NetGalley ARC in return for an honest review

Overall this isn’t a bad collection of stories, however to me it is a bit of a stretch to call it a dark academia anthology as some of the stories featured have an extremely loose connection to a school environment and don’t necessarily have the atmospheric tone I have come to except with Dark academia novels.

1000 Ships was a questionable choice as an opening story in my opinion, while the story its self was not bad having it be a loose prequel to another book left me feeling as though I was missing out on a connection to the main character as I hadn’t read the other book. 3.5 Stars

Pythia is one of my favourite stories in this collection, while at least for me the plot points as to why problems where occurring to Pythia seemed quite obvious, I did not except the ending. It would have been nice to have a little more background as to what technomancy was and how it worked but overall I really enjoyed it. 4 Stars

Sabbatical I was was quite hard to follow at times with a really jumpy writing style that bounced from thing to thing without giving a satisfactory explanation, I wouldn’t call this a dark academia story and the ending left me utterly baffled by the choices the characters made 1 star

The Hare in the hound while predictable was a really satisfying read that had me gripped as I watched the character unravel, really great story with a good ending. 4.5 Stars

X House I would love to see this story in a longer format. It had a lot of really good story beats but felt a bit rushed towards the end which may have been due to its length, I would be intrigued to revisit this world and see what becomes of the girls of House X. 4 Stars

The Ravages I quite enjoyed while not as gripping as some of the others featured in this book, I am a fan of a revenge plot. 3 Stars

Four Funerals was another I felt didn’t really fit the dark academia theme particularly well, it was however quite a moving story. 3 stars

The Unknowable Pleasures personally this story just wasn’t for me, I can see how others might enjoy it, I just found the MC to be quite annoying and the ending left me very unsatisfied. 2 stars

Weekend at Bertie’s this Is another story I felt didn’t overly fit the theme, while I felt it had a lot of potential for me it just missed the mark, and the dialogue felt a bit clunky for me. 2.5 stars

The Professor Of Ontography is another story I would love to see in a longer format, the ending was utterly disturbing but I couldn’t help but want to know more I feel there are definite threads that could be followed. 4.5 Stars

Phobos was an intriguing story, what Dark academia book is complete without a secret society. I didn’t expect it to end how I did. 3 stars

Playing this was quite a creepy story however for me I really struggled with the writing style for it being a short story the MCs name was mentioned nearly every other sentence which really took away from the plot for me. 1.5 Stars

Olivie Blake? M.L. Rio? At the cusp of autumn? Sign me up! Dark academia has taken the literary world by storm and reading these short stories really reminds you of why. It was delightful and cunning, and overall incredibly interesting. Definitely recommend for something both easy but incredibly investing.

This book was so beautifully, so thoughtfully written. There isn't a single word that doesn't have a purpose. And those prose and verse were breathtaking and had me enthralled!! Loved it.

I think some stories were better than others and it felt more like somehow they were more tied to academia and not just dark academia stories. Enjoyable and you can tell these authors are masters of their craft.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

College will be the death of you is something I've heard more than once in my life, this book breathed a whole new meaning into those words.

I will say this is an excellent fall read, it's dark and spooky and gives you enough variety to keep you glued to the pages of every story.

I have to say I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, the flow of the stories, the complimentary writing style of the authors, the similar yet different locations, all of it together led to a wonderful reading experience.

Now let me say the stories are the stars here, there is depth and character development and they work both singularly and in an anthology and I enjoyed all of them.

Dark academia isn't something I normally read but after this book, I'll be getting my hands on as many of them as I can, and I kind of want to book a few college tours just to watch people.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing a copy of this E-Book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

In These Hallowed Halls:

Dark Academia is back and better than ever. I mean, did it ever really leave? I know it’s been booming these past couple years, and it’s definitely something I gravitate towards. For me, the anthology started off a bit slow, but really hit a great stride with some of my personal favorite authors. Here are a few of my thoughts:

🎓Sabbatical James Tate Hill - There’s a professor who was just released from a mental institution and he’s insistent on finding another professor.. in order to off him. The ending was very satisfying. 😏 There is a cat, but an eh way to deal with mental health.
🎓The Hare & The Hound Kelly Andrew - I didn’t know where this story was going but man I loved it. Started off with a medium and ended with Norse mythology, yes please.
🎓 Four Funerals David Bell - These are all his students. It’s a school setting. Gun violence. If that is a trigger for you, skip.

