This world was so much fun to be in. I relate to this FMC in many ways and I enjoyed going on this journey with her. Dark academia is one of my favorite tropes and with this book it was done right ! Alexis Henderson is now one of my auto-read authors.

A perfect book for fall with spooky school vibes. I liked a lot about this book. It's very atmospheric, and the writing is beautiful. The magic system of Persuasion is really interesting (if a bit terrifying). There are aspects that felt tied together wonderfully and some aspects that kind of fell apart. I wish the friendships would have been a little more fleshed out.

Read the content warnings! I didn't love the student/professor relationship, even though it made sense with Lennon's character, but I did like Dante a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

We need more of this dark and fresh take on magic/ability!
3.25 stars

I loved House of Hunger and quickly requested this book because I loved how the author wrote their last book.
However, the pacing of the story, I believe, was the downfall for this book in my eyes.
I was so intrigued in the magic/abilities of Lennon & the folks in this book. Like magic that is made of suggestion, slight of hand, perspective and persuasion was SUCH a cool and unique magic system. Such a fresh idea and it had such potential. But like I said, the pacing of how the story flowed was what hurt the story. I found myself 'checking out' for a certain amount of setup scenes because they were so long.

It's sad that the pacing hurt this book as it really had almost everything and I think it would have been a 4 star or 4.5 without that issue.

🪴Mysterious and exclusive school of magic. New found abilities. Persuasion. Morally grey. This book offered the goods of a dark academia.✨

I didn't enjoy this book (didn't even finish it), but I think there are plenty of people who will. My biggest issue was that the beginning of the book is supposedly set in Denver but, as someone from Colorado, it didn't sound like the author was at all familiar with the area. It was hard to take it seriously when I couldn't past the setting issues.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy dark academia but this book misses the charm of it by a mile, I fear. The school felt very paint by numbers, so did the secret society. So did the forbidden love interest. The main character is not compelling enough to compensate for the rest. This felt like a university story, which it is, but it lacked the charm needed to make it memorable for me. Alcohol and ill-advised sex do not a new adult novel make.

Three stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This book offers a captivating story grounded in reality with elements of fantasy to spark the imagination. The characters are relatable and well-rounded, making their journeys feel genuine and meaningful. The magical elements add depth without overshadowing the emotional core. The writing is clear and engaging, creating a world that feels both familiar and a little extraordinary. It’s a thoughtful read that gently blends everyday life with a touch of wonder.

This was one of my first introductions to horror in a book, not to mention a fantasy book. Which might be one of my new favorite combos. This book was addictive from the first page. There were so many twists and turns I was eager for more. I loved the romance and the morally grey characters. This book had almost everything I loved and is the perfect read for entering into the fall season

An atmospheric, dark academia book. The atmosphere, the setting and the world building were done really well. Unfortunately I did not connect with a single character and felt the depth was missing.. I never found myself rooting for our MC or any of the other side characters. The pacing was also a bit slow for me until about the 75% mark.

I can definitely see why Henderson & this book is a favorite of many readers. While this one didn't quite connect with me I think I would still be interested in reading more from this author in the future.

An Academy for Liars was like nothing I've ever read before. I would've liked to see more of the journey the students took to understand their superpowers or capabilities, but overall I enjoyed this unique gothic urban fantasy!

With such a unique premise, I knew this was going to be a fun read, and I wasn't disappointed! It feels rare to get a dark academia book that delves into the fantasy realm while still having adult characters. I was delighted that this story was packed with morally grey characters, including the protagonist, and world-building that didn't feel too soft or pandering. I loved the southern setting, the diverse cast, and the ins and outs of the magic system that were laid out. I think my one minor gripe is that I wish this would have been a duology. It would have been nice to explore some of the plot-lines and relationships a bit more than a standalone really had room to. But as usual, I loved Alexis Henderson's writing and creativity!

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.