I flew through this in a few hours, it was so enjoyable! The plot twists, the prose, everything about this book is amazing!

Dark and dangerous, this school is going to ruin her just like it did her friend. This was such a fun ride and I couldn't put it down.

House of Hearts follows Violet as she infiltrates the secret society at her best friend’s boarding school after she was murdered. Except, she’s the only one who thinks so—the school has labeled it a freak accident. But with cryptic messages and a whirlwind romance and the secret society, Violet is convinced. And at the center of the mystery is Calvin, brother of her friend’s boyfriend and her prime suspect. When she discovers haunting secrets and a deadly curse, Violet must resist her attraction to Calvin before its too late.

The vibes and atmosphere in this book were on point! The author created a haunting, gothic setting and had such gorgeous prose I felt so immersed in the school. I loved the concept of the curse and the secret society and loved the interludes of the diary entries and history. And the ghosts made everything so eerie and suspicious. It has a great ending that wraps everything up really well. This was my first book by this author and I’m very curious to read more from her!

It’s quite a short book—under 300 pages—and super easy to fly through. I would have preferred it to be a little longer to develop more of the relationships and mystery, but it was still an enjoyable read. I really loved how smart and clever Violet was, and how much she cared about her friend. It was really sweet and made her a very admirable main character. There’s also a lot of Alice in Wonderland vibes and I thoroughly enjoyed that!

Overall, if you like gothic dark academia with secret societies and ghosts, I’d definitely recommend checking this out.

Thank you to Penguin Group and Netgalley for the arc!

this was really enjoyable! i'm not typically a horror fan because i find everything too scary, but i am definitely a romance fan and a cursed family in love is always a winner. this wasn't really that scary which i loved, although there were some fun little ghost hauntings! Calvin and Violet were great leading characters and i loved the borderline dark academia setting of "creepy boarding school". my only complaint is that i wish the cast of side characters were more developed but still a super fun, unique group of people.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read the ARC!

I picked this one up on a whim and though it wasn’t perfect, I found it an enjoyable afternoon read.

✔ The vibes were great! Dark academia setting with ghosts and a haunted maze was an interesting premise and the story definitely delivered on utilizing the setting to add to the horror/mystery.
✔ I read this very very quickly - yes, it’s short and more on that later - but the plot also did a lot to keep things moving. Unlike other mystery/ghost stories, there wasn’t a “lull” in the middle of the story while the characters had to work on figuring things out.
✔ I loved the way grief is expressed in a lot of these characters. Grief is hard, family is hard, and these are teens struggling with those themes in a way that felt rather age-appropriate without being overdramatic (okay, maybe some dramatics, but given the ghosts it all felt rather reasonable).

✖ Though the pacing made the story fly by, I did think the whole thing could use an extra hundred pages, give or take. A lot of things felt underdeveloped or rushed near the end: the romance, relationships between Violet and her friends, the secret society, Percy/Em, the epilogue, etc. I think this story had a lot of really good ideas but I do with there was more to it. 288 pages didn’t really fill out as much of the story as I was hoping for.

3/5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was definitely shorter than what it needed to be.

One thing I praised Arndt in her debut was her writing, the way she crafted a spooky atmosphere and dialogue that brought a lot of life into the characters, and that same compliment applies here, too. Hart Academy and the maze had a lot of creepy moments and had a lot of moments that served for good tension.

But, again, Arndt seems to have a tendency to under develop her stories, not even scratching the 300 page mark. Between the best friend's death and the paranormal elements coming to light throughout the story, there was a lot going on with the mystery going on that was just rushed through way too quick. Mysteries are supposed to be things that take time and patience, and it really feels like Arndt is refusing to take either into consideration when writing.

The main romance is so meh. Again, the rushed pacing is a problem here. There's barely any time to get to truly know Violet and Calvin before they start making goo-goo eyes at each other, and I just didn't care for the melodrama they somehow developed in a short span of time. This was especially glaring when it came to the soulmate part of the plot. I won't say what it was exactly, but just know it practically came out of nowhere and just served to be the "exciting" climax. The side characters were certainly - there. Nothing too memorable, to be honest.

All in all, this was just okay. I don't know if I will continue reading any of Arndt's works in the future, but I do hope whatever she may write next will be over 300 pages.

Perfect teen book. A nice spooky read for when Fall rolls around. MC is a predictably good friend trying to find out what happened to her best friend that passed away and has a reasonably decent ML she falls for. The villain isn't who you'd expect, thanks to supernatural happenings. All in all an acceptable read.

House of Hearts, 4 stars!

