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The Secret History by Donna TarttIf We Were Villains by M.L. RioNinth House by Leigh BardugoBabel by R.F. KuangThe Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Dark Academia
368 books — 1,499 voters
The Secret History by Donna TarttIf We Were Villains by M.L. RioNinth House by Leigh BardugoThe Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar WildeA Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Popsugar 2021 #5 - A Dark Academia Book
140 books — 392 voters

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally CarterCross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally CarterDon't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally CarterThe Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. LockhartSecret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund
Ivy League & Private School Preoccupations
133 books — 196 voters
The Secret History by Donna TarttStoner by John WilliamsThe Idiot by Elif BatumanIf We Were Villains by M.L. RioCampusland by Scott Johnston
Best Fiction Set in Academia
158 books — 155 voters

The Secret History by Donna TarttThe Kyanite Alliance by Nora HalliwellNinth House by Leigh BardugoIf We Were Villains by M.L. RioVicious by V.E. Schwab
Academia, Magic, and Secret Societies
73 books — 95 voters
People Like Us by Dana MeleTruly, Devious by Maureen JohnsonPrep School Confidential by Kara TaylorPrivate by Kate BrianSeton Girls by Charlene Thomas
Boarding School Mysteries
136 books — 88 voters

The Love Hypothesis by Ali HazelwoodThe Love Theorem by Camilla IsleyThe Love Algorithm by Camilla IsleyLove, Theoretically by Ali HazelwoodIt Started with a Book by Camilla Isley
STEMinist Romantic Comedies
43 books — 70 voters
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. LewisPride and Prejudice by Jane AustenA Tale of Two Cities by Charles DickensA Room with a View by E.M. ForsterThe Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Cambridge University
238 books — 62 voters

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison SaftDon't Let the Forest In by C.G. DrewsAn Education in Malice by S.T. GibsonThe Atlas Complex by Olivie BlakeWhere Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
2024 Dark Academia Releases
65 books — 57 voters
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. SayersIn the Last Analysis by Amanda CrossAn Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain PearsThe Name of the Rose by Umberto EcoThe Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker
Academic Mysteries
153 books — 41 voters

Surviving Your Stupid Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School by Adam RubenPiled Higher and Deeper by Jorge ChamGetting What You Came For by Robert L. PetersA PhD Is Not Enough! by Peter J. FeibelmanGraduates in Wonderland by Jessica Pan
Best Books about Graduate School
53 books — 39 voters
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally CarterPeople Like Us by Dana MeleDon't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally CarterCross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally CarterOnly the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter
Covers with School Uniforms
246 books — 33 voters

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather FawcettEmpire of Shadows by Jacquelyn BensonThe Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India HoltonEmily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather FawcettEmily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
Adventure academia
42 books — 31 voters
The Secret History by Donna TarttIf We Were Villains by M.L. RioBlack Chalk by Christopher J. YatesThe Maidens by Alex MichaelidesNinth House by Leigh Bardugo
University Mysteries
51 books — 30 voters

If You Could See the Sun by Ann LiangI Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann LiangWhat's Not to Love by Emily WibberleyToday Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn SolomonNot Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach
YA Academic Rivals to Lovers
29 books — 29 voters
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather FawcettThe Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India HoltonThe Spellshop by Sarah Beth DurstThe Atlas of Elsewhere by L.J. RibarEmily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
Light Academia Fantasy Books
25 books — 29 voters

The Secret History by Donna TarttIf We Were Villains by M.L. RioKing Street Run by V.R. LingCatherine House by Elisabeth ThomasBlack Chalk by Christopher J. Yates
Dark academia vibes
44 books — 28 voters
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.Charlotte’s Web by E.B. WhiteThe Good Earth by Pearl S. BuckBeloved by Toni MorrisonSong of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Cornell University
119 books — 24 voters

The Vespertine Treaty by A.D. WraeShe Made Herself a Monster by Anna KovatchevaThe Temptation of Charlotte North by Camilla BruceThis House Will Feed by Maria TureaudJapanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
2026 Gothic
37 books — 16 voters
These Violent Delights by Micah NemereverReal Life by Brandon TaylorMaurice by E.M. ForsterBabel by R.F. KuangDisorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou
Campus/Academic Novels for and about Marginalized Groups
77 books — 15 voters

The Ghost Women by Jennifer MurphyTherapy for Ghosts by Eric PraschanGrit and Ghosts by Robin FosterThe Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women by Marie O'ReganThe Ghost Reader by Elena D. Hristova
Dark Academia Mystery Books
12 books — 14 voters
King Street Run by V.R. LingStoner by John WilliamsA Discovery of Witches by Deborah HarknessPeople of the Book by Geraldine BrooksThe Turkey Baster Diaries by Elizabeth James
The World of Academia
14 books — 10 voters

A Study in Drowning by Ava ReidGothikana by RuNyxArcana Academy by Elise KovaBabel by R.F. KuangEnigma by RuNyx
Dark academia (as of 2025)
23 books — 8 voters
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin TalleyGoy Crazy by Melissa SchorrNothing Special by Geoff HerbachOne of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManusThe Worthy by Will Clarke
Yearbook Photo Covers
23 books — 6 voters

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth PetersDissolution by C.J. SansomEssex Dogs by Dan JonesMurder Knocks Twice by Susanna CalkinsThe New Mrs Clifton by Elizabeth Buchan
Historical Fiction Written by Historians
9 books — 6 voters
Small Admissions by Amy PoeppelAdmission by Julie BuxbaumWe Regret to Inform You by Ariel KaplanAdmission by Jean Hanff Korelitz500 Words or Less by Juleah del Rosario
College Admissions in Fiction
28 books — 5 voters

Blood of Elves by Andrzej SapkowskiDarkstocking by Tom KlehmThe Penitent by A. Keith CarreiroThe Last Wish by Andrzej SapkowskiThe Penitent by A. Keith Carreiro
Dark Fantasy Reads (Not Mainstream)
27 books — 3 voters
Gravespell by James TrevinoAnatomy of a Betrayal by Grace D. Li
2027 Dark Academia
2 books — 3 voters

Shamanism by Manvir SinghA Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century by Heather E. HeyingRace Marxism by James LindsayCynical Theories by Helen Pluckrose12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
Decoding the Gurus Podcast
84 books — 2 voters
The Love Hypothesis by Ali HazelwoodLove, Theoretically by Ali HazelwoodLove on the Brain by Ali HazelwoodAn Academic Affair by Jodi McAlisterNot in My Book by Katie Holt
Romance Set in Academia
7 books — 1 voter

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