If there’s one thing I love about dark academia is a satisfying revenge ending. These stories made sure that did not come in short supply. With great authors like Olivie Blake, Layne Fargo, David Bell, and Susie Yang, this is a decent anthology for your back to school needs!

Out now.

Predict text: In These Hallowed Halls I …

In these hallowed halls I have a lot of people that are going to have to do a job.

I’m normally not a huge fan of short story anthology but this one is so well put together with back to back stories that dragged me in!

There were only a few stories that I’d rate 3/4 stars and the rest were all 5 star reads for me.

Perfect gift for spooky season and for those looking to get into dark academia but unsure where to start!

4/5

Before I go into reviewing each story I think it is important to discuss the genre of dark academia itself because it really has become such a muddled concept. To me, dark academia is many things, which can be at the authors discretion. Firstly, it can mean literally taking place at a college/university. Usually incorporating dark elements of life - that could mean stating the issues associated with academia itself and examining the flaws in the higher education system. Or that could mean dark occurrences occurred within that academic context. It can include elements of magic in there, or it doesn’t have to. To me, this is the basic framework of which dark academia rests, at least in my mind. Now a lot of these stories fit within this framework and some are outliers, in which case I say to each their own. What I really like about this short story anthology idea is that there is certainly something for everyone within its pages. Since dark academia can encompass many things, it contains lessons, dark overall stories, concerns about academia and power relations, murders, mystery, magic, etc. Which can make it easily enjoyable.

1000 ships by Kaye Weinberg
This one details an affair between a professor and a student in which the professor is being investigated for the suicide of another student. Secrets are uncovered and it leads to a revenge plotline, which honestly I am all for. I really liked the sad reality of this one. What made it more suspenseful for me is knowing how competitive and tight-knit academic circles run, it made me question how many times this story could have and likely has occurred, minus the exaggerated elements of course. But that has the making of what dark academia is all about and I was thoroughly surprised but intrigued, definitely will check out the authors later novels following this premise.

Pythia by Olivie Blake
Honestly this one felt less on the dark academia side of things and more on the science fiction side of mystery with a dash of university in there. I suppose we can combine the two even though it was difficult to reconcile in my mind when the science fiction aspect overpowered the academic. What I liked about this one was that it was certainly unique. I can’t imagine anyone else thinking to do this in an inquisitive narration sort of form. Stylistically speaking I thought that was very clever and the fact that there were two murders made it very eerie, I guess I wished that was the primary focus, rather than the computer part. I guess that stems from my lack of interest in AI. I suppose that the fear in this story is again that new aspect we see all over the media with AI and its implications and gradual preference over human talent and labour, while that’s always terrified me it has never scared me in a frightened way, if that makes sense. Overall I liked this story but I think it would have benefitted from more rapid suspense or a questionable ending.

Sabbatical by James Tate Hill
This one is my least favourite so far in all honesty, but the potential was there. The execution however: was not unfortunately. It felt more like the beginning of a crime novel than anything, but the rapid progression of plots with little substance meant the tension was not there, nor was the stakes high enough. It just felt random? Like the fact that random students just flung himself at him didn’t really add anything to the story overall honestly it just made me more confused. In a short story you need to be careful and conclusive about the elements that are being included and this fell flat for me in that regard.

The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew
This is probably my favourite thus far, it reminded me a bit of bunny by mona awad x the secret history. I think this was dark academia completely a match to the genre while maintaining impeccable suspense with a shroud of mystery and whimsy surrounding the circumstances of the plot. It can be very difficult to tackle magical realism with dark academia and even more difficult to incorporate all those elements within a short story that makes sense, but this one did that perfectly. The writing was so well done that I could literally feel myself flying through the story with ease and I was eager to see what would come next.

X House bt J.T. Ellison
I really liked this one, the suspense had me turning the pages in wanting to know what might happen next. I think this one really starts with a bang with the mystery and intrigue of it all - two suspicious deaths at a school in the middle of nowhere and a new teacher with another students pov? There’s so much potential in that and you’d think it’s hard to achieve within a short story but honestly I thought it was perfectly executed. THAT ENDING THOUGH? I want this to be a full story that would be so incredibly interesting.

