A review by whatyoutolkienabout
In These Hallowed Halls by Marie O'Regan, Paul Kane

5.0

Introduction
I was given an e-ARC to review by Netgalley and Titan Books. Reviews are always honest and all opinions are my own. I will always try to avoid spoilers in all reviews as well. #InTheseHallowedHalls #DarkAcademia #Anthology #ShortStories #TitanBooks #Netgalley #ARCReview

Review
As someone who spent four years at university and enjoyed learning but often wondered if anything else went on in the hallways it is odd that I’ve taken so long to branch out into modern Dark Academia. I’ve read some of the classics that have been assigned the genre but it’s only recently I’ve gone into the modern ones. So when the chance to read an anthology arose I was excited to give it a try and I have to say I feel like I have been missing out!

In These Hallowed Halls continued 12 dark academia short stories and I have to say I adored each one in their own way but a couple really stood out to me. We have numerous goings on in this collection, retribution visiting a lothario lecture, the sinister truth being reveled about a missing professor, a forsaken lover uses a séance for revenge (possibly my favourite), an obsession blooms about a possible illicit affair, two graduates exhume the secrets of a reclusive scholar, the horrors are uncovered in an obscure academic department (definitely a favourite), five hopeful initiates must completed a murderous task and much much more to keep you guessing and up at night.

Of course with Anthologies you may sometimes find a few misses in there but I am pleased to say, for me, that is not the case in this collection. Each story explores an aspect or part of the genre of dark academia and executes it perfectly. The other thing I enjoyed is the differing writing styles, which of course you would expect with 12 different authors, it kept the genre engaging and refreshing. Each new story brought something new to the table and the genre. For someone like myself who is starting out in the modern aspects of the genre I found it helpful to steer me in the direction of the authors I want to try first and so on. Of course I plan to read more works by all of them anyway but it was interesting to see different takes and aspects of the genre come to life. My three top ones from this collection where The Ravages by Layne Fargo, The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant and Phobos by Tori Bovalino but the other 9 stories also captivated me and I thoroughly enjoyed each one.

I think this collection is brilliant for both fans of the genre and those stepping into the world of dark academia. It gives you a taste of not only the genre but the style and skills of some of the best and brightest names in the genre.

Hashtags
#InTheseHallowedHalls #DarkAcademia #Anthology #ShortStories #TitanBooks #Netgalley #ARCReview #BookReviewer #BookBlogger #BookHoader #FantasticRead #BookDragon #BookShark #BookReader #Bookstagram #BookNerd #BookReader #BookLover #BooksBooksBooks #BookAddict #Book