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A Darker Mischief
The Honeys meets The Secret History in a work of dark academia like no other -- a boarding school thriller about a queer teen from Mississippi who finds himself swept into a world of old money, privilege, and the secret society at the heart of it all.
When Cal Ware wins a scholarship to an elite New England boarding school, he's thrilled to leave his past behind. Back home in Mississippi, he was the poor, queer kid who never fit in. But at Essex Academy, he'll be able to reinvent himself. Or so he hopes...
But at Essex, Cal's classmates only see his cheap clothes and old iPhone. They mock his accent, and can't believe he's never left the country, or heard of The Hamptons. Cal, at his breaking point, is about to give up and return to Mississippi when he learns about a secret society on campus -- the key to becoming Essex royalty.
Cal knows he's not exactly secret society material, but to his surprise, he finds an unlikely champion in the handsome, charismatic, and slightly dangerous Luke Kim. As they get swept up in the mystery and glamour of the Rush process, Cal finds himself falling in love for the first time.
But as the initiation rituals grow riskier -- and increasingly nefarious -- Cal must decide how far he's willing to go, and how much of himself he's willing to sacrifice, to save everything and everyone he cherishes most. Because nothing at Essex -- not even Cal's first love -- is quite what it seems.
When Cal Ware wins a scholarship to an elite New England boarding school, he's thrilled to leave his past behind. Back home in Mississippi, he was the poor, queer kid who never fit in. But at Essex Academy, he'll be able to reinvent himself. Or so he hopes...
But at Essex, Cal's classmates only see his cheap clothes and old iPhone. They mock his accent, and can't believe he's never left the country, or heard of The Hamptons. Cal, at his breaking point, is about to give up and return to Mississippi when he learns about a secret society on campus -- the key to becoming Essex royalty.
Cal knows he's not exactly secret society material, but to his surprise, he finds an unlikely champion in the handsome, charismatic, and slightly dangerous Luke Kim. As they get swept up in the mystery and glamour of the Rush process, Cal finds himself falling in love for the first time.
But as the initiation rituals grow riskier -- and increasingly nefarious -- Cal must decide how far he's willing to go, and how much of himself he's willing to sacrifice, to save everything and everyone he cherishes most. Because nothing at Essex -- not even Cal's first love -- is quite what it seems.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 2, 2024
93 people are currently reading
12300 people want to read
About the author
Derek Milman
3 books493 followersDerek Milman was born in New York City, but grew up in Westchester, NY, where he wrote and published a successful underground humor magazine that caught the attention of the New York Times, who wrote a profile on him at the age of 14.
Derek studied English, Creative Writing, and Theater at Northwestern University. He began his career as a playwright (his first play was staged in New York City when he was just out of college), and earned an MFA in acting at the Yale School of Drama.
Derek has performed on stages across the country, and appeared in numerous TV shows and films, working with two Academy Award winning film directors.
Scream All Night was Derek's debut YA novel. Swipe Right for Murder is his second novel for young adults. It was released on August 6th, 2019, from Little, Brown/jimmy patterson.
Milman's third novel, the upcoming A Darker Mischief, will be out July 2, 2024, from Scholastic.
Derek currently lives in Brooklyn where he is hard at work on his next book.
PLEASE NOTE: For professional reasons (not personal ones) I no longer accept friend requests on Goodreads. Feel free to follow my author page on here, or connect with me on Twitter or Instagram: @DerekMilman.
Thank you!
Derek studied English, Creative Writing, and Theater at Northwestern University. He began his career as a playwright (his first play was staged in New York City when he was just out of college), and earned an MFA in acting at the Yale School of Drama.
Derek has performed on stages across the country, and appeared in numerous TV shows and films, working with two Academy Award winning film directors.
Scream All Night was Derek's debut YA novel. Swipe Right for Murder is his second novel for young adults. It was released on August 6th, 2019, from Little, Brown/jimmy patterson.
Milman's third novel, the upcoming A Darker Mischief, will be out July 2, 2024, from Scholastic.
Derek currently lives in Brooklyn where he is hard at work on his next book.
PLEASE NOTE: For professional reasons (not personal ones) I no longer accept friend requests on Goodreads. Feel free to follow my author page on here, or connect with me on Twitter or Instagram: @DerekMilman.
Thank you!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 444 reviews
December 1, 2024
OH MY GOD PLEASE READ THIS BOOK IM SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP. THIS BOOK HAD ME IN A CHOKE HOLD!!!!
(Don’t listen to the most liked 1 star review of this book. Anyone who wants to go on paragraphs rants about a gay authors book, why would you want to listen to that? Clearly they don’t support gay authors. Also making fun of a gay teen who gets an STI? That’s toxic.)
This book was slow at first. I thought the characters were a bit shallow at first but I realized that was the point. As we dove deeper and deeper into the characters it was so enchanting and by page 100 I was HOOKED. And by 200? I couldn’t put it down not one chance.
Cal and Luke will haunt my memories for a long time.
If you like dark academia please give this a try. Even if you don’t, there’s something magical In these pages.
(Don’t listen to the most liked 1 star review of this book. Anyone who wants to go on paragraphs rants about a gay authors book, why would you want to listen to that? Clearly they don’t support gay authors. Also making fun of a gay teen who gets an STI? That’s toxic.)
This book was slow at first. I thought the characters were a bit shallow at first but I realized that was the point. As we dove deeper and deeper into the characters it was so enchanting and by page 100 I was HOOKED. And by 200? I couldn’t put it down not one chance.
Cal and Luke will haunt my memories for a long time.
If you like dark academia please give this a try. Even if you don’t, there’s something magical In these pages.
July 7, 2024
Cal Ware captured my heart from the start. His journey from a small-town misfit to a student at Essex Academy was an amazing adeventure. Derek Milman masterfully portrays Cal's struggles with identity and belonging, making him a relatable and endearing character. And let's talk about that cover—absolutely gorgeous!
The atmosphere Derek Milman creates is nothing short of mesmerizing. From the eerie opening to the tension-filled climax, I was on the edge of my seat, eagerly flipping pages to unravel the secrets hidden within Essex's walls. The integration of the secret society into the fabric of the story felt seamless, adding layers of intrigue to an already captivating narrative.
Twists and turns kept me guessing until the very end, and while I appreciated the closure the ending provided, I must confess it didn't quite live up to the rest of the book for me. Nevertheless, the journey was undeniably thrilling, and I couldn't tear myself away.
However, no book is without its flaws, and for me, it was the dialogue that occasionally fell short. At times it felt disjointed or unrealistic, pulling me out of the story momentarily.
"A Darker Mischief" is a captivating tale that will transport you to a world of intrigue, secrets, and unexpected twists. Fans of "The Secret History" will find much to love here, but Derek Milman's unique voice and original plot ensure that this book stands on its own merits.
