Thank you to Dreamscape Media for the early audiobook of A Darker Mischief!

Well, the idea was there and it was interesting in theory buuuuuut this is gonna be a no from me.

My main complaint are the characters, especially Cal & Luke. There was absolutely nothing that made me want to root for either one of them. And together? Absolutely not. + the dialogue is very cringe. The plot was a bit of a Mess, and the way certain things were handle was just weird.

This just didn’t work for me, which is a bummer because the prologue really had me believing this was gonna be a good time.

I would like to add on though that narrator of the audiobook did bring Cal to life really well, so it does have that going for it.

Cal Ware is sent to elite Essex Academy to get him away from everything happening at home, but what he thought would be a chance to reinvent himself turns out to be a dark and isolating experience. That is until he begins to notice a strange eye symbol around campus and starts along a path that will challenge and change him forever.

I thought I was over dark academia's sameness and confess that I came into this expecting more of the same, but Milman keeps you guessing from beginning to end with twists and misdirections. It's still a lot of the typical elements of the horrors of elite boarding schools, yet there are enough differences to make it a unique and engaging read. The things Cal discovers and goes through make for one highly intense read. I don't even want to go into plot details because I worry that they'll ruin the pressure the reader feels along with Cal as the secrets of Essex Academy get revealed.

Charles Linshaw does a good job of narrating. Although there are moments when it's not super clear which character is speaking, the emotions are always crystal clear and perfect for the scene. He definitely nails Cal's Southern accent and the ups and downs of it as Carl lays it on thick with certain people.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the intense listen!

Thank you for allowing me to read this book!

I am rating this book five stars for its value in my library program -- this will be a very fun book to pitch to my students who love all things "dark academia!" The audio narration was solid and not distracting, and allowed me to fully immerse myself in the story. This will definitely be on some of my fall displays for Spooky Season Reads.

This is one of the most beautifully written dark academia books I have listened to to date. Derek Milman wrote characters with such depth that it was very easy to fall into this dark romance. Each character was very well placed and moved the story along perfectly. When tormented loner 16-year-old Cal Ware wins a scholarship to an elite New England boarding school named Essex Academy, he attempts to take the advice of his sick mother to reinvent himself and leave his past behind. This is easier said than done. Cal gets to the new school and is still on the outside of things; he gets teased about being from the South and his Southern accent. He is ready to give up and return home until he hears about a secret society on campus. He finds out how to join, gets accepted, and his life takes a very interestingly dark turn.

Every character in this story is broken in some way, and they will remain with me for a while, but the love story of Cal and Luke will remain in my memories for a long time. The way their story ended was gut-wrenching.

I received the ALC, and Charles Linshaw did what needed to be done in translating this piece.

The atmosphere, the writing, the storyline, and the narrator are all top marks from me!

Thank you so much Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, and Derek Milman for the audio ARC of this book. The review given is completely honest and voluntary.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC.
The story has all the potential for a spooky, interesting dark academia, but it doesn’t really do anything new or fascinating with the premise.
The characters don’t feel fully developed and their interactions aren’t well thought out, in my opinion. They feel shallow and disjointed and they don’t feel like their age. Even Cal’s attraction to Luke feels very disingenuous and bland. Beyond that, the dialogues are extremely stilted, at least in the audio book version, and it becomes hard to follow who is saying what during conversations. Cal speaks both like an AI chatbot and a college professor. The narrator makes no effort to change inflection or tone when speaking for different characters. Overall, I was very underwhelmed by the story and anoyed by the delivery and the way the characters come off.
I really wanted to like this, but I think this book needs more work and intention put into it for it to really deliver and not feel like a collection of dark academia cliches glued together.

I really enjoyed this ARC audiobook. Southerner thrown into a dark academia set up is right up my alley. I really enjoyed the story quite a bit, but what shined was how well the narrator did. I usually like to listen to audiobooks on 1.5-2x speed and people can usually sound robotic, but he sounded great at all speeds. I will update more later, as I unfortunately was granted this book while out of the country, and haven’t had access to phone or internet until today.

This book, cover, and narrator fit “dark academia” vibes perfectly. I don’t know what it is about the narrator, but they really made it work!

