I just couldn't get into this book at all.

I tried, really I did. The writing style, for me, just didn't live up to the premise. My mind kept wandering. The characters didn't interest me. The content felt muddled.

But this is a me thing. Others have and will love this book.

DNF

*Thanks to Harlequin Audio for the free audiobook download.*

(3.5rounded up) Ali, A rockstar’s son, goes to University. There he learns secrets, and learns about an elite society.

Academia mixed with dark secrets and a bit of Alice in Wonderland. You’ll go through the looking glass for sure!

Dark and Twisted, I was a bit confused at first, but as the book went on it became more intriguing. I never knew what would happen next.

Audiobook was clear. Narrator was wonderful

Thanks for letting me review.

The Rabbit Club is a dark academia story featuring secret societies and young friendships. The writing is immersive - you can feel yourself in the pompous setting of Oxford.

Unfortunately I found this a bit slow and found myself struggling to relate to the characters. I wanted to like the story better than I did, but it was still overall pretty enjoyable. I listened to this on audio and thought the narration was engaging and well done.

I was really excited about the premise of The Rabbit Club. Dark academia at Oxford with secret societies sounded so intriguing and I was looking forward to diving in. Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me. I struggled with the narration on the audiobook, which made it hard to stay engaged. The concept was interesting but overall it didn’t click with me the way I had hoped.

Thank you HTP for the ALC of this title.

Title: The Rabbit Club
Author: Christopher J. Yates
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.5)
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Jeremy Arthur, Will Watt, Imogen Church
Publication Date: 8th July, 2025
Publisher: Harlequin Audio

**Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the advanced audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.**

There's something about Oxford as a setting that always lured me in—its cloisters and courtyards, its security societies and shadows. The Rabbit Club promised exactly that: a dive into dark academia, tangled identities, and dangerous ambition. And in many ways, it delivered. IN others, it left me with more questions than satisfaction.

Ali McCain, an American student chasing both his father's legacy and his own belonging, finds himself drawn into Oxford's literary elite and the enigmatic Saracens society. What begins with literary puzzles, Shakespearean allusions, and late-night rituals unfurls into betrayal, manipulation, and an unsettling descent into darkness. Yates sprinkles clever nods to Alice in Wonderland, Brideshead Revisited, and Shakespeare, using them as both decoration and warning. The atmosphere of Oxford—worn stone, clipped voices, ambition echoing through ancient halls—is vividly alive, and the unreliable narration keeps readers second guessing loyalties and truths.

But he book doesn't always match its premise. The pacing drags early on, and some of the characters feel overwrought which makes them difficult to resonate with as deeply as I'd hoped. The prose, at times, feels clunky rather than sharp, and though the labyrinthine twists held promise, the ending veered too far afield, leaving me unsettled not in suspense, but in dissatisfaction. It's clever, yes, but not entirely convincing.

The audiobook narration, however, elevated the experience. Jeremy Arthur, Will Watt, and Imogen Church Brough texture and personality to the shifting perspectives, weaving layers into the already complex narrative. Each voice felt carefully chosen which gave life to characters who on the page, might have felt more distant. Their performances helped ground me when the story itself became elusive.

In the end, The Rabbit Club is a well-constructed, if uneven, descent into dark academia—a hall-of-mirrors tale where nothing is as it seems, and even the narration can't be trusted. For readers who enjoy literary puzzles, unreliable narrators, and stories that keep you off balance, this will be an intriguing ride. For me, it was clever, atmospheric, and enjoyable in parts, but not entirely the Oxford odyssey I had longed for.

I tried but just could NOT find my way into this one... I usually love me a dark secret society, but couldn't manage to gin up any enthusiasm for this particular version. I wanted to feel for Ali and his situation, but felt oddly disconnected from him and found everyone around him to be pretty insufferable. I didn't care for the narrator, which probably sealed the deal on this one for me. There's nothing wrong with his reading of the book, it just didn't feel like the right tone/voice for the story to me, and didn't add anything to the experience or help me engage. This one wasn't a good fit for me...

A well written story that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
The characters draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
They are realistic and very well developed.
I really enjoyed the writing style. I found myself hooked, turning the pages.

