3.5 stars When Cal (Calixte Ware) gets into Essex, a north-eastern prep school, on scholarship as a sophomore transfer, he finds that it isn't easy to find friends when you're from Mississippi and poor. This desperation drives him into rushing a secret society and into a relationship with a fellow rushee, Luke, even though he knows they both have their own damage and secrets.

Although I appreciate a good dark academia novel and felt like the end was really good, I found the middle dragged slightly. However, I liked Cal even with his damage (maybe because the reader is in his head), and rooted for him even when he made dumb choices (but didn't we all as teenagers?). The epilogue left me with a bittersweet feeling.

A Darker Mischief by Derek Milman is a dark academia thriller about a queer boy (Cal) from a small town in Mississippi who has been sent to a boarding school full of secrets.

First off, the setting for this was immaculate! I really felt transported to this creepy private school with its long halls and dark windows. It was giving The Skulls vibes (reference for any of you 90s kids).

I found Cal to be a great MC. I loved the representation of his disability. It didn’t feel gratuitous and felt very authentic. What didn’t feel so authentic was the immediate love story. I could have gone with some more back and forth. The writing feels EXTREMELY YA, and I know it’s YA, but that took me out of the story a bit.

Overall I enjoyed the book. If you like dark vibes and YA is your safe place - this is the book for you!

Thank you NetGalley and Scholastic Press for the digital ARC!

I heard queer, thriller, and dark academia and I knew I needed to read this book ASAP. This is exactly what I wanted it to be. I loved the setting, the characters were interesting, and I was incredibly suspicious throughout my reading. I found I absolutely could not put this down until I had finished. I will absolutely be recommending this to people!

This was a thrilling, queer dark academia novel, full of self discovery. Cal is from Mississippi and there is a lot about him that doesn’t fit in in his new school. His accent, his clothes— oddly enough, the one thing that’s fine is that he’s queer, which doesn’t help him back at home in the South. He’s itching to find a place he belongs, which is when he starts to notice “eyes” around campus, specifically the abandoned parts, and finds himself going through “rush” for a secret society. He meets Luke, who comes from a troubled past and can best just be described as “a lot”. He’s also rushing to society, and they both get in. Luke is also queer and they have almost an insta love, but it’s tainted by all the red flags and toxic behavior and secrecy that Luke exhibits. A lot of that secrecy has to do with the society, because even when you’re in, there’s stuff not everyone knows, and the society’s secrets grow even darker the further Cal dives into his research of their past. As much as Luke messes up, Cal keeps taking him back, the way one does with their toxic first love, but he does end up learning a lot about himself and freeing himself. I loved the confidence arc he had in the book as well.
Also, Mr Milman, I have questions about that ending!!!

Thank you TBR and Beyond Tours for sending me a review copy of this amazing book! Definitely recommend for any dark academia lovers out there.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

A Darker Mischief follows Cal Ware, a queer teen whose efforts to join a secret society at his new posh boarding school ensnare him into a twisted, dark game where everything he holds dear is at risk.

A Darker Mischief didn't give dark academia the way I hoped, but it did certainly give dark. The stuff these boys got entangled in was wild, and it was a fun time watching everything spiral out of control. There were some choices that were absolutely insane, especially the connections of some of the members of the secret society. A lot of these choices made this book feel incredibly original and interesting, and some of them made me question whether I really wanted to keep reading. All said, though, I did ultimately enjoy myself, and I'll certainly pick up another Derek Milman book in the future.

I really enjoyed this book! It kept my attention the entire time. This was a new to me author and I really enjoyed the writing

A Darker Mischief is a queer dark academia novel about a teenage boy from the middle of nowhere just trying to fit in at his new boarding school. As the other students continue to mock him for his southern accent and his "poor" clothing, Cal realizes he won't ever belong. Just as he's resigning himself to his fate, he discovers a secret society behind the scenes, and he wants in. Along the way, he starts to fall for an artist in his year who's determined to prove himself. Not everything is as it seems, however, and he must decide how far he's willing to go to be part of something bigger.
This book was very intriguing from the start. I've always loved dark academia, but I haven't read much in that genre. After this, I definitely need to pick up some more. The twists and turns kept me interested, and I was as determined as Cal was to find the answers.
Luke and Cal's relationship was complicated. They tried so hard to hold onto each other, even in the midst of secrets and lies. Their time together was as much about them as it was the secrets they held. It was impossible to separate their love and their duties.
I really enjoyed puzzling out how I thought things would go, and while I managed to solve a few things, the end still managed to take me by surprise! I'd definitely read this author again.

