I'd like to thank NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me access to this book. I have not read a lot of dark academia prior to reading this book, but this has really got me interested. I think that the beginning and end were really good, but there was a bit of a lull in the middle. I would recommend, especially for someone who is looking into reading dark academia either for the first time or as a regular reader.

An Academy for Liars follows Lennon, a twenty-something mentally unstable woman floundering in life, who receives a mysterious invitation to apply for a prestigious and private university. What follows is something of a deep south acid trip, where Lennon discovers great power and darkness within her.
This dark academia fantasy is incredibly atmospheric and will draw readers into the lush landscape of Savannah and Drayton school. With complicated characters and fraught political tension, there is constant conflict woven into the core of this story. I was hooked by the overarching mystery of the story and found myself rooting for Lennon even as I didn't particularly like her.
I would recommend this novel for fans of the Private series by Kate Brian, and would still recommend to those who were fans of Alexis Henderson's previous work. This novel fits right in with the rest of her extremely atmospheric works.

This is first book that I have read by this author. The title and description lured me in even though dark academia is not really my thing. What kept me intrigued was the blending of a well-developed fantasy world with horror. I enjoyed the book and had a hard time putting it down. There was a lot to decipher in the story and I am still left wondering what Dante's whole moth obsession was about. Maybe I missed something because I flew through the story rather quickly. I feel that it would benefit the reader if the author included a cast of characters and a map of Drayton. The imagery was vivid and alluring but I felt lost at times with who was who especially concerning the professors and administration at Drayton. The ending leaves room for a sequel since it's unclear what happened to Dante. I look forward to reading more by this author and highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something a little different.

Wow! Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for approving my request! This story has hints of Lev Grossman’s The Magicians and the barest hint of Naomi Novik’s Scholomance trilogy. The students are in their early to mid-20’s making them older than the students of either of the aforementioned series. I am looking forward to its publication and planning to recommend it for a book club. There is so much to discuss.

WOW! I was sold on this solely based on the title, honestly, because I'll read anything with Academy in the title. I've also loved both of Alexis Henderson's books before so I sat down and read this in one sitting on a plane. It REALLY reminded me of Vita Nostra, except with more of a plot and it made me feel less like I was on drugs. I don't feel like I understood everything, but I feel like it's the perfect dark academia to reread every couple years and dissect. I would call this dark academia first and fantasy horror second, which is the dream.

Alexis Henderson also pulls in lots of themes and discussions around race and gender - I can't recommend this highly enough!

3.75 stars rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the electronic ARC!

This story started very strong for me. I think my thoughts have changed a bit from 30%-70%. The middle does seem to hit a lull and become boring. The dark academic atmosphere remains strong but the endangerment and alienation of the main character becomes repetitive. Then close to 80% things become extremely intense and engaging again. I also really enjoy a black sheep morally grey protagonist. Side note I never would have predicted the murderer of one of the professors. That reveal and Dante protecting the lead are a big part of why I am rounding this up to four stars.
Besides finding a decent portion boring I think my next big problem is I did not enjoy the advisor/professor relationship with a student. Another aspect is with the academic setting many things had an air of mystery to them and by the end as a reader I still have too many questions or just unclear concepts of the book.

As good as “if we were villains” with the vibes of “atlas six” Dark academia is my favorite subgenre and like many folks i am constantly chasing the high of reading the secret history, and this DID IT. The setting and magic system are at once classic and inventive at the same time. Savannah is my favourite us city. I do think i would have liked to have a deeper exploration of the relationships between the students rather than so much focus on Dante but the book was already quite long (though well paced!)

As a lover of dark academia- I was so excited to get this book. And it was fantastic!! So much tension, loved the atmosphere, great characters! I want more!!

An Academy for Liars is easily one of my favorite reads of the year. Although I am new to dark academia, this book sucked me in instantly.

