Another academia story that was perfect. I'm really excited for more people to get this book into their hands.

This was such a great dark academia story, it had that plot going on and enjoyed the overall story being told. The characters felt like they were meant to be there and in this academic setting. Linsey Miller has that style that I wanted and enjoyed the overall feel of this story.

With every book, Linsey Miller knocks me off my feet. The way she uses a fantasy and horror lens to examine the very real questions we are faced with. And the answers are never held back in both their terror and their desire to shape the world for the better.

This book grapples with reality of academia, of the way it embraces students only to chew them up and spit them out, and to then have the audacity to hold out its hand for payment for the struggle. Yes, it's a dark academia book because it's about a class of students tasked to kill a devil before the last day of class or they will all die themselves. But it's also a dark academia book because it's about how these institutions degrade and erode the most vulnerable students in the name of offering them a "chance." It is all kinds of brilliant and I absolutely adored it.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the arc! Wow. This was both incredibly fucked and incredibly well done. Here are some things that rocked my socks:

-The author pulls absolutely no punches here. They really take it there, and it’s gorgeous. There’s so many moments that left me REELING and staring at the wall. Never again will I underestimate YA; I was clutching my pearls.

-When reading this book I felt like a student myself. I was also trying to guess on how to kill this devil. If I had a beard I’d be stroking it. Basically, this book is both a thinker and HEAVY on the academia. I truly felt like an intellectual.

-This book was incredibly immersive. The world building was simplistic, but well done. The author’s prose also leant to an incredibly atmospheric reading experience. This, along with other things I’ll mention later lends to a story that truly showcases the best of what dark academia has to offer

-This book excels in its themes, and again, truly showcases what dark academia is supposed to be as a genre. Too often, dark academia books almost singularly critique the institution itself. That Devil, Ambition does do that, but it focuses more about how academia destroys a student’s psyche than how corrupt the institution is itself. I’m glad this book took this route tbh, because solely critiquing academia itself is a bit oversaturated. Luckily, this book was a breath of fresh air. In That Devil, Ambition, we see students crumble, become monsters, lose themselves, damage themselves and others irrevocably. We get a few in-depth character studies that are all distinct and fascinating.

-to add to my last point: this is also a book about the topic of death. How young people think they’re unkillable. How we would change our actions if faced with soon and imminent death. How death affects people differently. How death can change a person. The trivialization and sensationalism of it. How it can be romanticized. And, of course, how death is not only external but internal. Again, this book is truly an academic’s book. There are many quotable and powerful lines in here.

-We also have the theme of change. I’ve found many different interpretations we get if it during this book. I don’t wanna spoil anything though.

-keeping it as vague as possible, I loved the ending. The ending lends itself to a slice of hope amongst darkness and depression. This is not a happy book, but its ending was evocative and well done. Amongst all the bleakness and depression is a bit of hope (very apt that I read this right before the election 😍).

-my only nitpick is some repetition in the beginning. Someone take Fabian to church.

In summation: yes. This book was the shit, and I’ll be thinking about it for a long time too. Just complete and utter fierceness; now I’ll have the check the author’s backlog. -4.5 stars

"That Devil, Ambition" by Linsey Miller is a dark stand-alone academia/fantasy that explores the lengths people will go to succeed, even at the expense of their morality, questioning whether the ends justify the means.

Told in the third person, the book follows three protagonists: Fabian Galloway, whose self-confidence conceals a well of self-doubt; Credence, a softhearted math genius who allows Fabian to choose for her to avoid making the wrong decisions herself; and absent-minded Euphemia, who makes sacrifices to survive.

These three friends are students at the Stellarium of Cifra, the continent’s only school for magicians. The story unfolds over their final year, with each of the book’s three sections told from the viewpoint of one of the protagonists. As members of the Honors Class - a group of thirteen students who made the cut - they face a grim challenge: to pass, become magicians, and erase their student debt, they must kill their professor, a devil from another world.

Failing that, they risk losing their lives. Along the way, we come to know and care about some of their classmates and teachers, but the focus is on those three. As the year progresses, the students gradually lose their humanity, committing increasingly unforgivable acts in the name of survival. What unfolds is a strikingly raw and intense picture.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s a pulse-pounding read about truth, secrets, and death. The premise is unique, the plot engaging, and the world-building intricate. There is also magic and mild political intrigue. The queernormative world’s magic system is brilliant - though I won’t spoil it by enlarging on it, I’ll say it’s both original and exciting.

While I connected most with Credence and Euphemia, Fabian was harder to like; his ambition and disregard for others’ lives, aside from his friends, made him challenging to sympathize with. I did, however, love the dynamics and bond between the three friends, who care deeply for one another. The author’s message that “We are worth more than our academic achievements” resonated with me, as did the nod to The Three-Body Problem.

Miller doesn’t spare us - or her characters - any mercy, nor does she hesitate to kill characters left and right, perhaps a few too many for my taste. I liked the ending, though not all questions were answered. It is supposed to be a stand-alone, but some loose ends left me unsatisfied.

As much as I love dark academia, this book went further than most, perhaps even a bit too dark for me. Content warnings include child abuse and neglect, parental death, self-harm, senseless violence, grief, and depression to name a few. Despite this, I couldn’t stop reading; it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Saying that, it was a good read, and the LGBTQ+ representation felt natural and well-integrated. All in all, I highly recommend this book to fans of dark academia (truly dark) and the genre. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart.

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

loved this one, miss miller ate so bad!! this was a pretty unique YA dark academia/fantasy, and excellently written— you can tell miller gets better and better at her craft with every book she releases. this one takes some big swings that i, personally, felt hit very well, and i adored all three of our main characters. euphemia, particularly, stole my heart. i think fans of dark academia will love this moody, emotional, queernormative read.