Holy crap I could not put this down. I’m such a sucker for dark academia and magic schools anyway but this was so different in terms of magic systems and the plot and bonus points for the characters being adults 🙌 amazing, I loved it.

I feel like I can’t say much more without spoilers, but I feel as though I’ve been waiting for a book like this for a while.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Oh, this was phenomenal. A book with almost 500 pages was the last thing I expected to get me out of my reading slump, but this hit just the right spot. I didn't know how much I needed this until I read it.

The vibes here were dark academia perfection. This book has such a vivid, cinematic feel to it that I was completely enraptured. Something about the slow pacing really worked for me. Henderson's House of Hunger was a disappointment for me, so I went in with relatively low expectations, but I became fully invested after just a couple of chapters. This had everything I love about dark academia. A rich, gothic atmosphere, interesting character dynamics, academic rivalry, a thirst for power, and a sense of dread that just kept building up. The formidable length of this book gives the reader an opportunity to fully immersed themselves in the world. The way all the threads came together at around the 80% mark (which led to some incredible plot twists, by the way) was just *chef's kiss*. I also liked that the romance did not overshadow the rest of the plot. AAFL leans towards horror, and is gorier than your usual dark academia. I'd not recommend this for the squeamish.

I read this one right in time for fall and loved it. I'd recommend this for fans of Ninth House and The Atlas Six. I'm officially an Alexis Henderson fan and can't wait for whatever she writes next!

I absolutely devoured the first 2/3 of this book. I love me some dark academia vibes and a good campus fantasy/horror, and this delivered. Our FMC is multilayered and the reader is allowed to explore those layers as the book progresses. Loved the development of our side characters and the school as an entity as well.
My one problem with this book is the same that I had with Henderson's previous novel, House of Hunger. The ending feels rushed. And this actually made me less excited to read it, and indeed really slowed down my pace in the final third of the book. We spend so much time developing plot and character, and it all seems wrapped up too soon. Another 50 pages and this would have been a 5-star book for me.

Loved how creepy and dark this one was. It's a chaotic descent into madness, and I loved it. The twists and turns were unexpected and terrifying, and I love how you experience everything with Lennon for the first time. I love that it's a modern Gothic fantasy with horror elements, completely not something I would usually pick up but the darkness was actually what kept me reading. It needed that depth to illustrate what this school is really like. I also love how you can't really ever trust any of the characters, even Lennon herself, because there's this sense of 'otherness' which keeps you on your toes. Overall I loved it and the reading experience was incredibly enjoyable.

I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 because I think some of the extra side parts seemed a bit superfluous but if this was pre-editing I can imagine that would be cut down.

Only other thing I would say the title doesn't do it justice because there are so many books called 'Academy' which brings the idea of a fun trashy fantasy book set in academia which this absolutely is NOT. Academia, yes. Fun and trashy it is not.

Thank you to Netgalley and Transworld for a free eArc in exchange for an honest review.

An Academy For Liars , Alexis Henderson – Random House, Transworld Publishers
Academic setting, dark academia, morally grey characters, forbidden romance, magical systems, fantasy. Released 24th of October

Dark academia is one of mine favourite genres to read and An Academy for Liars did not disappoint, with all the dark gothic aspects that you come to expect from a dark academia novel.
The mystery of Drayton College and Lennon's chance to interview there had me intrigued and unable to put down. We watch our FMC Lennon fall in love with Drayton and all that it stands for her, to then become disillusioned. A story of obsession , power ,betrayal, secrets and lies. We follow Lennon as she has hit rock bottom when she receives a strange phone call. The offer of a chance to interview for Drayton College which until then she did not know existed.
It is at Drayton College Lennon discovers hidden magic that she did not know about and here she will learn how to foster and control it. We watch Lennon learn to navigate life at eerie Drayton College, while also grappling with the weight of her power and all that it holds. However, she soon learns there is a dark side to owning this power, this scares Lennon, and she soon learns there is a dark side to Drayton too.
Dark, Lush and Mesmerizing Alexis’s descriptive writing style kept me hooked, fans of dark gothic fantasy’s who love morally grey characters will adore this, perfect read for Autumn.
Thankyou to Random house and Netgalley for this arc.