The Ravages by Layne Fargo
I LOVED THIS ONE SO MUCH!! I think it may be my favourite so far. I think it’s genius especially from a history students perspective and there is a certain accuracy about the reading of letters in modern day and making certain assessments about queer relationships, which is incredibly interesting to see brought to life in a story. It slightly reminded me of haunted mansion meets do revenge, which is pretty niche and I liked the ending a lot. I don’t want to say too much about this one because I do not want to give anything away, but suffice to say it was probably the one I flew through the quickest and it was a very fun spooky take on the dark academia genre with a little mystery x historical ghosts in there, which made it so much fun. I could seriously see this as a longer film/book in the future and either way I will be seated!

Four Funerals by David Bell
Honestly this one didn’t feel like dark academia and more like a moral issue? The premise of this involves school shootings and an English professors role in it and it felt pretty off. I guess the point of the story was to emphasize survivors guilt? I don’t know how much I felt for the professor though so it was difficult to empathize with someone like that - to me the moral issue seems pretty clear cut. I don’t quite understand what the moral lowdown was supposed to be if there’s any positive takeaways from it. I guess this can be attributed to the larger darker subject matter, which could resemble real life, but I just don’t think this one resonated with me at all nor did I feel anything for the mc.

The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang
I am a little confused truthfully on how to rate this one. I think there is an interesting conversation about obsession in this one, but it’s muddled down by the too neat psychological ending. I think it would’ve been more impactful with a different ending, as it could’ve showcased the danger full circle. Even then the premise of this one was a little weird, which is to be expected in the dark academia genre, but I don’t think it landed for me nor did it present anything really meaningful.

Weekend at Bertie’s by M.L Rio
M.L Rio has always impressed me with her ability to craft suspense and an eerie environment while contemplating the moral ethics of an act surrounding death. This one was interesting and very easy to get through, but the one drawback is that by the end of it I felt like there was something missing, a cryptic line, something more sinister or shocking would have been better in my opinion. Rio truly is a master of the genre, but I am not fully sure if I would myself classify this as dark academia though because that didn’t seem to be the proper backdrop or even have much relevance if i’m honest. Honestly I didn’t mind this one, but it was not my favourite truthfully.

The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant
This is easily one of my favourites in this anthology. It had mystery, horror, and the genre felt like dark academia without hesitation. This one was probably the most horrifying in my opinion and I loved the feeling of unease that it brought me cause honestly that was what I was hoping for. Yes it was predictable, but exactly how far the author would take it was what I wanted to know. It was also cool that it followed the character overtime and that all roads led back to the mystery at hand… and when you think of older schools with lots of history within then it really makes you ponder (at least it did for me)

Phobos by Tori Bovalino
I liked this one. Again, it was fairly predictable, but it really was a lesson on how far humans will go to feel like they belong, sprinkled with the potential for academic validation, which can make everything seem quite stark. This easily could’ve been a full length novel and honestly I hope that one day it is, cause you could really build up the more behind an Order like this one and with a whole supporting group (definitely getting ahead of myself here but it was THAT good), also the length of this short story within the title of “short story” was the perfect length, not too short, not too long, the descriptors were well-pictured

Playing by Phoebe Wynne
I liked this one, but truthfully I did not love it. The overall turn and ending of the story seemed very obvious to me and would have been better with more suspecting people questioning the occurrences that were happening. The fact that the character read certain books and eavesdropped all the time made it very obvious to me. But the bits about loving music felt cool and accurate, I feel like when you love playing an instrument it’s a way to calm down and feel at peace and the descriptions of that were interesting and authentic. Truthfully I think this story could have been longer with less obvious clues because it would have made the intrigue and suspense better rather than seemingly mindless descriptions of mundane activities.

I went into this anthology a little weary, as I love dark academia and it is probably one of my favourite genres, but I was not completely sure about whether I would enjoy short stories. It can be difficult to connect to the characters when they’re only present for a short period of time. However, I have come to the conclusion that it works really well for dark academia. I think, truly, there is something for everyone in this anthology. This could be an incredible place to start if you want to get into the genre too as it exposes you to it directly in a palatable manner.

