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A review by dinipandareads
Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I read this book as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours. Special thanks to Delacorte Press for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 4 stars
TL;DR: Unhallowed Halls is a book that I had a very fun time reading! I came for the dark academia and mild supernatural horror vibes and Wilkinson delivered on both. The intimidating structure and cold halls of Agathion combined with the fog-enshrouded moor surrounding the campus created a wonderfully gothic and eerie atmosphere that set the tone well for the story. Our MC was so easy to root for and I enjoyed the found family vibes with the "elite clique" that she finds herself taken into. While the second half of the story was a large departure from the first half, I went with the vibes and found myself enjoying the tonally different and slightly ludicrous unfolding of events. It's batty but if you can just roll with it and suspend your disbelief, it's a fun time (at least, it was for me)! 😂
From the beginning, Wilkinson does a great job of setting the tone that "something just isn't quite right here" without readers being able to pinpoint what exactly that is. From the foggy moors to the austere halls of Agathion to the isolating school rules and strict Magisters to the demonic pig that almost kills our MC in one of the early scenes… There's a profound sense of wrongness that lingers around this boarding school castle set in the Scottish moors. This book was very much outside of my comfort zone although I'm glad that it was still at the level of supernatural horror/creepy that I could handle. The author does a great job in not only maintaining that bone-deep feeling of wrongness but also creating grotesque and horrifying scenes through imagery that sticks with you long after you turn the final page—at least, that's how it worked for me.
Our MC, Page, was an interesting character who I found easy to empathise with. There's a sense of mystery that surrounds her character as we begin to get glimpses of things that happened in her previous schools that seem like inexplicable supernatural events, and we learn that her parents kind of see her as this ticking time bomb that could go off at any minute. She has spent her life feeling out of place for being too smart and feeling like there was something profoundly wrong deep inside of her which she hopes Agathion can fix, only to realise she's a different kind of oddity in this school of poor little rich kids. Despite experiencing quite an awkward start with the friend group she eventually became a part of, and who came to play a significant role in this/her story, she slowly finds her place with them. I appreciated the growth that Page experiences and how she comes to embrace what makes her different and most importantly, learns to forgive herself for her past. She got the healing she deserved and I was happy for her!
I have to admit that the academic aspect of this story was slightly overwhelming with its philosophical discussions about the great dead Greeks—it straight up just made me feel dumb AF, haha. 🤣 If you love the "studying" aspect of dark academia, I think you'll enjoy how it's done here! I did love the Celtic mythology that's woven in as these are stories that I've not heard of before but looking it up led me down a mini-rabbit hole of internet searching to learn more. There were some great plot twists, some I (proudly) saw coming and a few others that took me by surprise! The unfolding of events picks up in pace as Page uncovers sinister secrets the more she hangs out with the clique.
Now, while the first half of the story is perfectly mood-appropriate dark academia, the second half is where you'll really have to suspend your disbelief. If the first half is a slow and steady build, the second half is an unexpected explosion and while such a big tonal shift would normally irritate me, going with the flow ended up making this an intense yet oddly fun (and funny) supernatural romp! Let's just say that as the supernatural and mythological aspects get more intense, the wilder the events that happen in quick succession. There was also an added humorous aspect to one of the characters introduced later on that... I was not expecting in the least but the humour ended up growing on me although I can say it was very weird! ðŸ¤
I can fully understand why some readers might not like the second half and how it may not work for many. There were also certain elements that I wish had been better explored. The 'found family' vibes from the friendship group were great but I wanted to learn so much more about them individually and to have seen more growth in their interactions and relationships with Page firsthand. They felt too much like simple plot devices for how central they are to this story! There is also a romance which, I didn't mind all too much but I would've liked to see more of that progress organically. I wouldn't necessarily say it's instalove but there were interactions between them that I think needed proper unpacking before they got to where they were emotionally in the end.
Overall though, I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did because it's so far outside of my comfort zone. Wilkinson does a fantastic job with setting the scene and creating an immersive atmosphere and while I don't know what her intention was with making the second half so drastically different, I'm glad that I found myself not minding it too much. 😂 I would say that if you like gothic dark academia vibes + mythology + demonology, I think you could enjoy this too!
