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.

Thank you NetGalley and Scholastic Press for this ARC Copy!

Dark Academia, Secret Society, Mystery, and Queer Romance say no more.

Though this book is clearly geared toward the younger side of YA I still really enjoyed it. There was some language and pop culture references that definitely were not for this old lady, but the story was good enough that it never bothered me one bit.
I have read a lot of books about secrets societies but I really like the system of this one. The mystery kept me guessing, and the tension kept me hooked from start to finish.

This book might not be for everyone, and it was not written to be. If you are bothered by immature characters then this may not be for you and that is fine. I think the actions of all the characters in the book lined up pretty well with their age, after all they are sophomores in high school.

Sad to report this one just wasn’t for me and I had to DNF. I was really interested in the plot, but I think there was something about the author’s writing style that I just struggled to connect with.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this stroy.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

The last chapter of this book is very jarring because it abruptly shifts to ten years after everything went down in the middle of it. A time jump is fine in theory but this time jump felt like when those movies based off real people start to tell everyone what happened after the events of the movie and that's how you find out a lot of them died young. Hearing about what happened to Luke was so MESSED UP. I don't understand how he lost his arm in the tunnels or what it was that Cal gave him right before saying goodbye to him forever. Maybe I missed something?? Something that was small enough to fit in their hands that was significant enough to both of them?? What I really loved about this novel was Gretchen and her determination to live. I was really worried that she wouldn't survive but I'm grateful that she did. Nisha was also a really great character! I love ho she ended up being Cal's best friend in the end and how they were so kind to each other.

Thank you, NetGalley, Scholastic | Scholastic Press, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

When Cal wins a scholarship to an elite New England boarding school he hopes to leave his past behind, being considered as a poor queer kid back home. But at the Essex Academy people are only obsessed over phones and new clothes and he struggles to fit in. In order to fit in, he learns about a secret society on campus, the key to be finally accepted and he finds an unlikely champion in Luke Kim, charismatic and alluring. Swept in the secrets of the society, Cal finds himself falling in love with his first love and as the rituals grow riskier he will have to choose what he would sacrifice to fit in, since nothing is like it seems.

I really loved reading A darker mischief. Labelled The Honeys meets The Secret History, this book is about a young queer teen, willing to do anything in order to fit in and swept in a world of blood, dangers, old money, privilege and more. It's captivating and well written and you can't not cheer for Cal and to follow him in his trials, struggles and falling in love. The world of secret societies and boarding school have always fascinated me and this book isn't an exception.
Cal is a complex character, forced to confront his morals and needs in order to get what he wants and to fit in in the boarding school and you can't not feel a bit close to him.
I did find the pacing a bit off, sometimes too rushed, others too slow, but overall the book is a good and fast read.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get into this book. I originally requested A Darker Mischief from the synopsis. But it's just not for me. I do not think the YA patrons at my library would enjoy it either. I hope it finds the right readers who will absolutely love it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Scholastic Press for providing me with a review copy.

I’m sorry but I did not like this book at all. The secret society was pointless, the “romance” was unlikeable and honestly most of the plot was unbelievable.

This is a wonderful addition to the "dark academia" genre that has become more and more popular over the last few years. The characters are well drawn and relatable, and the mystery is paced well and draws readers in. Definitely check this one out!

i was drawn to this book by the cover and the fact that it’s queer. then actually reading it, i loved the story and the dark academia vibes!

thank you netgalley for the e-arc!

Wow, this is an interesting story which got a lot darker than I thought it would. Cal is a sophomore, having transferred from his old school after an incident to a prestigious elite school favoured by many rich and powerful families. But while Cal’s grades are good and he’s smart enough to be at the school, he struggles to fit in, being the ‘poor kid’ from a Southern state. After a rough day at school, Cal goes for a walk and stumbles upon a secret society by accident. Intrigued by the society and what it could do for his status at the school he decides to try and join it. But there are strange rumours surrounding the society, and even stranger tests for rushees to take. Will getting into the society change Cal’s life for the better, or will he regret it?

