DNF @ 2%. I was really excited for Fraternity, and the story seems promising, but I couldn't get past the first three pages, as the main character compared realizing he was gay to finding out you have cancer.

Thank you ABRAMS Kids, NetGalley, and Andy Mientus for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was the absolute perfect combination of the criteria for fantastic dark academia: magic, homoerotic subtext, and a prestigious school. The characters felt like real people. Talking and interacting with one another with what you would expect from prep school boys without feeling forced. The book also offered some insightful commentary about social issues during the nineties in a way that felt authentic from someone that has lived that experience and not just did research. The authenticity of the author's voice shone through in a way that kept the story entertaining and fast-paced. I yearn to reread this novel in the fall when it is published, for it radiates a perfect fall, back-to-school read.

The Craft, but make it gay.

This was certainly a book, and I did enjoy it minus a few minor issues. I loved the story, at least once it got going. The beginning of the book felt a little too cliche YA and it took a little longer than i would have liked to get into the black magic of it all, but once it did the book kicked into overdrive and didn't let go until it was over.

The writing style took a minute to get used to, but that's my only other small issue.

The characters are fantastic, the setting is great, and the use of the time period is amazing. I have and always will be a sucker for the 90s.

The book itself isn't really any kind of romance, which I was expecting because that's generally what I end up reading but it also wasn't billed as one so that's really just on me for an improper expectation.

Overall, this is a fantastic book once you get past the slightly slow beginning. Your mileage may vary though, and you could enjoy the routine beginning more than I did. I fully recommenced.

I absolutely devoured this book. It’s a queer dark academia with some sinister urban fantasy elements and queer history sprinkled in, and I loved it. Each of the characters are three dimensional and make mistakes like any teenager searching for a place to belong. I liked the idea that this book was ultimately written as an account but at times the breaking-the-fourth-wall bits (especially since they were more prevalent in the earliest chapters) were jarring enough to pull me out of the story slightly. However, once the plot got going I could hardly put it down.
The boys get wrapped up in the idea of holding power over their tormentors without giving much thought to the consequences that end up reaching further than they could have ever imagined. For anyone who has ever felt like they never quite belonged and seduced by the idea of power and yet still came out the other side, a little scratched up but more whole than before.

I'm a huge fan of dark academia and this book is the definition of it. This is a queer dark academia YA that is set in the early nineties and oh my goodness I ate this whole story up. I loved it the characters were interesting and the writing style was unique and I enjoyed it. When I first started this I did think it was a little slow but then all of a sudden everything just started happening left and right and I really enjoyed that aspect. I was going to read this in one sitting but then remembered I had to attend my mother's birthday party oops! Honestly, I was doing my best to enjoy celebrating with my family but I just wanted to finish the book and make sure that all my favorite characters would be okay. Overall this was a great read and I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.