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dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Still working on the writing (inconsistent pieces) but overall better than the first. Plot did focus a bit too much on the romance when the mystery wrapped up too quick.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Salem’s sister mysteriously dies while at Mortimer University and it turns out that she’s one in a line of several students whose deaths have been swept under the rug in recent years. Salem intends to figure out the truth behind these deaths, and in the process crosses paths with suspicious instructors, secret societies, and Caz van der Waal, a mysterious and reclusive artist and teaching assistant who has taken to keeping an eye on Salem at all times.
This was a fun dark academia read! The largest issue to me was how everyone else in this universe seemed to be fine with everything that was happening (have you ever died immediately after giving a professor a blowjob in front of another faculty member and literally nobody cared about how odd that is?). It felt like the ending was rushed in an attempt to resolve everything and a lot of questions were left unanswered (ear tattoos hello?), but the general atmosphere and setting were good. The epilogue gave me the ick but that’s epilogues for you.
Caz van der Waal - that pencil scene though, excuse me sir ✏️ 🥵. Caz and Salem had decent (if oddly paced) chemistry and I think Caz was a moderate example of an obsessive, unhinged book boyfriend. The sleeping in an abandoned concrete structure in the woods was a little do what now? but I’ll let it slide because of the hand tattoos.
This is my first dark academia read and I assume that there are stronger examples of this genre, but as someone new to this sort of vibe it was a good time.
If you want to dip your toes into obsessive MMCs, like the energy of a dress code at a coastal university, or have an affinity for Wednesday Addams vibes, then this might be for you.
This was a fun dark academia read! The largest issue to me was how everyone else in this universe seemed to be fine with everything that was happening (have you ever died immediately after giving a professor a blowjob in front of another faculty member and literally nobody cared about how odd that is?). It felt like the ending was rushed in an attempt to resolve everything and a lot of questions were left unanswered (ear tattoos hello?), but the general atmosphere and setting were good. The epilogue gave me the ick but that’s epilogues for you.
Caz van der Waal - that pencil scene though, excuse me sir ✏️ 🥵. Caz and Salem had decent (if oddly paced) chemistry and I think Caz was a moderate example of an obsessive, unhinged book boyfriend. The sleeping in an abandoned concrete structure in the woods was a little do what now? but I’ll let it slide because of the hand tattoos.
This is my first dark academia read and I assume that there are stronger examples of this genre, but as someone new to this sort of vibe it was a good time.
If you want to dip your toes into obsessive MMCs, like the energy of a dress code at a coastal university, or have an affinity for Wednesday Addams vibes, then this might be for you.
The book had its lyrical moments, but lacked the substance and emotional punch I was hoping for.