A good story, but alltogether too pretentious and elitist for my enjoyment. The narrator unfortunately had an irritating voice which I struggled to get used to, and I found the writing to be nauseating, to be honest. A good plot marred by an unfortunate veneer of snobbery, from an American who seems to think all British people are the same.

Unhallowed Halls delivers a captivating gothic YA mystery with a dark atmosphere. The protagonist, Cleo, is a relatable guide through the sinister halls of her new boarding school, where well-developed supporting characters and their hidden secrets add layers of intrigue. The book masterfully blends classic gothic tropes with modern sensibilities, building slow-burn suspense and exploring themes of grief and identity, resulting in an engaging and atmospheric read, even if some twists are predictable.

If you’re a dark academia fan then the premise of this novel will be both familiar and attractive: an American student with a troubled history is offered a scholarship at an elite boarding school in Scotland.

The initial chapters had me hooked. What was Page’s secret that led to a willingness to transfer to Agathion College?; why did the school mascot take against her so violently?; can she trust the clique who seem willing to befriend her?

However, as the novel progressed I felt that lots of elements became less clear and the lack of secondary character development made it hard to stay invested. I felt that the author hadn’t quite got a grip on the rules of this world or the mythology behind it and Page’s own story felt equally disappointing and even the fluidity of her sexuality seemed pointlessly woke.

For me this was ok but I wouldn’t have listened to the whole book if I hadn’t been reviewing it as it’s too long and not enough happens for swathes of it.

Personally, I didn’t love the narration of the audiobook either, with some of the accents being genuinely dreadful. In fairness, there were characters from all over the place, inexplicably thrown together in a Scottish school, so it wasn’t an easy task.

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an arc of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Fans comparing it to Atlas 6 are correct but in my mind, for all the wrong reasons.
I have never been a big fan of books that get so caught up in their self importance and own cleverness and I absolutely hate reading pretentious fiction that goes out of its way to make me feel dumb.

A potentially good plot and decent characters were overshadowed by the books smuggness.

Dnfd at 60%

Thank you Netgalley,Bolinda Audio and Lilo Wilkinson for providing me with a review copy. The opinion above is entirely my own, freely given.

This was a lot of fun. It reminded me a bit of Legendborn in terms of vibes, and with the evil faculty it also felt kind of like The Library of Hellebore's much nicer younger sister. I enjoyed the main character's voice and I found her relatable, which meant that I was cheering her on and her found family of misfits. A fun idea, well executed.

Full disclosure, I originally put this book down about 5% in because I was distracted by the narrator's "Scottish" accent. However, since I was curious where the story would go, I ended up persevering. Though the accent doesn't get any more convincing, I got used to it. I appreciate that the book requires several different accents from the narrator, and some are inevitable to be more believable than others. Outside of that, the narration was well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a copy of Unhallowed halls. Overall I really enjoyed this and it was the perfect easy read. There’s nothing too complex or demanding about the book, but still has the key elements of a dark academia. I loved the variety in the characters and the way their stories were told. A really fun and easy read. Narrator was excellent and really captured each character perfectly.

This novel starts as any other story about a misfit joining an elite school. Some elements of dark academia are used, like obsessive research, secrets, secluded location, unusual traditions, rituals and secret societies. Soon, the novel took a turn into a more weird and supernatural direction.

Without spoiling anything, there were many twists and turns I didn’t expect. Unhallowed Halls surprised me multiple times and kept me invested in the characters’ fate. The plot becomes a bit farfetched towards the end, but I had to know the ending by then. Also, I adored most of the side characters.

To sum up, it’s an original YA dark academia novel. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed my time.

This book is a gothic, dark academia delight. We follow the FMC Page (an American teenager ) who is involved in a tragic incident at her old school, that leads to her hurting someone. She is offered a full scholarship to a college in the Scottish highlands for young people who have magical abilities and rich parents who don’t know what to do with them. The school claims to help them control their powers but not all is what it seems! There is old demonic magic afoot and Page must figure out what is going on.
I enjoyed the darkness and anticipation of the plot. The characters were great and I liked the banter between them.i would recommend!

Had to DNF at nearly 40% I really tried so hard to push through, but I was having to force myself to listen, and I really wasn’t enjoying it. The story had so such an intriguing premise, and I was so excited to listen to the audiobook, but it all just fell a bit flat for me - I didn’t feel engaged at all, and there wasn’t a great deal happening at the point I had to DNF. The writing was fine, but I was just bored. The FMC Paige is likeable, but I didn’t feel there was any real character development for her, so I struggled to be invested. The other characters, especially the group of pupils inc Oak and Cyrus, just felt very superficial, and I didn’t find them interesting at all. I thought the world building was ok, and you could vaguely picture the school and surroundings, I just wanted a bit more from it. I really enjoyed the audio narration, and she gave the accents a really good go, that was the best part of listening for me, so kudos to the narrator for that.

