I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Derek Milman for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of A Darker Mischief!!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | 5/5

First and foremost — this is by far my FAVORITE 2024 read. Hands down, without a debatable doubt. Second most— the people who gave this one star either hate gay people, or this book realllyy just wasn’t for you.

But for ME? This book was for me.

A Darker Mischief does the perfect unraveling of parts; it is equally dark academia mixed with queerness and the messy parts of being a teenager away from home. It takes a knife to one’s chest and gutturally opens it, leaving the heart raw and vulnerable.

I will cry from now on thinking of Moon Tears. Duchess. Lonely Hearts. Cal and Luke will remain with me for a very very long time. The way Luke drew and saw Cal like no one else, and how Cal saw everything in halves, yet saw Luke in the totality of his scattering colors.

A darker mischief is rawly dark, twistingly historical of Essex’s boarding school and the lore of SoSE. Yet in turn it captures the pain and suffering of queer students, highlighting their pain and instead of stuffing it down into their guts, who pull it from their throat like a brandished gun.

I will die on the hill that Cal and Luke deserved so much better. Trapped by their own monsters and laying on a dark bed sheeted by lies, they truly saw one another as they really were, and gave each other the love to continue moving forward.

Oh and Pinky Lynch deserves to bite the curb.

This story kept me on edge and honestly blew me away. It also made me profoundly sad, haha! This book is perfect for those who love queer stories, dark academia, YA, puzzle solving, ghosts, secret societies, and thrill seeking. The characters are complex and I found myself experiences a plethora of feelings for many of them. This book is clearly well thought out and unique.

Arghhh, I wish books wouldn't use the secret history as a comp for any kind of mystery set in a school! This felt so much younger and sillier, and I gave up partway through.

A thriller set at the elite Essex Academy boarding school, A Darker Mischief follows the story of Cal, a queer 10th-grade transfer student struggling to fit at his posh new school and still haunted by his past. When he stumbles on a series of clues that lead him to a secret society on campus, he quickly becomes obsessed with earning a place among their ranks. Especially when it means he gets to spend more time with the mysterious boy he keeps running into, Luke Kim. As he gets deeper into the society and learns more about the school’s history, Cal will have to decide how far he’s willing to go for the society—and who or what he’s willing to leave behind.

❤️ What I loved: The book has a great, dark-academia atmosphere and a complex story that delivers on the thriller front. There are also some great themes that this book explores around power and identity that are woven in interesting ways throughout the story.
💔 What I didn’t love: I’m a little baffled by this one, but ultimately there were some elements that just didn’t work for me. At times, the writing really took me out of the story—though I understand this is for a younger audience, I think many of the students I work with would find the nicknames and dialogue to be a bit cringe. I also feel really conflicted about the relationship between Cal and Luke in this story, and the ways that it intersects with Cal’s journey to understand his own queerness.

Although this book didn’t speak to me, I would definitely recommend this book to readers of YA who are looking for a more complex thriller or enjoy a dark academia setting.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5 (3-3.5)

Acknowledgments & Disclaimers ✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Derek Milman, and Scholastic, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book. ✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. ✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

DNF @ 35%

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I thought the premise was pretty interesting, and I love dark academia books and campus thrillers, so I thought this would be right up my alley, but I just could not get into the story, and I really didn't like the writing style, so I decided to DNF it. I can see how it would be enjoyable to some people for sure, but it just wasn't my thing.

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unforchunetly this story didn't work for me. The atmosphere and the "vibes," are strong at the start of the book. However, the fundamental aspects that kept the story moving, the character conflict and dialogue I found how to get through. I know this is a YA story and I think the author shows a lot of potential in future works, I just felt that it read a little too young for the age group. I will own that this is not my age range, I am not a YA reader. The way some of the sentences and dialogue was written was just really off putting for me personally.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the writing style in this book. The author did a fantastic job that setting the scene and it kept my attention the entire time. I just love dark academia books so when I saw this cover and read the blurb, I knew I had to read it.

There were several twists that I was not expecting and it kept me on my toes. The author did a great job showing the vulnerability in the main characters and how their loneliness affected their lives and choices.

This is a great book to read this time of year. Definitely recommend it!

very interesting dark academia queer romantasy with some super awesome and epic ideas. would recommend this work

A twisty, nested puzzle box of privilege and secrets, set against a haunting dark academia background, A Darker Mischief is a queer thriller bent on interrogating the shadows of a school, its secret society, and the stormy psyches of its students.

This book was an absolutely wild ride. Even when I was pretty sure I knew where the story was headed, it still managed to take turns I was not at all expecting, as its chapters slowly peeled back the layers of half-truths the characters all seem to thrive on. Nobody--not even Cal--is quite who they seem, and as the secrets pile up, so too does the tension. Props to Milman for creating such a twisty narrative web, and told in language that is sometimes artful, sometimes action-packed, and woven through with enough Society jargon to make us feel like we, as readers, are also being recruited.

