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

[@cecethompson914]

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

[@jenniferrosebruce6385]

How many followers notice how our lovely Alice always sets her make up and clothes to fit the dark academia theme? ❤

[@TheBookCastle]

🥰🖤

[@jenniferrosebruce6385]

@@TheBookCastle Alice, your backdrops are always visually stunning! X

[@siennadunn115]

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

[@bookishlover2343]

Fall season are the best time to read Dark academian!

[@bonnieheckman5049]

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.

[@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.

[@virgilflowers9846]

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

[@starlasell5698]

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

[@lindacasalgrandi292]

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 ❤

[@TheBookCastle]

Hope you enjoy it!🖤

[@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!🖤

[@gayleelliott9948]

Just read The Cloisters and enjoyed it; didn't see that twist coming and can usually smell one a mile away :)

[@cari_iii]

@gayleelliott9948 haven't gotten to it yet but i'm very excited when i do👀👀

[@irhonda31]

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

[@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.

[@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

[@TheBookCastle]

Oooh I’ll have to check that out 🖤

[@Raven_Snow]

@ReadingNymph, thanks for recommending this book! I don't know if I would ever have heard of it otherwise.

[@ReadingNymph]

@@Raven_Snow my pleasure ♡

[@candice446]

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

[@TheBookCastle]

Thank you! 🖤 and welcome!!

[@sandyokey1019]

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💕

[@chrissybooksandberries]

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

[@amena7387]

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 !

[@petra2676]

I wasn`t a big fan of The Catherine House but loved Vita Nostra. Clearly one of the strangest and most memorable books I read the last years

[@ShelbyAleaseSmith]

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

[@TheBookCastle]

Thank yooou 🖤

[@LizUnderPalms]

I need to re-read The Secret History. I only read it super quickly years ago for school. I remember liking it, but can't remember much now. Thanks for the suggestions. I just added quite a few to my tbr. 🙂📚

[@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).

[@jackiesliterarycorner]

Dan Brown is really fun. I loved The Secret History, If we were Villains, and Catherine House. I'm going to reread If we Were Villains in October. I just bought Babel from Walmart and want to start reading it in October, as well. Unfortunately, A Deadly Education and The Goldfinch weren't for me.

[@AdrianasWonderland]

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

[@TheBookCastle]

Thank yooou 🖤🕯️

[@lsu1222]

Please read Tales of Protection ❤😊

[@tonihammes33]

The Secret History is one of my favorite books. I’ve read some of these but will try out some others based on your recommendation. Could you tell me where you got your raven lamp? Love it!

[@TheBookCastle]

It’s from a store called Ellos (the brand is called Kaare Design or something like that) 🖤🐦‍⬛

[@tonihammes33]

@@TheBookCastlethank you!

[@gaelliott61]

A Discovery of Witches. Set at Oxford and beyond ❤️

[@lindaklinedinst9236]

I have some of these Books on my Kindle to read. They all do sound good. I wish I had the room so I could buy all of the Books that I want to read but my Library has limited Spacing in it unfortunately so I buy the Kindle Editions. Take Care & Happy Reading ❤️🤗🍁🍂☕️🔰🍑

[@malinmaskros]

The Likeness is actually a perfect book when you have The Secret History abstinence! The friend group is so much like the friend group in The Secret History, they are basically the same persons, but with different names! It's not as good as The Secret History (but which book is? ^_^?), but it's good! A recommendation for you, a book I seldom see recommended, but it's really good, and a perfect read for this time of year, is The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova!

[@EldritchEdge]

I haven’t read Angels and Demons, but I watched The Da Vinci Code, and while it definitely isn’t the best movie I’ve ever seen, the settings and imagery were kinda DA

[@originalmgf2930]

I very recently got into reading, and whilst trying to find books I may like, stumbled across your channel. I've been loving the content you put out and have found some great book recommendations from it, so thank you! I'd really like to give dark academia a try, and there were quite a few you recommended in this video that I liked the sound of. Do you have any suggestions to someone pretty new to reading and certainly new to dark academia?

[@TheBookCastle]

Thank you so much, that makes me so happy! For dark academia, I would recommend maybe starting with If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio - it’s got all the dark academia vibes without being too heavy, too weird or too dark 🖤 Then if you like it, you can try The Secret History (when you’re in the mood for something slow, but excellent), or you can try Bunny by Mona Awad if you want a more weird vibe 🤓

[@originalmgf2930]

Hi again, I managed to find If We Were Villains at my local library and I finished it in 3 sittings! I absolutely loved it, thank you so much for the recommendation. I will keep an eye out for both, The Secret History and Bunny and I'm looking forward to trying more if your recommendations in the video 🖤 thanks a bunch!

[@tuscanstellina]

The Goldfinch was so beautifully written that the story could have gone on forever and I wouldn't have been bored. I know I'm kind of in the minority here but I really loved that book. I've had The Cloisters on my shelf for a while and haven't picked it up yet. Has anyone read it? I think it's loosely dark academia but it sounds pretty good.

[@ElinWinblad]

1 dimensional characters are okay sometimes because 1 dimensional ppl do exist 😅😅

[@TheBookCastle]

You’re not wrong 😂🖤

[@heatherbocks]

😂😂

[@mathequation8544]

Great list! I am currently reading (and enjoying) Mona Awad's new book Rouge. It's wild and crazy and makes me feel like I am sleepwalking! Haha! Will you be picking it up? It's strange and unusual. I hope it ends just as well!

[@mathequation8544]

also: I agree with you. The Secret History is a near-perfect book!

[@TheBookCastle]

I didn't know she'd come out with a new book, that's so exciting!! I have to read it :D

[@blog_of_obvious_things]

Vita Nostra is so good! I cried so much when I read it. Also, a Part 2 of it came out in 2021. It's called Assassin of Reality. To be honest, I did NOT like the second part as much. It's written well, it has a good story, but I guess, I expected a direct continuation of the story of Alexandra from Vita Nostra. But instead, we switch way into the future, and read about the adventures of older Alexandra. Which is not bad, jut not what I thought it would be. Alexandra's character evolves, and we can definitely see how she is becoming a stronger woman and scientist from the beginning of the first book, all the way to the end of the second book.

[@booksandbags]

I want to try some DA and have picked up The Secret History, Babel, and Bunny. Thanks for the other recs to add to my TBR.

[@ambermayer7851]

I'm totally willing to die on the hill that if Alice says it's dark academia, it is.

[@clemencep.461]

I think in order to be considered dark academia the book has to be a little smart at least and if we were villains is not and has such poor writing.

[@AnKiT_T]

I loved Ninth House.