I was so intrigued by this book and its concept but was disappointed by the execution. I did not care for the MC and her struggles and her escape to the academy. The academy felt underdeveloped and the magic in it

This is a beautifully written, powerful novel about power, love, and and what we'll do for both. It's also a deep reflection on grief and loss. The book is slow moving at first as Henderson introduces the world and Drayton Academy, but things pick up when the FMC, Lennon begins her tutelage under her advisor, Dante. Lennon has much to learn about the power of Persuasion, as well as her powers specifically. I thoroughly enjoyed An Academy for Liars!

This was a great thriller, gothic mystery story. It is dark and heavy at times, but it made for a very interesting read. For me the main character is refreshing take and I really enjoyed how she was written. I did feel it was a bit slow paced at times but would then pick up throughout the book, so it kept you on the edge and wanting to know what was happening.

If you love dark gothic mysteries you will love this!

Also, Gregory is an icon. I only want the best for hi

I enjoyed this book, solid fantasy academia!

I wouldn't call it horror though, I didn't find anything in it scary. It is certainly dark and has some gruesome parts, just not enough for me to consider it horror.

Magic system was interesting, though to me it often felt to go out of scope of what persuasion could do.

Characters are fine, I didn't like any of them but I didn't dislike any of them. There are all ok.

Fast paced, never boring and keep you to read. The end felt a bit too fast, but it was ok. A lot happens in last 15%.

It has a solid end, with few things I would preferred to learn more about.

I really enjoyed this book, I would definitely recommend it and am hoping to using for subscriptions in my book shop. I am a big fan of dark academia and this book did not disappoint, haunting, mysterious and atmospheric, it’s a great autumnal read.

2 stars

With a fantastic setting as this one (a magical/spooky school) I was expecting something equally interesting but unfortunately what I got was a messy plot with not that surprising plot twist (they were telegraphed from the start) and what's worst, characters that were flat and one dimensional.
Personally, I didn't like Lennon. She's supposed to be in her mid-twenties, but she's so childish at times that it was frustrating. Also, the romance and the chemistry between Dante were nowhere to be seen.
The rest of the characters, I didn't care about them, to be honest.
The book I feel was both fast-paced but slow burn, and that didn't help it either.
It makes me so sad this didn't work for me because I was really excited about it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really unfortunate case where I had been greatly anticipating this novel as soon as I found out about it (an adult magical school book? please and thank you!) but it ended up falling so short of my expectations.

For me, the main issue was characterisation. There were multiple instances of a characters main goals and motivations shifting almost immediately just to create conflict and push the plot along. They basically got the Daenerys treatment, as I genuinely believe that said characters would have ultimately acted the way they did if given a longer time for resentment to stew however it currently reads as a complete 180 in their personality.

The further I got into the story, the more I couldn't help but wish this were allowed either a larger word count to fully flesh the characters and the world out, or (and in my opinion this would have been the best course of action) that this had instead been the first book in a duology.

This had so much potential for greatness, but it unfortunately missed the mark for me.

3.5 stars

The premise of this book is so good, but taking one star away for the bad start and shaky pacing, and half a star for how little I connected with Lennon, the main character.

Overall, I felt I needed to know how it ended, but I would have liked to see the story and characters fleshed out more, even if that meant a duology.

A young woman joins a mysterious university where students learn to bend people to their will. Certainly a unique and interesting premise, written with a dreamlike quality, but this feels like a first draft rather than a final manuscript. It lacks an understanding of itself - is it a campus novel, a fantasy for Harry Potter fans still waiting to receive their letter into their twenties, a musing on the possibilities and ethics of control? There's too much exposition, a bland writing style, lots of underdeveloped and generally unlikeable characters, a strange amount of sex. With a bit of honing it could be great but as it is, not one for me.

