Another amazing one by this author. I loved her previous two books so know I needed to request this one too.
It’s masterfully gothic and dark academia which I loved

this book had so much potential. the premise seemed very unique and could've made for a fantastic story, but all its potential got wasted in an array of plot holes. and while the elevator concept was really cool and unique, i wished that there was a little more world building, explanation and "rules".
in addition to that, there was just way too much telling instead of showing. show me the character development! show me how the friendships and realtionships blossom! i don't want to be told that two characters are no friends, i want to see it. this made the characters and relationships feel really shallow.

Dark, bloody and engaging! I really enjoyed Alexis Henderson’s writing style - it was easy to read and emotive. Her characters are broken and entertaining to read about (and, for some, get their just desserts). I liked the relationship between Dante and Lennon but the flip on Dante’s side didn’t seem as worked through as it could have been. I’m happy that the story ended happy for all the harsh events that took place throughout the book. This worlds ‘magic’ as well was very cool and unique.

This is one of the best dark academia books. I have read in 2024 and I can’t wait for everyone else to read it. It has the perfect plot the perfect characters and the perfect mystery to hold you.

This was a book that reminded me of a few other dark academia novels at first and then took things in a completely new direction, which I really appreciated. Lennon was a fascinating protagonist, full of insecurities and flaws and yet incredibly strong in many ways and Dante was equally compelling in his own ways. I also really enjoyed the environment of Drayton and thought the author did a great job at bringing the campus to life. Overall, another enjoyable read from Alexis Henderson who's books I will continue to pick up.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was just everything and more, easily my number one read. Hands down, it just pushed all the other contenders off the shelf.

Let me start by saying, this book was nothing like what I expected. It's been labeled as both dark academia and horror, but honestly, I didn't really see the "horror" side of it. Maybe, I’m just the problem.

As a big fan of dark academia, I totally devoured this book. Anytime I had a free moment, I was diving right back into the Drayton world.

But let me not get ahead of myself here.

An Academy For Liars follows our main girl, Lennon, who's basically just not happy with her life. She's been on the sidelines for years, just staring up at the men in her life with hearts in her eyes, while all the while one step away from having a total meltdown.

Then one night, she catches her partner cheating. So she jumps in his sweet ride and just takes off, not even knowing where she's going. But one random decision to pull into an empty parking lot changes her life forever. When a phone booth starts ringing out of nowhere, she picks it up, and next thing you know, she's going through all these interviews and tests that get her a spot at this unknown place called Drayton.

"Power doesn't come for free.” And oh boy, isn’t that just the truth?

I loved the whole concept of having power over someone's mind - that's got to be the greatest power of all. And get this, little does everyone know, but Lennon is the one holding Drayton's fate in her hands.

I also seriously felt like I could relate to her. Everybody, including me, is just looking for a place to belong, a spot where they're accepted, and most importantly, straight-up love.

The relationship between Lennon and the MMC, Dante, kept me on the edge of my seat. My heart was breaking, then getting put back together, only to be broken again. Thanks Alexis!

And that ending? I can't even. I'm still, days later, just trying to process it all.

Alexis, you killed it with this book. It's going to hold a special place in my heart, and in my mind, it's living rent-free. Thanks for the wild ride!

I usually avoid dark academia but something about this book spoke to me and I’m so glad I took a chance on it. The opening scene of this book is scarred into my brain. It taps into the uncanny so well and really set the tone for the book.

We jump straight into our fmc’s life falling apart. Lennon is an absolute mess and I love her for it. She felt so real and is completely different to the fmcs I’m used to reading about in fantasy. She was relatable on a level that is probably something I need to unpack with a therapist.

Drayton College is not your usual ‘schools for the gifted’. There are no airs and graces and it’s dark from the beginning. I’m not exactly a horror aficionado but this was an unsettling read in the best of ways.

The magic system deals with complex theories but uses clever, easy to understand concepts that felt believable.

This was my first book by the author but it definitely won’t be my last!

Do you ever read a book that’s so good that you’re just (unfortunately) ugly sobbing in public because you feel like someone reached into your soul and pulled it right from the depths kicking and screaming? Well, that’s exactly how I feel about An Academy for Liars.

This book holds up a mirror between the person you want to become, and the person you truly are. It takes all the broken pieces hidden inside ourselves and fishes them out with such force that you have no choice other than to face them, head on whether you like it or not. When you think you‘ve got it all figured out, it will veer you completely off course headfirst off a cliff without warning. It will have you questioning whether trust is something you earn, or something you give freely. Most of all it will make you FEEL like you are constantly trending water.

An Academy for Liars will open your eyes wide to what the Dark Academia genre can do when it is allowed to think outside the box that it’s been put in. This book was about self discovery, grief, loss, self acceptance, forgiveness, loneliness and much much more. Everyone is morally grey, and I mean everyone - and that’s also a reason why you should read this.

