A review by shesreadingagain_
Lovely Dark and Deep by Elisa A. Bonnin

5.0

 

Lovely dark and deep by Elisa A. Bonnin
Genre: YA dark academia I Mystery I Magic school

Release Date: March 25, 2025

Dates Read: March 26, 2025

Rating: 5⭐️

Thank you to tbrbeyondtours and elisa.a.bonnin  for the finished copy. 

This book! I’m going to need to start seeing more people rave about this one. It had a perfect setting on a remote island north of Seattle in a hidden away magic school, Ellery Academy of Magic West. I loved this magic system and the way it was so clearly described from the onset of the story. 

The eerie setting was perfect for the mystery that Bonnin laid at our feet. The story follows a group of characters as they try to uncover a mystery that we flash back to involving our FMC, Maria Castillo. Maria has the ability of fire and three years prior to our story Maria wakes up to realize she killed her best friend Sydney (or did she? 👀). Maria and her friends start to experience anomalies that even their powers can’t explain, they are determined to find out what is the force that is emanating from the forest behind the academy. 

I just devoured this book. The pacing is spectacular , I couldn’t put it down! Typically I read about 60 pages an hour but I was tracking 93 pages per hour with this one. Which is insane for me and read it in one sitting. I loved every moment of this story. This is a perfect example of young adult done perfect. I can’t give this book enough praise. It is definitely the best YA book I’ve read this year. If premise interests you, I highly recommend picking this one up.