There are, in a general sense, three things that detracted from this book’s ability to be enjoyable.

Firstly, dark academia is not a genre I’d believe to lend itself well to short stories, and this proves that quite true. The draws of the genre: the atmosphere, the deep character work, the subtle building of unease— all of those are infinitely harder to include in such a succinct format as short stories. So the very concept of “In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology” is working against it.

On a similar note, dark academia is not a diverse genre, by any means. In fact, it’s one of the most monolithic genres I can think of. Many of the stories featured in this anthology lack uniqueness when it comes to plot, which is not always a bad thing, but no other aspect of them picked up the slack. The writing all felt very mediocre and did nothing to lift the relatively basic narratives. That’s the crux of the issue; I wouldn’t call any of these stories bad, but indifference is not what an author wants to invoke from readers and that’s mostly what I experienced.

And lastly, as both a caveat and valid talking point, I’m not particularly familiar with short story anthologies in general. The format has never been one I’ve read much of. This book drew me due to its genre and a few notable authors I was interested in. So as both context for my review and a heads up to anyone else looking to read this: In These Hallowed Halls is not the book to get you into anthologies or to sate your dark academia cravings.

I’d like to reiterate that there is nothing particularly wrong with this collection, but there is also not much in the way of excellence. It is a book, it exists, and I feel mostly nothing about that fact.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This dark academia anthology captured my interest from start to finish. I had read a few of the authors before, but I loved the ability to read the stories of authors that were new to me. There’s definitely a few new authors that I’ll be adding to my tbr now!! Out of all the short stories I found myself enthralled by 1000 Ships, X House, and the Unknowable Pleasures. Anthologies are hard for me to rate since they are a collection of singular stories, but overall I give this book a 4/5 ⭐️ and 2.5/5 🌶️.

This is a hard one to rate, because I did love a couple of the stories and all the writing was really engaging and interesting BUT as short stories I felt like some of them didn't have enough pages to really tell the story they were trying to tell. I would definitely read full books from almost all of these authors.

My favorites were Pythia by Olivie Blake, The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrews, X House by JT Ellison, and The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant.

I love the general vibes of this book, and I love Dark Academia and I love the idea of this anthology. I can't wait to read more of the authors featured because before this I had only read Olivie Blake and ML Rio so this was a great introduction to the new-to me authors!

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for this ARC!

A dark academia anthology that blends multiple genres into one quick but very satisfying read … as always with books like these, there are some that are better than others but overall I did enjoy reading this one and I would absolutely recommend giving this a pick up, especially if you are a fan of dark academia and short stories.
My favourite was definitely the story by Olivie Blake.


3.75

This book fails to carry all of the stories within. I don't mind novellas and short stories but they still need to be able to be a full story within those pages. And this collection just fails to do that. Some of these books were amazing but most of them lacked what a story should be.

I really enjoyed this little book! A collection of short stories - all dark academia, sign me up! I was hooked from the first page and each story was unique in their own way. I liked some of them more than others but overall, I found it to be a fun read.

What to expect:
academic setting
eerie vibes
teacher/student
obsession, secrets and betrayal

I found some ‘new to me’ authors to add to my tbr and of course our queens, Olivie Blake and M.L. Rio did not disappoint! 🤩

All my dark academia girlies, I can’t wait for you to check this one out! It releases next month, just in time for spooky season. 🖤

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley & Titan Books for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

I was thrilled to have gotten approved to read this arc. I was mainly excited to read M.L. Rio's & Olivia Blake's pieces in this but was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining the other stories were.

I am a huge fan of dark academia so all of the stories really scratched that wonderful itch. I will say I was left wanting more more often than not but that seems to be the trend when I read anthologies. I always want the short stories to continue, especially when I like them.

If you like dark academia, you need to pick this up. I’ve only read one author out of this lineup, but I truly enjoyed all of the stories, and boy are there a variety of them! Whether you’re into real-world universities, fantastical academia, or a mix of the two, there are stories in this anthology that will meet your needs. They are all quick reads, not just because of their length but because they are fast-paced and often have a mystery at the core—there wasn’t a single story I was trudging through, unlike most anthologies I’ve read. I highly recommend this anthology and I’ve found a few authors I’ll definitely be reading more of!

A book about Dark Academia sounds like Harry Potter for adults and it was . It started off pretty tame but it soon got better. Unfortunately for me it was just an okay read. I have discovered some new author's which is always a bonus. Would be suited to a younger audience.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the Arc in return for an honest review.