The atmosphere Derek Milman creates is nothing short of mesmerizing. From the eerie opening to the tension-filled climax, I was on the edge of my seat, eagerly flipping pages to unravel the secrets hidden within Essex's walls. The integration of the secret society into the fabric of the story felt seamless, adding layers of intrigue to an already captivating narrative.
Twists and turns kept me guessing until the very end, and while I appreciated the closure the ending provided, I must confess it didn't quite live up to the rest of the book for me. Nevertheless, the journey was undeniably thrilling, and I couldn't tear myself away.
However, no book is without its flaws, and for me, it was the dialogue that occasionally fell short. At times it felt disjointed or unrealistic, pulling me out of the story momentarily.
"A Darker Mischief" is a captivating tale that will transport you to a world of intrigue, secrets, and unexpected twists. Fans of "The Secret History" will find much to love here, but Derek Milman's unique voice and original plot ensure that this book stands on its own merits.
July 3, 2024
I got to be honest, this book is terrible!
I usually try to be nice in my ARC reviews even if I didn't love the book, and I don't spoil the plot. Neither of those things will be relevant here because I need to rant a bit about A Darker Mischief and why it's possibly the worst book I've ever read and maybe save someone else the pain.
With traditionally published books I have certain expectations of quality and genre. And while ARCs get more of a pass since I know they're not fully finished, this book kept making me go "WHAT DID I JUST READ?" The plot is insane, and it's honestly just terribly written.
I was close to DNF'ing a lot but then I decided I needed to see it through to catalogue how many absurd things could possibly happen. Hint: A LOT! Once I stopped expecting a good book, I actually had a good time and laughed more than I do while reading books that are legit supposed to be funny.
One of the reasons I kept going is because the book opens with a prologue where For what's supposed to be a YA dark academia book, I was already sensing something might be off but hey, it had me intrigued.
Our MC Cal's about 15 and from Mississippi but because of The Incident, his parents exile him to Essex Academy boarding school in New England where he has trouble making friends and is very emo about it all. Bet you can't guess Cal from Mississippi's full name btw.
Cal meets Luke who's this mysterious, edgy, Asian jock who does drugs and likes to graffiti the walls of the school and seems to be interested in Cal. Luke's tag is a baby with a bite taken out of its head because he ate his own twin in the womb and so Luke has two blood types or some shit and basically is two people, and he'll see his dead twin's ghost around who he's taken to calling Pete.
- Ooh, so edgy
So yeah, obviously Cal is immediately in love and keeps telling us how fantastic Luke is, even though Luke is pretty strange, very hot and cold, and not very nice to Cal (keeps calling him a "dickbitch" for some reason.)
To sum this book up: WHAT. Also: NO.
I usually try to be nice in my ARC reviews even if I didn't love the book, and I don't spoil the plot. Neither of those things will be relevant here because I need to rant a bit about A Darker Mischief and why it's possibly the worst book I've ever read and maybe save someone else the pain.
With traditionally published books I have certain expectations of quality and genre. And while ARCs get more of a pass since I know they're not fully finished, this book kept making me go "WHAT DID I JUST READ?" The plot is insane, and it's honestly just terribly written.
I was close to DNF'ing a lot but then I decided I needed to see it through to catalogue how many absurd things could possibly happen. Hint: A LOT! Once I stopped expecting a good book, I actually had a good time and laughed more than I do while reading books that are legit supposed to be funny.
One of the reasons I kept going is because the book opens with a prologue where For what's supposed to be a YA dark academia book, I was already sensing something might be off but hey, it had me intrigued.
Our MC Cal's about 15 and from Mississippi but because of The Incident, his parents exile him to Essex Academy boarding school in New England where he has trouble making friends and is very emo about it all. Bet you can't guess Cal from Mississippi's full name btw.
"Cal, yeah. Short for Calixte"
"Oh. Slay."
Cal meets Luke who's this mysterious, edgy, Asian jock who does drugs and likes to graffiti the walls of the school and seems to be interested in Cal. Luke's tag is a baby with a bite taken out of its head because he ate his own twin in the womb and so Luke has two blood types or some shit and basically is two people, and he'll see his dead twin's ghost around who he's taken to calling Pete.
"I hunt virgins at night.”
“WHAT?”
He laughs. “There should always be pain. So we’ll know how things might end.”
- Ooh, so edgy
So yeah, obviously Cal is immediately in love and keeps telling us how fantastic Luke is, even though Luke is pretty strange, very hot and cold, and not very nice to Cal (keeps calling him a "dickbitch" for some reason.)
To sum this book up: WHAT. Also: NO.
Want to read
January 16, 2024Don't think I'll ever be tired of queer dark academia!!
January 20, 2024
A Darker Mischief is an inventine, fun, gritty, original YA read. This book feels like a mental escape room, twisty and turny, and you're not sure which side you'll escape from. The main character is relatable - battling to find his place in the world, resisting who he is meant to be, and at war with his conscience. The storyline is strong, and the writing is engaging. The pacing is just right, and the story glides smoothly. It's written so well that you can image it playing out like a movie in your head without effort. I've been reading so many books lately with poor pacing and full of fluff that just drags the story out, but you won't find that here. Milman never disappoints, and this is why he's one of my favorite authors. My first (of probably very few) 5 star read of 2024.
This book will live on as a traveling book for LiterALLy BOOKiSh (book club on Facebook).
This book will live on as a traveling book for LiterALLy BOOKiSh (book club on Facebook).
February 6, 2024
-This was a traveling book from the group Literally Bookish on Facebook-
I really loved this book it was very unique and went many places I did not expect it to and had many compelling characters to read about. I really liked the characters especially Cal and Luke to a certain extent there were a few other interesting characters that were great to read about like Pinky that was very mysterious and dangerous in more than one way. What I really liked about Cal was even with his trauma he has ways to cope the start of his relationship with Luke had its good and not so great parts but he really did find himself by the end. The plot was really good it starts with Cal being at Essex and not really belonging until he found out about a secret society that was more and more twisted the more he found out about it. This story was very twisty and had many turns in many ways that was very unexpected also the ending was bittersweet and dark in other ways he survived to be successful in life. I will for sure read whatever this author writes next.
I really loved this book it was very unique and went many places I did not expect it to and had many compelling characters to read about. I really liked the characters especially Cal and Luke to a certain extent there were a few other interesting characters that were great to read about like Pinky that was very mysterious and dangerous in more than one way. What I really liked about Cal was even with his trauma he has ways to cope the start of his relationship with Luke had its good and not so great parts but he really did find himself by the end. The plot was really good it starts with Cal being at Essex and not really belonging until he found out about a secret society that was more and more twisted the more he found out about it. This story was very twisty and had many turns in many ways that was very unexpected also the ending was bittersweet and dark in other ways he survived to be successful in life. I will for sure read whatever this author writes next.
