Top 10 Best Dark Academia Books (2026)

An instant Indie and #1 New York Times bestseller!"Achingly atmospheric and beautifully sharp, A Study in Drowning will draw you in from the first page." --Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls Bestselling author Ava Reid makes her YA debut in this dark academic fantasy perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Elana K. Arnold.Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. Haunted by visions of the Fairy King since childhood, she's had no choice. Her tattered copy of Angharad--Emrys Myrddin's epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him--is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin's family announces a contest to redesign the late author's estate, Effy feels certain it's her destiny.But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston H?loury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin's legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them--and the truth may bring them both to ruin.Part historical fantasy, part rivals-to-lovers romance, part Gothic mystery, and all haunting, dreamlike atmosphere, Ava Reid's powerful YA debut will lure in readers who loved The Atlas Six, House of Salt and Sorrows, or Girl, Serpent, Thorn.About the AuthorReid, Ava: - Ava Reid is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning, A Theory of Dreaming, Lady Macbeth, Juniper & Thorn, and The Wolf and the Woodsman. Her books have been published in over fourteen territories. She lives in the New York area. Follow her on Instagram @avasreid and find her online at tumblr.com/avasreid.

Build a Dungeon. Slay Heroes. Survive Finals. Wounded Army vet Logan Murray thought mimics were the stuff of board games and dungeon manuals... right up until one ate him. In a flash of snapping teeth, Logan suddenly finds himself on the doorstep to another world. He's been unwittingly recruited into the Shadowcroft Academy for Dungeons-the most prestigious interdimensional school dedicated to training the monstrous guardians who protect the Tree of Souls from so-called heroes. Heroes who would destroy the universe if it meant a shot at advancement.Unfortunately, as a bottom-tier cultivator with a laughably weak core, Logan's dungeon options aren't exactly stellar, and he finds himself reincarnated as a lowly fungaloid, a three-foot-tall mass of spongy mushroom with fewer skills than a typical sewer rat. If he's going to survive the grueling challenges the academy has in store, he'll need to ace the odd assortment of classes-Fiendish Fabrication, Dungeon Feng Shui, the Ethics of Murder 101-and learn how to turn his unusual guardian form into an asset instead of a liability.And that's only if the gargoyle professor doesn't demote him to a doomed wandering monster first... From James A. Hunter-bestselling author of Rogue Dungeon, Bibliomancer (Completionist Chronicles Expanded Universe), and the LitRPG epic Viridian Gate Online-and Dragon Award Finalist Aaron Michael Ritchey, comes a brand new Dungeon Core novel, like nothing you've ever seen before. Funny, funky, and full of Gamelit goodness, this is one novel you won't want to put down.

Featuring scarlet sprayed edges "Much like Donna Tartt's The Secret History, M. L. Rio's sparkling debut is a richly layered story of love, friendship, and obsession...will keep you riveted through its final, electrifying moments."--Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest"Nerdily (and winningly) in love with Shakespeare...Readable, smart."--New York Times Book Review On the day Oliver Marks is released from jail, the man who put him there is waiting at the door. Detective Colborne wants to know the truth, and after ten years, Oliver is finally ready to tell it. A decade ago: Oliver is one of seven young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a place of keen ambition and fierce competition. In this secluded world of firelight and leather-bound books, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ing?nue, extras. But in their fourth and final year, good-natured rivalries turn ugly, and on opening night real violence invades the students' world of make-believe. In the morning, the fourth-years find themselves facing their very own tragedy, and their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, each other, and themselves that they are innocent. If We Were Villains, now available with beautiful stained edges, was named one of Bustle's Best Thriller Novels of the Year, and Mystery Scene says, "A well-written and gripping ode to the stage...A fascinating, unorthodox take on rivalry, friendship, and truth."About the AuthorM. L. Rio holds an MA in Shakespeare studies from King's College London and Shakespeare's Globe and a PhD in English from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her bestselling first novel If We Were Villains has been published in twenty countries and eighteen languages. Graveyard Shift is her first novella.

I was his toxic obsession. He was my sadistic monster.Nora: When I took a job at St. Thorns university as a psychology professor, I encountered something-someone-unexplainable. Fascinating. And deadly.Alec Briar had the eyes of a killer.He's a botanist who would rather rot in his greenhouse alone than deal with students, professors, or me. When a monster stalks me, our relationship becomes corrupted in ways that bring us closer together, for better or worse. He has secrets-ones that will destroy him if he discovers the truth...Our minds twist to protect our souls, and Alec's is the most warped of all. The only way to save him is to hurt him and accept the damnation doing so will bring.Alec: She was deadlier than belladonna, and yet I cannot resist her.Nora Woulfe has become my infatuation. As she pushes me to my breaking point, we spiral down a path that will be our downfall. A monster is trying to steal what is mine, and I will hunt him to the bitter end. Even if I have to use her to draw him out...Nocturnal is a dark academia MF monster romance with a Dr. Jeckyl/Hyde inspired botanist MMC and a 33 year old FMC psychologist. This is a standalone set in the Freaks of Nature universe.

