I was approved for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and HarperTeen!

Though the dip in the middle nearly lost me, All That Consumes Us turned out pretty alright for me. I enjoyed the concept and the very diverse cast as well as the commentary about ambition and generational terror handed down, and after clearing the hurdle of the slower start, I was intrigued by the exclusive society Tara gets invited to on the heels of finding one of her classmates dead. Magni Viri boasts Corbin College's best and brightest, but as she becomes more embroiled in their secrets and haunting history, she realizes she may be in far over her head. 

I think there was a good atmosphere here, but it turned out a bit too tell instead of show. Especially the found family aspect, which didn't hit as hard with many of the characters & Tara's relationship with them feeling either undeveloped or too quickly developed in the case of her love interest. This story has a haunting set of bones, but its construction doesn't seem to stick the landing. Everything was overly explained in a way that robbed a lot of the mystery and allure a bit too early. 

I think this may have to do with it not having many of the elements that make other dark academia novels among my favorites - I love Tara being an outsider to their world in the socio-economic sense, and with so many students at this elite college who have a wide variety of studies to focus on, I was hoping for a bit more pretentiousness and infodumping. And after the reveal of why the plot takes the turn it does, I was instantly way more interested in learning about the queer yearning and necromantic obsession that caused a trail of ambition and death for generations of students than sticking with Tara's plot line. Honestly, if Erica Waters wanted to revisit this story as an adult prequel, I'd be first in line to preorder. 

If you're looking for an atmospheric fall read with a little bit of spooky vibes, I would still recommend this for an easy read!