3.5
This was an interesting read and different than a lot of what I’ve read before. While I was intrigued for most of the book, I also felt confused for most of it too. I felt that this went beyond the regular “air of mystery” that I should have been feeling, which made me feel disjointed from the story.
It was still an enjoyable read, but I wish I moved through it more seamlessly

I will admit up front that I was not the intended audience for this book. I do love LGBTQ YA and LGBTQ romance but this book was way too dark; with no characters that I cared about; lots of violence and other extremely bad stuff happening to kids in high school; a depressing ending where no one really learns anything, and finally a plot that made me keep going "hunh?"

The setting is bizarre--what private school has that many Halls and SO many buildings that are either abandoned or in disrepair? Even the "hero's" name: Calixte (means "cup"), but why on a boy from a stereotyped Mississippi small town? How does Cal get all As when he hardly ever studies? Cal's motivation in the climactic scene with Luke in the tunnel made no sense to me--and the violence did not end there! The epilogue is kind of snarky/sweet but seems tacked on to try to make some sense of what went before. The book was like a car crash but, without having to write this review, I would have easily turned away from it.

The writing is middling for LGBTQ YA--there are odd jumps in time--the author seems to want to rush through some things yet we spend endless time and detail on the "explos." Kind of just one bad thing after another instead of an actual plot. An unpleasant book in my view but others may love it.

3.5 stars rounded up. This book grabbed my attention right away, held it for awhile, lost it a bit, and then went totally off the rails at the end.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the way everything played out. The premise sounded like a lot of fun - a queer dark academia tale featuring a secret society. And it was at times. The characters were shady in an entertaining way. They were also frustrating. I feel like the story would've worked better if they were at least a year older. I didn't really like the main relationship either, especially the instalove part of it.

That said, this was definitely an interesting read that left me reeling in the end.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF at 60%. I was hoping to enjoy this book, but I just did not like any of the characters and the story did not hold my interest. I’m interested in reading this author’s other books, but this book was not for me.

I love a good secret society at a private boarding school. This dark academic setting is wonderfully realized, and I loved watching the depths the main character would sink to in order to gain access to the society and wield that power. At times, I did feel like the voices of some of the characters were pretty similar, but those were small moments. I just had a lot of fun with this one, all the lies and the secrets and the culty vibes. Also, the cover is absolutely stunning!

This is an intriguing story of a secret society at a private boarding school and how far our MC will go to gain access to the society and the influence it can provide him. The dark academia setting is wonderful and the unveiled secrets about the characters and the society are fascinating.

This book is definitely written for teenagers and felt a bit juvenile at times. The dialogue was odd at certain points and it could be confusing who was talking sometimes, but the story was compelling enough for me to push past that.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to Scholastic Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Book Review


Title: A Darker Mischief by Derek Milman


Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Dark Academia


Rating: 4.25 Stars


I have read from Derek Milman before when I picked up Swipe Right for Murder which I adored despite the slow start. one thing to note before I get into my review is that I love how Milman’s characters are queer, but his books aren’t about their queerness, it is simply a part of the character themselves which was the case in Swipe Right and this book. While Swipe Right was more of a murder mystery, this falls more into dark academic which is something I really enjoy when it is done right.




Our protagonist, Cal Ware has been sent to Essex Academy as a punishment for things he has been getting up to prior to the beginning of the story. At the school he gets into all sorts of mischief and gets tied up in the school’s secret society and the mysterious Luke. Cal also has a disability as he only has one eye after he was the victim of an acid attack and because of this has a glass eye. While i can’t speak to the accuracy of the representation, I was glad that Milman was choosing to represent an issue that is ongoing in society and often happens for petty reasons such as a jealous lover or ex as was the case with Cal.


Cal was an interesting character because he goes from small town misfit to essentially a prep school boy but he doesn’t fit in because of his economic-social status compared to the other students. I adored how Milman expresses Cal’s struggles with identity in various forms and what it means to truly belong somewhere, making him a very relatable character since we have all struggled with things like this in our lives. In Milman’s classic style he crafts a narrative that is full of twists and turns, almost to the point you lose track of what is going on and with who, but he brings it to starling clarity in the end.


