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! Oh and the audiobook was fantastic! Highly recommend reading it that way!

This book is a good addition to the YA dark academia genre. There were a few twists I didn't see coming and the secret society and the induction process was really interesting.

The reasons it's three stars from me is that there's so much talk of the buildings and layout of this campus, I frequently felt like I was reading a map or at least the school brochure. The other reason is because I found Luke really hard to like and he does certain things that I can't begin to imagine why Cal would forgive them. If this were real life, that would be a very unhealthy relationship.

A fun addition to the YA dark academia genre. A few people have said that the characters were unlikeable and while I don't necessarily agree, I do think that's pretty standard for dark academia so I'm not bothered by it. More than anything, I just didn't love the narrator's accent in the audiobook. Some of the relationships were a little cloudy, but overall I had a good time listening to the story.

This book started out with a fascinating premise. An old prep school, mysterious buildings and a secret society! Yes, tell me more. I love dark old buildings, but the sheer amount of old, forgotten buildings at a high school was unbelievable. The amount of history crammed into this one school was truly perplexing. If this book had picked one lane to focus on, perhaps the struggles of adolescence for the main characters, or the history of the school, or the purpose of the secret society, then it would have been a really good book. But it tried to do it all, adding in crazy amounts of insanity along the way. Disappearing kids, weird political motives that weren't fleshed out, several terrible relationships, none of it quite came together for me.
Thank you to the publishers for the ARC!

3.5
While I had a hard time getting into the book, once I was hooked, it was hard to stop listening! Derek Milman does a good job of establishing an unsettling atmosphere at an elite academy, then slowly unfolding layers of mystery and intrigue. I would be curious to see this as an adult horror rather than YA, because some of the heavy themes could've been explored more and some of the horror could've been amped up a few notches. I don't have any strong feelings about the narration.

Cal is a fish out of water at Essex Academy as a poor student from the South, able to attend only because of a scholarship. To his surprise, he is invited to be a part of a secret society that explores the abandoned areas of campus. He also begins to have feelings for another new member of the society. Is this all too good to be true?

This story about a secret society at a special private school is filled with mystery and intriguing events. I appreciate that it’s an LGBTGIA+ story, unlike many others that focus solely on a romantic relationship between two boys. The story delves deeply into the history of the society, providing a rich background that sets the stage for future books.

This was an elite boarding school mystery/romance with a poor scholarship student who was the town outcast in his Southern hometown wanting to fit in so badly he's willing to take unwise risks.

It turns out Cal isn't the only one trying to survive a dysfunctional family, and the secret society he's determined to be a part of attracts those with something to hide.

Great narration, although I thought the narrator sounded a bit young.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it has since come out. It was OK. Just OK. I really disliked the main character though.

Enjoyed this fantastic take on what it means to leave a part of yourself behind when you go away to school, struggling to define who you want to be and balancing the societal and family pressures along the way. This felt much less like classic “dark academia” and more like a suspenseful thriller and rich kids behaving badly. I almost expected an element of magical realism to sneak in .

Excuse me while I obsess over this book for the foreseeable future! I absolutely loved this book. I sat down to start the audio book late morning and just finished it this evening. I could not put it down!!

Absolutely loved the dark academia, mystery, is this ok or is this wrong aspect of this book!! It had me on edge until the very end, and let me tell you, that ending was AMAZING!!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for a free advanced listener’s copy. I received this copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book, when I had the audio book on, I devoured it! Derek Milman’s ‘A Darker Mischief’ is dark and messed up and addictive. Calixte ‘Cal’ Ware is the scholarship kid at Essex Academy and his only chance of fitting in is joining a secret society on campus that brings out all his best and worst traits. There, he meets Luke, a fellow sophomore transfer and their relationship is the kind of beautiful disaster that Cal just can’t look away from.

I thought this book was amazing for the way it uses the inherent messiness of teenagers to build suspense and tension and dread. I was getting major ‘Girl Interrupted' vibes from just the amount of messed up that our main characters are. This is exactly what I want from my dark academia: secrets and lies and never knowing who you can trust, much in the vein of M. L. Rio’s ‘If We Were Villains’.

This whole world was made even more addictive by Charles Linshaw’s amazing narration. His voice as Cal was so spot on to me, it was the verbal equivalent of a character who always has their brows scrunched up with worry. He really leaned into Cal’s lack of self-confidence, and it made the whole story so much more immersive. I fear, without Charles’ work I would not have been as forgiving of Cal’s red-green colorblind behavior (Luke is so messy and tragic, it was hard to ignore).

If you like messed up characters and the dark underbelly of secret societies all with a perfectly atmospheric boarding school setting, I highly recommend A Darker Mischief.

This wasnt good. At least not for me. I just didn’t lithe characters .

Maybe I am old but this book just wasn’t for me .

I love a good queer romance and then when you throw in some fantasy elements, I am hooked. I was so excited to read this book and it didn’t really disappoint at all.

Derek Milman’s A Darker Mischief, narrated by Charles Linshaw, is an engaging and atmospheric audiobook that deftly blends elements of mystery, dark academia, and coming-of-age themes. The story follows Cal Ware, a queer teen from Mississippi, navigating the complex social hierarchies of Essex Academy, an elite boarding school in New England. What starts as a chance for Cal to reinvent himself quickly turns into a tale of deception and dangerous choices as he gets entangled in a secret society led by the magnetic Luke Kim.