Aside from the layering of secrets, one of this book's biggest strengths was the critical eye it casts toward privilege in elite academic spheres. Dark academia often has a decidedly opulent edge, and while the copious wealth of Society members is evident throughout here, it is all filtered through Cal's eyes. We feel his pain, confusion, and alienation in this world of money he has never known--caviar and champagne are not the norm for him, and he buys his tuxedo at a thrift store. Even as he acclimates to Society, he is still on unequal footing with his richer classmates, and they leverage his financial status against him. (I will note, there's one early scene where he is randomly able to buy a lot of--presumably expensive--school swim team apparel, but this was probably supposed to just be him splurging for Society?) But this isn't a one-note portrayal; several Society members confide in Cal about awful abuse they endured from family members, despite their financial comfort--a reminder that privilege can be multidimensional and intersectional, and supportive parents are a privilege, too.

To keep myself from rambling, I'll just end by noting that this book is a great pick for fans of:
- architecture
- intersectional rep (queer, disabled teens)
- toxic relationships (like...VERY toxic)
- romances that simultaneously help characters heal and break them down further
- secret societies
- precocious nerds with something to prove
- Very Traumatized Characters
- eerie imagery

This book may not be a great choice for fans of:
- HEAs (I mean...it's bittersweet, I liked it, but YMMV)
- characters who have to work hard for their skills (Cal has a gift for poetic writing that seems to catch everyone's attention, but it isn't something we ever see him work on; he also maintains great grades but never seems to study or sleep much)
- maps (whyyyyy does this book not have a map, when so much of the story depends on the placement of campus buildings??)
- being able to solve puzzles alongside the characters (most of the things Cal solves are only because he knows a lot about the school's history, not because of things the reader could know, and he solves them very quickly as well, so you may need to reread to even understand his twisted logic which is somehow always right)
- having everything explained (there are still lingering questions at the end, even though the biggest plot points are resolved)

Tl;dr a twisty--if sometimes implausible--dark academia, full of mysterious old buildings, questions of identity, and a reckoning with the price of privilege.

Rep: gay MC with one eye and PTSD, first gen Korean American achillean LI with ADHD and PTSD, South Asian-coded SC, Black SC

TW/CW: bullying, homophobia, classism, prescription drug abuse, grief, sexual assault, infidelity, parent with cancer, toxic relationships/friendships, kidnapping, hallucinations, child abuse (off-page)

I found the ADHD rep in this intolerable, andableist. The story was also quite boring, and I couldn't work out what events it was trying to lead up to, after he joins the secret society.

I slogged through the first 40% of the book and just didn't care. I didn't care about any of the characters - they didn't have enough personality for that. I didn't care about the dark and mysterious backstories. I didn't care about anything that happened (really not much did). I didn't want to know more.

The secret society was trying to be dark and mysterious and creepy but it just came off nonsensical and weirdly obsessed with obscure historical details about buildings. The "riddles" made little sense and Cal breezed through them in a way that seemed highly suspect.

I gave in and read some reviews to give myself the motivation to keep going, and from what I can tell the plot goes completely off the rails in the second half so really I did myself a favor by stopping when I did. I got more enjoyment reading some of the one-star reviews than I did for the actual book.

I was reading it on audio, so I didn't notice the writing style issues others mention, but If I had been reading the ebook I would have definitely been turned off by them.

The audio wasn't to my taste either. I didn't like the narrator and I think he contributed to making the characters seem unlikeable. His narration was a little bit monotone and kept everything at a distance.

*Thanks to Scholastic Press and Dreamscape Media for providing an early copy for review.

If you enjoy dark academia, trust me – it doesn’t get much darker than this.

After an “incident” at home, Cal receives a scholarship to the exclusive Essex Academy in New England. It’s best he accept the scholarship and leave town – his financially strapped family would never be able to afford the tuition, and opportunities are limited in small town Mississippi. Cal also struggles with identity and belonging and hopes to find friends at Essex. The students aren’t exactly welcoming, but when Cal’s asked to join a secret society he’s thrilled to have found his place. He longs to feel a part of something, but SoSE may be more than Cal bargained for.

Cal is an easy character to like, and I wanted to wrap him in a big hug and tell him everything would be alright. Besides school, he has other issues at home to worry about. Other than a couple minor characters, he’s the only one I cared about. Most of them don’t have any redeeming qualities. With secrets upon secrets, questionable actions, and outright lies, it’s hard for Cal or the reader to completely trust anyone. You may have to suspend your disbelief when the truth rolls out near the end.

