4/5

Alexis Henderson is the queen of unsettling novels that burrow deep under your skin and refuse to surface for months afterward. Her third novel, An Academy for Liars is a sumptuous southern gothic academia that examines the legacy of academia and the advantages taken on members of vulnerable communities. Through Lennon Carter, Henderson unveils a magical academy specializing in one thing –persuasion, a tool that is wielded in aid of world powers, politicians, and hidden agendas. A mirror into psychological trauma and the morality of persuasion, both as a source of power over others and the concept of will itself, An Academy for Liars masterfully bridges dark academia and fantasy in one twisted novel. I always go into these unsure of where Henderson will take the story and An Academy for Liars has shown once again just how skillful she is at wielding it. Love the entire concept and I'll certainly won't be forgetting this one soon!

I really enjoyed this one! Alexis Henderson is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. The worlds she writes are so immersive and addicting. Once I start one of her books, they truly consume me.

I liked it, a lot happened at the front end. I ended up having to listen to it to keep up. I did enjoy it though!

Quite zany and not sure the genre mashup worked. I was intrigued but didn’t find myself needing to get to the end or get all the answers. The setup and premise was interesting, love the academia vibes, but I felt the characters were a bit washed out / formulaic and the twists at one point felt like they were just for shock value than actually plot relevant.

I had so much fun with this book. To offer a brief introduction– this novel follows Lennon, stuck in the monotony of a loveless engagement with her fiancé before she’s called to join the elusive school of Drayton College. This is no ordinary school either. The students at Drayton practice the art of persuasion, enforcing their will on people to later influence the world.

As a huge fan of The Magicians, this gave me a very similar vibe, but with some major improvements (read: no whiny yt protagonists here). I stayed up late every night reading each chapter, unable to put it down. This book offers just about everything: an engaging magic system, a fun cast of characters, and a brooding and dangerous love interest.

I’m giving this a four stars just because I felt the last 15% was a bit rushed, though I did like the ending. Maybe that’s just me selfishly wanting to linger in this story a bit more.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ace for this e-ARC!

I’m a fan of Henderson’s novels. She’s got a unique and creative mind and she really showcases this in An Academy for Liars. I read this in just under a day and the sheer dysfunction of Lennon’s life and the uniqueness of Drayton College was cat nip to my little kitty heart.

Dark academia and the love for it, is a thing, and I’ve got a thing for it – so, obviously, I adored this story but there’s more than just the dark academia that I loved. The reason the college exists, for one, the ability of the student’s, another. On top of that, each student/teacher’s complex character added brilliantly to the storyline and added so much depth to an already compelling and complex storyline.

Lennon and Dante’s story though! Le sigh! Also, what the heck! There’s so much I loved about this and I’m not ready to let go of this story, Drayton College or it’s inhabitants so I’m hoping for more from Alexis in this world! Give us more!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

I want to like this more than I actually did. The magic system of persuasion - and the morality and consequences that come with it - is really unique and fascinating, as is the dark secrets surrounding Drayton's. It's a dark academia fantasy that leans heavily into horror, and I really enjoyed that aspect. I wish the characters were stronger, though. Lennon was initially a sympathetic main character, but made increasingly terrible choices and refuses to understand why others would want to cut ties with her for those decisions. Dante is an intriguing love interest with a bit of taboo as her teacher (they are both adults), and it does bring up some of the deeper issues with that relationship, and the connections to Dante's past relationships, but I dont think it's explored far enough because Lennon doesn't really care beyond what we get. The ending doesn't sit right with me because it depends on us believing that Lennon has these really close friends from her time at Drayton that are willing to risk everything for her, and we really don't see much of that; partly because of the length of the novel, but also it's strongly suggested that these friends don't fully like her for various reasons throughout the book. Overall, I do like it. It's a really strong concept and plot, but those do suffer from some weak characters bringing it down.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6664648438

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Check out this review of An Academy for Liars on Fable. https://fable.co/review/946db11a-926a-4794-bdda-99692a782644/share

Henderson's latest is a twisty and inventive take on magical schools! I loved stumbling into Savannah and Drayton alongside Lennon, meeting the other characters who find themselves at this unique school, and learning the steep cost of persuasion both for herself and in the world. If you love dark academia, young women finding their power, and a touch of romance this book is for you! Step inside the elevator and prepare to have your world widened.

This book has me reeling. It took me a while to get into it, but I read the last 50% of the book in about 48 hours it had me on the edge of my seat. I'm a sucker for dark academia books and that was largely why I was drawn to An Academy for Liars and it didn't disappoint in that department. Drayton College, and the people at it, we're shrouded in mystery and deceit and I was completely drawn into it.

I found the 'system' of 'magic' to be very innovative and well developed and explained throughout the book. I would have loved to have learned more about the history of Drayton College and can only hope there is a prequel someday! I also loved Lennon as a main character. She's not perfect, she's not even particularly moral at times; but she is compelling, strong, and easy to root for.

My only disappointments in the book were that I wanted more character development to the rest of the characters beyond Lennon and Dante. Emerson, Sawyer, Blaine, and Kieran especially tended to blend together in my mind and I think if I'd had just a bit more characterization of them it may have helped.

Additionally, I am typically not a fan of the 'young woman with immense power being mentored/manipulated by an older man with a big secret' kind of storyline, but I ended up appreciating the way the story concluded with Lennon and Dante and particularly appreciated learning more of his history toward the end of the book.

I truly gasped at the ending of the book and turned the page devastated to learn it was the end. Please let there be more to this story someday!