Well.
As short story collections go, this was, as usual, a mixed bag.

The biggest draws for the average reader are probably Olivie Blake and M.L. Rio, with me personally liking Rio's story the best, actually (we love victimless crimes in this house!), while I thought that while Blake's story was good, it wasn't necessarily dark academia (it was an examination of AI and the relationships people had with it, leaning more towards Science Fiction than anything else, with the fact that it takes place in a university probably being the only thing "dark acacemia" about it).

Where this collection does fail is in disclosing the massive trigger in the middle of the book. Called "Four Funerals" and written by David Bell, this story takes some of the most notorious school shooters in history, puts them in a blender to make "Tyler", and then tries to show from a perspective of a teacher how horrible school shootings are.
I get it. I get the point they were trying to make.
I was in a school shooting.

Inspired by the Columbine shooters' essays on massacres that teacher's actually DID read and graded and gave back without "alerting the authorities" (because Columbine was the blueprint.), "Four Funerals" is about a teacher and the shooter's mother struggling with survivor's guilt in the aftermath of the shooting while visiting the funerals of the murdered students.

Nothing prepared me for this. And because of the very nature of short stories, you are tossed into the story without preparation or exposition and suddenly I'm back in that classroom, and all the phones are ringing because of parents trying to reach us, and we are huddling in the corner trying to get away from doors and windows -
You get it.

I was blindsided. I really, really enjoyed this book - until "Four Funerals."

I don't really know what to say. Thanks for the ARC?

It's time to put trigger warnings in books.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
In These Hallowed Halls releases September 12, 2023

2.5

This is a dark academia anthology, featuring 12 short stories from 12 different authors.
To my surprise, I found this quite lackluster. Very few actually gave me that all-encompassing dark academic feeling. For example, I wasn’t aware that attending a funeral of a school shooting victim was considered dark academia?? That could easily be integrated in any other genre.

Many of these could definitely be expanded upon in a full length novel.

Top favourites: X House, The Professor of Ontography, Phobos


— 1000 Ships: a sexual teacher/student relationship where the teacher is married and is at the hands of some photographic blackmail. There was a line about suicide that was not necessary at all and didn’t add much value.

— Pythia: a deposition of a clinical psychologist. This one was extremely wordy and didn’t quite fit the genre, I’d lean more towards speculative sci-fi.

— Sabbatical: an interesting revelation about the whereabouts of a missing professor. The mmc is visually impaired.

— The Hare and the Hound: the mmc thinks the girl and the bunny he sees are one and the same, but you’ll have to read to find out if they are or not!

— X House: possibly the darkest undertones of the short stories. Told in dual pov and contains an on-page panic attack. I’d read a full length of this.

— The Ravages: sapphic and the main plotline is about cheating. The title of the anthology comes from this story.

— Four Funerals: funerals and a school shooting.

— The Unknowable Pleasures: the fmc has a strong fixation of a supposed gay entanglement that was happening between two other people. Wasn’t a fan.

— Weekend at Bertie’s: was this even academic?? All I remember is there being a cat.

— The Professor of Ontography: the most engaging and mentally stimulating of the whole collection.

— Phobos: this one was dark too! I’d love to get an extended version of this.

— Playing: not memorable and didn’t give dark academic vibes either.

First things first I loved this book!! As someone who loves dark academia, and with a short attention span this book was perfect! I feel like this was such a unique read and have never read anything like this whilst it still had the moody psyche that I love in dark academia.

The only reason I rated 4 instead of 5 stars because I really loved a lot of the stories within it but some a little less then others so 4 stars felt right.

Some of these still have me thinking about them because the writing is so amazing you want more of the stories and more of the characters but the stories never leave you unsatisfied.

I really enjoyed in particular:
The Hare and The Hound - This way this read as a dark psychological thriller … obsessed to say the least. This one i think about often.
X House - This was kind of predictable but again I was so gripped and enjoyed the extremity of it.
Four Funerals - This was slower but I really enjoyed what it made me think about and the potential downfalls of academia and validation.

Oooh, this was really fun! I often struggle with anthologies and I 100% requested this solely for the M.L. Rio story.

I did NOT like some of these (Olivie Blake) but the rest were great and I thought all the perfect length. I loved the stories from past authors that I've enjoyed, and discovered a few new ones I want to check out!

It was also a cool range of stories from a contemporary view of student-professor relationships, to genuinely terrifying horror, to gothic vibes!

