At the beginning of this book, I thought I liked the story, the school setting, and our main character Lennon. By the ending, I didn’t like this book, the setting, Lennon, or even how it ended.

I like the idea of studying at an academy of persuasion and illusions where students create mind elevators to take them to other times and spaces. What I didn’t like in the beginning was how Lennon first learns about the school and gets there; it was too contrived. It felt like the author was trying to a pull a Harry Potter “yer a wizard, Harry” moment with the invitation to the school, but it didn’t work here. Lennon was far too believing than was realistic, and she drove eight hours overnight at the drop of a hat to attend an interview for a school she’d never even applied to or heard about. But once she got to the school, I liked the story from there . . . until about the 70% mark.

Other than Lennon and Dante, none of the characters are developed very thoroughly and felt like only cardboard cutouts instead of real people. But the problem is that I didn’t like either Lennon or Dante. They are both violent and morally bad people, and I just didn’t enjoy reading about either of them.

I think this book has a lower average rating not necessarily because it’s bad, but because it doesn’t have that wow factor. It’s a good idea at its core, but the story bogged down by unlikeable characters and a forgettable plot and an unsatisfying ending. Whenever I picked this book back up, I had genuinely forgotten what I had read just the day prior; it didn’t stick in my mind at all because it was just so bland. I thought about DNFing multiple times but I wasn’t outright hating the book so I continued. The ending has an interesting twist, but that doesn’t make up for the rest of the book. Overall, this story was not worth the read and I wouldn’t recommend it.

I’ve been interested in reading all of the author’s books, but after this one, I don’t know if I want to check out the others anymore, unfortunately.

4.5 stars

This book was amazing. Such a unique story and the ending was perfection.

The true definition of dark academia. Secrecy, mystery, and magic made this book an amazing combination.

This book hit it out of the park and there were missteps or pieces that didn’t fit, but I had an amazing time reading it and couldn’t put it down. I needed to know what happened next.

*Thank you so much Ace for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Truly adored this! It was giving mystery/thriller meets dark academia/fantasy vibes and I looooove the themes or ethics, control, freedom, grief, power, and persuasion. I’d read more from this author!

I love dark academia but unsure how I felt about An Academy of Liars.
I kept changing my rating to 3 to 4 to 3.

Personally I like the magic system and that the school in the story is built on and practices the power of persuasion. Lennon was recruited to Drayton College after her life fell apart and realized she held the power to be the gatekeeper to keep the school operating.

I think my biggest issue with the book was the back and forth attitude from the faculty of the school towards Lennon, it didn't quite add up to the end of the story.
The power of the persuasion was a bit underdeveloped when it comes to its effect to the people outside of the school too.

I found the ending a bit confusing too, like it was trying to come up with a happy ending but did not quite made sense to me.

I think An Academy for Liars definitely had potential to be a fun dark academia but it wasn't quite there for me.

An academy hidden from public view in the middle of a city close to my heart (and location). Undisclosed secrets and something always seemingly just out of reach, beyond explanation, not quite correct, even when answers are given. A thought-provoking and equally frustrating read for this reason.

Thank you Alexis Henderson and Berkley Publishing Grouo for the galley. All options are my own.

I went into this book more or less blind - I really only know it was dark academia. I highly suggest that approach, because I felt like I was discovering the world of Drayton alongside Lennon. This book was spooky, unsettling, and dense, only in the best kind of way. Truly a great example of dark academia.

The book follows Lennon as she’s swept from her hollow existence into a world of persuasion, an ability she didn’t know she had, under the tutelage of austere faculty - none more so than her handsome advisor, Dante. The descriptions and prose in this book are atmospheric, almost dreamlike, and super fun to read. It helps reaffirm the distance Lennon seems to feel from much of what’s going on around (and to) her. The romance subplot was nice, if not particularly rewarding, and I felt just as confused and unsure of who to trust as Lennon did.

Lennon, to me, is not a particularly likable character, and that was the beauty of this book. The third person narrative served as the window through which I watched Lennon make terrible, naive choices and often become a victim of her own circumstances and poor judgment of character. I loved that. I loved rooting for her despite her rather because of her.

I’d recommend to this to adult fans of the Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novak, R. F. Kuang fans, and Get Out enthusiasts.

While I loved other Alexis Henderson books, I fear this one was not for me. I did like the beginning and the atmosphere and foundational storytelling, but as the story went on, I found it engaging in both typical dark academia tropes as well as overall heteronormative tropes that I found disappointing. The intrigue and setting of the story were both very good, as was the writing, but ultimately this one was not for me.

I did not expect this to be as dark and emotional as it was. I picked this up because of the dark academia theme, and I loved that setting. As Lennon explores this new world, we uncover the mysteries of the academy alongside her. It was refreshing to have an adult in the dark academia setting, which allowed Henderson to explore darker themes throughout the book. Towards the end, I found myself fully invested in the main characters, and emotionally wrecked.

Alexis Henderson the hold you have over me. I realize this is not a style for everyone. Consistently unreliable narrators, unresolved plots, and endings that make me so angry that I want to give it zero stars but than in can’t stop thinking about it and give it 5.

A very different dark academia. Murders. Ethics. Magic. Having no idea what people think because of the emotional whiplash of the narrator. Honestly I’m still not really sure what happened by the end

I really loved the concept of the school, the magic/power and the commentary all of it was trying to tell. I was shocked by the romance and was expecting her to have a thing with her roommate, not the person she did. These endings kill me.