Although some of the stories felt a little out of place in a dark academia anthology, some of the writing was great and i have added some authors to my TBR based on their included story. The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrews, and the Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant were two of my favourites. I don't read a lot of short stories or dark academia in general, but overall enjoyed the collection as an insight to some great authors.

The concept of this anthology is, of course, immaculate, and perfect for fall. It's very on trend, very vibe-y, and it contains stories by some very popular authors. I think a lot of people would enjoy this, and I did as well, although, like with most anthologies, I enjoyed some stories more than others. Olivie Blake's story was my clear favourite and really stands out to me as the strongest in this anthology, which has me excited to read more of her work. Overall, I would say the first half of this anthology is the strongest, and my enjoyment fizzled out a little in the second half. Let me take you through each of the stories (spoiler-free!).

Kate Weinberg - 1000 Ships 4/5

In the author's note, the author explains that this is a prequel to their book The Truants, in which a group of students is obsessed with a literature professor. This prequel story follows this professor, Lorna, as a student herself. I thought this was a super engaging, intriguing story, and it was very well written. I haven't read The Truants, but based on this, I'd be interested in picking it up.

Olivie Blake - Pythia 5/5

I already knew I loved Olivie Blake's writing, but this was very different from what I've read from her before. In this story, she's given dark academia a scifi twist, written in the form of an interview transcript. And it was brilliant. It's about a supercomputer and the psychologist who worked with her, and throughout the story, we find out what happened to her. I would have never seen the twist coming, even though it had been set up perfectly, and I was blown away. This worked extremely well as a short story.

James Tate Hill - Sabbatical 2/5

This story was a bit of a flop for me, unfortunately. I didn't enjoy the writing style, which didn't draw me in emotionally. On top of that, the plot seemed very predictable, and the final twist wasn't surprising or intriguing to me.

Kelly Andrew - The Hare and the Hound 4/5

This story kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting to see everything unravel. I thought it had such an interesting concept, and I loved the ending for making me largely interpret things for myself.

J.T. Ellison - X House 4/5

This story is dual POV, which I thought was very interesting for a short story and worked really well. The writing is so so good, and I was intrigued by this story, but I also found it a touch too predictable.

Layne Fargo - The Ravages 4/5

This was undeniably well written, but at first I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it very much. It started off very strong, but then my interest fizzled out a little. Then the story became a little creepy, which drew me back in again, and it ended up being really fun. It's also sapphic!

David Bell - Four Funerals 3/5

This story is about the trauma in the aftermath of a school shooting, and I find those very hard to read about, so this wasn't really the story for me. Putting that aside, I did think this was interesting.

Susie Yang - The Unknowable Pleasures 2/5

This story was just... extremely uninteresting to me. I kept waiting for it to get to the point but it never really did. I did think it was well written, but I wanted more from it.

M.L. Rio - Weekend at Bertie's 2/5

I was expecting this to be my favourite story in the anthology, but it really wasn't. It felt so void of emotion that I didn't feel invested at all, so I ended up caring very little about it.

Helen Grant - The Professor of Ontography 2/5

This was mostly just okay, and didn't feel as mysterious as it was trying to be. Then the ending felt weird in an absurdistic way, which didn't work for me at all. This just wasn't my kind of story.

Tori Bovalino - Phobos 3/5


I wasn't swayed by this story immediately, but the ending took an interesting turn. All in all it didn't do much for me, but I did like it more towards the end.

Phoebe Wynne - Playing 2/5

This just... didn't really pull me in. I didn't find myself very interested by it, even though the concept was intriguing. This is one of those stories that didn't work for me for no particular reason.

If you’re ready to experience the many ways dark academia is explored through beautifully written fiction by multiple incredible authors, read this book! I enjoyed listening to a dark academia playlist while reading to add to the atmospheric and haunting prose. it was so intriguing to see how each author chose to explore the dark academia
setting. reading these stories felt like wandering an ancient university on a cold autumn night.