Another point for this book would be the atmosphere as it really captures that almost gothic feel of boarding school and secret societies and we see this from the very beginning to the thrilling climax of the book. The integration of the secret society into the fabric of the story felt seamless, adding layers of intrigue to an already captivating narrative. Despite this one issue I had was that the dialogue was sometimes a little off, feeling unrealistic and sometimes disjointed to the point it broke the immersion of the story for me.


Overall, A Darker Mischief was an intriguing and captivating story that sucks you in from the very first page. It pulls you into a world filled with secrets, lies, intrigue and so much more. if you’re a fan of dark academia and secret societies then definitely give this one a try, especially if you are a fan of authors who don’t take their stories too seriously.

If ypu like dark academia and YA mysteries i think you will really enjoy this one. Easy and fast to read.

A DARKER MISCHIEF by Derek Milman is a dark academia thriller with a twisted romantic subplot. The concept is strong with the boarding school's secret society, which may or may not have a dark side, and an outsider with a lot of trauma who will do anything to be part of it. The twists, turns, and reveals compel a certain amount of page turning, and some passages and one-liners feel inspired and original. However, the elements of the book never quite cohere, and the first person narrator feels too distant. Plausibility is also severely lacking.

I’ll be honest: I just didn’t vibe with this book. It’s got all of those genuine dark academia vibes I love (not just in aesthetics!), which made for a compelling and entertaining plot, but I wasn’t vibing with most of the characters and got the ick a few times while reading, which affected my enjoyment of the story as whole.

I’d love to say that I have a whole lot to say about this book, but I don’t. If the plot had been any less compelling or entertaining, or the dark academia vibes had been any less on point, I’d have DNFd this book. The fact remains that I kept reading it because the vibes were there and I was entertained enough that I found the book to be an average read by the end.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review is rated three stars or below, so it will not appear on my social media. Thank you.

File Under: YA Fiction/YA LGBTQ Romance/YA Thriller

The premise is intriguing. A young man with a shadowy past at an elite boarding school seeking a place in a secretive club. But it’s kind of boring. The pacing isn’t great and I just don’t know enough about the characters to care about them.

This book might strike a chord with someone but it’s not for me.

A DARKER MISCHIEF is a queer YA thriller that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. cal ware, a transfer student at a new england boarding school, is hoping to leave the skeletons in his closet back home in mississippi. when he stumbles upon a secret society lurking in the shadows of his school, he fixates on getting in and using it as a chance to reinvent himself and gain respect among his classmates. but the deeper he gets, the more he discovers that the society is a lot riskier and more nefarious than he ever imagined it would be.

i don't frequently read thrillers so i'm not the type to be guessing plot twists or predicting what's coming, so take my words with a grain of salt. but i was really hooked to the story crafted by milman and i finished the book in one sitting because i absolutely needed to know what was going to happen next! i don't want to say anything too specific and give anything away, but i loved this book and definitely recommend it!

read if you like:
- dark academia
- life and death brigade (but make it dark)
- morally grey teenagers

thanks to netgalley and scholastic for the advanced copy! A DARKER MISCHIEF comes out july 2.

Wow. Definitely a lot going on here.

So, the good: quick moving, lots of action, and fairly varied rep (queer characters, disabled characters, BIPOC characters). I'm not positive if we are supposed to think the main romance subplot is toxic but if so, that was really well done with how unhealthy it is at every step along the way. It highlighted the deep insecurities of the main character and how he keeps coming back to men who treat him like an afterthought or a secret or just a convenient option. Cal generally made a decent protagonist and I liked how the book went into how isolated he felt among the wealthy elite at his school.

The not so good: So much of the writing and dialogue was very cringy. The use of nicknames between Cal and Luke was a little irritating but the insults were worse. At one point the text described a character tapping an exclamation mark reaction to a text message and it just felt so weird in context. There were a bunch of scenes were I kept asking myself, "why is this happening?? has any human ever acted or spoken like this before?" The plot itself is completely unhinged. I think if you need a book to be at least a little plausible, this isn't it, but if you are okay with just wild twists and turns for the sake of edginess, you might enjoy this. The secret society was particularly confusing to me. It was hard to wrap their actual purpose around their actions, to reconcile the focus on architecture with their purpose. Most of the facts and info about the various buildings and alumni don't really come into play later in the book so I don't know what the point of it was.

I think someone would enjoy this book; probably someone who really values a shocking thriller with lots of twists and turns.