Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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“Hatred is the sincerest form of flattery.”

If We Were Villains: A Novel by M.L. Rio

April 14, 2025 by bjornsnipe Leave a Comment

“If We Were Villains” tells the story of Oliver Marks, finishing his ten-year sentence in prison for murder, met at the gate by Joseph Colborne, the detective on the case. Never believing Oliver was guilty, Colburne wants to know what actually happened all those years ago, back when Oliver was a lower-income student on scholarship at the Dellecher Classical Conservatory, an exclusive and cliquish art school. In on an acting scholarship, Oliver joined the acting set and their obsession with all things Shakespeare, where he […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Suspense Tagged With: #bad fiction, #suspensenovel, dark academia, M.L. Rio

bjornsnipe's CBR17 Review No:22 · Genres: Fiction, Suspense · Tags: #bad fiction, #suspensenovel, dark academia, M.L. Rio ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“Stop dreaming about the spires. It was a dreadful place and those were dreadful people, and you and I got caught in their games and paid for it.”

Death in the Spires by K.J. Charles

January 18, 2025 by narfna 2 Comments

If you read The Secret History and hated the characters, and the bleak ending made you feel terrible, this might be the book for you! In her first non-romance, we’ve got K.J. Charles trying her hand (and succeeding) at a historical mystery, dark academia style. It’s 1905, and our main character is Jeremy “Jem” Kite, who has just been fired from his job when a letter accusing him of murder showed up in his employers’ mail. This is not the first or even the tenth such letter […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: British mystery, dark academia, historical fiction, historical mystery, K.J. Charles, LGBTQIA, mystery, narfna, Oxford, Read Harder Challenge 2025

narfna's CBR17 Review No:7 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: British mystery, dark academia, historical fiction, historical mystery, K.J. Charles, LGBTQIA, mystery, narfna, Oxford, Read Harder Challenge 2025 ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

A Dark Academia Masterpiece

Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang

December 4, 2024 by Tracy 1 Comment

I literally just finished reading this, and wow — what a compelling read! I learned from reading Wang’s first book, Sword of Kaigen, that she is not afraid to do terrible things to her characters or to break your heart without fully mending it, and she does that again here. This dark academia novel primarily follows Sciona, who early in the novel becomes the first female High Mage of the city of Tiran. There’s a lot of sexism in this world and she is not […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Featured Tagged With: dark academia, M.L. Wang

Tracy's CBR16 Review No:66 · Genres: Fantasy, Featured · Tags: dark academia, M.L. Wang ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment
Cover for the book A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

An Atmospheric Gothic Fantasy Novel That Tackles Trauma Deftly

A Study In Drowning by Ava Reid

February 4, 2024 by Kit Moonstar Leave a Comment

CW: Stalking Effy Sayre has always found escape in the works of Emrys Myrddin.  It’s been one of the few things that’s kept the architecture student going.  So when the family of the recently deceased Myrddin announces a contest to redesign the author’s family estate, Effy can’t help but enter.  And when her design is picked it seems like fate.  Once she arrives at Hiraeth Manor, she finds a crumbling disaster as well as an unwelcome companion in a literature student invited there by Myrddin’s […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Young Adult Tagged With: Ava Reid, dark academia, Gothic Fantasy

Kit Moonstar's CBR16 Review No:5 · Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult · Tags: Ava Reid, dark academia, Gothic Fantasy ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

It was a relief and a horror to be known so perfectly.

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

January 20, 2024 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

I’m not sure if I can categorize this book as dark academia, but the characters and the story remind me so much of what I enjoyed about “If We Were Villains” and “The Secret History,” it is impossible for me not to draw parallels between them. All three stories are linked by a sudden and violent death, and how those left behind cope with their secrets. Paul is a seventeen-year-old who has recently graduated from high school. He lives with his mother and his two […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense Tagged With: 1970s, class divide, codependence, dark academia, Donna Tartt, emotional abuse, forbidden love, if we were villains, Jewish American, jewish culture, M.L. Rio, Manipulative behavior, Micah Nemerever, murder, Pittsburgh, queer author, queer romance, teen drama, the secret history, Toxic Romance, tragedy, Vietnam era

carmelpie's CBR16 Review No:7 · Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense · Tags: 1970s, class divide, codependence, dark academia, Donna Tartt, emotional abuse, forbidden love, if we were villains, Jewish American, jewish culture, M.L. Rio, Manipulative behavior, Micah Nemerever, murder, Pittsburgh, queer author, queer romance, teen drama, the secret history, Toxic Romance, tragedy, Vietnam era ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Nowhere Nothing and I Don’t Care All At Once

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

January 14, 2024 by CoffeeShopReader Leave a Comment

Potentially unpopular opinion forthcoming: I didn’t think The Atlas Six was all that great. There is little plot; not much happens in detail except time passing and people wondering what is going on with {insert current person and/or situation of concern here}. Not much happens with characters either; what is {person} hiding from the group and/or themselves? What is being hidden from them that might possibly matter? There is also not a lot of world building; this is a world in which there is magic […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: dark academia, library of ALexandria, magic, Olivie Blake, Speculative Fiction, the atlas six

CoffeeShopReader's CBR16 Review No:4 · Genres: Fantasy, Speculative Fiction · Tags: dark academia, library of ALexandria, magic, Olivie Blake, Speculative Fiction, the atlas six ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

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