I loved the drama, but the introduction was slow. Overall, this book was fun but not amazing.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

This was such a good book. I really enjoyed it. More than I thought I would. I loved the writing style. This book had me hooked from page one. This is a first for me by this author but will not be my last!!

4.5 ⭐️
Dark Academia, secret societies, and a sprinkle of historical riddles—what more could I ask for?
The story follows Cal, a scholarship student at the elite Essex boarding school, as he struggles to fit in. He uncovers an old secret society, considered royalty, and becomes determined to join. Caught between the pressures of initiation and a new budding romance with Luke, we’ll see how far he is willing to go

I was hooked from the first page—it's a fast-paced read that kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

Thank you to @Dreamscape_Media and NetGalley for the ARC 🤍

this was a good book. The concept wasn't unique but the execution was well done. The narration was well done and the story felt very grounded even as a paranormal fiction. This is definitely one I would recommend.

Alright, I can vibe with this book. When I saw a YA queer dark academia I just had to give it a try. It had its ups and downs, but overall I did like this one. To start off, I loved the spooky old boarding school. It gave off the best eerie vibes. The secret society plot was interesting although I do think some parts were either needlessly complicated or a little dull. The duller moments did break my immersion and make me struggle to stay focused but when the plot was moving it was easy to disappear into the world again. I didn't enjoy many of the moral choices that were made throughout the story but I did find them interesting. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. While it did wrap things up well, it didn't end the way I was hoping it would. But oh my gosh, I loved the main character. He was very complex and I felt like I could really relate to him and his anxieties. The audiobook was really well done. Charles Linshaw's voice was perfect for how I imagined the main character would sound. He really brought more emotion to the book. I recommend giving this one a try if you're a fan of YA dark academia, queer romance, or secret societies.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I am so torn about how to rate/review this audiobook.

Let's start with the easy stuff: I thought the narration was good. I'm not an expert on US Southern accents (or any other accents), but I found the voice very listenable.

In terms of the story... hmm. It was interesting, I can say that. And I can mostly buy the MC setup, outlandish as it is: High school is an incredibly difficult time, and teens will do a lot to fit in (even without the additional stressors Cal is dealing with). I don't think I ever entirely believed in the whole all-powerful Society—not because I don't believe wealth buys power, but because it's hard to imagine something like that not getting exposed somewhere along the way.

Spoilers ahead: I wasn't sure I should be okay with Cal ending up happy(-ish) and successful. Understandable as his behavior was, he participated in a kidnapping, etc. I might change my mind about that if I listened to the book again, but I don't think I care enough one way or the other to bother..

I'm dithering between three and four stars for this. It's probably higher than three, but I'm not sure it makes it to four. The fact that I ended up liking almost no one in the entire story makes me not round up.

My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this audiobook.

Pretty dark, some uncomfortable violence. If you know that going it’s a mesmerizing read.

Dark academia indeed. What different do you expect from the wealthy and privileged that join secret societies?

The homophobia can get hard to take. It’s hard not to love main character, Cal.

Just mesmerizing.

I desperately wanted to love this book, and the premise was fantastic, but unfortunately it seemed to drag and a lot of the book was wildly illogical in a way that simply did not work.

Thank you for NetGalley for the ARC Audiobook.

I didn't love this story , but I don't think it was my vibe.

This follows the MMC Cal who has started at Esexx Boarding school. He comes from South and Gay and really struggles to fit in. Soon he starts to rush for a secret society. He soon meets Luke , who he finds daring and intriguing and they start and hot and cold 'situationship'. There is a lot of mystery and darker turns in this story.

I found this a lot darker than I originally anticipated, I thought there would be a bigger love story and feeling of finally finding yourself when in reality the ending left me feeling unresolved.

A Darker Mischief was a foray into the walls of Essex Academy, and the interrelationships of the student body and the secret organization that resides within its walls. The overall ambiance and pacing carefully crafted by Milman is continued thread from beginning to end and overall contributed to a very enjoyable reading experience, for me.