This is an excellent example of it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. Wilkinson has written an interesting dark academia fantasy, but unfortunately, I’m just not the target audience for this book.

If you’re familiar with my reading taste, you’ll know that I don’t mind a YA book, but only when it is well-written and reasonably complex. For me, this book read in a very simple way, significantly lacking nuance and falling into quite a few cliches. Younger readers would probably really enjoy this one (definitely not an issue as it is a YA book), but I think that those of us that are mostly adult readers will struggle with the lack of nuance.

I did enjoy the dark academia atmosphere and the British boarding-school setting. I also think it’s great that Wilkinson included transgender, bisexual, and lesbian rep. Honestly, this book was fine and I would recommend it to young teen readers, but I don’t think it caters to a wider audience or was anything particularly special.

Make sure to check TWs before reading. 2/5

(3.5 ⭐ rounded up)

A huge thanks to Netgalley and Bolinda Audio for the free audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions expressed below are my own.

"𝙆𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙤!"

(sorry, I had to 🤣 this one has Australianisms abound)

The first half of this book was a solid 5 stars for me. I was hooked! It's atmospheric, compelling, with interesting characters and several ominous mysteries and alllllll the sinister, gothic boarding school vibes. I'm not going to say too much about the plot because MYSTERIES but there's a lot going on.

Unfortunately the second half suffers from some weird pacing and the last quarter was honestly a bit of a drag until the ending (which was glorious). So I have mixed feelings. Don't go in to it expecting a fast paced story and be prepared for rapid changes in vibe.

I did, however, love that there was some absolutely steller queer representation in this story and also a lot of thoughtful discussion around gender and body dysphoria. The MC also suffers from endometriosis which I feel I rarely see pop up in fantasy!

There's also a very sweet YA romance with the cutest love interest. He brews her magic tea for her period pain! 🥰 It's a slow burn with all the fizzy feelings of a big ol' teenage crush and I was definitely smiling over it.

The narration of the audiobook is excellent and the production quality is great as well. Imani Jade Powers captured Paige's personality perfectly and did a generally great job with the different voices... except for the Australian accent which was a little jarring as an Australian listener lol.

Overall, I liked this book, but the pacing issues stopped me from loving it. I do think it's a very solid YA fantasy that touches on a myriad of important subjects, though. Would absolutely recommend the audiobook version which is out on 1 April 2025!

YA -fantasy, romance, gothic, and magic a recipe for an awesome read. I found the story slow but I enjoyed how it was going.
I was intrigued with all the mysteries that is happening and I say it was a bit different kind of read for me in a good way!

Thank you NetGalley and to Bolinda Audio for the opportunity to listen to this amazing book.

Page has never fitted in but she has high hopes when she travels to Scotland to attend Agathion College. The place is cold, damp with very odd rules. She makes a few friends but do they trust her? There are secrets to be revealed as well as demons and magic.

Very well written and well narrated novel (I listened to the audiobook). Good characters in a well paced and often creepy n9vel. Lives are in danger as those in charge have plans for Page. History may be being taught but what else is going on?

When I read the premise of this book it had everything that I love and I felt that this could become a new favourite of mine. Dark academia, magic and a boarding school for the rich. Oh and it's set in Scotland. The first half of this book gave me what I wanted but the latter half let it down as it felt frantic and like there was too much going on.

3.5⭐️. Page Whittaker has moved from school to school for auspicious reasons, and she has now been offered a scholarship to an exclusive boarding school in Scotland, renowned for hosting the troubled children of the elite and upper echelons of society. Having always felt isolated, she longs to fit in and soon attaches herself to a tight knit group of friends, made up of Cyrus, Ren, Gideon, Lacey and Oak. However, it soon becomes clear that they’re keeping secrets, which they’re reluctant to divulge, and Page has secrets of her own…

I thought the scene setting in the first half of this book was great - quite gothic and very atmospheric. It felt a little reminiscent of books like The Invocations and Starling House. I also liked the group of friends, who were an interesting bunch of characters. So the first half really had me hooked. The second half is much more action heavy and leans more into the fantastical. In theory, I should have loved that; however, the move of focus from characters to action felt a little disjointed and made the events less impactful. An example is the romantic relationship between Page and Oak - while I really liked the potential for them as a couple, it felt like it went from a slow build up of strangers to friends, but then rushed from friends to lovers.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to this audiobook, which was really well narrated, and I’d recommend giving it a go for those who enjoy dark academia, but it’s not a new favourite.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC of this book.

