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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
i've only read half of the stories but i wasn't feeling it... olivie blake's one was so good tho!! this isn't dark academia
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
This was so disappointing. Like a dark academic collection of short stories should be fun, right? Well, it wasn't. I only liked Phobos by Tori Bovalino (no surprise since I loved the Devil Makes Three) and the Ravages by Layne Fargo. When it comes to other stories I was constantly checking how much more do I need to read before they were over.
I don't really know what was wrong with them, other than the fact that they had no emotions. They were all extremely flat, and maybe the short stories just don't work for me. But honestly, I'm so glad I don't have to read this anymore. Some of them made sense, like the Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew, which had a beginning, a middle an ending, and a plot. But others didn't even have a plot.
Basically, I'm disappointed.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!
I don't really know what was wrong with them, other than the fact that they had no emotions. They were all extremely flat, and maybe the short stories just don't work for me. But honestly, I'm so glad I don't have to read this anymore. Some of them made sense, like the Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew, which had a beginning, a middle an ending, and a plot. But others didn't even have a plot.
Basically, I'm disappointed.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
This is a dnf for me. After reading 2 stories from this collection absolutely hating them. And my very close friend who was buddy reading it with me read two more and also hated them, there's no point in trying finishing this.
I was worried when this was announced how dark academia could work in the form of short stories. Well, it doesn't really. Very few of these stories even felt like dark academia (just because a story happens in an academic setting doesn't make it dark academia!). There are a few gems though.
1000 ships: ⭐⭐⭐ I enjoyed this, although I'm not sure how much somebody who hasn't read The Truants would. I was intrigued to find out more about Lorna's origin story, even though nothing massively interesting happened. It did feel dark academia to me, but again I don't know if it would have if I hadn't read The Truants.
Pythia: ⭐⭐ I know this is harsh and frankly it has nothing to do with the writing which is perfectly fine if not remarkable. I am just not at all into this type of Black Mirror-esque stories. I do not enjoy reading about artificial intelligences or whatever. It's just not my thing. I also really struggled to see what this had to do with dark academia; sure there's a connection to the belief system of ancient Greece and a couple of mysterious deaths... but that doesn't quite make a story dark academia.
Sabbatical: ⭐ Ugh. I was not familiar with this author and this didn't make me want to take an interest. Apparently this is some kind of prequel to the author's book Academy Gothic which I now intend to never read. The writing is poor and there's no context to anything that's happening. I seriously considered dnf-ing. Some characters feel entirely useless; what was Mollie supposed to bring to this story? Or the former student turned policewoman? I have no clue. Was it dark academia? Not at all. Would I rather have read a short story about Edward the cat? Hell yes.
The Hare and the Hound: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Still not quite dark academia but a really intriguing story. Some of the twists were pretty obvious but I enjoyed it a lot and would have loved a long version of this.
X House: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was rather good and hallelujah it definitely felt dark academia. I do think however it would have worked better as a novel because it feels pretty rushed; you barely have time to wonder what's going on before bam there's the answer.
The Ravages: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Not super dark academia but it at least had some elements and it's a fairly good story. The vibe reminded me of The Cloisters a little bit. Kudos to the author for managing to write something engaging that works as a short story much better than most of this collection.
Four Funerals: ⭐ This is not dark academia at all. It also most definitely should have come with a trigger warning. I didn't like it at all. I hated that it focused on the shooter's family and the teacher's guilt while the victims were barely talked about. Of course it's fiction, but school shootings are a very real thing and I thought it was a tasteless way to write about the subject.
The Unknowable Pleasures: ⭐⭐⭐ I'm confused, it's hard to rate this one. The writing is among the best in this collection. The story was intriguing, but then the end came up abruptly, backing away from the final confrontation. So it was really anticlimactic and frustrating. And is it dark academia? You already know the answer (no).
Weekend at Bertie's: ⭐⭐ This one hurts because I love If We Were Villains so much! But this is a) not dark academia in any way whatsoever and b) not even a particularly good story. It's ok. I wanted a lot more than ok from someone who wrote one of my favourite books. But there's really not much to say about it. I didn't hate reading it but it didn't stay with me for even a second after I finished it. That makes it probably my biggest disappointment in an altogether disappointing anthology.