This was the Dark Academia I absolutely needed. The gritty, the gruesome, and the deeply unsettling.

I know I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. I know I’ll be banging on at everyone I know to read it.

I really enjoyed this book and have recently just received this as a special edition from illumicrate, it gripped me straight from the beginning, I just wish that there was more character building

I'm giving this a 3 stars because it had potential but the characters had some irksome personality traits I didn't find appealing such as Lennon's rash and impulsive behaviour. I also hated the storyline of the advisors always ending up with their students like why was it a pattern? That continuously happened 3 times and one situation where the character, Dante, had been both the student abusED by the advisor (this case was abuse as he was a child at the time of it taking place with the advisor being a grown adult) and then the adviser in a relationship with a student. I would have been interested if this book actually explored the predatory nature of these systemic relationships evolving from abusive tendencies but nothing.

The one interesting character Claude who could have been a pivotal aspect to showing this was sidelining halfway through. He was the perfect mirror to Lennon and seeing two sides of the same coin was fascinating.

The second 50% of the story picked up with the action and storytelling. Overall, I feel as of this could have explored the story better and while I can enjoy a student/professor love story, it needs to have chemistry that i found lacking between Lennon and Dante, even though I liked them individually as characters outside of a relationship.

3.75

I was entirely invested in this book between the start and around 40%, after that it lost me a little but did bring it back by the end.

The concept and plot felt really unique to me, Alexis Henderson definitely has a talent for building suspense and atmosphere, and I found her writing style really captivating. I loved the conversations regarding persuasion and the magical realism elements of the story and how it questions the morality of what they were doing, and how they could justify just about every scenario, whether ethical or not.

Where this book let me down was the characters. I never felt truly connected to the main character Lennon, even though we follow the story from her POV. I felt like her character was inconsistent and at times I didn't understand her motivations, this may have been by design but for me it was a little off putting. I also wasn't invested in the friendships or relationship she forged, mainly because the secondary characters fell a little flat for me.

Overall however, I enjoyed my time with this book and the vibes are perfect for a spooky Autumn read. I loved the writing style and definitely plan to read Henderson’s other work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing/Ace Books for providing me with an ARC.

Devoured in 2 sittings (would have been one if id started early enough in the day)

-Atmospheric
-Fast paced
-Characters that keep you guessing
-Interesting magic system
-School setting
-Mentor- Mentee

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book. On the one hand I loved the worldbuilding, dark academia vibes and the plot. This book had an amazing morally grey character and an atmospheric setting (which I always adore). On the other hand, it felt that the background characters were underdeveloped and two-dimensional. I sometimes even strugled to remember how they were connected since the MC hadn't had a lot of interactions with them.

But overall I was very happy to read this book during the autumn, when the rainy days just made it even better!

An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson grabbed me from the first page. The story kicked off with a bang, and pulled me right into the mysterious world alongside the main character, Lennon. Just like Lennon, I was left in the dark about what was really happening, which kept the suspense high from the get-go.

Henderson’s writing is top-notch. Her language carries the story all the way through. The plot is solid, with the beginning and the end standing out as the strongest parts. It’s hard to pin this book down to a single genre because it feels like a blend of many. But one thing’s for sure—it’s exciting. If you enjoy a story that’s packed with action, a touch of magic, and some supernatural elements, I would definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of this one; I had a lot of fun reading this book. It was well-paced, and definitely gave me that "one more chapter" feeling.

I really liked the magic system and the world of Drayton. I could picture the campus so clearly, and it felt like such a 'rich' environment I can imagine more books in this same world. The magic system seemed to fit well into the academia setting, but I would have loved to see more about how it actually worked.

Some reviewers have said they struggled to connect with Lennon, but I loved her. Both her and Dante were great morally grey and flawed characters. I was really rooting for them for the whole book; I liked seeing them separately but I loved them together. I really wanted a HEA for them (which probably didn't fit the tone of the book but hey) and I feel like we got a tiny hint of one!

Overall I really enjoyed this book! Like House of Hunger, this was like nothing I've ever read before, but it's perfect for fans of The Secret History (of course), Ninth House/Hell Bent and even A Discovery of Witches.

4⭐️
This was an intriguing, mysterious and fun read for me. If you like Dark Academia then I think you would enjoy this unique world full of angst and LIES.

At the beginning of this book, Lennon(FMC) has hit rock bottom in her life and feels completely numb and done with her situation until she very unexpectedly find herself at Drayton University. A mysterious phone call has her arriving at Drayton with absolutely no idea of why she is there and no clue what what to do expect. Searching to find some purpose in her life, she allows herself to be guided by her advisor Dante (MMC) to unlock her potential in an Academy for Liars. The twists and turns help to build a dark atmosphere and keep you guessing at what lies around the corner. A very captivating read.

