Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - In These Hallowed Halls

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

This is a great way to find new authors, especially if you're a dark academia lover.

My favorite stories were:

Pythia by Olivie Blake
The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew
Phobos by Tori Bovalino
The Ravages by Layne Fargo

Content Warnings

daydreamsofbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

That being said, I had extremely high hopes for this but oh well.

• 1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg ⭐️⭐️⭐️

-A very basic student-teacher affair that has a twist of revenge. It is a prologue or first chapter, I believe, in the

author’s debut novel.

-Good, just not that special.

• Pythia by Olivie Blake ⭐️

-A very wordy sci-fi story about AI called Pythia that is unnaturally humane.

-Would be a very very trashy and boring Black Mirror episode. SO boring.

• Sabbatical by James Tate Hill ⭐️

-A professor finds himself involved in searching for another professor who’s been missing for years.

-Comically bad!

• The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

-Follows the mc who is haunted by a past tragic mistake and a misfortunate prophecy that involves meeting a bunny, a girl, or possibly both in one body, or is there more to it?

-For fans of surrealism; I personally loved it.

• X House by J. T. Ellison ⭐️⭐️💫

-A new professor joins a school in which murders have been occurring one after the other.

- The plot twist was good, but the story lacked depth and good build-up to the end. Lost potential..

• The Ravages by Layne Fargo ⭐️

-Sapphic relationship where one person is cheating and the other finds out and seeks revenge.

-Zero dark academia! It felt like a parody.

• Four Funerals by David Bell ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

-A professor blames himself for a school shooting that resulted in four funerals, which he attends.

-Very interesting discussion on the effect professors could have on students and the blurred lines between fiction and reality in the mind of writers.

• The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang ⭐️⭐️💫

-A student is obsessed with a relationship she believes is happening between a professor and a student.

-Fun read but very anticlimactic. Again, where is the dark academia?

• Weekend at Bertie’s by M. L. Rio ⭐️

-Two people find their colleague’s body at her home and plot stealing her money.

-Horrible. Horrifying. Terrible. Bad writing, bad plot, pointless narrative, and what exactly is dark academia about this?

-M. L. Rio’s novel If We Were Villains is amazing, though.

• The Professor of Ontography ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

-Best going into this one knowing nothing. Very spooky, intriguing, and heartbreaking.

• Phobos by Tori Bovalino ⭐️⭐️⭐️

-Secret society trials that get more and more horrific.

-Reminded me of The Secret History in its depiction of pretentiousness and academic privilege.

• Playing by Phoebe Wynne ⭐️

-A church organist suspects that the church’s elder people dying of accidents are actually being murdered.

-Very predictable, monotonous, and have I asked..Where is the dark academia??

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Mass/school shootings, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Classism

This is a “Dark Academia Anthology” with barely any proper dark academia. Because just because a story is set in a school/college or follows a professor or a student, doesn’t make it an automatic fit into the dark academia genre. That being said, I had extremely high hopes for this but oh well. • 1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg ⭐️⭐️⭐️ -A very basic student-teacher affair that has a twist of revenge. It is a prologue or first chapter, I believe, in the author’s debut novel. -Good, just not that special. • Pythia by Olivie Blake ⭐️ -A very wordy sci-fi story about AI called Pythia that is unnaturally humane. -Would be a very very trashy and boring Black Mirror episode. SO boring. • Sabbatical by James Tate Hill ⭐️ -A professor finds himself involved in searching for another professor who’s been missing for years. -Comically bad! • The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -Follows the mc who is haunted by a past tragic mistake and a misfortunate prophecy that involves meeting a bunny, a girl, or possibly both in one body, or is there more to it? -For fans of surrealism; I personally loved it. • X House by J. T. Ellison ⭐️⭐️💫 -A new professor joins a school in which murders have been occurring one after the other. - The plot twist was good, but the story lacked depth and good build-up to the end. Lost potential.. • The Ravages by Layne Fargo ⭐️ -Sapphic relationship where one person is cheating and the other finds out and seeks revenge. -Zero dark academia! It felt like a parody. • Four Funerals by David Bell ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 -A professor blames himself for a school shooting that resulted in four funerals, which he attends. -Very interesting discussion on the effect professors could have on students and the blurred lines between fiction and reality in the mind of writers. • The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang ⭐️⭐️💫 -A student is obsessed with a relationship she believes is happening between a professor and a student. -Fun read but very anticlimactic. Again, where is the dark academia? • Weekend at Bertie’s by M. L. Rio ⭐️ -Two people find their colleague’s body at her home and plot stealing her money. -Horrible. Horrifying. Terrible. Bad writing, bad plot, pointless narrative, and what exactly is dark academia about this? -M. L. Rio’s novel If We Were Villains is amazing, though. • The Professor of Ontography ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -Best going into this one knowing nothing. Very spooky, intriguing, and heartbreaking. • Phobos by Tori Bovalino ⭐️⭐️⭐️ -Secret society trials that get more and more horrific. -Reminded me of The Secret History in its depiction of pretentiousness and academic privilege. • Playing by Phoebe Wynne ⭐️ -A church organist suspects that the church’s elder people dying of accidents are actually being murdered. -Very predictable, monotonous, and have I asked..Where is the dark academia??

macliffe's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The only story I really loved was The Haré and The Hound, which had some really interesting psychology and a satisfying ending that left my mind racing. The Unknowable Pleasures, The Professor of Ontogeaphy, and Playing were also pretty satisfying explorations of obsession. Sabbatical and Four Funerals felt like they could have been good but we’re underdeveloped. X House freaked me out. The other stories I skimmed. With the amount of skimming that I did, I felt like I couldn’t give this anthology a high rating even if I liked certain stories more than a 2/5.

Content Warnings

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