Dark Academia Books 🕯️🎻 Faves + TBR ☕🏛️ | The Book Castle | 2023

🕯️ BOOKS MENTIONED 🕯️
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Babel by R. F. Kuang
These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever
Bunny by Mona Awad
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Stoner by John Williams
They Never Learn by Layne Fargo
In My Dreams I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
Book of Night by Holly Black
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
The Headmaster’s Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko
The Likeness by Tana French
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

🦉 IF YOU WANT TO GET YOURSELF A BOOK... 🦉 (AFFILIATE LINKS)

🍂 WHERE TO FIND ME 🍂

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⚔️ MYTHOLOGIE CANDLES ⚔️

🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️
00:00 intro
01:31 dark academia recommendations
23:36 dark academia-ish recommendations
28:52 tbr
34:27 outro

🌙 ABOUT ME 🌙
Hi! My name is Alice and I love books! I read just about everything from classics to contemporary fiction, adventures to mysteries, fantasy to all kinds of non-fiction - and I love reviewing and recommending books, and just generally having a chat about literature. I also adore baking, hot chocolate, crafts and basically everything cosy, soft and peaceful. I currently live in Oslo, Norway.

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This video is not sponsored. Links to Waterstones, Taschen, Foyles, Whittard of Chelsea & Mythologie Candles are affiliate links.

[heylexdanielle]

Thank you for holding up the book the entire time you're discussing it. So helpful for the scattered mom brain.

[cecethompson]

The Secret History was a full five-star read for me, too. I absolutely loved it.

[siennadunn]

I Vita Nostra this past year 🩶 the writing/setting is so immersive and magical imo!

[candice]

I love that you take your time to give us a summary of the books. New subbie!

[cari_iii]

thank you for including books that are not on every other dark academia list! currently i'm reading atlas six which is so far very character driven. on my list is the goldfinch, the cloisters, and the zodiac academy series. plus so many more! definitely my favorite subgenre of books :) ty for so many additions to my tbr!🖤

[bonnieheckman]

After watching your video today, I may now venture to read The Ninth House. I hadn't been aware that it could be considered Dark Academia. I like this sub-genre very much. "If We Were Villains" is one of my all-time favorites! Thanks for great recommendations.

[bookishlover]

Fall season are the best time to read Dark academian!

[amena]

Hello Alice ! Thank you for sharing all these books. I remember a very cute book I read some time ago, it was the paper magician trilogy. Not really dark, but just academia. I loved it !

[sandyokey]

The Secret History is also a favorite book for me, and it started me on the DA trail. I just read it last year, so I have a lot of books to catch up on and I love these videos so much. If We Were Villains is on this month’s tbr. I own Babel and The Goldfinch and need to get to them soon. I read Bunny earlier this month. It was so weird, but I’m glad I read it. I may even reread it someday. I’ve heard it described as a fever dream, and I would agree with that description. Thank you for all the recommendations and hope you have a great week ahead💕

[starlasell]

❤📚❤️I just finished The Secret History...loved it.

[lindacasalgrandi]

I’m with you Alice…I love Angels and Demons. I got Babel on Audible, looking forward to reading it since I was a language professor ❤

[irhonda]

I did purchase The Secret History, and really need to read it to see if it’s for me! I always enjoy your reviews!

[ReadingNymph]

Love a dark academia recommendations video ♡
A Finish book that fits this vibe is Rabbit Back Literature Society, I loved it, another strange one along the lines of Bunny

[stargazerbird]

Loved The Secret History and Babel but Bunny is my total favourite. It’s a wild funny and touching ride and the writing is perfection.

[DetectivesRyanAndMaddox]

Hi Alice! I really enjoyed this video :) 

You really should read The Likeness if you like The Secret History because to me it feels like The Secret History with the police procedural aspect thrown into it. Also, you don't necessarily need to read the first book (In the Woods) before reading The Likeness, but I do feel you'll get more out of the story if you've read it first because The Likeness refers to a lot of events that happened in In the Woods (and therefore kind of spoils it).

Cheers and happy reading!

Edit: Also, check out Tana French's The Secret Place (it's the fifth book in the series and you don't have to read any of the previous books to enjoy it). It's about a group of girls at a boarding school and they are suspects of a murder of another student. I think it definitely has that dark academia vibe (and some vague witch vibes too).

[ShelbyAleaseSmith]

Girl you've got the best style! Great recs you always add to my tbr 😂

[hannahiscompletelyfine]

If you haven't read it yet, try Killing November by Adriana Mather. 😊 So happy it's finally this time of year, dark academia books just hit better in autumn.

[virgilflowers]

Just read If We Were Villains and was surprised to find that I loved it almost as much as The Secret History. It lacks the fully fleshed out feel of TSH, but the vibes are very similar. Solid book

[AdrianasWonderland]

i love the vibe of the whole video, you nails are gorgeoussss

[chrissybooksandberries]

You mentioned a few books I haven't heard of before. I'll add them to my list now haha