Judging by other reviews I’m in the minority on this, but I wasn’t feeling the chemistry between Cal and Luke. Luke didn’t come across as genuine to me and is less than truthful with Cal about aspects of his life. I thought Cal could do better.

The prologue set six months in the future immediately intrigued me, and I needed to know how the characters get to that point. The epilogue set ten years in the future was also appreciated. In some novels I love a glimpse that allows you to see what becomes of the characters.

Recommended for readers who enjoy boarding school mysteries, secret societies, and darker academia stories.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really wanted to enjoy A Darker Mischief, but unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. The writing felt choppy and disjointed, making the reading experience more frustrating than immersive. The plot was filled with convenient solutions and contrived situations, especially with Cal easily solving riddles and excelling at everything without much struggle. The characters, including Cal and Luke, were unlikable and lacked depth, making it hard to connect with them or care about their fates. The supposed romance was cringeworthy and lacked chemistry, and the rushed epilogue left me more confused than satisfied. Overall, this was a disappointment despite its promising premise.

Decent concept but it missed the mark for me and comparing this to THE HONEYS really isn't accurate at all outside of them being dark novels featuring a queer character. There are a ton of dark academia/secret society books out there and at least for me, this didn't bring anything new to the table. I found Cal and Luke to lack depth and some of the dialogue between them to be just odd. Given some of the on page content (while not spicy, these are not fade to black sex scenes like the norm for books written for teens), this is an older YA novel even though Cal is only 16.

At the core of this novel is a romance that is both toxic and unbelievable, the secret society wasn't particularly secret or very interesting, and while Milman brings in some cool historical aspects of Essex Academy, there's not enough of that to save this novel. Overall this one was a struggle to get through without a payoff in the end.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Scholastic, and Scholastic Press in exchange for an honest review.

I love a queer dark academia with a secret society. It’s hard to tell who you should be rooting for in this book.

Cal has to decide how much he is willing to risk and sacrifice to join a secret society in a school he already doesn’t really fit in to.

There were some parts that were quite confusing and the ending felt very rushed. But overall a really solid fall read!

A Darker Mischief is a queer dark academic with a secret society in a boarding school in New England. Cal is a kid from Mississippi and gets a scholarship to attend the prestigious Essex Academy.

What looks like a fresh start for him turns out to be the same story where he is again the odd one out. So when he learns about a secret society in the school he wants in. Becoming a member would be seen as a royalty in the school and Cal can finally get his fresh start.

The prologue starts strong with us knowing Cal, our MC had kidnapped, VP of America's daughter. There are details about how the society functions, descriptions about the school history and each and every building with its own set of mysteries. If you are someone who loves the stories an old building tells, you will love A Darker Mischief.

Coming to the characters, I think in dark academic, it's sort of difficult to put characters in the good and evil boxes. It's the same with A Darker Mischief. Each character has its own complexity and character building is one of the things that helps the plot moving.

I wasn't the biggest fan of the romance and didn't really care much about what would happen to Cal & Luke in terms of the relationship. I wish some of the pages from their love story could have been cut short to give the climax a little more space because everything that happened in the end felt kind of rushed. Cal's motivation for getting in the society made sense but in the second half it felt like he was only doing it for Luke and it was just fine after that. Like I said not the biggest fan of the romance.

The epilogue tied up story pretty well and I did enjoy it overall. Finishing it in less than 24 hrs says a lot about that.

This was such a good read it was very hard to put down, at first I was reading the ebook version and by the time I got the physical book I was basically almost done. This book was a fun dose of dark academia and secret societies sprinkled with lgbtq rep, I wish I could've read this during fall the vibes would've been immaculate. What got me hooked was when the secret society was introduced the rituals they had to do to get in the society had me at the edge of my seat wondering if our Mc was going to pass or not and just how far was he willing to go to get in also I really enjoyed the writing style it was fast paced in the beginning but slowed down a bit towards the end. I definitely guessed one twist but I didn't see the main twist coming. I want to keep this review short and sweet so I'm ending it here if you like dark academia, secret societies, or The Secret History by Donna Tarty check this out.
(P.s the design under the book cover is soo pretty!!)

I really wanted to like this one - I was interested in the premise, and I liked the main character a lot. But I could tell about halfway through it was not a title I would be able to recommend to my audience (English teachers recommending books directly to students) due to mature content, and while I initially kept reading to see how it ended, I got REALLY frustrated with Cal's obsession with Luke when Luke was clearly horrible to him.

One of my favorite subgenres is queer Y.A. dark academia and A Darker Mischief by Derek Milman definitely fits the bill. This was well-crafted with great characters, lots of tension, and a whole lot of mystery. I really enjoyed it.