3.5*

Sadly this started out really strong, 5* potential, but slowly descended as it became more messy and hard to follow.

The idea of Drayton and the darkness of it started out as intriguing and gripping. However I found as the book went on that I didn’t really care for any of the characters. The relationships between them felt 2D, and there was no real tension or draw between the love interests, I felt.

I read an ARC of this so I understand there may be some mistakes - but in the final 25% of the book there were no less than 8 huge grammatical errors. The wrong name used for a character and the wrong your/you’re to name a few. There was also use of commas in places where there should’ve been the word “and”, and the amount of times a characters legs went “soft” beneath them was countless.

The premise is REALLY strong here. I love the setting, I love the rage and sorrow and description of Lennon’s psyche before Drayton and during the first couple of semesters. The fact this setting and some of the prose is so strong is what has made me give 3.5*.

Now, for some not so great stuff.

Spoilers ahead:

I truly do not understand how any of the “plot twists” or betrayals make sense in this book.

Right at the start of the induction they are told that William had to give his life in order for the Drayton gates to stay open. So why is Lennon surprised when it is revealed that her as a replacement would also be expected to make this sacrifice? They’re literally told this information! I’ll cede that they didn’t know he was currently alive and suffering to do so, but she’s training up to be the “replacement gatekeeper” already having been told that William gave his life… this is a huge plot hole imo as I wasn’t surprised at all by any of the reveals in the climax of the book because of this.

Any betrayals also felt lacklustre. I just didn’t feel any connection between these characters, whether it was Blaine or Dante or any of the other side characters that felt kind of useless and second-thought.

We have zero answers for why Lennon kept seeing Dante as a child, or what the significance of the moths are (other than there being a moth in the prison cell at the end..?). What was the first gate she opened where Dante as a child was in logos house? was it to the past? Or a different dimension? Why did it even matter, and why were the faculty afraid of her and Dante said to not mention it?? I can only think he was trying to spare her of her fate by not letting her say this, but again, it makes no sense that Eileen would expel her for that? Lennon even brings this up to Dante and he just says they are afraid and the quakes hadn’t happened yet, but for me this is a very flimsy excuse and just doesn’t make sense.

We also had this big reveal for Dante being some kind of psycho supposedly but Lennon does…nothing with this information. It’s not even brought up again. But also, I’m frustrated and confused at the fact she was so horrified and felt betrayed that he had this horrible past - literally everyone in the book has done horrible things along the same vein (she had just killed Ian, Blaine basically killing her ex husband, then her again killing Benedict). It felt like this was meant to be some big shocking reveal but it really fell flat.

A lot of the scenes felt rushed as the book went on. The first half was so so strong, but the plot started to fall apart and the setting wasn’t strong enough to make up for it. I didn’t feel the stakes and I didn’t feel afraid of any of the “bad guys”, or afraid FOR any of the good guys.

Overall it’s a good setting but the plot really falls apart after the halfway mark.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one!

Talented individuals find themselves called to the mysterious Drayton College, a moss-covered campus, to study the art of persuasion, aka, mind control. Our main character, Lennon, is one such individual and here we follow her on a journey of obsession, power, secrets, and lies. This was a really unique work of dark academia which cleverly interweaves fantasy and horror. The setting was perfection, the pacing was good, and the end had me screaming!

🖤 Check this out if you enjoy the following 🖤
- an academic setting
- morally grey characters
- forbidden romance
- unique world building and magical systems
- fantasy meets horror

Pub date: 24th October 2024

I’ll definitely be reading whatever Henderson writes next! Thank you @netgalley!

This is Alexis Henderson's finest work so far and I say this as a fan. Dare I say it is *the* dark academia release of fall 2024.

Henderson managed to create the perfect blend of everyone's favourite dark academia tropes and creating a world that truly felt new and innovative. I loved watching our protagonist Lennon fall in love with and then become disillusioned with Drayton College.