July 3, 2024
UPDATE 7/3: A Darker Mischief is now out in the world. I hope you all love it. This is my first book to receive multiple starred reviews.
Please check out what Kirkus and Booklist had to say about ADM!
I wish you all happy reading and a wonderful, safe summer.
With Love (and Mischief),
-Derek
UPDATE 2/1/23: first full synopsis of A DARKER MISCHIEF now added to Goodreads.
Well hello!
Looks like we're announced!
My third novel (and first since 2019) is called A DARKER MISCHIEF, and it will be out in 2024 from Scholastic (formerly WITH LOVE & MISCHIEF).
More soon........
Update 9/20/23: We revealed the beautiful cover, illustration by Colin Verdi, and design by Chris Stengel. The reveal along with Prologue/First Chapter can be found at LGBTQ Reads.
Please check out what Kirkus and Booklist had to say about ADM!
I wish you all happy reading and a wonderful, safe summer.
With Love (and Mischief),
-Derek
UPDATE 2/1/23: first full synopsis of A DARKER MISCHIEF now added to Goodreads.
Well hello!
Looks like we're announced!
My third novel (and first since 2019) is called A DARKER MISCHIEF, and it will be out in 2024 from Scholastic (formerly WITH LOVE & MISCHIEF).
More soon........
Update 9/20/23: We revealed the beautiful cover, illustration by Colin Verdi, and design by Chris Stengel. The reveal along with Prologue/First Chapter can be found at LGBTQ Reads.
Read
March 7, 2024DNF at 22% (after skim reading 10% or so). I liked the prologue …
Ughhh! I hate myself! Throwing the towel in the ring again (I’m sorry authors, I don’t know what’s the matter with me lately). Love the cover and the blurb, but like the execution way less …
Another DNF for one of my most anticipated reads. There are hardly any dialogues and I found the story childish, the bullying (a bin with water when Cal entered his room), and solving the puzzles and the clues (I didn’t even understand how Cal found the solutions time and again). But let’s face it, this is my third DNF this year of a story I thought I’d love. So it’s probably me. I’m the problem. It’s me. Therefore, please check out other reviews!
Thank you, Scholastic and NetGalley, for the ARC. I’m so sorry I had to DNF this one.
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Ughhh! I hate myself! Throwing the towel in the ring again (I’m sorry authors, I don’t know what’s the matter with me lately). Love the cover and the blurb, but like the execution way less …
Another DNF for one of my most anticipated reads. There are hardly any dialogues and I found the story childish, the bullying (a bin with water when Cal entered his room), and solving the puzzles and the clues (I didn’t even understand how Cal found the solutions time and again). But let’s face it, this is my third DNF this year of a story I thought I’d love. So it’s probably me. I’m the problem. It’s me. Therefore, please check out other reviews!
Thank you, Scholastic and NetGalley, for the ARC. I’m so sorry I had to DNF this one.
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February 19, 2024
This book feels like it's channelling a darker, quieter current than Derek Milman's other books, but it's just as captivating: a sharp-eyed, vulnerable character study dressed to the nines in twisty turny thrillery shenanigans and beautiful writing.
December 9, 2024
A MÍ ME DICES DARK ACADEMIA Y ABRE CANCHA QUE VOY🔥!
Vamos, es uno de los clichés que más me gustan…
(Bueno, este y el de enemies to lovers, paqué engañarnos…🤭 Pero no nos distraigamos y volvamos al DARK ACADEMY)
Si te apasionan las historias con un halo oscuro, plagadas de misterio, de tensión y de secretos en torno a una academia, prepárate para aplaudir con las orejas porque lo vas a flipar con esta historia🔥.
Es más, te aviso desde ya que el inicio te dejará en shock😱!!
Ya me entiendes, con un montón de preguntas, alucinando y necesitando saber qué pasó para llegar a esa situación🤫!
Y cuanto más leas, esa necesidad irá creciendo hasta…
Sociedades secretas
Romance
Representación LGTBI
Rituales de iniciación (peligrosos y perversos)
UN DARK ACADEMY OSCURO QUE TE MOSTRARÁ LAS DOS CARAS DE UNA MISMA MONEDA: EL BIEN Y EL MAL❤️🔥!
(Eso sí, el final no me convenció mucho…)
Vamos, es uno de los clichés que más me gustan…
(Bueno, este y el de enemies to lovers, paqué engañarnos…🤭 Pero no nos distraigamos y volvamos al DARK ACADEMY)
Si te apasionan las historias con un halo oscuro, plagadas de misterio, de tensión y de secretos en torno a una academia, prepárate para aplaudir con las orejas porque lo vas a flipar con esta historia🔥.
Es más, te aviso desde ya que el inicio te dejará en shock😱!!
Ya me entiendes, con un montón de preguntas, alucinando y necesitando saber qué pasó para llegar a esa situación🤫!
Y cuanto más leas, esa necesidad irá creciendo hasta…
Sociedades secretas
Romance
Representación LGTBI
Rituales de iniciación (peligrosos y perversos)
UN DARK ACADEMY OSCURO QUE TE MOSTRARÁ LAS DOS CARAS DE UNA MISMA MONEDA: EL BIEN Y EL MAL❤️🔥!
(Eso sí, el final no me convenció mucho…)
June 22, 2024
Special thanks to Scholastic Press for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 1.5 stars rounded up
I don't know where to begin because I'm struggling to find something positive to say. I thought this would be outside my comfort zone because the spookier side of dark academia always creeps me out too much but I was willing to give it a chance. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this at all and by the 30% mark, I spent every moment reading it thinking about DNFing and wishing it was already over. I don't know if it was because this book suffered from trying to do too much or if it was simply the writing that made everything come across poorly, but I found the characters irritating, the plot underwhelming, and it wasn't a satisfying conclusion or explanation of the Society and their purpose. In the end, nothing was challenged, so much was excused away, and I found myself thoroughly confused as to what I had just finished reading.
I'm not going to spend too much time going into what didn't work for me but ultimately:
To put it plainly, the writing was bad. It was choppy and disjointed and made for such a poor reading experience. Not only do we jump from scene to scene with nothing to differentiate the breaks, but I felt the author tried too hard to make the writing poetic and mysterious only to fall short of the mark. Throughout the read, I found myself constantly confused and asking: what does this even mean?! What am I even reading? How does this even make sense? It was painful. There was little atmosphere and a distinct lack of emotion which made it difficult to connect to the setting and the characters. Despite being inundated with an overabundance of historical facts and figures about Essex, from the abandoned buildings and secret locations, I would not be able to tell you how the school was laid out or what even the structures looked like as a whole. There was too much context that was not well explained!
