This was stranger than I thought it would be and a bit all over the place. The beginning started out strong, jumping into Cal's new life at boarding school and discovering the secret society. I enjoyed the tasks he had to complete and seeing him explore the hidden parts of the school. I would love to do secret missions and learn how to pick locks and gain access to hidden areas.

The romance was toxic and quickly spiraled out of control. Some parts felt rushed and not explored enough and I wanted Cal to question things more rather than just keep going along with everything. The ending also tried to just give a quick update on things and I could have done without it. I didn't really care about those characters or where their lives went after school.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Scholastic Press and NetGalley for the copy.

This was definitely dark and twisted. It took me a while to finish it, due me getting distracted by other books. Luke and Cal’s relationship was definitely toxic. And pinky? He made me so uncomfortable. I loved the boarding school and the hidden tunnels. This book definitely kept me guessing. I couldn’t figure out what would happen next!

This book is good. Cal captured my heart from the very beginning. The world was very captivating and well built. It has a couple of twist and turns that I was not expecting. Overall this was a very solid read

Overall, I was just not impressed with this book. In the grand scheme of things, my issues are going to seem small and irrelevant but combined with what can only be described as mediocre characters and plot, this book just did not do it for me.

First things first, please stop using real life pop culture references but changing the name slightly - it's weird and immediately takes me out of the book. There's a family mentioned on and off that is so clearly based off the Sackler family, right down to museums and such taking their names off of exhibits. For being based off such a heinous group of people, the fake Sacklers in the book are underdeveloped and underwhelming. There is also a reality show called The Triangle that is mentioned and so clearly just an off brand version of that Netflix show The Circle.

I also LOATHED the epilogue. Without spoiling anything, it is just a massive information dump about what has happened to every character in the book in the 40 years after the end of the novel. There is probably nothing the author could have included in that last chapter that I would care less about.

**Review of *A Darker Mischief* by Derek Milman**

*A Darker Mischief* is a thrilling ride from start to finish, blending suspense, dark humor, and twists that will keep you guessing until the very end. Derek Milman’s writing style is sharp, witty, and fast-paced, making it hard to put down once you start. The main character, caught in a mess of mysterious events and personal drama, is both flawed and relatable, which adds layers to the story.

Milman has a knack for keeping the plot unpredictable. Just when you think you know where it’s headed, something changes, and it keeps the tension high throughout the book. There’s a certain charm to the way Milman balances darker themes with moments of levity, making the story feel grounded while still being a wild ride.

The mix of mystery and the protagonist’s journey of self-discovery is engaging, though some parts can feel a bit over the top, but that’s part of the fun. It’s a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it also knows when to hit with emotional punches.

If you enjoy books with quirky characters, a fast-paced plot, and unexpected twists, *A Darker Mischief* is definitely worth the read. It’s a perfect blend of darkly comedic and thrilling, and it’ll leave you looking forward to more of Derek Milman’s work.

The storyline is strong the writing is on point and the pace of the book is just right. I didnt feel like i was getting lost or not knowing what was going on. It feels you can image it like a movie and it went simple to read and understand. I enjoyed it thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

DNF at 24% It felt just like every other YA dark academia story with a “different” MC and a secret society that they think is the end all be all but is actually sinister and bougie. I also couldn’t hear the love interest call him “king” one more time.

It was a bold choice to comp this to The Honeys and Secret History because wow was this nothing like either of those, really. It's a lot more lighthearted than those and plot-wise, it's not really similar either? This entire book was a fever dream and all over the place. I wasn't mad about it really, it just wasn't really what I was expecting, so it was hard to adjust my view as I was reading. I also wasn't entirely sold on the relationship between the MCs. At times, it didn't feel right and somewhat disconnected.

This was one of my most anticipated 2024 releases and honestly, it let me down. The concept and some elements of the plot are interesting, but it ultimately really fell short in both character and plot for me. There were times I liked and/or slightly cared about the characters of this book, but more often I was either confused or frustrated. The main characters are supposed to be 15-18 and at times they act that way, while also having bizarre mannerisms that remind you that this is a book written by an adult man. I think that if I had gone into this book without any expectations, I might have at least enjoyed it a little bit more instead of being disappointed, but I’m also not sure I would have ended up finishing it if I had picked it up at my local library.

A DARKER MISCHIEF takes place at a New England boarding school with a secret society and a mysterious past. Our main character, Cal, is a scholarship student from Mississippi with a somewhat troubled past, who falls for another sophomore with a troubled past named Luke. They both try to get into the secret society, and Cal has to see how far he’s willing to go for a way out. This book has so much potential, and I can’t help but feel like a heavy dose of developmental editing could have saved the plot for me. It felt convoluted and rushed at times, but I could tell it was something I could’ve been interested in. I don’t really want to comment on the main relationship between Cal and Luke because I didn’t really care for it but also because Luke as a person and maybe character kind of sucked.

My gut reaction after finishing this is that I just don’t really care, and nothing about the book convinced me. I genuinely thought this was going to be a favourite, and it just ended up being a half-baked disappointment. There were brighter spots, but the whole book just feels overshadowed by how badly I wanted to finish it so it could be over with.

I was super excited to read this book but it was ultimately a major letdown. The sentence that lost me "It takes me a second to realize why I'm so stunned: the sudden influx of glamour, mystery, intrigue." There was absolutely nothing written near this sentence that even remotely hinted to any of these things. Writing styles that tell tell tell instead of show show show are very much not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader. All thoughts are my own.

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)