The writing kept me on my toes the whole time, I never wanted to put the book down. Lennon was a compelling protagonist from the start and, as an additional bonus, the romance made me swoon! Plus, if you know me you know I love a rat side-plot.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a fresh take on dark academia that is perfect for spooky season.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year so it's with a very heavy heart that I have to give it a low review. Don't take this as it being a bad book however! I think it was more of the hype and my personal taste that made this a miss for me. I couldn't get behind the plot and I never really became attached to any of the characters. I've read Alexis Henderson's other books and really enjoyed them but this one felt so slow! Even when things were happening I just couldn't get invested. At some point I realised I was just reading it to get it finished.

I would definitely recommend this book to those that like lighter horror or school settings. For me it just wasn't to my tastes. I'm excited to see what she releases next though!

I loved reading this book. Dark academia isn’t a genre that I pick up often. Despite starting slowly and being not very engaging in the first few chapters (prior to Drayton), I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m glad that I pushed through those initial chapters because the story kept getting better throughout. I could barely put it down. There was so much intrigue and mystery, betrayal, lies by omission, friendship and growth that I felt almost as though I was there with the characters watching the events unfold. The ending was beautiful and left so many questions that I’m desperate to hear more!
⭐️I received an ARC of this book and am leaving an honest review voluntarily⭐️

The start of An Academy For Lairs starts off promising. It has the dark, gothic aspects that’s expected from a dark academia novel. The mystery of Drayton College and Lennon’s chance to interview will have you intrigued, hanging onto the mystery, but this excitement is short-lived. Rather than the excitement of figuring out the mysteries of Drayton College, as you progress through the book, you will be left feeling as if there was no clear plot structure. It’s a shame, as Alexis Henderson isn’t a bad writer; they just seemed to lack focus and direction with An Academy For Lairs.
As the main character, Lennon’s life is a bit of a mess prior to arriving at Drayton. Plagued with her own mental health issues and her struggling within this new world, there isn’t much else to this female lead. Lennon is suddenly the key to the survival of the school, with no real information about how she progressed throughout the book. Lennon often prioritises her crush and desire for her forbidden teacher romance with her advisor Dante, but that is the only relationship she puts any real time in. Dante is the mystery man of the book, and when he is first introduced, he is intriguing and one of the bigger draws of the novel, but Lennon’s fascination and the unnecessary, excessive plots that appear to be thrown in at the at the last minute have no real impact on the plot.
The romantic relationship between Lennon and Dante does a lot to hinder the book’s enjoyment. Rather than delving into the dark academia plots, Henderson makes the forbidden student-teacher relationship the focus and dynamic of the plots (and there are many) that does nothing to engage the reader. There is no chemistry between the characters; instead, Lennon often comes across like a teenage girl experiencing her first crush, while Dante spends most of the novel either avoiding her or keeping Lennon at arm’s length. When things come to a quick and sudden head and the two spend the night together, there is nothing that draws you into their romance, and yet after they are together, that's how Lennon draws her strength.
The lack of chemistry, or any sort of dynamic, between Lennon and any other character could be put down to the fact that Henderson is fond of time skips and incredibly short chapters. Getting to chapter 50, you would feel as if there had been some direction with the storytelling, but whenever something intriguing happens, Henderson ends the short chapter (some are even four pages long) and begins the next with a time skip. Having this repeatedly happen had me second-guessing if I had missed essential parts of the story, but no, these are just explained within the time skip. This stops the reader from fully indulging into the mysterious world of Drayton College and the complex moral questions that should have been the focus of the novel, not the romantic dynamics of a student and her teacher.
An Academy for Lairs lacks a clear plot structure, similar to Lennon’s own characterisation. The novel's focus on the forbidden student-teacher relationship with advisor Dante and the lack of chemistry between Lennon and other characters hinders the reader's enjoyment. The novel's excessive plots and time skips, along with the romantic dynamics between Lennon and her teacher, impede the reader's immersion into the mysterious world of Drayton College.