Lennon's life is not going the way she planned. After finding her fiance with another woman at their engagement party she flees. Just when she thought she hit rock bottom, she receives a mysterious call informing her that she has been selected to take the entrance exam for Drayton University. Drayton however is no ordinary university. Here she will learn the art of persuasion, navigate her growing feelings for her mentor, and attempt to make friends all while trying to control her power.

The storytelling in this novel is impeccable. I could not help but root for these morally grey characters while they try to uncover the secrets of Drayton University.

This was *SO* intense but I really enjoyed it. I've liked everything I've read by Alexis Henderson (though it has all definitely been intense), but I think this is my favorite. She does a great job with characters who are kind of morally gray/less than likable but still compelling, and I found both the main character, Lennon, and her mentor/professor/love interest, Dante, to fall in this category. At the start of the story, 24-year-old Lennon is late for her own engagement party to Wyatt (who, frankly, sucks) and she sees something weird in the mirror - a reflection of herself that is her, but not, and creeps her out. She's got a history of mental illness and seems to initially wonder if that's what's going on. She tries to be present at her party, but ends up running away when she catches Wyatt having sex with their close friend. She takes his car and runs away, finding herself in the parking lot of an abandoned mall where she plans to end her life until a phone starts ringing in a mysterious phone booth, and she's told that she needs to drive from Colorado to Utah to start her admissions process for Drayton College. Drayton is hidden within the city of Savannah, only accessible by students and faculty, and the course of study is focused entirely on building on its students' innate gifts of persuasion. I really liked this take on dark academia. The school isn't teaching magic, technically, but the way that students are taught to hone and use their persuasive talents feels like a form of magic. Lennon turns out to be particularly gifted, but she struggles to control her gift as well as her feelings for her mentor, Dante. Most of the characters in this book are kind of awful people, which seems like a prerequisite, I guess, if you're willing to exert your persuasive will on others on a near constant basis. I was really engrossed the whole time, even when I was like "UGH LENNON WHY," and I blew through this pretty quickly. It felt like a fresh take on dark academia, but it did overall follow the typical conventions of that genre, so content warnings: violence, murder (pretty graphic), suicidal ideation, and a questionable romantic relationship (power imbalance).

1.5☆

I wanted so bad to enjoy this. I found the synopsis to be promising, but I just couldn't get into it. And I wouldn't even say that it was particularly bad, the writing itself was fine, but there wasn't much for me to get excited about. I found it to be boring, slow, and there wasn't any character I was a fan of besides Dante. And even then, it was because he was such a mystery.

Speaking of mysteries, this was supposed to be one but it wasn't at all thrilling. Every "twist", if you could even call them that, was easily guessed and I reached a point where I wasn't really engaged with the story. I continued because I wanted to see how the romance between Lennon and Dante would play out, as there was little bits that alluded to a romance perspiring, and it was...underwhelming. They had their moments and while I can understand that this wasn't supposed to be focused on the romance, because a bit was included, I wish there had been a bit more to it.

The last 10% was entertaining and the very end even made me a little emotional. People's true intentions were revealed and the main character finally came to her senses. I found her to be quite annoying and a little dumb for not seeing that these people didn't have good intentions, especially when it came to her. She continued to make bad decision after bad decision (though some things were out of her control so I didn't blame her for that) and I was just over it.

As I stated earlier, this wasn't poorly written and I truly think others will enjoy it! I think it's worth giving a shot, it just unfortunately didn't work for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for access to this arc in exchange for an honest review.

An immersive, glittering jewel of a novel, AN ACADEMY OF LIARS is a dark academia novel shot through with tendrils of true horror. Set in Savannah, a young woman gets recruited to a mysterious academy of magic (although let’s not call it that) teeming with secrets, where she must overcome the ghosts of the academy's past - as well as her own. This is for fans of Lev Grossman and Olivie Blake, yet Henderson is a wholly unique voice in the genre and this should absolutely gain new readers. Can't wait to see what this author comes up with next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the electronic ARC!