Review: An Academy for Liars
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Author: Alexis Henderson
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Gothic Speculative Thriller / Dark Academia
Format: ARC (NetGalley)

Alexis Henderson has done it again—crafted a story that is as sharp as it is shadowy, and just as concerned with secrets as it is with survival. An Academy for Liars is a fierce and haunting descent into the heart of a broken girl and a broken system, set in a school that feels more like a trap than a refuge.

The novel follows Sunday Ahlefeld, a girl who doesn’t lie so much as she breathes it. Sent to a secluded school on an island meant to reform girls like her, Sunday quickly learns that truth and deception are both currency and curse. This isn’t your typical boarding school tale—think more Shutter Island meets The Girls Are All So Nice Here, wrapped in gothic velvet and soaked in dread.

From the very first page, Henderson draws you into Sunday’s psyche with a voice that’s whip-smart, acidic, and heartbreakingly raw. The prose is lush but never overindulgent—every sentence feels intentional, layered with meaning. The school itself is a character: claustrophobic, secretive, and filled with the kind of women society would rather hide away. And then there’s the speculative thread, a slow-burn creep of something unnatural curling beneath the narrative—haunting, unexplainable, and entirely earned.

What truly sets this book apart is how Henderson explores the idea of “truth” as both weapon and wound. The girls aren’t rehabilitated—they’re studied, pushed, and pitted against one another. Every relationship is tinged with mistrust, every kindness a possible trap. It’s a novel about performance, identity, power, and who gets to control the narrative.

And let’s talk about the twists: deliciously subtle at first, then gut-punching when they land. I had to reread entire sections just to savor how deftly Henderson planted the clues. By the end, I didn’t just want to hug the book—I wanted to scream about it, annotate every line, and shove it into the hands of every reader who’s ever loved a flawed, feral girl.

Final Thoughts:
An Academy for Liars is wicked, thoughtful, and entirely addictive. I couldn’t look away, even when it hurt. Alexis Henderson continues to carve space where speculative horror, feminism, and Black girl rage collide—and this may be her most quietly devastating work yet.

Highly recommend for fans of The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass, The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson, or Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker—stories that explore systems of control, secrets that rot beneath the surface, and young protagonists who refuse to play by the rules.

I'm beginning to wonder whether I like dark academia, or whether the stories coming out rely too heavily on unanswered questions and loose plot threads to maintain their "mysterious" vibes. I had a pleasant time reading this book, but overall, I found the questions I still had at the end and the character development did not leave the impression this book seems to be trying to leave.

An Academy of Liars is a captivating dark academia book that had a lot of potential. The first half. of the book was really intriguing with some great world building. The second half of the book was messy, slow and hard to follow. The wasn't a lot of character development which made it hard to connect with Lennon and others at Drayton College. The concept of the university was very interesting and I really enjoyed the magical elements of the story. Overall this was an interesting read, I was just hoping for a little bit more.

i absolutely adored the vibes of this book, however, the plot and characters left something to be desired. i felt there was many threads left untied at the end, and not in an intriguing way, more like there were too many plot threads for a standalone, and things were just dropped along the way.

Thanks to Berkley for the gifted copy of this book!

An Academy for Liars is dark academia, but with a lot of darker horror elements. Taking place at a secret college, this was a fun setting for this read and I loved how the magic system worked with all the students with gifts. This was a super entertaining and great fall read!

Thanks to the publisher for the e-copy.

I really wanted to like this book, since I've enjoyed other books by this author. I didn't NOT like it...but I had to put it down and read something else several times before skimming through to the end. Maybe it was the time of year I read it, or my mood, I'm not sure.

I did enjoy the dark academia and magical realism aspects. There's a lot of world building, and it wasn't seemless for me like it has been in other books similar to this genre. Also, the whole persuasion thing kinda weirded me out a bit. There was also the issue of finding the characters, especially Lennon, fairly unlikable. Their ages were a bit strange too - why are they all going to college in their mid/late 20s?

There are definitely people that will love this book, but it just didn't work for me. I will still read the next book by this author!

3 stars because I finished it, the concept was great, and I do love dark academia - and I think it will be liked by the right audience.

This was my first Alexis Henderson book and I am so disappointed that I have picked her up before. This book is for the morally gray character lovers. There is not a single character in this book without blood on their hands (maybe just the rat). I adored how messy and raw these people her. I wanted to shake their shoulders and scream at them for their stupidity. At no point during this book did I know where we were or going. It was turn after turn after turn. The ground never felt solid beneath my feet. This world and magic system were nonsense and intricate as hell. I still have no idea how any of it works and I don't mind one bit.

I don't typically find myself gravitating towards dark academia but this pleasantly surprised me. There were some aspects of the magic system that I found slightly underdeveloped/confusing and the idea of a student/teacher relationship makes me a little uneasy even if both parties are adults. Other than that, though, I truly enjoyed the pacing and plot of this book.

Alexis Henderson is quickly becoming one of my all time favorite authors. Each work turns a genre on its head.

This was one of the most unique dark academia books I have read. It pulls you in from the beginning and I couldn't put it down. I ended up rereading it again shortly after I finished because I couldn't stop thinking about it once I was done.

I think the idea of a secret school and a magic system that could be used and manipulated without being seen or noticed was so interesting. I loved the writing and felt so immersed and drawn into the main characters growth and education.

I'm a big hit and miss with dark academia as of late, but I'm pleased to say this was a hit. It was an interesting dive into the idea of free will and the power of persuasion with some deeply flawed characters. Secrets, murders, and a backdrop of magic. There were also mystical elevators, which admittedly made me a little confused at times, but I enjoyed what it added to the story. The ending was also really satisfying and I like where the characters all ended up. I confess that I prefer Henderson's horror novels to this, but I'm still very much a fan and look forward to what comes next!