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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-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
Individual ratings
1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg: 5 stars
Pythia by Olivie Blake: 4 stars
Sabbatical by James Tate Hill: 1 star
The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew: 2 stars
X House by J.T. Ellison: 3 stars (this had such potential tho!)
The Ravages by Layne Fargo: 3 stars
Four Funerals by David Bell: dnf
The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang: 5 stars
Weekend at Bertie’s by M.L. Rio: 3 stars
The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant: 4 stars (the ending was a let down but the first 90% were great)
Phobos by Tori Bovalino: 5 stars
Playing by Phoebe Wynne: 1 star
1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg: 5 stars
Pythia by Olivie Blake: 4 stars
Sabbatical by James Tate Hill: 1 star
The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew: 2 stars
X House by J.T. Ellison: 3 stars (this had such potential tho!)
The Ravages by Layne Fargo: 3 stars
Four Funerals by David Bell: dnf
The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang: 5 stars
Weekend at Bertie’s by M.L. Rio: 3 stars
The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant: 4 stars (the ending was a let down but the first 90% were great)
Phobos by Tori Bovalino: 5 stars
Playing by Phoebe Wynne: 1 star
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
1000 Ships=4
Pythia=5
Sabbatical=3
The Hare and the Wolf=3
X house=4.5
The Rangers=5
Four Funerals=4
Weekend at Bertie’s=4
The Professor of Ontography=5
Phobos=5
Playing=4
Pythia=5
Sabbatical=3
The Hare and the Wolf=3
X house=4.5
The Rangers=5
Four Funerals=4
Weekend at Bertie’s=4
The Professor of Ontography=5
Phobos=5
Playing=4
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
In These Hallowed Halls edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane. Rating: 3.17 stars averaged.
Read from September 19th to 22nd.
We all knew as soon as we had an announcement for this one that I would be preordering it and reading it ASAP. I've discovered that I love Dark Academia when it's done well so buying this was a no brainer. This is an anthology of 12 Dark Academia stories from 12 well loved authors. The genres go from purely contemporary/dark academia to horror/dark academia to mystery/dark academia to sci-fi/dark academia. So we had plenty to read and hopefully discover some favorites from.
My four favorite stories (I was going to list three but we had a couple with the same rating):
1. 1,000 Ships by Kate Weinberg--4.25 stars.
2. Pythia by Olivie Blake--4 stars.
3. Weekend at Bertie's by M.L. Rio--3.75 stars.
4. Phobos by Tori Bovalino--3.75 stars.
I've noticed a trend for these favorite reads in the anthology: a darkness, a willingness to go there in the story. It felt like some of the authors in this anthology weren't really willing to make the Dark in Dark Academia stand out, but these four really dove deep which I enjoyed so much. I've only ever read from M.L. Rio before so I was surprised at how much I truly enjoyed the other stories. With Phobos, we get a dark side to Dark Academia that's derived from secret societies and the things we do to achieve. With Weekend at Bertie's, we see the worked to the absolute bone TAs and what they're willing to do to get ahead in both life and academia. Pythia by Olivie Blake was such a surprise for me. I was never planning on reading anything by this author purely based on the hype, but she actually wrote a pretty good story. We got some Sci-Fi/Tech Dark Academia which just really worked for me. But the highlight for me was the first story in the entire collection, 1,000 Ships by Kate Weinberg. I found the narration and the main character so compelling. We saw some truly dark and twisted aspects of academia and the way some use their power over others. But then we got a moment at the end that just turned everything on its head. I really enjoyed it.
My four favorite stories (I was going to list three but we had a couple with the same rating):
1. 1,000 Ships by Kate Weinberg--4.25 stars.
2. Pythia by Olivie Blake--4 stars.
3. Weekend at Bertie's by M.L. Rio--3.75 stars.
4. Phobos by Tori Bovalino--3.75 stars.
I've noticed a trend for these favorite reads in the anthology: a darkness, a willingness to go there in the story. It felt like some of the authors in this anthology weren't really willing to make the Dark in Dark Academia stand out, but these four really dove deep which I enjoyed so much. I've only ever read from M.L. Rio before so I was surprised at how much I truly enjoyed the other stories. With Phobos, we get a dark side to Dark Academia that's derived from secret societies and the things we do to achieve. With Weekend at Bertie's, we see the worked to the absolute bone TAs and what they're willing to do to get ahead in both life and academia. Pythia by Olivie Blake was such a surprise for me. I was never planning on reading anything by this author purely based on the hype, but she actually wrote a pretty good story. We got some Sci-Fi/Tech Dark Academia which just really worked for me. But the highlight for me was the first story in the entire collection, 1,000 Ships by Kate Weinberg. I found the narration and the main character so compelling. We saw some truly dark and twisted aspects of academia and the way some use their power over others. But then we got a moment at the end that just turned everything on its head. I really enjoyed it.
