33 Dark Academia books recommended by You 🪶📜 

I'm so glad you mentioned Blood Over Bright Haven, I read that last month and LOVED it. I think it's perfect for people who liked Babel but wanted magic to play a bigger role

The Secret History is the first one I read and sparked my interest in the genre but it is very literary! So if you're a regular lit fic reader you could start with it but if you're not used to that then maybe not.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is the best book I’ve read in a while, I love it so much

I am currently reading Frankenstein and I would classify it as part DA, at least. There’s a bunch of descriptions of studying and uni life and, most importantly, the book sparks a conversation about how far we should go in our pursuits of knowledge. The vibes are just right, and I think that people who like the DA aesthetic will like this classic!

Ahhh I just spotted you included my comment recommending Blood Over Bright Haven! One of my favourite books of this year, the opening chapter gave me chills and the magic system was so interesting

I just read Ink Blood Sister Scribe last week and loved it, the magic was so interesting to learn about and I struggled to put it down!

i was worried that The Atlas Six wouldn't be mentioned but phew it was, just later in the video, i was a bit too impatient haha! i absolutely loved it!! 🖤

Loved the combination of new and old, popular and less known! Ngl, my ego love that you chose my comment for one of these books hahah

that synopsis of Piranesi actually gives away the ending

Your video came right on time, I'm discovering some Dutch Dark Academia books/series this month. And I didn't realize I've already read as much of the Dark Academia books. But apparently some of them are Dark Academia. Anyway if interested I'll keep anyone updated if the Dutch books as worth the while. And yes I get most of you don't speak or read Dutch but maybe we can by volume of demand try to get them a English translation

What a great list! I hated The Secret History, but I'm willing to give some of these others a shot. Thanks for presenting them!

I just read If We Were Villains, and and am currently reading Babel and they are so wonderfully different from each other and I think both 5 stars for me. Glad I found this video today cause I feel like I’m heading for a DA binge 😅

Can you do science fiction for the next genre please! 🙏 🪐

The Private series by Kate Brian is great. It gets lost in the sauce towards the end though.

Shadow of the wind is one of the best books I’ve ever read The other books in the series are amazing too

Anatomy A Love Story and The Corpse Queen are the only 2 dark academia I've enjoyed

Gosh, this helps so much. All the Dark Ac reccs seem to be the same few over and over. This was fabulous. I personally loved Catherine House and Vita Nostra.

The Shadow of The Wind and Truly Devious are so good!!

Perfect ! I wanted to dive into the genre and see how I like it. Fitting for the season too

Absolutely enjoyed Piranesi and The Cloisters. Did not enjoy If we were villains or Secret History though.

I had no idea it was considered Dark Academia but A Discovery of Witches is one of my all time favorite series!!!!

I would also put "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane" and "The Daughters of Temperence Hobbs" by Katherine Howe. These fit within the category and I thoroughly enjoyed both of them

Lots of interesting suggestions! I think I'm another aesthetic over the actual books person (though I have very high hopes for Babel!) but it's always interesting to see what people do and don't count. I think I'd recommend "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco.

My standards for what counts as Dark Academia books have been set so high after reading Babel and If We Were Villians 🙈🖤

highly recommend the chandler legacies by abdi nazemian, it's super underrated but it was one of my favourite books from last year!!

I would add "The Lake of Dead Languages", I never see it on any of the lists, but I loved it and it ticked all the boxes

Hey hey! 🪶 First of all, thank you to everyone who has submitted their recommendations, I hope your fellow readers will find what they are seeking! 🥰 Little note: I have edited out the description I gave for Piranese hence the awkward cut there! It seems to have been massively spoiler - which I am so sorry about! Haven't had read the book I of course did not know that it was but have removed it now! 🥰

A new release that I purchased but have not read yet but may fit the vibe is Curious Tides Pascale Lacelle. I have high hopes for it and plan to read it in November.

I would definitely recommend two of my recent reads: “The Thirteenth Tale” by Diane Setterfield and “Starling House” by Alix E Harrow!

that description of piranesi was so spoilery, I'm sorry sb thought that was appropriate to give as a description to you as you haven't read it yet, they shouldn't have told you all of that, it ruins the mystery, I dare say the whole book

I just finished reading Ink Blood Sister Scribe and i loved it. 5⭐. Definitely in my top 10 for this year S.T.A.G.S. by MA Bennett is also really good l. Only a 3.55 average rating but tagline is "Nine students. Three blood sports. One deadly weekend"

I also really vibes with the movie for Never Let Me Go! Think it is a decent adaptation!!!!!!

More people need to read blood over bright haven!!!! its fantastic and different. Main character mayyy annoy some at beginning but there is a point! haha, a lot of learning along the way and the magic is pretty unique and the impact of its use.

I really would like to find a dark academia book based on a wlw relationship. I’ve been trying to find some and I pray there is one out there. Great video however, I’ll be sure to look at my schools library for some of these books. 😭❤️

Actually few books that I have been considering picking up but haven’t yet. Not much experience with dark academia tbh. I would love to see you do a video about “books that will make you cry”

Just catching up with Booktube and I am the same with you on the word cloisters it make me shudder but to be fair any word with oist does be that moist, moisture it's just something about that sound of letters together makes me sick

Maybe not only DA related , but can someone please recommend adult books, like with actual adult characters, not 'adult' just because it has teenagers having sex in it. I feel there is a lack in modern authors/trends to keep writing for adults and everything has turned YA these days. I'm 34yo, yes, I've already read all my contemporary YA books, but now I eager to find characters who have passed the adult threshold, that are already defined, not about a girl in the entrance of womanhood, not girls falling in love with the popular kid at school, not teenagers saving the world, yk? Adults, with adult mindsets, already defined in their character and deal with other complexities. I love fantasy, DA, horror and romance, but I feel they're lacking of this. I want characters like Claire from Outlander or Diana from A discovery of witches, etc. Every time I type 'adult characters in fantasy' it leads me to a full list of teenager's spicy books. I love a good smut, but, is not what I meant.

I want to read all of these!! Besides A Study in Drowning (which I just started and am loving the writing), other new releases on my might-consider-list are Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle which is a dark academia fantasy, and All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters, a gothic queer dark academia. There is also an earlier release The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven, a sapphic dark academia retelling of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde.

I have had very mixed luck with dark academia, I might be more of a fan of the aesthetic than the books 🙈I have really enjoyed a couple of these though (Babel, Piranesi, little bit If We Were Villains). I'm kinda surprised Fourth Wing didn't get recommended though 😂It actually would fit the description of dark academia pretty well

I thought If We Were Villains was so pompous! I did not want to read Shakespeare!

The cloisters was so boring 🥹

Wait. So you haven't even read these? You just lost me as a follower.

I think my DA rec would be Vicious by V.E. Schwab! Great read and my personal favorite of the genre that I've read so far.