I actively disliked the characters. There were moments I did feel for Cal because what he went through was horrifying and heartbreaking and it's not something anyone should have to experience. Despite being sent away from home, it's clear how much he loved and missed his parents. By the time he stumbles across Society, he's desperate and would do anything to find his place in this elite boarding school because he's tired of being a pariah everywhere. That said, everything that happened with him was so convenient—he so easily solves all the mysteries and puzzles and very quickly excels at everything he tries even once. I ultimately grew frustrated with the way his story was told. I think it's just that I never really understood who he was, what he stood for or what he even wanted in the end. As the story progresses he makes increasingly stupid and irritating decisions that don't make sense for his "careful" character, especially when it comes to Luke, who I'm sorry to say, I detested. There are a lot of secondary characters introduced, many of whom are insignificant and disappear after being part of the story for a section and others who remained one-dimensional and had such toxic personalities that I couldn't care less about them. In particular, Luke and Pinky were two characters I couldn't bear and I didn't understand what we were meant to think of or feel for them. I don't know if this was intentional by the author but having to endure repeated appearances of these two as the "main secondary characters" made this an even more trying reading experience.
Finally, I didn't think there was more for me to dislike but I loathed the romance. I'm so sorry—that wasn't romance and it was completely unbelievable. Simply because Luke was such an awful one-dimensional character who didn't seem to have redeeming qualities and who treated Cal like an afterthought. There was no chemistry and quite frankly, no romantic vibes. I'm quite sure Cal also didn't understand Luke either, and he often mentioned how little they knew each other, so it was hard to believe for even a second that they were in love. It honestly made me angry and while I'm all for romance subplots, this was not it.
Overall, I'm genuinely disappointed by how much I didn't enjoy this and I'm confused by all the people who are giving it high ratings because did we even read the same book?
I don't know where to begin because I'm struggling to find something positive to say. I thought this would be outside my comfort zone because the spookier side of dark academia always creeps me out too much but I was willing to give it a chance. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this at all and by the 30% mark, I spent every moment reading it thinking about DNFing and wishing it was already over. I don't know if it was because this book suffered from trying to do too much or if it was simply the writing that made everything come across poorly, but I found the characters irritating, the plot underwhelming, and it wasn't a satisfying conclusion or explanation of the Society and their purpose. In the end, nothing was challenged, so much was excused away, and I found myself thoroughly confused as to what I had just finished reading.
I'm not going to spend too much time going into what didn't work for me but ultimately:
To put it plainly, the writing was bad. It was choppy and disjointed and made for such a poor reading experience. Not only do we jump from scene to scene with nothing to differentiate the breaks, but I felt the author tried too hard to make the writing poetic and mysterious only to fall short of the mark. Throughout the read, I found myself constantly confused and asking: what does this even mean?! What am I even reading? How does this even make sense? It was painful. There was little atmosphere and a distinct lack of emotion which made it difficult to connect to the setting and the characters. Despite being inundated with an overabundance of historical facts and figures about Essex, from the abandoned buildings and secret locations, I would not be able to tell you how the school was laid out or what even the structures looked like as a whole. There was too much context that was not well explained!
I actively disliked the characters. There were moments I did feel for Cal because what he went through was horrifying and heartbreaking and it's not something anyone should have to experience. Despite being sent away from home, it's clear how much he loved and missed his parents. By the time he stumbles across Society, he's desperate and would do anything to find his place in this elite boarding school because he's tired of being a pariah everywhere. That said, everything that happened with him was so convenient—he so easily solves all the mysteries and puzzles and very quickly excels at everything he tries even once. I ultimately grew frustrated with the way his story was told. I think it's just that I never really understood who he was, what he stood for or what he even wanted in the end. As the story progresses he makes increasingly stupid and irritating decisions that don't make sense for his "careful" character, especially when it comes to Luke, who I'm sorry to say, I detested. There are a lot of secondary characters introduced, many of whom are insignificant and disappear after being part of the story for a section and others who remained one-dimensional and had such toxic personalities that I couldn't care less about them. In particular, Luke and Pinky were two characters I couldn't bear and I didn't understand what we were meant to think of or feel for them. I don't know if this was intentional by the author but having to endure repeated appearances of these two as the "main secondary characters" made this an even more trying reading experience.
Finally, I didn't think there was more for me to dislike but I loathed the romance. I'm so sorry—that wasn't romance and it was completely unbelievable. Simply because Luke was such an awful one-dimensional character who didn't seem to have redeeming qualities and who treated Cal like an afterthought. There was no chemistry and quite frankly, no romantic vibes. I'm quite sure Cal also didn't understand Luke either, and he often mentioned how little they knew each other, so it was hard to believe for even a second that they were in love. It honestly made me angry and while I'm all for romance subplots, this was not it.
Overall, I'm genuinely disappointed by how much I didn't enjoy this and I'm confused by all the people who are giving it high ratings because did we even read the same book?
March 9, 2024
I remember joining a live quite a few years back when Derek Milman was talking about a new book idea about a secret society at a school.
As soon as I saw Derek’s post saying that A Darker Mischief was on NetGalley, I immediately scooped it up. I will read anything he writes!
I haven’t read too many books like this and wow, this one really took you on a ride. I always forgot how old these characters were because of Society. There was crime, lavish parties, meetings, sleepless nights and secrets.
I really enjoyed this read. Every time I had a minute to read, I’d pick it up. Half the time I couldn’t trust anyone except for Cal. Still unsure how trustworthy everyone is though.
How far would you go to get a chance at joining Society? Out July 2, 2024!
As soon as I saw Derek’s post saying that A Darker Mischief was on NetGalley, I immediately scooped it up. I will read anything he writes!
I haven’t read too many books like this and wow, this one really took you on a ride. I always forgot how old these characters were because of Society. There was crime, lavish parties, meetings, sleepless nights and secrets.
I really enjoyed this read. Every time I had a minute to read, I’d pick it up. Half the time I couldn’t trust anyone except for Cal. Still unsure how trustworthy everyone is though.
How far would you go to get a chance at joining Society? Out July 2, 2024!