My least favorite stories in the collection:
1. The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang--2 stars.
2. The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew--2 stars.
3. Sabbatical by James Tate Hill--2.5 stars.
The main thing I found for these three stories that really got under my skin is how on the outside looking in they were. We follow characters who would be side characters in a traditionally written novel about Dark Academia. Their stories felt so bland and so outside the scope of what would be the actual story if this were a traditionally published novel. But that's not what I want in a novel. Especially a Dark Academia novel. I was to be right there in the depths of it with these characters and we just don't ever get there. The Unknowable Pleasures was also my least favorite because this girl is watching a Dark Academia/Student-Professor romance unfold right in front of her face and getting so emotionally tied to their romance. She has a relationship with a pretty patient boyfriend but at one point she's having sex with her boyfriend and imagining the other student and professor sexually. It was just odd. The Hare and the Hound at least had some Dark to the Dark Academia. I would have loved to get the other main character's perspective instead of the guy who revenge is foisted upon. It would have been such a good short story if it were told that way. But instead we watch as this boy has no clue what is happening and the Dark stuff really hits the reader on the final page of the story. Sabbatical is more of the same. Just following a character who barely exists as they watch Dark Academia things happen around them. There wasn't a ton of depth here, but it wasn't so bad that it was difficult to read.
1. The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang--2 stars.
2. The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew--2 stars.
3. Sabbatical by James Tate Hill--2.5 stars.
The main thing I found for these three stories that really got under my skin is how on the outside looking in they were. We follow characters who would be side characters in a traditionally written novel about Dark Academia. Their stories felt so bland and so outside the scope of what would be the actual story if this were a traditionally published novel. But that's not what I want in a novel. Especially a Dark Academia novel. I was to be right there in the depths of it with these characters and we just don't ever get there. The Unknowable Pleasures was also my least favorite because this girl is watching a Dark Academia/Student-Professor romance unfold right in front of her face and getting so emotionally tied to their romance. She has a relationship with a pretty patient boyfriend but at one point she's having sex with her boyfriend and imagining the other student and professor sexually. It was just odd. The Hare and the Hound at least had some Dark to the Dark Academia. I would have loved to get the other main character's perspective instead of the guy who revenge is foisted upon. It would have been such a good short story if it were told that way. But instead we watch as this boy has no clue what is happening and the Dark stuff really hits the reader on the final page of the story. Sabbatical is more of the same. Just following a character who barely exists as they watch Dark Academia things happen around them. There wasn't a ton of depth here, but it wasn't so bad that it was difficult to read.
Overall, I gave the anthology a 3.17 star rating averaged out across all of the stories. I found a few I really loved but a lot of them fell short for me. I think if you're a fan of the genre then you should definitely grab a copy. But if you just dip in and out of Dark Academia then maybe grab it from the library instead.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I am once again asking publishers to stop slapping the dark academia tag on anything that vaguely takes place at or near a school.
I'm not sure that the editors of this book had an idea what dark academia is, or what makes for a good introduction to an anthology. (As a side-note, I also found the HP mention in poor taste.)
I'm not sure that the editors of this book had an idea what dark academia is, or what makes for a good introduction to an anthology. (As a side-note, I also found the HP mention in poor taste.)
1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg - 2/5
Pythia by Olivie Blake - 1.75/5
Sabbatical by James Tate Hill - 1/5
The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew - 3/5
X House by J.T. Ellison - 1/5
The Ravages by Layne Fargo - 3/5
Four Funerals by David Bell - 3/5
The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang - 2/5
Weekend at Bertie's by M.L. Rio - 4/5
The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant - 2.5/5
Phobos by Tori Bovalino - 5/5
Playing by Phoebe Wynne - 1.5/5
this was my first anthology and i have lots of thoughts. i think most of these stories captured the autumnal feeling of the dark academia aesthetic. i found it interesting that most of these stories read like a black mirror episode. i wish there was a bit more variety in that sense. some stories i would easily read full length books about!
Some stories more worth it than others. An overall 3 star read, BUT Phobos by Tori Bovalino, Pythia by Olivie Blake and Weekend at Bertie’s by M.L Rio were 4, 4.5 & 5 star reads respectively, and definitely deserve checking out on their own.
I’ll write out a review of each story, but overall I found this a chore to read. I genuinely liked some of the short stories, but rarely did it feel “dark academia.” Also for some reason my physical book was the stiffest book ever and difficult to hold and read. Very disappointing and frustrating.