This book was such an unexpectedly brilliant read! The book started out as a super intriguing dark academia story and then developed a sci- fi element that I really enjoyed. I’ve seen some other reviews saying that this was out of pocket, but I though it made a lot of sense- the story, from the first page, was set up to follow the theme of body versus mind, of what a soul is and of what makes us us. This book was super gripping and yet, surprisingly wholesome. I started off not liking the main character- she falls into some of the Dark Academia pitfalls of being too pretentious, but as the story went on, I found myself warming to her a lot.
I received the audiobook early listening copy (thanks, NetGally and the publisher!) and the narration was very good, the Australian accent was a bit painful at times but mostly, I found the narrator be very engaging.
I really had a great time with this one- much recommend!!

Book 3/5, narration 3/5

Unfortunately the narration in this audiobook immediately made it difficult for me to enjoy this book. The mispronunciation of the word 'magister' throughout the book was incredibly distracting and pulled me out of the story literally every time. The narrator and the POV character is American, and as such the word should be pronounced MA-gis-ter. This seems a petty thing to point out, and if it wasn't on every third page, I probably could have let it go. But alas. In general the accents were decent, however the Australian accent was rough and jarring (surprising, considering the Australian author).

To the story- The book supplied mediocre dark academia vibes, but had the potential for so much more. It took a wee while for me to really get into the story, and I found myself losing interest towards the end of the book as things became more and more complicated. Our FMC really lacked any sort of personality development in the book, which is partly a symptom of writing in first person, but there's certainly way around that. The other characters were fleshed out much better, making the reader care more about the supporting cast than the protagonist. The group dynamics were not as dark and obsessive as what I've come to expect in a true dark academia novel, even YA.

The recurring mentions of the FMC's endometriosis are sort of hung out to dry. I see what the author was trying to do, to show how the FMC can handle pain, but not enough was made of this in the unfolding of the plot. So it ends up just seeming erroneous.

Overall, this might be a good lower YA 'dark academia' entry level genre novel, but I see it's listed on NetGalley as New Adult, which I think is a stretch. This should have been enjoyable for me, but unfortunately it's quite forgettable.

I looovee the setting in this. It set the tone perfectly and the dark academia vibes were second to none. It helped the audiobook was so immersive too which meant getting into this book was zero hardship.

The audiobook went super quick and not only is it a great story, it has fab representation too. And an endo rep! Couldn’t have asked for more.

I was so intrigued by the story and I looked forward to every moment I could reconnect to it again. Audiobooks tend to accompany me into the gym so I found myself excited to go so I could listen to another chunk of the book! Great characters too and I did not foresee the direction this would take. Solid love.

Unhallowed Halls is truly a read/listen for lovers of dark, gothic academia and most definitely delivers demons, magic, hidden secrets, societies and more.

From the introduction to Paige on her lone journey to her new school Agathion College to which she has been awarded a scholarship, through to the climactic conclusion of this standalone YA fantasy, you are plunged into a complex story filled with multiple twists and turns that will make you dizzier than multiple rides on a waltzer!

In amongst this plot you have a group of characters whom you will definitely gradually w to love and grump at, especially when they make idiotic choices that are often the case at this age, and world building that pulls you into the gothic academia world of Agathion College established many years earlier for the education of troubled teens!

Paige is a severely traumatised teen, carrying and driven by the huge weight of her past experiences and guilt with her. Always a loner, she finds herself at sea amongst the elite, of this new school, until she finds what she hopes to he friendship, if only she and they can get past all the hidden secrets both they and the school hold, which could have fatal consequences for them and the rest of the school!

There’s a journey to be taken, the power of friendship, love and kindness to be unearthed, as well as a little body swapping and the odd mortal danger to face. Lili Wilkinson has written an immersive and fast paced dark academia fantasy that is truly brought to life by Imani Jade Powers’ narration.

Thank you so much Bolinda Audio for advanced access to this audiobook. All opinions expressed here are my own.

I've given this book three stars because I believe that for a Young Adult audience interested in the supernatural this would be a good read / listen.

However, I'm not the right audience for this novel. I requested it thinking that it would be dark academia (in the sense of very bad things happening at a school / university) and I can see why the publisher used this tag, because, indeed, bad things do happen at a school. However, the combination of the magical elements, the description of the landscape (it's set in an area I know quite well) and the "local" mythology (again, it's an area I know quite well) just didn't gel for me. I'm really not a fan of anything that exoticizes Scotland and Scottish culture (because it is my culture and so I experience the exoticization as unintentionally othering rather than exciting).

I would say that people who are not Scottish and who like the Outlander series and, of course, Harry Potter, will likely love this novel.

I'm just sorry I requested a novel without realising I'm not in the right demographic for it.