If you’re wondering how the heck you define dark academia, this post is a really great explainer of this sub-genre. But the basic idea is this. Dark academia novels are set at a school of some kind and involve a plot that has dark themes. Sometimes dark academia crosses over with the thriller genre. Sometimes it’s fantasy, but it doesn’t have to be these things. If that sounds broad, it kind of is. Sometimes dark academia is just a vibe. If you’re looking for more dark academia novels, be sure to check out our list of new YA dark academia coming out this year. Or this list of 10 queer dark academia novels. And if you need even more book recommendations from some of your favorite niche sub-genres, be sure to check out Tailored Book Recommendations (TBR)! You’ll be paired with a real-life Bibliologist who can recommend you the latest (or the backlist titles you’ve never heard of) in dark academia reads or whatever kind of book you’re hunting for! For the purposes of compiling this list, I looked at which books on Goodreads were most often shelved as dark academia, which books had the most ratings, and which books had the highest ratings. I had to remove a couple of books from those results, because some people are shelving books as “dark academia” when they don’t even take place at a school (like — yes, “vibes” are important, but also the school setting is pretty essential, people). And from there, I came up with the top 10 most popular dark academia books on Goodreads. So here they are, friends. In no particular order, here are the best dark academia book, according to Goodreads. If you don’t see your favorite dark academia book on this list, blame the Goodreads people. Not me! But if you’re looking for some excellent dark academia to read, this is a good place to start.