The cover, ah, it’s always the covers that make me stop and this is another beautiful one! Props to the cover designer! HoH is a dark academia inspired, slightly enemies to lovers murder mystery with an intriguing eery story that has twists I didn’t fully see coming. Soulmate curses, spooky trials, mysterious masquerade parties, secret powerful societies, found family vibes, all set upon a beautiful Oxford-esque school setting. This book had all the vibes and plot of the dark academia mysteries I’ve been loving, but add in a paranormal twist that truly sets this apart! It was a quick fun read that had me guessing for awhile and while the FMC wasn’t my favorite, I loved the side characters and the curse aspect A LOT! I think this book would have benefitted from a few more chapters or a sequel since there were a few things that could have been expanded upon and explained a bit better. I also felt like the romance part, which was a big selling point, wasn’t written about enough. The characters have a lot of yearning and tension built up and then they just have a weirdly formal feeling conversation that they’re soulmates (this will make sense upon reading). SPOILER: I loved the actual curse and I wish we would have gotten more of her having to fight him off, and maybe more of the sisters getting a redemption/reunion? Overall, I really enjoyed it, I just think it needed to be longer! :) Excited to read the authors other book since I loved her voice!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC, all opinions are my own :)

Yay! I'm so excited I got to read this book early. I absolutely loved it! The vibes totally reminded me of Halloween, and I’ll definitely be rereading it in October.

This book hooked me right away with its dark atmosphere. Everything about it — the characters, the setting, and the mystery surrounding what’s happening at Hart Academy — completely drew me in. I loved going on this spooky adventure with Violet as she tried to uncover the truth about her murdered best friend.
Now onto the characters! Our fmc Violet Harper is strong, smart, and resilient. I loved how she didn’t back down from uncovering the truth, even if it meant going deep into a dark rabbit hole of secrets. Calvin Lockwell, our mmc, is grumpy and sarcastic. He totally reminded me of an orange cat . Brooding and flirty, but with a soft side that came out whenever he was with Violet. That contrast made their dynamic so enjoyable! I really liked how the plot unfolded through all the mysteries, steeped in dark academia vibes. The author's writing was beautifully imaginative, and I loved how the descriptions brought everything to life with a hauntingly vivid atmosphere!

Some things I loved:🫖🐇
🂱 Cursed boarding school
🂱 Forbidden romance

🂱 Haunted masquerade
🂱 Gothic murder mystery
🂱 Alice in Wonderland vibes but make it spooky


Thank you so much to Skyla Arndt for the advance copy and for having me as a member of The Cards street team, NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group!♥️

A fun, classic feeling supernatural YA, with all the enjoyable hallmarks of mystery, romance, boarding school, and a sinister presence lurking beyond it all.

I loooove the premise of this and I think Skyla writes gothic vibes very well. The first 20% of this book made me very excited for what’s to come: the private school, the secrets, the prestigious family, the secrets? Sign me up!! However the character development just wasn’t there to bring this book through to the finish line. This is better than her debut though so I think I’ll keep up with this author. I have faith that she’s only going to get better and better! However this one didn’t have the relationship progression to go the distance

🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤
"𝑀𝑜𝓂 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒸𝑒, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒫𝑒𝓇𝒸𝓎, 𝐼 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝒸𝒶𝓃'𝓉 𝒷𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊....𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓁𝑒𝒻𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝒽𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝑜𝑜 𝒷𝒾𝑔. 𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝒹𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝒻𝒾𝓉 𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁."
"𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓌𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑜𝓌𝓃... 𝒴𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝒞𝒶𝓁𝓋𝒾𝓃 𝑅𝑜𝒸𝓀𝓌𝑒𝓁𝓁, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉'𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝑒𝓃𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒, 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂. 𝑀𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝑒"
🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤
This was my first Skyla Arndt book and what a way to discover this author! 💥
I read this book in less than a week, which for me is a huge deal!
I was hooked from the first chapter, and I struggled to put my kindle down. The story is well thought out, and well written, the mystery and the creepiness go so perfectly hand in hand.
Violet's life resounds so deep with my own, and I connected with her immediately. I absolutely loved the gothic academia vibes this book gave off and the friendship themes were amazing. What I was not expecting was how the story brought me to tears. Saying good-bye to those we love can be so hard, especially when we are left to fill their shoes. Skyla portrayed that love and grief so well, it made my heart ache.
I was definitely not expecting ghosts, and I will admit I got a little jumpy when I read it late at night 🤣🤣 I am not a big horror reader but this book I will make an exception for. I cannot wait for September when I am able to hold a copy of House of Harts in my hand!
Skyla you have yourself a new fan!!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What else can I say except for WOW?! Skyla Arndt stole my heart with her debut novel and again with this HEART pounding novel, House of Hearts. I love a good murder mystery, set at an elite boarding school, with a swoony romance. Definitely add this to your TBR.

♠️This story gives fantastic Alice in Wonderland vibes in a spooky dark academy setting! I loved the characters and the way the plot wove in curses, gothic themes, and ghosts while Violet tries to figure out how (and who!) murdered her best friend.

♥️It’s an immersive madcap race for Violet Harper to find out the truth about a death at in an elite boarding school. Her love interest in Calvin Lockwell is fantastic since he’s got the mysterious brooding trope, but is also a character who’s more interesting to learn more about as the story progresses. The friends she meets and secret society that Violet infiltrates add such a unique flavor to the whole story.

♠️I love that while this story has some incredible pure horror moments, it’s not the type of scary book that gives me literal nightmares. It’s all the spooky whimsical Halloween feelings I’m always looking to read more in YA!!!