TL;DR: Unhallowed Halls is a book that I had a very fun time reading! I came for the dark academia and mild supernatural horror vibes and Wilkinson delivered on both. The intimidating structure and cold halls of Agathion combined with the fog-enshrouded moor surrounding the campus created a wonderfully gothic and eerie atmosphere that set the tone well for the story. Our MC was so easy to root for and I enjoyed the found family vibes with the "elite clique" that she finds herself taken into. While the second half of the story was a large departure from the first half, I went with the vibes and found myself enjoying the tonally different and slightly ludicrous unfolding of events. It's batty but if you can just roll with it and suspend your disbelief, it's a fun time (at least, it was for me)! 😂
From the beginning, Wilkinson does a great job of setting the tone that "something just isn't quite right here" without readers being able to pinpoint what exactly that is. From the foggy moors to the austere halls of Agathion to the isolating school rules and strict Magisters to the demonic pig that almost kills our MC in one of the early scenes… There's a profound sense of wrongness that lingers around this boarding school castle set in the Scottish moors. This book was very much outside of my comfort zone although I'm glad that it was still at the level of supernatural horror/creepy that I could handle. The author does a great job in not only maintaining that bone-deep feeling of wrongness but also creating grotesque and horrifying scenes through imagery that sticks with you long after you turn the final page—at least, that's how it worked for me.
Our MC, Page, was an interesting character who I found easy to empathise with. There's a sense of mystery that surrounds her character as we begin to get glimpses of things that happened in her previous schools that seem like inexplicable supernatural events, and we learn that her parents kind of see her as this ticking time bomb that could go off at any minute. She has spent her life feeling out of place for being too smart and feeling like there was something profoundly wrong deep inside of her which she hopes Agathion can fix, only to realise she's a different kind of oddity in this school of poor little rich kids. Despite experiencing quite an awkward start with the friend group she eventually became a part of, and who came to play a significant role in this/her story, she slowly finds her place with them. I appreciated the growth that Page experiences and how she comes to embrace what makes her different and most importantly, learns to forgive herself for her past. She got the healing she deserved and I was happy for her!
I have to admit that the academic aspect of this story was slightly overwhelming with its philosophical discussions about the great dead Greeks—it straight up just made me feel dumb AF, haha. 🤣 If you love the "studying" aspect of dark academia, I think you'll enjoy how it's done here! I did love the Celtic mythology that's woven in as these are stories that I've not heard of before but looking it up led me down a mini-rabbit hole of internet searching to learn more. There were some great plot twists, some I (proudly) saw coming and a few others that took me by surprise! The unfolding of events picks up in pace as Page uncovers sinister secrets the more she hangs out with the clique.
Now, while the first half of the story is perfectly mood-appropriate dark academia, the second half is where you'll really have to suspend your disbelief. If the first half is a slow and steady build, the second half is an unexpected explosion and while such a big tonal shift would normally irritate me, going with the flow ended up making this an intense yet oddly fun (and funny) supernatural romp! Let's just say that as the supernatural and mythological aspects get more intense, the wilder the events that happen in quick succession. There was also an added humorous aspect to one of the characters introduced later on that... I was not expecting in the least but the humour ended up growing on me although I can say it was very weird! ðŸ¤
I can fully understand why some readers might not like the second half and how it may not work for many. There were also certain elements that I wish had been better explored. The 'found family' vibes from the friendship group were great but I wanted to learn so much more about them individually and to have seen more growth in their interactions and relationships with Page firsthand. They felt too much like simple plot devices for how central they are to this story! There is also a romance which, I didn't mind all too much but I would've liked to see more of that progress organically. I wouldn't necessarily say it's instalove but there were interactions between them that I think needed proper unpacking before they got to where they were emotionally in the end.
Overall though, I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did because it's so far outside of my comfort zone. Wilkinson does a fantastic job with setting the scene and creating an immersive atmosphere and while I don't know what her intention was with making the second half so drastically different, I'm glad that I found myself not minding it too much. 😂 I would say that if you like gothic dark academia vibes + mythology + demonology, I think you could enjoy this too!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Self harm and Sexual assault