I haven’t read short stories in a long while and so many of them drew me into their world that I could have read a whole book about specific stories. as with any collection of short stories, there were some I enjoyed more than others based on my personal taste. some I did not finish depending on the pacing or interest level in the characters/storyline. ones I especially enjoyed were The Hare and Hound, The Ravages, and X House. Phobos was my very favorite and I gasped at that twist ending!!

overall, I feel like this a great read if you’re in the mood for something atmospheric, mysterious, and a little spooky.

thank you Netgalley and Titan Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Olivie Blake is one of my favorite authors and I also love short story collections, so I was so excited to get approved for this eARC. I really enjoyed this collection of short stories - but, as is always the case with anthologies, some stories held more promise and/or made a bigger impact than others. Overall though, I found this to be a great collection centered on the "Dark Academia" sub-genre, perfect for those who are newer to the magical realism-esque world and want somewhere mid-ground to start.

Welcome to Dark Academia season! This was a really fun way to get into the spirit (sort of pun intended) of the season - a short story collection of dark academia stories. I am not really an expert on "dark academia" but I'm not sure all of these stories hit the mark. Most of them are sort of tangentially related to academia with a dark sort of atmosphere but ultimately I enjoyed this anthology as a whole. I don't normally read short stories and I found that some of these felt too short and others felt like they should have been longer books, but I loved the taste this gave me of other author's writing as well as some favorites of mine.

A few standouts for me were Pythia by THE Olive Blake, The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew and Phobos by Tori Bovalino.

I want to give a shout out to The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant which was one of the more page turning-ly horrifying stories I have ever read. I read this right before bed (don't recommend) and found my heart beating SO FAST the entire time. This was legitimately scary in sort of a fun way.

This was a really fun foray into short stories for me as well as spooky season and I definitely recommend picking this up if you are in the mood for short bites of pretty dark and moody academic themed pie.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Happy Pub Day!

I had a wonderful time reading this short story collection. There was a wonderful mix of fantasy, thriller, and horror dark academia stories. Overall, I enjoyed almost all of the stories and only found 1 or 2 not as interesting to me as the rest. The collection as a whole though is very interesting and any dark academia lover will have a fun time reading through this.

From shape shifters, to murders, stealing, and super computers with anxiety we see so many interesting things happening in these short stories.

**Read an ARC from Netgalley Rating : 4 Stars

In these hallowed halls is a collection of 12 dark academia stories written by great authors such as Olivia Blake, M. L. Rio, Susie Yang and many others!

I haven't had the chance to read anything by any of these authors yet, but thanks to In These Hallowed Halls... Well, I can't wait to catch up on more of each of them!

The unpublished stories are not very long. They are extraordinarily short but intense. It is a real journey into the hidden and dark part of the human soul. In all the works, the atmospheres are rather dark and mysterious and damn intriguing. Oh, and every work is written DIVINELY!!

A pleasant and highly recommended read for all lovers of dark academia and for those looking for particularly dark settings.

Thank you so much to the publisher, the authors, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

In These Hallowed Halls was a highly interesting and truly unique dark academia anthology. This collection had a wide variety of stories, some dark and moody, others light and quick. I think a few of my favorites short stories from this anthology were Pythia and The Hare and the Hound. I loved getting to read some new stories by authors I love while discovering some new, amazing authors as well. I highly recommend for fans of dark academia looking for some pleasantly creepy short stories.

Thank you titanbooks and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The reason I wanted to read this book in the first place has been Olivie Blake. I love her, I love her books and I had to read her new short story asap. And no surprise: It did not disappoint. But what really took me by surprise was how I also really loved all the other stories! So unique, so dark, so different. The best start into autumn season. I can't wait to read more books from the authors!

this anthology includes twelve stories detailing dark accounts in academic settings. i have not read many anthologies, but i’ve enjoyed the ones i have read up to this point. just because something is a short story doesn’t mean it can’t be satisfying, but a lot of the authors in this anthology didn’t seem to get that memo. as i trudged through the first part of the book, i was expecting this to be a 2-star read or possibly even a dnf. however, there were quite a few stories i really enjoyed, enough to bring this up to 3 stars for me. this did introduce me to some new-to-me authors that i’m interested in reading more from, and there were some familiar authors whose stories i enjoyed.