This is an interesting story which was exciting to read from the first pages. After a brief prologue which sets out a dramatic scene, the story then begins six months earlier, in September, not long after Cal begins at Essex Academy. The school is a prestigious one, filled with the kids of many rich and influential families, and as a result, even though Cal was smart enough to get in on a scholarship, he feels like he doesn’t fit in with all the elite kids who laugh at him, his clothes and his accent. Cal is an interesting character to follow and I like how at first we’re not sure about a lot of things to do with him, such as who he talks to on the phone when he’s struggling to cope at the school. Cal’s a sensitive but smart guy though, and I like how we learn more about him and his past as the story unfolds.

When Cal comes across the secret society at the school he becomes desperate to join, hoping it will change the way everyone views him. The process of joining though isn’t as simple as he thought, and I like how creepy and strange some of the initiation tests are. The society is based around learning, especially learning the history of the school itself, but it’s a lot stranger and creepier than that and we soon find Cal and his fellow rushees (other students who are attempting to join the society) doing some questionable things to enter the society. I like how the school has a creepy back story to it and how we find out more about the buildings on the campus and the history behind it and some of the alumni, the more we read into the tale. The book is narrated throughout by Cal, but while it focuses on the society and his drive to become a member, and what happens as he delves deeper into it, it’s also a story about Cal dealing with his past trauma as well as his homosexuality and his relationship with a fellow sophomore called Luke.

Luke is an interesting and impulsive character and I like the way Cal and Luke become closer over the months at school. The relationship between them for me was a bit of a strange one though, not so much romantic in the traditional idea of romances in books, but a more realistic portrayal of a teen relationship, although a strange one due to questions surrounding Luke and his past. There are many twists and things revealed in this story, we find out more about the school as well as more about Cal’s past and the truth about the society. I like how I didn’t guess any of what was happening and the fast pace of the story kept me turning the pages to find out more about the characters and the school. The setting of the boarding school and some of the history of the places mentioned gave the whole campus a creepy vibe, and having followed the author on social media I do know a lot of real life places inspired the campus in the book I like how easy it was to imagine the whole place in my head as it was described well and gave off some eerie historical vibes.

The story is fast paced throughout, and as it moves towards March so many things happen. There are so many revelations and secrets revealed but I like how throughout it Cal grows as a character and the story on the whole concludes very well. The ending to the main story is exciting and finishes well, although I would have preferred a little more time and maybe a longer last scene before the story moves into the last epilogue style chapter. This last chapter wraps things up nicely, although I have to be honest there were still some shocking things revealed in this epilogue about what happened to some characters. The book does have some uses of the f and s swear words as well as some violence and mentions of deaths. There is also some sex in the book that’s not overly graphic but does go into a few more details than some readers might expect.

Overall this is a great mix of a coming of age story with a more creepy tale about the dark goings on at an elite boarding school. It’s a fast paced thriller that will keep you guessing as to what is happening and with an ending that’s good but which I also didn’t expect. I do like how things conclude for Cal and some of the other characters, though there are some shocking revelations in the end, and although I did enjoy the epilogue, I would have preferred a little bit of a longer ending with the actual events that were happening on that last night at the end of the story. It wasn’t quite the ending I expected. Perhaps I had hoped things would work out differently with one particular relationship, however overall it’s a great story that touches on mental health and trauma too and with a great and quite eerie setting.

I didn't know what to expect going into A Darker Mischief, but I was pleasantly surprised to find an atmospheric dark academia novel with twists that kept me guessing until the end.

Cal was sent from his home in Mississippi to a boarding school in Connecticut following an "incident" that is slowly revealed through the course of the book. In this new boarding school, Cal meets Luke, a fellow student whose charm and mystery are as compelling as the secret society Cal and Luke both find themselves eager to join. The rest of the book unfolds with twists and revelations that force Cal to consider what he is willing to accept from the status quo. A gripping plot is enhanced by sharp dialogue and polished pacing that propels the plot toward a bittersweet conclusion. Recommended for readers who are comfortable reading books with dark themes and who like dark academia, complicated relationships, and mysterious societies.