I did not know I had been looking for this book — needing this book — until I couldn’t escape its pages into the small hours of the night. This book consumed me with such subtlety — like a frog in a pot slowly beginning to boil. Make no mistake: I will, forevermore, be a willing victim of Alexis Henderson’s literary prowess. It has taken my breath away. AAFL is a southern gothic-esque dark academia in the way dark academia used to be known. With
Within its old university, secret society, violence, desire, mysterious murders and agendas, AAFL’s reluctant hero (and not the whiny kind) struggles to maintain her moral compass as she sinks deeper into her psychological powers. This book is the strange beauty I wish had been made more available in my life — or perhaps I haven’t been paying enough attention. You have my attention. Everyone, please read.
Did I immediately buy Henderson’s backlist in hardcover? Yes. Yes, I did.

First of all, this has major The Magicians vibes, with a bit of Max Barry’s Lexicon thrown in. To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of The Magicians, so at first I was a bit put off by how similarly An Academy For Liars started off. Things picked up and were going strong for about 50% of the book - I was invested in Lennon and her relationships with her peers and the mystery of Drayton and persuasion itself - but I think there ended up being too many threads. Of the ones that were resolved (which was definitely not all of them), they were not resolved super satisfyingly to me, and the ending felt really rushed.
The biggest problem, though, was that by the last quarter of the book or so, it was hard for me as a reader to root for Drayton as an institution. I couldn’t be invested in its continued existence or in Lennon’s role in said continued existence. And since those were the major plot points, I sort of lost interest in the story generally.
That said, I’m still giving it 3 stars for hooking me so strongly in the front half.

An Academy For Liars is a book wherein protagonist Lennon is invited to attend a mysterious school to learn the art of Persuasion. This book was tense; it was the kind of book where I found myself holding my breath without knowing it, waiting for what, exactly, was going to happen next. I adored this book, and completely recommend it. The author, Alexis Henderson wrote one of my other favorite books, House of Hunger, and this book is equally as good, if not better than her previous work; I can say for certain that this is going to be one of my favorite reads this year. If you're a fan of books like If We Were Villains or the Secret History, or anything else often labelled with 'dark academia', I absolutely recommend this book.

I absolutely loved this book. It's a great addition to the dark academia genre, and I can't wait to read Alexis Henderson's other books. This book follows Lennon as she enters a world hidden within our own. Drayton College is everything I want in a dark academia setting: secrets, hot professors, and classes entirely focused on a specific, out-of-the-ordinary topic. I also loved Lennon and many of the other characters. I enjoyed watching her find herself and gain confidence.

I would highly recommend this book to people who enjoyed the Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik and Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. The first half of the book was mysterious and kept you hooked. I really enjoyed the magical realism and escape setting of the book. However, it never gained pace or picked up. It lacked serious world building to make it come alive and feel real. The character was rather flat, so flat in fact I forgot her name. Like I said, not for me.

I truly don't know what to say about this book. It's unbelievably inventive and I haven't stopped thinking about it. Alexis writes from the heart. She writes from a deep and twisted place that brings books that will challenge you and your way of thinking. The depth of this book, what it means to persuade someone; what it means to own someone's body and mind and how doing that could corrupt. Absolutely power corrupts absolutely. This book is so traumatic and messed up and I loved every second of it. You are in for a ride.

An Academy for Liars is a dark academia novel that is a dark fantasy mystery with a little horror and murder thrown in for good measure and set at a magical school that is very unique. It's a really interesting premise and I think the concept would have been even better as a series.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the electronic advanced copy.

This one ended on the last sentence.

Suuuuper dark academia. The HP comparisons end at getting a letter that you get to come to this magic school. Well, okay, I guess friendships are important throughout too, just like in HP but the main character doesn't realize it fast enough. There's a love story, too, of course. Some really heart-racing scenes.

I had a hard time with this book. I loved the premise: magical college, dark academia. a “chosen one” storyline, and a splash of romance. By the execution was meh. I liked the world building and felt swept into the story at the beginning, only to have it fade as i reached the 50% mark. There were a lot of questions or themes brought up that weren’t resolved, including the symbolism of the moths and the names. The romance in this book was absolutely flat. Our MC has horrid taste in men and only leans into that as the book goes on. Even with her main love interest, the chemistry was no where to be found, and I didn’t feel invested in the relationship one bit. In fact, it felt pretty icky and immature. Overall, I liked the ride but I have a lot of questions left and wonder why the MC did what she did.

I am full of tears and emotions and Alexis Henderson has me in a chokehold

After House of Hunger being my favourite read last year and one of my favourites of all-time, I knew I needed to read this. I wasn't expecting to feel so deeply again but I think that is the skill of the writing and storytelling from this fabulous author. At first I was a little worried I would have difficulty picturing the world but it was described in such a way that my brain felt like it had been transported. I don't want to give too much away but yes, I definitely think you should read this if you love dark academia and feeling things deeply.

This book was an interesting foray into adult dark academia for me. The magic system was very unique and interesting. The book had a lot more direct action than I expected. It is pretty violent as far as my experience with dark academia. It is not a book with a lot of (read: any) likeable characters. The point that no one is good is drilled home over and over. The book did well as far as plot twists without having specific misdirects.

Lennon our main character seems to lack drive or will which makes her a bit difficult to root for in most of the book. The romantic subplot was well done and well-woven into the story, but I wasn't a fan of the relationship itself. The mystery of the school and its existence developed well and built over the book. It is very character driven to start, and then we end up in the mystery plot.

Disclosure: I received a free eARC and print copy of the book. No review was required and all opinions are my own.