August 2, 2024
this is the most incompetent worthless book i've read in my entire life!! (captain holt)
this book was a personal attack on me
- first they came for the queer and gen z stereotypes and i resigned myself to the fact it's contemporary and written by a millennial
- next they came for the south and i took it well despite the lack of nuance
- then they came for misunderstanding basic concepts of corporate governance and i decided to give it one more chance
- lastly they came for my specific historical interest and i absolutely lost my mind
were they the only issues i had with the book? far from it! i just picked these 4 bc they were so glaringly obvious idk how an editor let it all pass. i'm actually enraged at the last one
1) haha he's so cool and hip with the kids. buddy. just bc u were a teacher does not mean u understand kids. stop using this sort of lingo it's embarrassing. i had to read "slay" and "legit" and so much colloquialism it tore me out of this supposed dark academia setting. there was nothing dark nor academia about this. i'm gonna rip my hair out. i'm not even gonna address the gay clique stereotype i don't care that the author is queer himself, i can't believe he wrote that, looked at it, and went yep that's the one
2) considering the fact that the author bio only mentions where he's currently living is interesting. which is brooklyn. and yet he talks so much about the south, how it's stereotyped like he didn't just do that with genz AND queer people. i get it. i'm from texas if u count that as the south. cal's from mississippi so more like the deep south, the bible belt so it's different. i'm a big advocate of the south but to have the author bash it over my head over and over again like i'm an elitist new yorker who doesn't understand basic human decency is wild. he also said it a new yawker or smtg like that. if he mentions one more city in the south i'm going to kms. who talks like that?? it's like he wanted to show off his knowledge of southern cities (or a google search) and did it in the most awkward way imaginable. haha cal's not like other guys! he's real and he's southern! he has an accent!
3) i'm a business major. i take my corporate governance exam in 5 days. it takes one google search to find out that the ceo does in fact NOT run the board of directors and it would be criminally insane if the ceo did do that! the chairman runs the board! the ceo is usually voted by the board and therefore cannot have influence like running it wtf! how did a single editor not catch this! also mentioning that the school has an incredible endowment fund when my govt and non profit exam is also in 5 days is wild. what else is crazy is that 700M in that fund (like where did that come from) is just mostly used to pay off dead kids' families. how is that gonna look in their annual report?? bc yeah they actually do have to disclose how they use their funds as a nonprofit!
4) and when i had nothing left to take, he took my history, my last shred of hope. he referred to charles I where he wanted an extra shirt bc it was cold but he didn't want people to think he was scared going up to the chopping block. ok great, nice reference, surely you couldn't ruin it right??? RIGHT??? nope! bc two seconds later they mislabel him as charles i of goddamn france. FRANCE? where did THAT come from?? charles i of france never ruled. charles i of ENGLAND was famously executed thus starting the commonwealth and oliver cromwell's refusal of happiness. i could excuse the ceo thing but i cannot excuse this. it's just a basic fact of history. how could you call him the king of france. that's like if i said julius caesar ruled china like wtf.
now that those 4 points are out of the way let's talk about the rest.
worldbuilding: the setting is connecticut. the school is old money, new england vibes. i know this is ya, but we are getting fed CRUMBS here for descriptions. or we are getting info dumped about buildings that the author just assumed i would care about. why? no reason. it's not a fantasy book so let's talk realism. this book frankly felt ridiculous. i'm sorry but i do not understand how it took milman 10 years to write this when a 12 year old on wattpad could do better. i'm sure a 12 year old on wattpad HAS done better.
bc the prose had no idea what it wanted to be. you want to be dark academia? fine let's try for a sense of mystery or elitism. it didn't have that. you want it to still be ya? this is what These Violent Delights managed to do and still remain ya. the amount of slang that milman put into this book was astounding. it's like corporate advertising - it doesn't hold up bc if u understand anything about gen z or just trends in general, it moves pretty quickly. we get a new one every single month. none of this held up right now, it felt like a millennial trying to be cool! and hip! and talk just like the kids these days! no self respecting 16 year old would talk like luke or cal's other friends. no self respecting teenager period. and besides the dialogue, the explanation was choppy i could actually tell the author mostly worked with screenwriting before this. could it have been better as a script? probably. so much telling, not enough showing. THE RANDOM CAPITALIZATION to show disbelief or anger threw me out of the story every time. can we not use italics. why is this worse than a middle grade book.
let's talk characters.
cal: i need authors to stop assuming readers go into books positively disposed to their main characters. when i start a book, i hate everything about it, and as the author it's ur job to make me like them. milman assumed i would like cal and ran with that. his personality is being a loser. i see what milman was trying to do by making him do "bad things" and saying he'd do anything to get his family off the hook. well that'd be nice if he actually followed thru w any of that but bro didn't! he had no conviction, he was some smartypants know it all, somehow he trusted this random guy he knew for like a couple of months and mostly he was so naive.
luke: dickbitch would be a lot funnier if it wasn't so incredibly terrible. his entire Thing is that he's untrustworthy and insane and mean. so why does cal trust him so much?? nobody knows. his shows of affection are equally paired with him brushing cal off and being the opposite of alluring. he's just hot. i don't get it. he's not even the good kind of mean like paul fleischer or henry winter.
every other detail i was going to complain more about turned out to have some sort of explanation in the book that i read through other reviews. but i didn't catch them in the book bc the author brushed over it like it didn't matter and i do not want to spend another second reading a single word. like cal's dad with the lawsuit. apparently that was some haunted house liability issue. why TF did it seem like his dad was also a politician who'd done some misdeeds. that lawsuit is literally a nothingburger. we get randomly thrown a wealth tax that the vice president is pushing. oh we're adding politics to this as well? no, it gets resolved immediately when cal changes the society for the mysterious better.
and adding on about the society. it did not feel mysterious at all. it was the least cool thing ever, i feel so cheated. they're supposed to be a bit creepy, adult, and elitist. it was none of those things. it assigned tasks and for what value?? it let rando children in like what? it tried to be #cool and ur telling me this is the society which reaches across the world and has its fingers in the fbi and the what now? the illuminati??? i'm gonna KMS. they request their members "dress to the nines" what kinda society has to tell u that. they use words like "explos" and "delibs" and rather than sounding cool it sounds so stupid.
chapter one. conrad. this is the secret history. first chapter mirrors TSH which whatever i could handle that. but then throughout we just see this book steals other books' plot points?? SPOILERS AHEAD
"the snow in the mountains was melting..." etc The Secret History first line. matches up with cal having blood on his shirt and going to the person he kidnapped.
the dinner scene where cal and luke order exorbitant amounts of food. and then luke can't pay. but there's no henry in this situation so they just dine and dash.
there's a plot twist! but it doesn't hit bc it's just from Vengeful. eli talking to victor's "ghost." cal talking to brent's "ghost."
once again, TSH when luke is in italy and cal is in the cold of winter, getting sick and hallucinating half the time.
and then boom that ending reads like If We Were Villains. cuz the way milman disposed of luke was crazy. and what was the point. other than to make cal miserable.
and why should we care about that ending? who gives a shit what all these other randos are doing? i barely knew them.
some other things i noted while reading
- pop culture references are not cool they only work in Gideon the Ninth for reasons that make sense to the plot. here, it was as if the author was shouting ME! ME! I KNOW THAT REFERENCE! from the top of his lungs.