1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg: Interesting story but very forgettable. I wish we had a bit more on the murder/suicide, because I felt like it didn't add much to the story. I was not a big fan of the writing style, but I found the main character very interesting. 3 stars
Pythia by Olivie Blake: I liked this one, even though I have trouble reconciling science fiction and Dark Academia. The story was compelling with a satisfying ending, but it lacked that Dark Academia vibe. 3.5 stars
Sabbatical by James Tate Hill: My least favourite without a doubt. The characters have completely unrealistic reactions and actions, especially towards the end. A story that makes little sense and a waste of time. 1 star
The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew: One of my favourites. I loved how different themes were handled. The magical and horrific undertones were seamlessly incorporated into the story. The mystery was gripping and the writing magnificent. 5 stars
X House by J.T. Ellison: I have to admit that even though the ending was a bit predictable, it was still shocking. This story works perfectly in this short story format which makes it even more brutal. The atmosphere and the tension were on point. I loved it. 4.5 stars
The Ravages by Layne Fargo: Another very good story. Despite the fact that I quickly understood how our main character was going to get revenge on her cheating girlfriend, I was still intrigued to see how far it would go and really enjoyed this story. 4.5 stars
Four Funerals by David Bell: The story of this teacher going to the funerals of his four students killed in a school shooting was very insightful. Survivor's guilt is the main subject of this short story and while it provided barely any Dark Academia vibes, it was a very good story, nonetheless. 4.5 stars
The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang: I must confess that I did not understand the purpose of this story. Maybe it was because I didn't feel concerned, but I didn't feel intrigued. There were some interesting discussions of obsession, but the ending seemed to make it all very pointless. 2 stars
Weekend at Bertie’s by M.L. Rio: I loved the ambiance of this one. M.L. Rio's writing is still phenomenal and the story itself was interesting, but I still feel like I missed something by the end of the story. 4 stars
The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant: Another one of my favourites. The tone is much more mysterious and darker than the others and can even be very disturbing at the end. But I loved it. The idea of a mysterious class that no one talks about was amazing from the start. The conclusion was very satisfying and the atmosphere perfect. 5 stars
Phobos by Tori Bovalino: Another good one, with a feeling of uncertainty from beginning to end. The characters are compelling especially our main character, until the last page it is difficult to predict what she will do next. I saw the end coming, but it was still surprising. 4 stars
Playing by Phoebe Wynne: I was not a fan of this one. I like the whole idea, but the story itself was quite long and boring. I also had a lot of trouble connecting with the main character who I found very unlikable and not in a good way. 2.5 stars

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

A dark academia anthology that blends multiple genres into one quick satisfying read, with some strong stories, and others that fail to carry their weight. Given the vastly differing narrative styles there is something for any fan of the genre in here.

1000 Ships: Strong writing that instantly thrusts you into a dark atmosphere of toxic love and obsession, however with a conclusion that felt slightly lacking and failed to give the story a sense that it had gone anywhere narratively.
Pythia: Dark and twist filled, this multimedia story managed to achieve an immersive and engaging narrative in such a small period. However, calling the story a dark academia is a bit of a stretch - but I’m not complaining.
Sabbatical: A messy attempt at I don’t know what. This felt more like the apathetic detective at the start of a crime novel with a plot that jumped quickly between concepts allowing for no build of any sort of tension.
The Hare and The Hound: Enjoyable blend of obsession with a ‘is it supernatural or not’ beat, that kept a strong degree of tension throughout.
X house: Delightfully eerie and filled with surprising narrative twists, with an ending that was slightly rushed but still wonderfully shocking.
The Ravages: This story failed at leaving an impact by lacking any sort of discretion by making the ‘twist’ of the story so blatantly obvious from the get go. Not to mention that it’s written with a detached sentimentality towards love and heartbreak, thus failing to provoke any emotional response.
Four Funerals: A depressing sombre story that didn’t really go anywhere or feel as if the author had anything to say.
The Unknowable Pleasures: Gloriously unhinged portrayal of a character descending into a madness sparked by an obsession with another couple's supposed relationship, with a rather open ended finish that felt gratifying.
Weekend at Bertie’s: Sharp writing although the story didn’t seem to take many risks. .
The Professor of Ontography: A great build of suspense throughout, although the ending seemed more absurd than anything.
Phobos: Perfectly paced and plotted with an instantly intoxicating dark atmosphere that made me long for a full length novel on The Order.
Playing: Blatantly predictable with the only bright spark being the fact that the protagonist plays the organ which I never see in novels.