Secret society books are always so intriguing to me and The Rabbit Club tackled this in a fresh and gripping way. On the flip side, dark academia is usually a miss for me but this one wasn’t bad! The history between our little crew had me intrigued from the start. Some of the secrets revealed along the way are seemingly harmless and others are complete bombshells. The audio was a bit convoluted with the inclusion of multiple different accents but it did help make following the dialogue between characters a bit easier. I think this is one that just works better for me personally in print. I kept gravitating toward that rather than the audio. I fear I am not smart enough to have caught all of the literary references, and I’m sure if I did that would add to the reading experience.

First of all the narration for the audiobook was so good, especially the voice for William. It really made you feel a certain kind of way toward that character.

In general the characters were all fantastic, but it was pretty easy to pick favorites even if they weren't technically favorites you should have.

The plot was interesting enough I had trouble working on other things while listening to this book, it's definitely the kind of story you have to pay attention to because little bits here and there really add up in the end. And that ending. OMG.

The mystery part of it all was fun, the academia feel was lovely, but I especially loved the bits of other works of literature that were thrown in all over. It really not only added to the story but also drove home the fact that all these students were there for literature. It wasn't just the author saying so but he took the time to really work it into the story as a whole.

The relationships between these characters, in whichever way they ended up going, had a nice range of functional and ending.

All in all this was a highly enjoyable book and if the authors other work is anything like this I look forward to working my way through his other books.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin audio for the gifted ALC.

4.25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⚡️

Thank you HTP, The Hive, Hanover Square Press, and Harlequin Audio for the gifted copies!

The Rabbit Club
Christopher J. Yates
Publishing Date: July 7, 2025

🎧 Narrator: Jeremy Arthur, Will Watt, & Imogen Church 🎧

This book was so smart and clever. Alistair is accepted into Oxford and it’s his dream come true. He is there to study literature, but he is fully unprepared for the darkness that awaits as he gets swept into the world of secret societies.

For me this was one of those books that the payoff in the end was worth a bit of struggle along the way. I had a bit of a hard time digesting the information initially and the pacing was a bit slow along the way. BUT once this story got going, I was totally hooked.

I love dark academia and this delivered so beautifully. There are literary references a plenty. Alistair’s desire to fit into this world and how this makes him so easily influenced to be sucked into the dark underbelly of Oxford’s secret societies was so good.

And the twist was superb. I never see the twists coming but this one was just so satisfying. This was my first book by this author and I will surely keep an eye for future works!

🎧 I read this one in tandem with my eyes and ears. I think for many the audio alone would be fine but for some reason I had a hard time following along and digesting the information unless I used my eyes too. This is in no way a reflection of the narration though as it was really fantastic! I loved the vibe the narrators brought to this one!

This book was a wild ride, very dark academia centered which helped with the visual imagery of the setting & tone of the book. It was twisty, dark & addictive but at times did drag a little. The narrator did a great job and nailed the vibe. Ultimately I felt this book was gripping enough to where it pulls you in and keeps you turning pages till the very end.

⭐️4.25⭐️

In this dark academia thriller set in the 90s, we follow eighteen-year-old American, Allistair McCain, as he attends Oxford University and becomes entangled with a dangerous secret society called the Saracens.

This book was a wonderful surprise! It felt like an ode to The Secret History, and I was here for it! It has all the classic definitions of dark academia and explores the typical themes of self-discovery, ambition, privilege, and has that twisty betrayal and moral corruption/manipulation that often accompanies the genre. The twist in this one also shocked the hell out of me!

What I really enjoyed most about this story was Yates’s masterful writing. He does an amazing job of weaving such an intricate narrative puzzle while also referencing so many classic tales of literature. I also loved Ali’s character arc and found the ending, while not perfect, oddly satisfying. The three narrators of this audiobook made this book even more enjoyable. They each added their own flair to the characters that I loved, since there were so many of them.

I did feel the book was slow at times, and I personally wanted the ending to drift in a different direction (personal preference, IYKYK.) Even with these struggles, I found myself fully invested in the story and couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.

Overall, I really enjoyed the literary sophistication of this one and highly recommend this to anyone who enjoyed The Secret History or If We Were Villains. It fits perfectly alongside these books, and I think anyone who enjoys the dark academia genre will love this one!

