia is set in a not-too-distant dystopian future in a world where the powerful societies have the monopoly on resources and it one you should definitely include in your dark academia reading list.
Check out my review of Saturnalia on Bookstagram >
The Variations by Patrick Langley
Set around a school for acoustically-gifted individuals, The Variations is a lyrical backwards and forwards across a woman’s life from those who knew her and has a slightly different approach to dark academia than the other picks on this list.
This book is brilliantly centred around music and inheritance and the beautiful blue cover is enough reason for any book-lover to pick it up.
Check out my review of The Variations on Bookstagram >
Dark Academia Books on my TBR
Like any book-lover, I have a never-ending to be read list but here are some of the essential dark academia books I’m hoping to pick up soon!
- If We Were Villains by M.L Rio
- Belladonna by Anbara Salam
- The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
- The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
- Babel by R.F Kuang
What would be some of your top dark academia book recommendations? Have you read any of my top dark academia recs? What did you think? Let me know!
Travelling-Pageturner 
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