A fantastic idea and I love the overall look of the book cover - this would look great in my library - but unfortunately the stories all fell flat for me. There was one or two that I couldn’t even get through, which should not happen in short stories. The words just dragged on for me. But it’s a cool concept!

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.

A great dark academia short story collection by some great authors. Each story had me gripped and wanting more. It has also given me a list of new authors to check out too. I highly recommend.

I will be publishing my review on goodreads during the release month as requested. Thank you kindly to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review,

Unfortunately I struggled I finishing this book, I did not find most of the short stories engaging or compelling. The nature of these stories being short did nothing to showcase the talent of these authors, many of whom I’ve read previous works of and enjoyed,

I think it is also warranted to mention that for an anthology that it is marketed as dark academia, the stories had nothing tying them together or to dark academia itself, other than a shallow undertone of the popular aesthetic or by throwing in a loose tie to some sort of academic setting, Dark academia at its core has some theme or critique of the genre, it is not just a setting where the characters wear plaid. I think calling most of those stories “dark academia” was a stretch at best and a money grab marketing tactic at worst.

I’m disappointed to say that this wasn’t for me at all.

In These Hallowed Halls is an anthology of short stories badged as "dark academia", exploring a lot of the expected tropes of higher education, murder, revenge, and mysterious departments. There's a range of stories and authors, many of whom are famous names in the subgenre-slash-aesthetic that is dark academia, and an introduction that delves into some of the influences upon the theme, carefully positioning the anthology as part of the trend.

As someone who used to say they liked reading the subgenre that was basically things like The Secret History and which subsequently became "dark academia", I was intrigued to see how much this anthology would feel like it was exploring the concept, and how much it would just be a marketing term (which is seems to be constantly used for, especially for books that aren't dark but are set in a school). The stories are almost entirely set at universities, or have a plot in the orbit of them or similar places like archives and a girls' school, and a good number are fairly dark in a range of ways, from very real things like shootings and murders to more magical and weird things like a place that fuses technology and magic.

There were a few that aren't really dark academia at all, like 'The Hare and the Hound' which just happens to be set on a college campus, and others that play with the idea of what it is, like 'Four Funerals' which from the introduction seems to be a companion piece to the author's other dark academia books, but is focused on the aftermath of a school shooting and doesn't really feature anything associated with the subgenre. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - if the anthology was twelve identical stories it would be very boring - but these stories won't appeal to some readers looking for a purer "dark academia" experience, whether or not that is really possible.

One of my favourite stories in the book was 'The Professor of Ontography' by Helen Grant, a tale set in what seemed to be a fictional 1980s Oxbridge college, and which also felt like an entire dark academia novel condensed into a short story. It combined obsession and a weird secret with a fun, horror-tinged ending, and the setting felt very vivid. I also liked Susie Yang's 'The Unknowable Pleasures', which whilst not really being that dark at all, was an interesting look into obsession and desire as a female student thinks she sees an affair between a professor and student. Both of these stories I would've read as a full novel, but that may also be because I prefer longer works to short stories. 'The Ravages' by Layne Fargo was an enjoyable look at finding queer histories in the archives and getting revenge on a cheating girlfriend, though other than this and Yang's story, the anthology lacked some of the queerness that is usually at least hinted at in dark academia.

Other stories had good elements, but didn't quite work as well for me, like Kate Weinberg's '1000 Ships' which created a good snapshot but didn't actually have a real narrative, and 'Weekend at Bertie's' by M. L. Rio which had a fun concept but was a bit too packed full of things and unnecessary description to work as a short story. Olivie Blake's 'Pythia' is a different take on the genre, feeling most similar to maybe the book Babel by R.F. Kuang, and I liked the concepts in it, though again the short story format didn't quite give it enough space to explore these ideas.

Overall, this is a decent anthology that tries not to be just twelve stories ripping off popular dark academia books, though in doing this it does mean that some stories feel more part of the subgenre than others (and it will always be difficult for something that is at least in part just an internet aesthetic and empty marketing term). I liked that a decent amount of the stories did take the 'dark' part of the name literally, though personally I would've preferred even more darkness and maybe more linking that with some of the structural issues at play in higher education. It is a good way to discover authors you might like or see works from those you already know (I've read novels by three of the authors previously), though I'm not sure it would be a great introduction to the concept of dark academia over reading an actual novel. For me, a lot of the stories felt like they weren't complete short stories, but should've been part of longer pieces, and I wonder if that is just the nature of the dark academia subgenre that it suits a more fleshed out narrative than shorter versions.

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.

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