5 stars *may change
absolutely fantastic. i was afraid i wouldn't like this book, not because of anything in the description (i don't read descriptions lol) but because the chapter preview i had read seemed a bit juvenile? i admit that the writing is a bit more young than i'm used to, but i don't think it really mattered.

i don't like dark academia. i think it's boring, repetitive, and oh so pretentious. this was none of those things. just a really incredible debut novel that played on the genre's tropes. (it's very ironic that the genre is called dark academia since almost every book in it has a very... light cast).

the reviews for this book (at least the low reviews) seemed to have either missed the point entirely or understood the point but are blatantly racist? it's very...telling...of these people's character depending on their reaction.

i think i'm rambling. please give this a try.