I liked it but didn’t love it. The premise is perfect, especially since it involves a boarding school and has a touch of mystery (and who doesn’t love that combo?) but I felt like the book gradually lost me. By the time I got to the end, I didn’t care as much about the story or the characters anymore.

Overall, this book was pretty enjoyable. I really liked how it started, and was satisfied with the ending, but the last few chapters felt a bit out of place, and the pacing felt off, I like the characters, and their relationships to each other. Some of them could have been fleshed out a little more, but none of them felt completely two dimensional, they all had a bit of depth to them. The dialogue also felt pretty natural. The first half definitely feels very different from the second half, but I think it all ties together in the end. Some of the plot twists felt out of place, but not so much that they ruined the book for me. Overall, this was a decent read, and I think many people would enjoy it.

This uses the dark academia with demons in a way that worked overall, it had that storyline that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall tension of this story. Lili Wilkinson wrote this in a way that was engaging and was invested in what was happening to the characters. The characters were everything that I was looking for from this type of book. It had a beautiful cover that worked in this story.

I feel like this book had a lot of potential, but wasn’t executed very well. I liked the overall feel of the book, but it did seem to drag on. This is definitely a YA fantasy.

"Unhallowed Halls" offers an enticing premise, plunging readers into the shadowy corridors of Agathion, a secluded boarding school steeped in mystery. The story follows Page Whittaker, a scholarship student with a troubled past, as she navigates the school's archaic traditions and befriends a group of enigmatic students. The atmospheric setting is richly drawn, creating a sense of foreboding that draws readers in.

The book's first half is its strongest, balancing an intriguing mystery with dark academia elements. Page's attempts to adapt to the rigid environment and her growing friendships with Cyrus, Lacey, and others are well-paced and engaging. The classical literature references add an intellectual layer, though they remain largely surface-level, missing opportunities to enhance the narrative's depth.

However, as the plot shifts towards the fantastical, the story begins to lose its footing. The introduction of supernatural elements, while intriguing, feels abrupt and poorly integrated. The pacing becomes uneven, with some plot points rushed and others dragging. Several characters, particularly Lacey and Cyrus, lack the development needed to make their arcs impactful.

The resolution ties up the main storyline but leaves a host of unanswered questions, such as the fate of certain characters and the implications of the school's darker secrets. While the book starts with promise, its second half struggles to maintain the tension and polish that made the beginning so compelling.

Overall, Unhallowed Halls is a mixed bag. It excels in atmosphere and setup, making it a potential favorite for fans of dark academia and younger readers new to the genre. However, its uneven execution and missed opportunities may leave seasoned readers wanting more.

I really loved Lili Wilkinson's other book, "A Hunger of Thorns," so I was so excited to get approved for this one.

"Unhallowed Halls" is a magical dark academia book that follows a loner teen from Florida who gets accepted to a secretive boarding school in Scottish moors. The teen in question, Page Whittaker, needs a fresh start and is excited for this opportunity, Unfortunately for Page, Agathion is not only the stuff of her dreams but her nightmares too. The longer she is at Agathion, the more obvious it is that there is something wrong here and Page has to find out before it's too late.

I honestly did enjoy this but it felt way more juvenile than "A Hunger of Thorns." Everything from the characters to the sparknotes-y philosophical discussions had me rolling my eyes. I really did start to enjoy it but once I got passed the halfway mark and the narrative picked up, it just all felt really convoluted.

Would recommend for a much younger reader or for general readers who don't know anything about classics and philosophy.

Book:
UNHALLOWED HALLS by Lili Wilkinson
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the Earc (Feb 18)

Review:
2⭐
Where do I even start? Goodness, this book. I was so excited to get approved for UNHALLOWED HALLS, and I was expecting Dark Academia with a twist. This delivers on that but...the execution felt off in a way. Like, the first half of the book I was bored, and it felt like a chore I didn't want to do. A few times, I wanted to DNF, but my want to know what was going on was a lot stronger. The second half was better, but still super drawn out---I think it could have been a hundred pages shorter. And honesty, I didn't know what was going on half the time. This book just wasn't for me.