The Professor of Ontography: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Now this is DARK academia. I really enjoyed the concept, although I'm not a big fan of anything horror-ish and so some descriptions at the end left me rather uncomfortable (there's nothing hugely horrible, I'm just very sensitive). I guess I'd rather have kept it a little vague. Still, it's a very strong story and an excellent tale for spooky autumn nights.
Phobos: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A really good story that's at least dark academia adjacent. The end was fairly obvious but it worked. I enjoyed the writing as well as the setting and the concept of the Order. I would have liked this in novel length I think; getting to know more about the other neophytes and Ian, the history of the Order, just how far it can reach... Will definitely check out more by this author.
Playing: ⭐⭐ Nothing dark academia about this story. I don't know what to make of it. A weird choice to end the book, because it really isn't a strong story. I kept waiting for a twist, but no: the end is exactly what you expect from the beginning. Another disappointment as I loved Madam.
1000 ships: ⭐⭐⭐ I enjoyed this, although I'm not sure how much somebody who hasn't read The Truants would. I was intrigued to find out more about Lorna's origin story, even though nothing massively interesting happened. It did feel dark academia to me, but again I don't know if it would have if I hadn't read The Truants.
Pythia: ⭐⭐ I know this is harsh and frankly it has nothing to do with the writing which is perfectly fine if not remarkable. I am just not at all into this type of Black Mirror-esque stories. I do not enjoy reading about artificial intelligences or whatever. It's just not my thing. I also really struggled to see what this had to do with dark academia; sure there's a connection to the belief system of ancient Greece and a couple of mysterious deaths... but that doesn't quite make a story dark academia.
Sabbatical: ⭐ Ugh. I was not familiar with this author and this didn't make me want to take an interest. Apparently this is some kind of prequel to the author's book Academy Gothic which I now intend to never read. The writing is poor and there's no context to anything that's happening. I seriously considered dnf-ing. Some characters feel entirely useless; what was Mollie supposed to bring to this story? Or the former student turned policewoman? I have no clue. Was it dark academia? Not at all. Would I rather have read a short story about Edward the cat? Hell yes.
The Hare and the Hound: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Still not quite dark academia but a really intriguing story. Some of the twists were pretty obvious but I enjoyed it a lot and would have loved a long version of this.
X House: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was rather good and hallelujah it definitely felt dark academia. I do think however it would have worked better as a novel because it feels pretty rushed; you barely have time to wonder what's going on before bam there's the answer.
The Ravages: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Not super dark academia but it at least had some elements and it's a fairly good story. The vibe reminded me of The Cloisters a little bit. Kudos to the author for managing to write something engaging that works as a short story much better than most of this collection.
Four Funerals: ⭐ This is not dark academia at all. It also most definitely should have come with a trigger warning. I didn't like it at all. I hated that it focused on the shooter's family and the teacher's guilt while the victims were barely talked about. Of course it's fiction, but school shootings are a very real thing and I thought it was a tasteless way to write about the subject.
The Unknowable Pleasures: ⭐⭐⭐ I'm confused, it's hard to rate this one. The writing is among the best in this collection. The story was intriguing, but then the end came up abruptly, backing away from the final confrontation. So it was really anticlimactic and frustrating. And is it dark academia? You already know the answer (no).
Weekend at Bertie's: ⭐⭐ This one hurts because I love If We Were Villains so much! But this is a) not dark academia in any way whatsoever and b) not even a particularly good story. It's ok. I wanted a lot more than ok from someone who wrote one of my favourite books. But there's really not much to say about it. I didn't hate reading it but it didn't stay with me for even a second after I finished it. That makes it probably my biggest disappointment in an altogether disappointing anthology.
The Professor of Ontography: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Now this is DARK academia. I really enjoyed the concept, although I'm not a big fan of anything horror-ish and so some descriptions at the end left me rather uncomfortable (there's nothing hugely horrible, I'm just very sensitive). I guess I'd rather have kept it a little vague. Still, it's a very strong story and an excellent tale for spooky autumn nights.
Phobos: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A really good story that's at least dark academia adjacent. The end was fairly obvious but it worked. I enjoyed the writing as well as the setting and the concept of the Order. I would have liked this in novel length I think; getting to know more about the other neophytes and Ian, the history of the Order, just how far it can reach... Will definitely check out more by this author.
Playing: ⭐⭐ Nothing dark academia about this story. I don't know what to make of it. A weird choice to end the book, because it really isn't a strong story. I kept waiting for a twist, but no: the end is exactly what you expect from the beginning. Another disappointment as I loved Madam.