- the instagram story thing where they spent it dissing on cal didn't make sense at all. if u wanna bully someone indirectly u do NOT do that on insta. u do that on twt or tiktok. instagram is all about me me me and why tf would these people who want to be with the elites spend it all on talking down some rando everyone already hates rather than elevating themsleves. oh, but u say, that IS their way of doing so. yeah i agree, but they're already doing it in person. there's no need to post that on one's story. the only thing posted on ur story is how cool U are not how lame some other person is.
- everyone's hot bc somehow all the guys have tousled hair
- everyone dropping their Tragic Backstory so casually i hate that. how is that realistic? no nuance, just hitting me over the head with how much i should sympathize w u
- all the genz references that authors try to do and not a single one of them gets our texting style right either. we don't use caps or punctuation we let typos be and we use way more abbreviations that just w for with! haha! once again i'm going insane!
- lol they're kidnapping a girl but they're not sexist! let's giver her a tampon and a girl kidnapper so she gets what she needs! what the fuck!
now let's talk romance
where was it. their entire situationship was built on helping each other out in the society and sex. is is strange that these 16 year olds are doing that? kinda but whatever. remember the olden days when it took time and buildup and 300 pages for a romance to get its moment. now, all of that is eliminated and they're kissing at the 100 page mark. there's a moment where cal is like "we've never had a fight before" that's right buddy bc you've known him for ONE MONTH. i'm so confused why cal just seems to inherently trust luke when it's shown time and time again that he can't be trusted?? it's like sticking ur hand in a lion's mouth and getting all sad and upset when it bites it off. the cheating. cal moved on from that so quickly shouldn't that be touched upon more?? the scene where he discovers it too is very poorly written. and then he what gets HIV in the mouth which stays w him his whole life. so many random things were added in like the author JUST discovered it and had to put it into his book (charles i, wealth tax, hivs, etc). anyway, i would never move on from cheating esp the situation cal finds himself in with pinky and everything.
this book is a train wreck . it's hard to believe it went through 10 years of the author working on it and then presumably through an editing process. it takes itself too seriously and then not seriously at all at the same time. it has no idea what the purpose of the story is or what direction it wants to take. the dialogue sucked bc everyone pretty much spoke the same. the writing didn't at all compel me or get me to start asking questions. i never felt the mystery or the excitement. it hit me over the head with random history facts about the school i didn't care about. it failed to do anything but waste my time!
this book was a personal attack on me
- first they came for the queer and gen z stereotypes and i resigned myself to the fact it's contemporary and written by a millennial
- next they came for the south and i took it well despite the lack of nuance
- then they came for misunderstanding basic concepts of corporate governance and i decided to give it one more chance
- lastly they came for my specific historical interest and i absolutely lost my mind
were they the only issues i had with the book? far from it! i just picked these 4 bc they were so glaringly obvious idk how an editor let it all pass. i'm actually enraged at the last one
1) haha he's so cool and hip with the kids. buddy. just bc u were a teacher does not mean u understand kids. stop using this sort of lingo it's embarrassing. i had to read "slay" and "legit" and so much colloquialism it tore me out of this supposed dark academia setting. there was nothing dark nor academia about this. i'm gonna rip my hair out. i'm not even gonna address the gay clique stereotype i don't care that the author is queer himself, i can't believe he wrote that, looked at it, and went yep that's the one
2) considering the fact that the author bio only mentions where he's currently living is interesting. which is brooklyn. and yet he talks so much about the south, how it's stereotyped like he didn't just do that with genz AND queer people. i get it. i'm from texas if u count that as the south. cal's from mississippi so more like the deep south, the bible belt so it's different. i'm a big advocate of the south but to have the author bash it over my head over and over again like i'm an elitist new yorker who doesn't understand basic human decency is wild. he also said it a new yawker or smtg like that. if he mentions one more city in the south i'm going to kms. who talks like that?? it's like he wanted to show off his knowledge of southern cities (or a google search) and did it in the most awkward way imaginable. haha cal's not like other guys! he's real and he's southern! he has an accent!
3) i'm a business major. i take my corporate governance exam in 5 days. it takes one google search to find out that the ceo does in fact NOT run the board of directors and it would be criminally insane if the ceo did do that! the chairman runs the board! the ceo is usually voted by the board and therefore cannot have influence like running it wtf! how did a single editor not catch this! also mentioning that the school has an incredible endowment fund when my govt and non profit exam is also in 5 days is wild. what else is crazy is that 700M in that fund (like where did that come from) is just mostly used to pay off dead kids' families. how is that gonna look in their annual report?? bc yeah they actually do have to disclose how they use their funds as a nonprofit!
4) and when i had nothing left to take, he took my history, my last shred of hope. he referred to charles I where he wanted an extra shirt bc it was cold but he didn't want people to think he was scared going up to the chopping block. ok great, nice reference, surely you couldn't ruin it right??? RIGHT??? nope! bc two seconds later they mislabel him as charles i of goddamn france. FRANCE? where did THAT come from?? charles i of france never ruled. charles i of ENGLAND was famously executed thus starting the commonwealth and oliver cromwell's refusal of happiness. i could excuse the ceo thing but i cannot excuse this. it's just a basic fact of history. how could you call him the king of france. that's like if i said julius caesar ruled china like wtf.
now that those 4 points are out of the way let's talk about the rest.
worldbuilding: the setting is connecticut. the school is old money, new england vibes. i know this is ya, but we are getting fed CRUMBS here for descriptions. or we are getting info dumped about buildings that the author just assumed i would care about. why? no reason. it's not a fantasy book so let's talk realism. this book frankly felt ridiculous. i'm sorry but i do not understand how it took milman 10 years to write this when a 12 year old on wattpad could do better. i'm sure a 12 year old on wattpad HAS done better.
bc the prose had no idea what it wanted to be. you want to be dark academia? fine let's try for a sense of mystery or elitism. it didn't have that. you want it to still be ya? this is what These Violent Delights managed to do and still remain ya. the amount of slang that milman put into this book was astounding. it's like corporate advertising - it doesn't hold up bc if u understand anything about gen z or just trends in general, it moves pretty quickly. we get a new one every single month. none of this held up right now, it felt like a millennial trying to be cool! and hip! and talk just like the kids these days! no self respecting 16 year old would talk like luke or cal's other friends. no self respecting teenager period. and besides the dialogue, the explanation was choppy i could actually tell the author mostly worked with screenwriting before this. could it have been better as a script? probably. so much telling, not enough showing. THE RANDOM CAPITALIZATION to show disbelief or anger threw me out of the story every time. can we not use italics. why is this worse than a middle grade book.
let's talk characters.