I did feel the writing in this came across quite pretentious at times, given the setting, this could very well have been stylistic but for me it was a little much at points. I would also have liked some more in-depth character development to help better build the relationship between Lennon and Dante but overall I really enjoyed this book.


Thank you to RandomHouse UK and NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Dark Academia and I have a rocky relationship. I love nothing as much as elite and secret boarding schools, hidden magical schools, schools with ghosts and demons and secret societies outing your worst secrets to the world. And yet, not every dark academia works for me. As if I always need a little more, but don't know exactly what. However, when I saw this book on Netgalley I got really curious and requested a copy and luckily Transworld Publishers granted me a copy.

I finished the book this morning and I'm still sort of processing what I've actually read. That's partly because the science, or magic, the line is thin in this one, is quite unique. And, just like the heroine of the story, I already immediately saw how this kind of power corrupts and can get really really dangerous in the wrong hands. However, in a way we've seen not much of how the power IS used outside of academy grounds and therefore the point of the story does not always feel clear.

Which is a pity, because there is so much about this story that works amazingly well. Apart from the magic, that is more a sort of science and also explained as a kind of science, there is the matter of a little time travel and a little portal travel. Quite a lot of scenes are also really atmospheric and haunting. The book is on top of that filled with a lot of emotions and we do get to see the horrifying and sickening things this power can do.

It just feels like it's not entirely clear what drives this story. It can't be the characters, because our heroine is dealing with whatever is thrown at her, but is most of the time not actively taking charge of her own life and future. It's also not the plot, because it's there, but it takes a very long time before we understand the plan for the heroine. I think it's the powers and what this power does with and to people and all the horrors we get to see on page.

So, especially if you're interested in the human mind and how it can be twisted, this is your book!

Loved the characters in this. A dark academia gothic vibe to it. Really well written and the overall plot that tied it together was great. If you like dark academia and unlikeable characters you’ll like tbjs

This is my first read from Alexis Henderson , despite having two of her previous releases on my Kindle. Her dark stories with a twist of the supernatural have always appealed to me, and this new venture into dark academia was perfect to start spooky season.

Lennon Carter is in her mid-20s, engaged to a handsome professor, Wyatt. On the surface, things look good, but Lennon is haunted by psychological trauma and - when she catches Wyatt sleeping with a friend at their engagement party - she steals his car and leaves with every intention of ending her life.

But that's not where Lennon's story ends - it's just the beginning. On her way to ending her life, she receives a mysterious call at a phone booth. It takes her on a journey to a magical school for gifted individuals, Drayton.

This story is quite a slow burn at the beginning, with a strange and dreamlike feel as Lennon is transported from her mundane life and begins to learn the rules of her new surroundings. The magic system, called persuasion is a form of psychic power which enables the students to persuade other living creatures and even sometimes objects to act to their will.

"Persuasion is the ability to enforce one's own will on a being, object or entity."

It doesn't come without its cost though, as Lennon and the other characters suffer seizures, headaches, nosebleeds and worse if they overuse their abilities. It's a unique and clever magic system with a dark side, and I really liked how this was done.

The book is dripping in atmosphere and complete with all the dark academia tropes you could want - an "aroma of must and books and cigarette smoke" peppered throughout. But, for me, it was lacking in character development. Lennon's hastily formed friendship group felt utterly replaceable, and her love interest with an older professor didn't feel authentic. Lennon herself is not particularly likeable, but she does make for an intriguing, flawed protagonist exploring some dark and morally complex dilemmas as the story progresses.

Despite a slow-burn start and an unconvincing middle, the final third of this book picks up the pace considerably and I found myself racing through the pages as the mysteries of Drayton and Lennon's role in its future are revealed.

"She had come to Drayton looking for a saviour, now she had the chance to become one."

All in all, this one was a mixed bag for me, but I appreciate the author's atmospheric writing and unique magic system - I'm sure other fans of the genre might enjoy this more.

You want to read a dark academia novel? Well you got one! This book jumps right on in with the dark from the first chapter, and just doesn’t stop! This book enthralled me from the get go, and I just had to continue to read it!

The magic was so unique and definitely added to the dark vibe, as with all the characters too. Lennon was a great mc, strong, but with obvious troubles. Her relationships with her class mates and teachers was so well written too. The book is written from Lennons POV and it very much showed through with how I felt about some of the characters.

I am glad that I read this book for the dark academia aspect, and not for romance too, as I did find the romance very one sided. When it did happen, it was lovely, but the build up before (and even parts afterwards) felt quite strained and not quite there.

This book was perfectly dark with some great plot twists that left me dumbstruck!
Please check the trigger warnings for this book as it definitely goes straight into it with topics such as toxic relationships, sour power dynamics, depression, suicide and other things taking a centre stage at points throughout.