The problem with dark academia books is that I read them for the aesthetic but don’t have the brain power to ever understand the actual plots (that’s also probably because most dark academia books are literally just aesthetics and no plot, but it could be just me). This book wanted to be so much, but just wasn’t able to quite get there. It wasn’t bad though. The characters were the main focus of the book (which is why the plot was pretty underdeveloped) and overall the book served as a pretty interesting deep dive into the human psyche. That being said, I never knew wtf was happening like 60% of the time. The book was definitely written just to have some really deep quotes that sound cool and pretentious out of context, but just make for a book that is trying too hard. I have compiled some of my favorite quotes below, because why else would anyone read academia books if not to be pretentious?

“Theoretically, men are a disaster. As a concept, I unequivocally reject them.” 

“The problem with knowledge is it’s inexhaustible craving, the more you have of it, the less you feel you know”

“A flaw of humanity,” said Parisa, shrugging. “The compulsion to be unique, which is at war with the desire to belong to a single identifiable sameness.”

“Knowledge is carnage. You can’t have it without sacrifice”

As you can see these all absolutely slap. Do I know what they mean? not really, but they sound cool and I feel smarter just by reading them, which is really what matters. 

In conclusion, I would say that this book is definitely not for everyone. You either love it or you hate it (or you’re just lost like me). I would absolutely die for Nico de Varona, no questions asked, that child is too good for this world. If dark academia books are your thing, I would give this a try because it also has pictures and the cover is pretty.