Summary:Tell the person you hate to love and love to hate how you really feel with a charming but cheeky book featuring villainous characters from the darker side of the Disney universe.With thoughtful gifts from poison apples to cuddle puddles with a trio of hyenas, this mischievous collection of art created by Disney graphic designers is a deviously sweet gift of love and friendship for a very special evil someone.A SWEET (AND SOUR) GIFT FOR YOUR VALENTINE: This playful little book is the perfect fun, funny present for anyone who would rather skip Valentine's Day and instead celebrate Villaintine's Day.LOVE FROM THE DARKER SIDE: Maleficent, Ursula, Cruella, Captain Hook, and many more share their dastardly feelings on love and friendship.DISNEY GIFTS FOR THE CRUELLA AT HEART: Pair this villainous volume with The Disney Villains Postcard Box to create a delightfully maleficent gift set.Perfect for:Fans of the Disney Villains franchiseGifts for anti-Valentine's Day enthusiasts or snarky Galantine's DayAnyone who feels the villains have been misunderstoodAnd they lived happily never after . . . This irreverent-yet-endearing collection of snarky sentiments and wicked affection features the most terrifying Disney villains in all the land.Hardcover: 64 pagesPerforming Arts / Film / Genres / AnimatedHumor / Form / Comic Strips & Cartoons

Are all victims white? Are all villains black? White Victims, Black Villains traces how race and gender have combined in news media narratives about crime and violence in US culture. The book argues that the criminalization of African Americans in US culture has been most consistently and effectively legitimized by news media deeply invested in protecting and maintaining white supremacy. An illuminating, and often shocking text, White Victims, Black Villains should be read by anyone interested in race and politics.

Where Theodora went, trouble followed.... In sixth-century Constantinople, one woman, Theodora, defied every convention and all the odds and rose from common theater tart to empress of a great kingdom, the most powerful woman the Roman Empire would ever know. The woman whose image was later immortalized in glittering mosaic was a scrappy, clever, conniving, flesh-and-blood woman full of sensuality and spirit whose real story is as surprising as any ever told.... After her father dies suddenly, Theodora and her sisters face starvation and a life on the streets. Determined to survive, Theodora makes a living any way she can--first on her back with every man who will have her, then on the stage in a scandalous dramatization of her own invention. When her daring performance grants her a backdoor entry into the halls of power, she seizes the chance to win a wealthy protector--only to face heartbreak and betrayal. Ever resilient, Theodora rises above such trials and, by a twist of fate, meets her most passionate admirer yet: the emperor's nephew. She thrives as his confidant and courtesan, but many challenges lie ahead. For one day this man will hand her a crown. And all the empire will wonder--is she bold enough, shrewd enough, and strong enough to keep it? READERS GUIDE INCLUDEDAbout the AuthorStephanie Thornton is a writer and history teacher who has been obsessed with infamous women from ancient history since she was twelve. She lives with her husband and daughter in Alaska, where she is at work on her next novel.

Why has the "War on Cancer" languished, focusing mainly on finding and treating the disease and downplaying the need to control and combat cancer's basic causes -- tobacco, the workplace, radiation, and the general environment? This war has targeted the wrong enemies with the wrong weapons, failing to address well-known cancer causes. As epidemiologist Devra Davis shows in this superbly researched expose, this is no accident. The War on Cancer has followed the commercial interests of industries that generated a host of cancer-causing materials and products. This is the gripping story of a major public health effort diverted and distorted for private gain that is being reclaimed through efforts to green health care and the environment.About the AuthorDevra Davis, PhD, MPH, directs Pittsburgh's Center for Environmental Oncology and is Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh. Contributor to the Nobel Peace Prize of 2007, she was founding director of the Board on Environmental Studies at the National Academy of Science and presidential appointee to the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. She is the acclaimed author of When Smoke Ran Like Water, Finalist for the National Book Award. She lives in Washington, D.C., and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. www.DevraDavis.com

A Guide to Academia is a handbook for all those individuals thinking seriously about going to graduate school. Written by an author with extensive experience navigating the academic world, the book explains all the steps and potential bumps in the road that a student might encounter as they take the plunge into academia. Each chapter begins with a section called the "hard truth," which will help students determine if they are on the right path. Starting with an undergraduate student looking for a graduate school, the reader is taken on a journey up the academic ladder through graduate studies, a postdoctoral fellowship and an assistant professorship. Each chapter gives advice on not only how to survive the current stage but how to get to the next stage quickly. Enhanced with material from the author's own job applications and interview presentations, A Guide to Academia provides concrete examples of the tools needed for a successful career in academia.About the AuthorProsanta Chakrabarty, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University and Curator of Fishes at the LSU Museum of Natural Science.