Weekly Book Recs 19-2025: Dark Academia, Enemies to Lovers

WEEKLY BOOK RECS: 6 book reviews and suggestions every week

There’s something about crumbling libraries, obsessive ambition, and morally questionable love interests that hits differently when the weather is cold and the vibes are slightly gothic. Dark academia gives us elite schools, mysterious pasts, and a lot of talking about ancient texts in candlelight. Now throw in a little romantic tension and sharp-tongued bickering? You’ve got enemies to lovers. It's deliciously messy.

This week’s recs combine both. Expect intense characters, academic rivalries, and romances that border on toxic in the most compelling ways. These books don’t always give you happy endings, but they do give you a lot to feel. If you love a story where someone’s writing love letters while also secretly plotting your academic downfall, these picks are for you.

1. “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt

⭐ 4.6/5

Tropes/Genre: Dark academia, murder club, pretentious boys, slow burn hate-respect

Description: At a small elite college in Vermont, a group of eccentric classics students slowly unravel after committing a murder. Richard, the outsider narrator, gets drawn into their seductive and sinister world, where intellect is power and morality is optional.

Review: This is the blueprint. While the romance is subtle and debatable, the tension between characters absolutely screams enemies to lovers if you squint a little. The writing is rich, slow, and dripping with atmosphere. Not for readers who want fast pacing or resolution, but if you like Greek tragedy vibes and moral ambiguity, this one’s a must.

2. “A Lesson in Vengeance” by Victoria Lee

⭐ 4.3/5

Tropes/Genre: Gothic boarding school, sapphic enemies to lovers, witchy vibes, unreliable narrator

Description: At Dalloway School, old legends of witchcraft and madness haunt the halls. Felicity Morrow returns after a tragic absence and crosses paths with Ellis, a literary prodigy with sharp edges. Their bond is intellectual, obsessive, and possibly dangerous.

Review: This one is intense in the best way. It’s sapphic, smart, and filled with haunting energy. The academic setting is beautifully moody, and the main relationship toes the line between fascination and rivalry. You’ll either love the atmospheric prose or find it a little too self-aware, but the vibes are on point.

3. “If We Were Villains” by M. L. Rio

⭐ 4.7/5

Tropes/Genre: Shakespeare nerds, found family, love-hate tension, academic theatre

Description: Set in an elite conservatory for Shakespearean actors, the story follows a tight-knit group of students whose relationships begin to fracture when one of them dies. Told from prison, the narrative unpacks guilt, longing, and hidden truths.

Review: This one is often compared to The Secret History but with more overt emotional payoff. The enemies to lovers thread is subtle, slow, and gorgeously tragic. It’s for readers who want to ache a little. The pacing can feel heavy, but if you love your books dramatic and theatrical, this one delivers.

4. “Babel” by R. F. Kuang

⭐ 4.5/5

Tropes/Genre: Academic revolution, colonial critique, slow-burn rivalry, tragedy

Description: At Oxford’s fictional Royal Institute of Translation, language is magic, and students wield it through silver-working. Robin, an orphan from Canton, is caught between loyalty to the empire and the revolution brewing beneath it.

Review: While the romance is not front and center, the emotional relationships are intense and complicated. The enemies to lovers vibe comes more from the ideological clashes and betrayal. The writing is sharp, smart, and unflinching. If you want a novel that makes you think while slowly crushing your soul, this is it.

5. “In These Hallowed Halls” edited by Marie O’Regan & Paul Kane

⭐ 4.0/5

Tropes/Genre: Anthology, academic horror, intellectual obsession, rivalries

Description: This is a collection of dark academia short stories from authors like Olivie Blake and M. L. Rio. Each story offers a new angle on ambition, envy, and intellect gone wrong. The tone shifts from gothic to psychological horror, with academic tension throughout.

Review: Anthologies can be hit or miss, but this one has a few standout stories that really lean into the enemies to lovers dynamic. Not every piece is a banger, but if you want to dip into dark academia without committing to a full novel, it’s worth your time. It’s also a great sampler for discovering new authors in the genre.

6. “The Atlas Six” by Olivie Blake

⭐ 4.4/5

Tropes/Genre: Magical academia, morally gray characters, slow burn, enemies to lovers

Description: Six powerful magical candidates are recruited to a secret society that guards ancient knowledge. Only five will make it. Alliances shift constantly, and tension—both intellectual and romantic—runs high.

Review: This one’s polarizing. You’ll either love the pretentious characters and their constant philosophical bickering, or you’ll want to throw the book across the room. Personally, I was into it. The enemies to lovers arc builds slowly and adds to the push-pull dynamics that define the whole story. Give it a shot if you like magic, academia, and slightly insufferable geniuses.

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