First of all—can we just swoon over this cover?! Absolute gothic perfection 😍

This book had me in its grip from page one: think dark academia meets ghostly horror, with a cursed romance that’ll tug at your heartstrings and a murder mystery that keeps you spiraling deeper down the rabbit hole. It’s giving Alice in Wonderland whimsy with a haunted twist—and I was living for every second.

Easily one of my favorite reads of the year 💀🌹 And yes... it’s got ENEMIES TO LOVERS, people. Say less.

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for the e-ARC!

great, gothic horror-mystery-romance for YA or for A. definitely interestingly written and with some hauntingly ominous setbuilding. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished House of Hearts, and I’m honestly torn. There’s a lot I wanted to love about this story — and at times, I really did — but overall, it left me feeling like something was missing. I’m settling on a 3-star rating.

The concept is great: an eerie boarding school, secret societies, a mysterious death, and a girl diving headfirst into a world of danger and legacy. Skyla Arndt had a strong idea here, and I appreciated what she was trying to do — especially thematically, with grief, legacy, and identity. But the execution never quite lived up to the potential for me.

The writing often felt choppy. The pacing would be strong for a stretch, then suddenly veer off or rush through moments that needed more weight. I was especially craving more world-building — the setting had so much potential but often lacked detail or vivid imagery. A map or a Hart family tree in the final copy would go a long way in grounding the reader.

Violet and Calvin’s dynamic was one of my favorite parts. Their banter was fun and kept me engaged — but if they’re meant to be soulmates in this story, I expected way more chemistry and development between them. Their relationship had moments of spark, but not enough depth to fully sell me on the connection.

I also think this book leans toward the younger side of YA, which is totally fine — it just wasn’t quite the tone I expected going in. It’s a little messy, a little chaotic, and honestly… there’s something strangely comforting about that. Despite my frustrations, I wouldn’t rule out rereading it someday, simply because the atmosphere and character vibes stuck with me.

This isn’t a perfect read, but I think readers who enjoy younger YA, light dark-academia aesthetics, and fast-paced mysteries with a supernatural edge might still find something to love here.

3.5 Stars

Content Warning: violence, murder, death

+ This is a dark academia story with horror and paranormal events. The setting is a gothic academy for wealthy kids, and Violet is enrolled there through scholarship because she wants answers to her best-friend’s death. She thinks she has it figured out and blames Percy Lockwell, the Headmistress’ son, for her death but while she is at the school she finds out there is more to the story.

+ There is a family curse on the Lockwell family, and the remaining siblings Calvin and Sadie are trying to break it and also find their older brother Percy, who disappeared. They create a secret society at school to gather kids who aren’t afraid of the paranormal so that they can solve this mystery about the curse and find their brother. I enjoyed the paranormal and horror aspects of the story a lot! It just added the right amount of creepiness and especially one part gave me chills.

+ The romance between Violet and Calvin is doomed because of the curse but from the start it was dislike mostly on Violet’s part and secret insta-love on Calvin’s though he hid it well. I loved their interactions and was rooting for them!

~ This is an arc but there was a lot of typos that I hope will be fixed by the time of publication. Also I don’t know if it was because the way it was formatted as an e-book but some sections blended into the next and I had to re-read because I was afraid I missed a scene or didn’t understand where I was in the story.

~ This is a quick read, just under 300 pages so I would have like a little more pages focused on the romance to draw out the tension more between them. I did love their romance journey, I just wanted more.

Final Thoughts:

I’ve been reading a lot of dark academia this year but I did love how this one stands out a little bit because of the paranormal and horror elements in the story. I loved the setting, the secret society, the dislike to lovers romance between Violet and Cal, and the family love curse. I had a few issues with typos (but this is an arc) and I did wish it was a tad bit longer just so there was more tension and yearning between Violet and Cal but overall, I enjoyed this one and will make for a thrilling, creepy fall read!

Okok listen, i really thought i was gonna like this one, i was kinda slumping and it’s not a genre i normally read so when i saw it on Netgalley it’s was like “what the hell” and so i requested it. It unfortunately was just not for me… The whole time i was just so con and didn’t know what was happening?? And the whole plot is that their soulmates?? Great ok so where’s the chemistry?? The romance?? The passion??
The characters in my opinion just did not really have any personality, they were very surface level and i just did not connect to any of them.
But that being said, since it’s not a genre i normally read, i’m not gonna say you shouldn’t read it because honestly it just may not have been my cup of tea from the beginning you know??

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

I read House of Hearts in one day and I am obsessed with how amazing it was! It contained so many elements that I love! Also, look at how gorgeous that cover is!!!! Ahh I’m definitely going to be talking about this one for the foreseeable future!

It was hauntingly beautiful and the way Violet and Calvin longed for each other was heartbreaking! I loved the secret society, the plot, and all of the characters! It definitely gave me book 1 of the Crave series vibes but a tad more on the darker side!

If you love dark academia, secret societies, enemies to lovers; murder mystery, and forbidden romance, then I highly recommend you check out this book!

Thank you so much to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for the advanced copy! House of Hearts releases on September 2nd! ♥️