“She knew this was a stupid desire, a product of her peaceful, privileged life that romanticized suffering as a way to feel something deep and meaningful.” —Susie Yang

In These Hallowed Halls is a collection of short stories surrounding themes of guilt, betrayal, greed, and envy, as well as a myriad of other darker elements that are in some way, shape, or form connected to academia. However, while it is advertised as a dark academia anthology, the majority of the stories simply attuned themselves to gothic vibes, with a thread-thin connection to academia at all. Unfortunately, I would hesitate to categorize this compilation as anything more than a futile attempt at 'aesthetic' or 'atmospheric' vibes, as the narratives miss the mark completely.

To preface, this title is difficult to review, and subsequently to rate, as some of the works were incredibly profound, such as “Four Funerals” by David Bell, “The Unknowable Pleasures” by Susie Yang, and “Phobos” by Tori Bovalino, while many of them fell flat: “Pythia” by Olivie Blake, “X House” by J.T. Ellison, and “The Ravages” by Layne Fargo. Thus, I will outline an individual rating for each narrative below in the order they appear in the anthology.

1. “1000 Ships” by Kate Weinberg: Denoted as a prequel to the author’s novel, this story explores subordinate manipulation, extramarital affairs, and revenge. While the prose was lovely, the story failed to wrap up many of the larger elements at play, perhaps relying too heavily on the subsequent novel. (3.5 stars)
2. “Pythia” by Olivie Blake: A science fantasy that thrived in its interview execution, but remained breathless and info-heavy in the narrative. I admire Blake’s efforts to craft a short story, but the amount of information here would have been best explored through a novel-length narrative. (2 stars)
3. “Sabbatical” by James Tate Hill: Clever and humorous, the nonchalant deliverance of this narrative curated an atmosphere reminiscent of the characters it follows. The scenes and mystery unraveled smoothly, but the ending was a bit too neatly tied. (3.5 stars)
4. “The Hare and the Hound” by Kelly Andrews: A bittersweet story that unfolds around a rather likeable character, resulting in an unexpected, but satisfying end to the story. (4 stars)
5. “X House” by J.T. Ellison: A solid premise for a novel, but sadly, the dual narration was counterintuitive to the progression of the story, resulting in too quick of a pace, and a rather thinly justified resolution. (1.5 stars)
6. “The Ravages” by Layne Fargo: Interesting juxtaposition between two characters that would have been better rendered in a chronological timeline to avoid the rushed info-dump post resolution. (1.5 stars)
7. “Four Funerals” by David Bell: A thought-provoking commentary on academic responsibility, exploring the true repercussions of survivor’s guilt and the negative influence of the media. (5 stars)
8. “The Unknowable Pleasures” by Susie Yang: A fascinating commentary on fantasy interacting with the real world, and the dangers that it could present to an otherwise healthy dynamic. (5 stars)
9. “Weekend at Bertie’s” by M.L. Rio: A richly detailed novel that touches on greed and financial burdens that focused a little too much on irrelevant details, creating a rushed and unsatisfying ending. (3.5 stars)
10. “The Professor of Ontography” by Helen Grant: A spectacularly delivered narrative that condenses thirty years, with much of the story occurring within a few months, and a mystery that keeps you guessing all the way to the final page. (4 stars)
11. “Phobos” by Tori Bovalino: Perhaps one of the only true dark academia stories in this collection, Bovalino delivers a character who is, for the most part, good at heart, but driven to succeed—creating a twist ending that cuts deep. (4.5 stars)
12. “Playing” by Phoebe Wynne: A close-second to what I would classify true dark academia, Wynne delivers an unreliable character who is not dissimilar from Wednesday Addams, with one major exception. (4 stars)


This book has been my most anticipated release of the year, as I am a huge proponent of dark academia, with one of my favorite novels being If We Were Villains by the talented M.L. Rio. However, after reading through the twelve narratives, I was a bit jolted by how it fit none of my expectations.

Despite it not being the experience I was expecting, I discovered some phenomenal new authors, and I would recommend it to readers who enjoy the atmospheric vibes of dark academia more than the gradual descent into darkness that adheres more closely to the classics.

Loved this dark academia collection of short stories from some of our absolute favorites (Olivie Blake and M. L. Rio!). Each story was unique and twisted in its own way, found myself preferring some over others but was overwhelmingly devouring each one.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!