cal: i need authors to stop assuming readers go into books positively disposed to their main characters. when i start a book, i hate everything about it, and as the author it's ur job to make me like them. milman assumed i would like cal and ran with that. his personality is being a loser. i see what milman was trying to do by making him do "bad things" and saying he'd do anything to get his family off the hook. well that'd be nice if he actually followed thru w any of that but bro didn't! he had no conviction, he was some smartypants know it all, somehow he trusted this random guy he knew for like a couple of months and mostly he was so naive.
luke: dickbitch would be a lot funnier if it wasn't so incredibly terrible. his entire Thing is that he's untrustworthy and insane and mean. so why does cal trust him so much?? nobody knows. his shows of affection are equally paired with him brushing cal off and being the opposite of alluring. he's just hot. i don't get it. he's not even the good kind of mean like paul fleischer or henry winter.
every other detail i was going to complain more about turned out to have some sort of explanation in the book that i read through other reviews. but i didn't catch them in the book bc the author brushed over it like it didn't matter and i do not want to spend another second reading a single word. like cal's dad with the lawsuit. apparently that was some haunted house liability issue. why TF did it seem like his dad was also a politician who'd done some misdeeds. that lawsuit is literally a nothingburger. we get randomly thrown a wealth tax that the vice president is pushing. oh we're adding politics to this as well? no, it gets resolved immediately when cal changes the society for the mysterious better.
and adding on about the society. it did not feel mysterious at all. it was the least cool thing ever, i feel so cheated. they're supposed to be a bit creepy, adult, and elitist. it was none of those things. it assigned tasks and for what value?? it let rando children in like what? it tried to be #cool and ur telling me this is the society which reaches across the world and has its fingers in the fbi and the what now? the illuminati??? i'm gonna KMS. they request their members "dress to the nines" what kinda society has to tell u that. they use words like "explos" and "delibs" and rather than sounding cool it sounds so stupid.
chapter one. conrad. this is the secret history. first chapter mirrors TSH which whatever i could handle that. but then throughout we just see this book steals other books' plot points?? SPOILERS AHEAD
"the snow in the mountains was melting..." etc The Secret History first line. matches up with cal having blood on his shirt and going to the person he kidnapped.
the dinner scene where cal and luke order exorbitant amounts of food. and then luke can't pay. but there's no henry in this situation so they just dine and dash.
there's a plot twist! but it doesn't hit bc it's just from Vengeful. eli talking to victor's "ghost." cal talking to brent's "ghost."
once again, TSH when luke is in italy and cal is in the cold of winter, getting sick and hallucinating half the time.
and then boom that ending reads like If We Were Villains. cuz the way milman disposed of luke was crazy. and what was the point. other than to make cal miserable.
and why should we care about that ending? who gives a shit what all these other randos are doing? i barely knew them.
some other things i noted while reading
- pop culture references are not cool they only work in Gideon the Ninth for reasons that make sense to the plot. here, it was as if the author was shouting ME! ME! I KNOW THAT REFERENCE! from the top of his lungs.
- the instagram story thing where they spent it dissing on cal didn't make sense at all. if u wanna bully someone indirectly u do NOT do that on insta. u do that on twt or tiktok. instagram is all about me me me and why tf would these people who want to be with the elites spend it all on talking down some rando everyone already hates rather than elevating themsleves. oh, but u say, that IS their way of doing so. yeah i agree, but they're already doing it in person. there's no need to post that on one's story. the only thing posted on ur story is how cool U are not how lame some other person is.
- everyone's hot bc somehow all the guys have tousled hair
- everyone dropping their Tragic Backstory so casually i hate that. how is that realistic? no nuance, just hitting me over the head with how much i should sympathize w u
- all the genz references that authors try to do and not a single one of them gets our texting style right either. we don't use caps or punctuation we let typos be and we use way more abbreviations that just w for with! haha! once again i'm going insane!
- lol they're kidnapping a girl but they're not sexist! let's giver her a tampon and a girl kidnapper so she gets what she needs! what the fuck!
now let's talk romance
where was it. their entire situationship was built on helping each other out in the society and sex. is is strange that these 16 year olds are doing that? kinda but whatever. remember the olden days when it took time and buildup and 300 pages for a romance to get its moment. now, all of that is eliminated and they're kissing at the 100 page mark. there's a moment where cal is like "we've never had a fight before" that's right buddy bc you've known him for ONE MONTH. i'm so confused why cal just seems to inherently trust luke when it's shown time and time again that he can't be trusted?? it's like sticking ur hand in a lion's mouth and getting all sad and upset when it bites it off. the cheating. cal moved on from that so quickly shouldn't that be touched upon more?? the scene where he discovers it too is very poorly written. and then he what gets HIV in the mouth which stays w him his whole life. so many random things were added in like the author JUST discovered it and had to put it into his book (charles i, wealth tax, hivs, etc). anyway, i would never move on from cheating esp the situation cal finds himself in with pinky and everything.
this book is a train wreck . it's hard to believe it went through 10 years of the author working on it and then presumably through an editing process. it takes itself too seriously and then not seriously at all at the same time. it has no idea what the purpose of the story is or what direction it wants to take. the dialogue sucked bc everyone pretty much spoke the same. the writing didn't at all compel me or get me to start asking questions. i never felt the mystery or the excitement. it hit me over the head with random history facts about the school i didn't care about. it failed to do anything but waste my time!
March 14, 2024
That was... a whirlwind. A dark, messy, winding twisting path of lies, deceit, but ultimately a tale of survival; of doing what it takes to protect those you love, and realizing that not all those who love you are actually telling the truth. Maybe they're protecting themselves, too. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the way it was written. It was gritty but witty, made me snort in some places at how cheesy Luke was, and ball my hands into fists at Pinky's entire character. I wept happily for Gretchen, and was shocked at Luke. This book took me for a joyride, but also shocked me straight to my core and kept me on the edge of my seat at every page turn. Once I picked it up, I could not put it down.
September 3, 2024
Dark academia minus the literary writing
This book was such an undercooked mess!
It digs to deep at something while forgetting its values.
I don't know why the author purposely manage to ignore the problems around the mcs and causing it to build up.
The cheating was so unexpected, it was throwing me off the book,
Don't understand why cal still devoted his love to him even tho he fucking gave him MOUTH HERPES.
We got like a Tyler perry end credit scenes at the end tho thats new.
Literally the whole thing felt like a manic episode.
This book was such an undercooked mess!
It digs to deep at something while forgetting its values.
I don't know why the author purposely manage to ignore the problems around the mcs and causing it to build up.
The cheating was so unexpected, it was throwing me off the book,
Don't understand why cal still devoted his love to him even tho he fucking gave him MOUTH HERPES.
We got like a Tyler perry end credit scenes at the end tho thats new.