This book had me hooked almost immediately. I found the magic system interesting, I was pleasantly surprised by the spooky vibes, and I'm a sucker for dark academia. I appreciated the discussions about mental illness, power and society, but I feel that there were other conversations that were not fully explored. I would have appreciated more development in this respect. I am also left with so many questions! I feel that many crucial scenes were not referenced later in the novel, and because of that, I am unclear on the connections between characters and the significance of certain imagery. I want to know more about this world because I did have a blast there.

I loved this book. It 100% will not be everyone’s cup of tea but it totally hit on what I love. Magic school, dark academia, morally grey characters and much more. The themes can be dark at times and it took a bit to really settle in to the book but once I did I couldn’t put it down. Lennon is so interesting and it kept my attention all the way through. Would love more. Adding to our library 100%!

Eerily Southern gothic and thick with a magical harshness that stings, AN ACADEMY FOR LIARS is Alexis Henderson's best story yet.

Set in a school which has been hidden in a secret pocket behind magical gates in Savannah, Georgia, students study "persuasion" or the art of inflicting one's will and intentions on another person, or even matter.

Desperate and suicidal, Lennon gets a phone call directing her to appear for an interview for Drayton College. After completing a series of unusual tests, she enrolls and begins to study with other brilliant but troubled students and professors, including her handsome and mysterious advisor for whom she feels a powerful attraction. Lennon finally feels she has found her place in the world, and becomes a gatekeeper, or someone who can influence time and space, but will she use her exceptionally strong will for good or will her darker side emerge victorious?

This title is quite dark, with themes of mental illness, parental abuse, physical violence and teacher/student relationships. It is not recommended for children or teens but if you an adult reader intrigued by magical colleges who has enjoyed other dark academia titles like The Scholomance by Naomi Novik or Atlas Six by Olivie Blake than this one is your next read.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced electronic copy of this title in exchange for a review.

𝔸𝕟 𝔸𝕔𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕚𝕒𝕣𝕤

This book was quite the wild ride. It took me a moment to fully immerse myself into the narrative, but once I did I couldn’t put it down.

Lennon was a character that I both loved and hated and it’s honestly what made her so compelling. The times when I was most frustrated with her decisions were the times when she was most insecure, and the reason I felt so strongly about her actions was because of all the empathy I felt for her. Lennon is perfectly imperfect in a way that anyone can relate too.

𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴, 𝘸𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭.

Drayton is essentially Hogwarts for adults. A beautiful, hidden campus filled with every amenity your heart desires, all expenses paid. Throw in a guaranteed position of power upon graduation to a bunch of twenty something’s who’s futures were mediocre at best, and you’ve got the perfect recipe a dark academia that leaves you questioning your own morals. Which is honestly one of the reasons k enjoyed it so much. Over and over again Lennon is asked the same questions: where do you cross the line from right to wrong when it comes to manipulating free will? and how much power is too much? This novel was truly thought provoking and left me questioning myself again and again during the entire read.

My only hang up is that there were certain aspects that I would’ve loved more clarity on. Nonetheless, it wasn’t enough to convince me to put the book down, or change the way I felt about the experience. A must read for anyone who enjoys dark academia and I look forward to reading more by this author. Overall 4.5 ⭐️’s

Thank you to NeGalley and Berkely Publishing for my free e-reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Date: September 16, 2024

Dark academia. Morally grey love interest. Folding the fabric of time. Creepy vibes and an ambiguous ending. I loved the ride that Henderson took us on and I'm equally impressed and disappointed that every thread in the tapestry she wove came together to create a full picture. This story could have easily been stretched out over one or two more books, but I actually think I appreciate it more as a standalone. Lennon, our FMC, is perfectly imperfect and even when I was screaming for her to run, I could understand the decisions that she made. This is going to be a perfect spooky fall read and I can already tell its going to fly off shelves.

I enjoyed this book. The world building was interesting but I feel like it could have been richer if this book had a sequel or if it was a series. 3 stars.

There are points here where the weight of unassigned grief makes it almost unreadable. Still, worth slogging through, if you can.