Special thanks to Harlequin Audio, HTP #thehive for the access to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 stars - This book was fantastic! I love a good dark academia, secret society story. The characters were very well developed and all served their role in the novel. I liked the way the story was laid out. The twists were good. The narration was fantastic! I always knew what character was speaking. It really helped to bring the book to life. I do wish we got deeper look into the secret society, but I understand we’re limited to what the characters know. If you like twisty dark academia with a unique concept and intriguing characters, I highly recommend you check this book out! Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for providing me with this ALC in exchange for an honest review. This has been one of my favorite books of the summer!

4.25*

The Rabbit Club is a dark academia story laced with literature references and covered in a thick, unsettling cloud.

I was really excited to read this story as I love dark academia, especially the Dead Poet's Society. I appreciated that over the course of the story, the many characters that were introduced were then shown why they were introduced and the part they play in the narrative. I often get frustrated when characters are in the story but serve no purpose, but that wasn't the case here. Even the arc with his father culminated in a good ending for what it was building to.

I admit I appreciate that the twist was laid out so plainly after it was revealed, and that Emma came into the narrative to explain the breakdown as a more reliable narrator. I saw the twist coming about halfway through the book, but it was still interesting to see what played out and how. The references to Alice in Wonderland (for Alister) were well-done, and I am glad we came full circle on it.

My main issue with the book was that I didn't really understand the Rabbit Club. That is due to the narrator's limited knowledge of its interworkings, but for being the namesake of the book I wanted more insight into it. Why was it so exclusive? How did you progress through the ranks? Why was it such a desirable club? I just personally didn't feel like I saw enough of the society through the path of this book.

I thought the narration was well-done - swapping between accents to show different characters was immensely helpful and really helped with immersion into the story.

All-in-all, I liked the story. It wasn't quite what I expected based on the description, but it was still a good story that kept me engaged.

This will be perfect for fans of dark academia. The characters are well-written and differentiated, the plot is interesting. and the writing is engaging. Plus the structure and twists are great!

Wonderful audio. Not being much of an audio book person but I read in tandem with the gifted arc from @htp the narrator’s did a wonderful job and while I totally had it figured out I think it says more about my twisted brain than the book. Four stars

The concept was definitely unique and had that dark, mysterious edge that pulled me in at first—but The Rabbit Club by Christopher J. Yates just didn’t quite work for me. The pacing felt uneven and I struggled to stay fully invested, even though the writing had moments of brilliance. That said, it’s the kind of book that could totally click with the right reader, especially if you’re into psychological stories with a twist of the bizarre. Just not my flavor this time around.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars
Rated R for language, mature themes, and unsettling content.

Ali is an American who has been accepted to Oxford to study literature, but he has a hidden motive for traveling so far. His estranged rock star father lives close by and he is hoping to connect with the myth of a man who abandoned him and his mom at 18 months old. As he arrives to Oxford, he not only starts to unravel his father’s history but is also steeped into one of the historic college’s secret societies.

The narrator did a great job. I loved the back and forth between the two voices of the two characters.

My issue with this book was that the first almost 40% drug on and I was finding myself becoming distracted. I was very close to DNFing the book multiple times.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin audio for this ARC!

I am intrigued by dark academia, so I was excited to receive, read and review this book. It is filled with suspense and so many literary references! Those that are well-read in the classics, especially Shakespeare, will love this one.

I loved Ali and the relationship development with his dad. The banter between the two and their shared love of literature was unique. In fact, I loved many of the characters and how they were crafted and developed.

Secret societies are one of my favorite plot lines, so my one frustration was I really wanted more from that aspect of the book. We get glimpses of it, but I expected it to be a bigger part of the story. Not so much in how the plot played out, but in the details and the storytelling along the way.

But the twist at the end, WOW! I didn’t see that coming!

If you want a suspenseful, dark and unique story for your summer TBR, pick up this one. You will enjoy the trip down the rabbit hole! While I did the audio version, I would suggest pairing it with the print to get the most out of the story.

Thank you @netgalley, @htp_hive, @htpbooks and @hanoversquarepress for a gifted copy of The Rabbit Club in exchange for my honest review. This one is out today!

I wanted very much to enjoy The Rabbit Club, but this audiobook just wasn't for me. The narration for Ali was quite good, but I found the other character's voice lacking. I did enjoy the 1990s college setting but not enough to increase my rating. 3.25 stars.