Calixte “Cal” Ware, is southerner who doesn’t have the extensive background and pedigree that his contemporaries do. And this becomes wildly evident when he’s actively judged, excluded and overall looked down upon by the average student at Essex. Through Cal, the everyday individual is capable of garnering a taste of what circumstances can lead to when a nobody manages to be noticed by a somebody, and thus begins Cal’s journey into uncovering the secrets of a society that he was never meant to discover, and was only invited to because he happened upon them and did his due diligence to earn his way into their circle.

It’s difficult to discuss A Darker Mischief without truly unveiling the aspects of the plot that made it most compelling, but I am going to abstain, as the discovering of the twits and turns is part of the allure. The pacing of this book in particular is dynamic to the story that it’s trying to tell, and further, maintains that hook from the first few pages as we are introduced to Cal, his “friends” and other peerage, and the academy itself.

The book also left more questions than answers, a cornerstone to a successful dark academia novel, in my opinion. It’s the mystery and allure of what’s truly going on that cates to an insidious undertone that grips a read and compels them to read more. And once Essex’s talons are sunk into flesh, it’s difficult to escape, not that you would want to.

Along Cal’s journey into the underbelly of Essex and the Academy’s history, he meets Luke. Luke is erratic and charming. Wholly present and aloof, simultaneously. Luke serves as the handsome love interest to Cal’s unexplored sexuality, as well as his guide into the rush process of the Society.

What I enjoyed most about Cal and Luke’s relationship was the unapologetic queerness of their attraction and flirtations on page, even the physicality of it all, despite most scenes being a fade to black. Milman did an expert job of describing circumstance without lewd detail, but still manages to encapsulate just enough that leaves little to the imagination.

There were aspects of the book that were less than enjoyable, but it was more repetition than anything else. The Academy students continuously asking Cal where is came from, to which he would always respond with his backwoods town in Mississippi, to the point of repeating himself again when the individual asking lost interest halfway through the answer to the question they themselves asked. This continued reminder, surely, was to continue highlighting the outsiderness of Cal, but beating a dead horse detracts from the appeal, to a degree.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. Partially because I’m drawn to queer and dark academia in general, but also because I have an acute special interest for secret societies and cults. This book married them all in a fantastic way.

The only thing I would like to point out, too, is that I listened to the audiobook for A Darker Mischief, and I do greatly believe that the experience would have been enjoyable if I had read the book traditionally.

I also wanted to say thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media (and, by extension, Scholastic Press) and Derek Milman for the opportunity to experience Essex Academy and A Darker Mischief for myself.

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.

Charles Linshaw does an ok job with the audiobook narration but I'm really confused on the production choice to NOT have this narrated in a Southern accent - especially when there is a moment in the text early on where Cal is being made fun of for his accent.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review.

A fun, different take on dark academia secret societies for fans of The Secret History, If We Were Villains, and Ninth House.

**Small town boy struggling to fit in a elite boarding school, finding his way into a secret society and all of the dark allure it holds!**

The main character is very relatable, as are the social issues in todays society. I enjoyed the authors writing style while representing representing his thorough though processes. The book moved a bit slow for my normal preference as did the narrator ( loved the narrators voice, very calming) so.... unfortunately I did not finish the book after making it to 45%.. However, do not let this discourage you from reading it, I think the story has great promise and could hit home with so many readers!

There is something about prep school boys that gets my blood boiling. Maybe it’s the privilege, maybe it’s the toxicity, maybe it’s the boys will be boys. But I hated these characters. I hated the choices they made. I hated their motivations. And maybe it’s because I am not a man, but how were the consequences for kidnapping the presidents daughter, causing your boyfriend to LOOSE HIS ARM, and potentially killing another just academic probation???

And for all of Cal’s insufferableness, you would think he could at least stand on his moral code. But no. He takes what is essentially hush money from the very family that he claims to loathe.

All in all, I will say that Derek Milman’s writing isn’t horrible. He created an atmosphere that kept you wondering what horrible thing will happen next. (Which is exactly what you want from a secret society book) but he needs to work on his characters. I don’t get their motivations, they are wholly unlikable (which I don’t think was his intention) and he drops tidbits about them from the sky. Talk about tell instead of show.

I did not like this book. I would not recommend it. But it doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t give another book by this author a chance. I’m from CT. I love a secret society book. Please chat with Leigh Bardugo before attempting one ever again. That goes for all authors of CT secret society books. That’s all.