“There once was a girl whose heart was much too big, much too broken, so she dug within the garden of her ribs and ripped it right out."

House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt completely stole mine. I finished this book in one sitting and could not put it down for a second. The vibes? Immaculate. Think Alice in Wonderland meets dark academia, wrapped in murder-mystery chills, and a romance worth losing your heart to.

This story has everything I crave in a read: a haunted boarding school, a secret society, a chilling curse, and characters that practically breathe on the page. Every detail, from the aesthetic to the eerie backstory, was so well done and so well thought out.

Dark, lyrical, and hauntingly beautiful—House of Hearts is the kind of story that lingers like a ghost.

📚 Releases: September 2, 2025 — definitely one to add to your TBR!

Huge thank you to the author Skyla Arndt, Penguin Teen, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! ❤️

I read Together We Rot by this author and was so intrigued by the plot and writing style, so I was super excited when I received an ARC of House of Hearts.

This book is comparable to Boys With Sharp Teeth, a YA version of Nocticadia, and a YA version of Gothikana. I absolutely love all three of those books, so it should be no surprise that I loved House of Hearts.

There’s forbidden romance, a murder mystery, a masquerade, and dark academic vibes galore. If any of this sounds intriguing to you, I would absolutely check this one out!

It almost felt like of Crimson Peak and Sleeping Beauty had a baby.

Thank you very much to Penguin Young Reader’s Group and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by the manner in which I received it.

She may be a short book but she is mighty.

There are a few dark academia-type stories coming out this year that start with a girl going to a school to get revenge for the death of a loved one, but I'm already declaring this one as my favourite. I'm so impressed by how much story was packed into less than 300 pages. I was absolutely riveted from the very start. The characters are fabulous with Violet having such a strong and at times humorous voice. The secret society, the mystery of the death, the moments of horror and romance, the bloody curse that looms over everything—all of it was so well done and absolutely captivating.

Thank you to the author for the early copy!

Thank you Skyla Arndt and Netgalley for giving me an arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

The premise is Violet's best friend was murdered and to find the killer Violet enrolls into a boarding school. There is a secret society called the Cards and they may have the answers to who murdered her best friend. Her prime suspect's brother Calvin is devilishly handsome and his family his hiding secrets that might be the clues to figuring out the murder of her best friend.

This book was definitely not my cup of tea. I think it might be my age/stage in life. The writing reminds me of the books I enjoyed in high school. It seems very simple. It reminds me of the writing from Twilight. Like many YA novels the mother of Violet is completely clueless/useless. I feel that nothing originally was in this book. Everything was done before and has been done better. If I was younger or have read less novels, I believe I would have liked it. I do read and enjoy YA novels. This fell very flat, I feel it was trying to cash in on a lot of the popular tropes in booktok without any artistry.

Girl goes to a new school, and tries to solve a murder without any expertise in the matter. Tells her mom she is fine, even though she has had near death experience. Mother goes with it. Falls in love with a misunderstood bad boy with secrets. Predictable ending.

Please just pass on this book and find something better to read. Don't waste you precious time in life on this.

This was so good! Twisty and spooky, with a few unexpected moments that had me surprised in the best way. Also a really lovely look at grief and how difficult losing someone is. But balanced with banter and a bit of romance and curses.

A huge thank you to Skyla for this ARC!
What an absolutely beautiful story. It’s filled with a lot of mystery, lore, love, and adventure. I really loved Violet as a character; she was so determined and bold in everything that was put before her. She didn’t let the other kids at school deter her; was a true friend for figuring out what happened to her best friend. Skyla described everything in such an encompassing way and it felt like actually being right here with the characters. Just a wonderful story!

This book has haunted me ever since I first found out about it (in a good way) and it paid off amazingly! I loved the romance subplot and the twists and turns were totally unexpected! The book did not go in the direction I thought it would and it BLEW my mind! Skyla Arndt is an instant auto-buy author from now on!

𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐈'𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐚."

𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 288
𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: skyla arndt
𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: penguin teen us
𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: 02/09/2026

House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt is a romantic dark academia murder mystery, with a tinge of romance, elements like ghostly horror lurking everywhere wrapped in the dark gothic vibes with inspiration drawn from Alice in Wonderland.

Violet Harper is a very compelling and relatable character. Her strong-willed mind which drew her to Hart Academy for seeking revenge for her best friend showed how far she would go for her loved ones. She's a reasonably relatable character with her realistic reactions to the Academy and its students, and the choices she makes in the way for seeking justice. She's a very intelligent character who is able to see things that are usually dismissed or unnoticed.

Calvin Lockwell is cunning and handsome whose eyes are at Violet. Behind that facade hides a boy who has been living with the struggles of the middle child, the 'spare'. There's so much hiding behind his facade that when revealed, made me cry so much. He deserved so much better from the world and his family.

The writing style is very compelling. The prose was making me read without taking a break and had me hooked from the very beginning. I was kept on my toes from the very beginning of this book, from the mysterious academy, the haunting ghosts, the secret society, the characters and the thrilling secrets hiding behind the walls. The initiation, the ghostly masquerade ball, the thrilling mystery and family curse had me gripped to the narrative. The hilarious banter, the found family and enemies to lovers romance made the pages fly by as I was reading, the characters showing how love, courage, sacrifice and unleashing a pint of madness would save them. The gothic and whimsical vibes of Alice in Wonderland --- especially The Cards had me squealing from excitement at these elements! This book had me on the edge of my seat and on the tethering edge and successfully gave me peace in the end.

If you're in a mood for an Alice in Wonderland inspired Dark Academia novel with a soulmate curse, secret society and ghostly masquerade ball, this is the perfect read!

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 '𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬', 𝐒𝐤𝐲𝐥𝐚'𝐬 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬.

Thank you to Skyla for the Arc. This review is strictly my own opinion.

I loved this. It was such a fun ride through 90s nostalgia and elements of Alice in Wonderland.

5⭐

Thank you Skyla Arndt and Penguin Teen for the ARC!

House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt is a romantic gothic murder mystery, with elements of ghostly horror, wrapped in the vibes of a dark academia Alice in Wonderland.

I'm so impressed by how much story was packed into less than 300 pages. I was absolutely riveted from the very start!

This story kept me on my toes. From the hauntings that made the hairs on my neck raise, to the connection between the main characters, this read kept you guessing until the very last page.

Overall, it's a fun read with a haunting backdrop for YA readers to enjoy dark academia.

“𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘸𝘯.”

At Hart Academy, it’s important to guard your heart… in more ways than one.

House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt is a romantic gothic murder mystery, with elements of ghostly horror, wrapped in the vibes of a dark academia Alice in Wonderland.

Fall down the rabbit hole with Violet Harper as she attempts to solve the murder for her best friend- without losing her head (or her heart) in the process.

With a compelling mystery, witty banter, and a captivating romantic curse, House of Hearts has already cemented itself as one of my favourite reads of the year!

“𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.”
“𝘞𝘩𝘺?” 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱.
“𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

♥️ Secret Society
♣️ Masquerade (with a Ghostly Visitor)
♦️ Alice in Wonderland x Sleeping Beauty Vibes
♠️ Haunted Elite Boarding School for Rich Kids
♥️ Forbidden Romance
♣️ Soulmate Curse
♦️ Haunted Labyrinth
♠️ Gothic Architecture & A Spooky Tower
♥️ Dark Academia Murder Mystery
♣️ Tough & Stubborn FMC

“𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘺. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦.”

This book will haunt me (positive) because I finished it a day ago and I can't stop thinking about it. The characters are near and dear to my heart, and despite the terror that this school would instill in me, I envy that Hart Academy lives only on the pages of this book. Absolutely loved every page of this book and I can't wait to buy my physical copy!!

I love everything about this. The aesthetic, the characters, the plot, and the backstory. All well done and thought out. There's A secret society, a curse, a haunted boarding school, and mysterious characters.

have not read yet, as the formatting is a bit jarring and chapters are not clear/cohesive throughout the ebook! i would still love to pick up this book 💫