Linshaw’s narration brings Cal’s vulnerability and longing for acceptance to life, making listeners feel the weight of his struggles and aspirations. His ability to switch between characters’ voices and accents enhances the immersion, particularly when capturing the snide tones of Cal’s elitist classmates and the charm of Luke’s smooth allure. The pacing is well-handled, though some moments of internal reflection might feel slower to listeners expecting a more fast-paced thriller.

The novel excels at portraying Cal’s emotional journey and the tension that builds as the secret society's initiation rituals spiral out of control. However, some supporting characters feel underdeveloped, and certain plot twists, while suspenseful, can be predictable. Despite these minor flaws, the story’s exploration of identity, power, and the cost of ambition remains compelling.

Overall, A Darker Mischief is an immersive listen that balances heartache and high-stakes intrigue, making it a solid 4-star experience. Linshaw’s narration is a standout, enhancing the eerie and exclusive world of Essex Academy.

If you're looking for an LGBTQ+, dark academia, thriller, then look no further. I received an arc of the audiobook, and I was not disappointed, much. I loved finding out about Essex and delving into the society. I enjoyed the problematic romance. What I didn't care for was how depraved this book would become. I guess since it's young adult, I expected to be disgusted less than I was. The lack of morality within some of the students made my stomach turn. I also disliked the voice used for the young female characters. It was too valley girl for me. But all in all, the book was enjoyable. Thank you to @netgalley and @dreamscape_media for the arc.

This was an interesting book. Definitely dark academia and there were some bits that weren’t exactly plausible but overall it was an interesting ride. I struggled with the romance since it didn’t seem exactly healthy but I do admire the queer representation. Cal was shipped out to the private school he was offered a scholarship at and doesn’t feel like he really fits. Until he happens to see a gathering of students dressed up and receives a card with an eye on it. Slowly he begins to learn about the highly influential secret society and decides he has to be a member. Also rushing is Luke, the cute jock he is in chemistry with and they share some other chemistry as well. Slowly bits of the backstory are revealed and they[‘re all horrifying. The story itself was pretty predictable but it was still an interesting ride.

Thank you to author Derek Milman, publisher Sholastic Press and Netgalley for providing me with an audio copy of this book.

I will say that I think the world and story was well done, but I might not have been the correct reader for this book. I can definitly see why others would enjoy it.

From the beginning, I struggled to understand the world building and had to trust that everything would come together at the end. However, I think the character development for Cal was sweet and done properly.

It took time to understand what was going on, but when the plot twists at the end took place, I understood more, but the setup and the way it was written didn’t always make sense to me.

I was excited for this copy, but I may not had finished it had it not been audio. The narriator was sweet and fit Cal perfectly.

Again, thank you for the advanced reader (listener?) copy!

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.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this dark academia mystery novel. However, I thought the whole section where Cal was applying to join the Society and participating in their challenges was far too long. Also I wasn’t a fan of the lack of character development from all characters.

I enjoyed the overarching ideas about a boarding school, a secret society, every character having their own secrets, however I thought it wasn’t executed very well and at times the plot didn’t make sense.

I didn’t like Cal’s character, he was too trusting and seemed desperate to join the Society for no real reason.

Also, the book really felt like it was split in halves - half being Cal’s trials to join the Society, and the second half being Cal’s adventures once within the Society. In my opinion, the first half could’ve been skipped over much quicker to focus more on the second half which was far more interesting.

Also, I found that the target audience age was unclear, some sections seemed like they were written for a younger YA audience, but there was too much violence for this age range.

Ultimately, a YA dark academia novel with an intriguing premise that I would recommend to fans of the TV show ‘The Order’ (2019).

I brought this up multiple times in my reading notes and I will reiterate here: why are they so young?
I really don't know why my brain keeps going back to this but the fact that the oldest person in this society is at most 18 and that our main characters are 15/16 *baffles* me. "Suspend your disbelief" yeah ok but how can I when the dialogues keep reminding me that these little freaks are not legally allowed to drink or own a credit card. It made any attempt at tackling darker topics like Cal's descent into immorality seem like a childhood mistake rather than something of significance.
Case in point: in the end, everything was fine. Barely anything of note came out of the kidnapping in the grand scheme of things. Pinky possibly died and Luke lost his arm but that all happened offscreen.
I'm just lost. I dont know what this book was trying to tell me. At times I feel like I could see the darkness that the author wanted to channel, like that scene where Cal breaks into the theatre and effectively brings Society out of the boundaries of Essex, but then Luke would call him "dickbitch" or something and I was all out of it again. The juvenile tone of certain scenes do not match the dark one that others impose though the seriousness of the matters at hand (cancer, death, kidnapping, blackmail, sexual assault, drug abuse, and more).
If I look way too deeply into it I could write a thesis about the innocence of youth peaking through the darkness of """"society"""" but I genuinely think the disconnect is more of a mistake than anything.
The rest, however, was decently enjoyable. I liked the time I spent listening to the audiobook for the most part. The first half was a drag but we all got through it.
2/5
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the audiobook.