I will forever read anything Lili Wilkinson writes. UNHALLOWED HALLS convinced me of that. Gorgeously atmospheric and hauntingly good, her latest is a tour de force of fantasy, mystery, and a touch of romance. In it, we meet Paige, the perfectly imperfect protagonist who fearlessly guides readers through the halls of Agathion College, where nothing is as it seems. Least of which the dazzling group of friends that Paige finds herself drawn to. UNHALLOWED HALLS has everything I’ve ever longed for in a young adult fantasy read. I simply cannot understate how much I loved it.

American teen Page travels to exclusive highly academic boarding on the moors of Scotland. She knows something is wrong with her and is looking forward to living a life of the mind. She’s immediately attacked by a pig. Everyone is keeping secrets: the students, the magisters and the school. She decides she really does want friends. Lots of ancient demons and esoteric philosophy grounded by the painful reality of endometriosis and death. I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for this DRC.
#UnhallowedHalls #NetGalley

A student transferring to an old school drenched in mystery after a traumatic incident at their prior school is one of my favorite set-ups. Obviously I was going to need to read Unhallowed Halls. I loved the descriptions in this book and how easy it was to sink into the story. This is definitely a book to read on a rainy day.

This was an enjoyable read. The atmosphere was well establish and a prefect spooky read. The mystery surrounding the school was well paced. There were enough clues for the reader to be able to piece together what was happening. The main cast was interesting. I do wish that we got more time with Lacey. Her and Cyrus were under developed as charcaters but I still enjoyed thier scences. There are still many unanswered question like what happened with Oak and his mother, will these teenagers ever get a highschool diploma, who's family paid for them to all go to Fiji, does Cassidy recover? While this story was based in the supernatural the goddess scene felt a bit removed from the rest of the story. The monsters and demons were always contained so for there to be monster tentacles and a giant mountain woman sewing the sky. Ch. 25 and 26 were the slowest paced chapter. Could have been more succinct.

I love gothic fantasy and dark academia so this was fun but the beginning of this book moves at a snail's pace and unfortunately I can see people DNFing early before the best parts kick in.

I really enjoyed this book - I feel like it was the perfect epitome of dark academia/gothic fantasy. The characters are so complex and developed that you can't help but sink into the pages in order to learn more and more. The setting and worldbuilding is so fleshed out, that you can feel the mist of the looming fog over the moors washing over your own cheeks, flushing them with suspense and anticipation. This book will have you questioning things, in the best way possible. Highly recommend reading this at least once!

The first half of this book was everything you could want in a dark academic story. The looming, dreary castle in Scotland; the teen with a curious past; an invitation to a prestigious school where only the elite attend. The world building and character development felt on point, and I was highly intrigued to find out the mystery of Agathion. Almost precisely half way through the book, it seemed as if a totally new author stepped in. The story itself and its wrap up were not bad, but the writing was. The dialogue, at times, seemed out of place and in opposition to the tone of the moment. The last half of the book was almost bipolar, at times feeling like it was getting back into the groove, and then suddenly careening off the cliff again. Overall, the story is a good one, and I believe YAs will read it, but I don't see it moving into series or spin off territory without some heavy editing to the back end of this book.

Unfortunately, I didn't love this book, and it was just okay for me. The story starts slow, and it just wasn't what I was expecting it to be. I found some of it to be confusing and hard to follow, but the ending was mostly satisfying. I feel like this is going to be one of those polarizing books that people either love or hate, but for me, it was just middle-of-the-road.

This book was perfect for spooky season! Dark YA Fantasy/Horror anyone?

Our story follows Page who has received a scholarship to a very prestigious boarding school, the scholarship couldn’t have come at a more perfect time what with the deadly incident that she was involved in at her current school…..
With parents who are always looking at you with fear in their eyes and a girlfriend who screams now everytime you enter the room, this new adventure is just what Page needs!
Or so she thinks…
After arriving at the school she quickly starts to realize things are not what they seem… can things really be going bad again or is it something sinister lurking just below the surface?

This was a good one for spooky season! I really enjoyed it!

Page Whitacker had some major issues at her old school in Lakeland, Florida, but now she has received a scholarship to fancy Agathion, a school in England for rich kids with behavioral issues.

And what a school! There’s no tech allowed, everything is supplied to students and they are focused solely on classical Latin and Greek works.

Page meets Cyrus on her first day and wants to fit in with him and his crew, Ren, Gideon, Oak and Lacey. She actually does find a place within the group and then becomes privy to a secret that could change the whole school, may the whole WORLD, and will reveal who she really is.

The first half of the book is definitely YA for YA and I don’t know that adult readers would love it, but if those readers stick around for the second half this fantasy/dark academia books gets much wider in scope. It’s also a nice introduction to classic (meaning SUPER classical, think Cicero, not PRIDE AND PREJUDICE) literature for those unfamiliar. Fantasy is not my thing, but if it’s yours you may enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.


I’m rating this book a 3.5 out of 5. I have not read any of this authors other works so I didn’t have any expectations. It was an easy book to pick up for fun but the beginning was really slow and pretty boring. It didn’t get interesting until like 40-50% in but once it does get there it’s a really good story. I wish the reveals and story building were a little more spread out to make it less boring in the beginning and to not dump everything in like w chapters mushed together. Other than that it was really good, I liked the bits of mythology in it.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's Publishing for an ARC of this book.

This book is the prime example of interesting concepts and poor execution. "Unhallowed Halls" follows Paige, a new student to the Agathion boarding school. As Paige begins to acclimate to her new life, she quickly realizes things are not as they seem at this school. While the initial plot does provide an alluring hook to the reader, once you hit the 30% mark of this book, the plot begins to fall apart. This is a YA novel, and one aspect that was quite refreshing was the authors choice to move away from the overdone YA tropes. Furthermore, another interesting and important element to this book was the presentation of a main character suffering a chronic illness. I feel that Wilkinson handled the subject with a lot of care.

As the novel progresses fantasy/magic elements are added in. Although this fantasy aspect of the plot becomes the focus for the rest of the book, the magic system and presence of fantasy feels like an after thought. In many ways the addition of these fantasy elements feels like a surface level interaction with the genre of fantasy in order to market the book.

Although I had such a strong negative reaction to the last half of the book, I really enjoyed the first 5o pages. The ambience, and eeriness were thrilling and engaging. One of the main reasons I did not DNF this book, was because I was hoping for the tone that was used in the first part of the book would return.

One final element that is essential to the plot of this book, is "interaction" with classical texts. As an Ancient Greek and Latin student, I am always skeptical when books reference works from antiquity, I become even more skeptical when this material is presented in an academic setting within a book. As much as I can appreciate the mention/presence of these texts, the critique and interaction felt like it came from the SparkNotes section of each work. There was so much room for nuance. A major theme and discussion point that is brought up (far too late in the book) is the allegory of Plato's book. I would argue that in many ways the plot is intended to replicate this allegory (but instead: a cave is replaced with an isolated boarding school). This connection with the plot and the allegory could have been capitalized in so many ways, and present a fascinating critique of the faults with a classical education.

Overall, I do not think this book was meant for me, but if could still see a lot of fantasy readers enjoining this book.

I was intrigued by the concept of this book because I enjoy dark academia and had recently read the Curious Tides book which this books was said to appeal to the fans of. However, I was not in love with this book. It started relatively strongly and then just became pretty meh for about 60% of the book. The ending was satisfying enough but again, was just rather meh.