Literally the whole thing felt like a manic episode.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2025
Jajsk mamarracho malo, malo, malo. Estereotipos terribles, errores históricos, incongruencias en el argumento y, claro, una prosa absurda. Una pérdida total de tiempo
October 8, 2024
Wow! This book is like nothing I've ever read before. Derek is a phenomenal writer. He has the ability to make you think while also entering you as a reader. I am huge fan of Scream All Night and Swipe Right for Murder. For me, A Darker Mischief was a fabulous mixture of what both of those books so great and special. I'm a sucker for a dark academia story, and this book definitely met my expectations and then some. This book always kept me guessing, which is something that I look for in a good mystery-thriller.
If you are looking for a dark young adult mystery, then look no further. I highly recommend!
If you are looking for a dark young adult mystery, then look no further. I highly recommend!
August 21, 2024
I do love when dark academia is actually dark and addresses how the vulnerable are always the ones who get used and abused.
More to come.
More to come.
June 15, 2024
“Burn the world down. That’s who you are.”
“Maybe it is. Ever considered that?”
1 Sentence Summary: Cal—the poor, southern, queer kid—is never going to fit in at his new fancy New England boarding school, but when he learns about a secret society on campus he decides to try to join as a way to reinvent himself, and it’s the best decision he’s ever made because he meets charismatic and mysterious Luke Kim, but then the initiation rituals start to get more and more dangerous, everyone is hiding secrets, and nothing is what it seems.
My Thoughts: This was a wild ride. Like, what did I even read?! Veryyy creepy and disturbing (in a…mostly…good way I think haha).
The creepy dark academia thriller vibes were definitely there. The plot was definitely… out there. It was a rollercoaster from start to finish and I had to suspend my disbelief for most of it, but I still had a lot of fun.
I don’t think a single character in this book was mentally stable. Which made the romance interesting, to say the least.
“I’m just trying to survive my stupid life, Lonely Hearts.”
Also, I DIED during the eye scene.
There were some writing things that annoyed me, like random asides that were thrown in, weird dialogue, and an overabundance of exclamation marks, but I’m hoping some of that gets fixed before publishing.
Oh and the whole “10 years later” epilogue thing seemed so unnecessary (and was pretty weird too but what was I expecting at this point, definitely not a normal ending lol).
Overall though, I did enjoy reading this, and all I can say is WHAT?! (Mostly non derogatory)
Recommend to: Fans of boarding schools, secret societies, & mysterious disappearances.
(Warnings: swearing; bullying; underage drinking; sexual content; kidnapping; violence; death)
***
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review
March 15, 2024
Holy cow. A YA Secret History? I signed right up.
To my shock...
A Darker Mischief totally delivers on that promise.
Thank you, Scholastic, for the ARC.
Damn.
Adult readers looking to have an "easier time" with YA will struggle with the innate intelligence of this one, as well as its deeper embedded themes, as I'm already seeing lol.
To my shock...
A Darker Mischief totally delivers on that promise.
Thank you, Scholastic, for the ARC.
Damn.
Adult readers looking to have an "easier time" with YA will struggle with the innate intelligence of this one, as well as its deeper embedded themes, as I'm already seeing lol.
March 20, 2024
This book was AMAZING. It was such a page turner, I could not put it down! The plot twist was crazy, it really threw me off. I loved seeing how the main character was able to stand up for what he believed in, and how he was able to help Gretchen. I also really liked the story, a secret society at a boarding school is such an interesting idea!
March 13, 2024
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
I read a review somewhere that said this book is written for smart people. I can totally see that. It's a gorgeous little puzzle box, with a startling and compelling love story at its core.
I read a review somewhere that said this book is written for smart people. I can totally see that. It's a gorgeous little puzzle box, with a startling and compelling love story at its core.
July 5, 2025
A Darker Mischief by Derek Milman is a solid YA dark academia mystery, but I'd say that it's my least favorite from this author. I didn't feel strongly about any of the characters, but I wouldn't say I was interested in finding out what would happen to anyone throughout the story. I also felt a little like I was missing something. I don't know if that is something that came across in the audiobook production, or otherwise. Maybe it was just me. Anyway, this one was underwhelming for me considering how much I loved Milman's previous releases.
April 17, 2024
4.5 stars:
I don’t have words! I honestly think that this book left me with more questions than answers. I adored the main character; he was complex, and the author portrayed his angst and frustrations well. The mystery aspect of the story was significant, though most of it I didn’t get; I loved it nonetheless as you bonded with the character in his total confusion. The romance in the book was also excellently written. The tension, the nicknames, and the mystery associated with Cal and Luke’s love story made me speed through this book.
Honestly, the atmosphere that the author creates sucks you into the mystique associated with the characters and story. Though the ending didn’t match the rest of the book, it was satisfying, and I’m so happy that I could read this story—another must-read for this year!
Thank you, NetGalley and Scholastic, for allowing me to read such a remarkable story in exchange for my honest review!
I don’t have words! I honestly think that this book left me with more questions than answers. I adored the main character; he was complex, and the author portrayed his angst and frustrations well. The mystery aspect of the story was significant, though most of it I didn’t get; I loved it nonetheless as you bonded with the character in his total confusion. The romance in the book was also excellently written. The tension, the nicknames, and the mystery associated with Cal and Luke’s love story made me speed through this book.
Honestly, the atmosphere that the author creates sucks you into the mystique associated with the characters and story. Though the ending didn’t match the rest of the book, it was satisfying, and I’m so happy that I could read this story—another must-read for this year!
Thank you, NetGalley and Scholastic, for allowing me to read such a remarkable story in exchange for my honest review!
July 3, 2024
I don’t know if this was really confusing or if I am just stupid. Interesting and unique but I’m not entirely sure I understand anything about what I just read
July 8, 2025
Dnf at page 40-ish
I should’ve seen this coming with an average rating of 3.43
I should’ve seen this coming with an average rating of 3.43
September 2, 2024
Ditte's Review says it better than I can, but nonetheless...
Spoilers below!
Meet Cal. He’s your generic dark academia outsider protagonist. Stupid runs in his family (his insurance adjuster father is getting sued for failing to maintain insurance for his haunted house hobby), so he ignores every red flag under the sun about both Luke Kim, the soccer-playing, drug-dealing, street artist/love interest whose most interesting (though oft repeated) quality is that he’s a chimera, and Society, a secret society that hasn’t come up with a better name in their two-hundred-year history (though don’t fret, they have the obligatory Latin motto(s)).
Society is all about exploring the secrets of Essex (an elite New England boarding school founded on the grounds of a Colonial college à la Yale that never made it past the Revolution), and luckily for us all, Cal spent the entire summer before entering Essex reading about its history, so every piece of info dumping is prefaced with “I read about (insert monument name)” or some variation thereof (I counted nine before I got bored).
Don’t worry about remembering which building is where or which alumnus/a/ae did what because we hardly revisit any of them (either structure or graduate). The exclusion of a map in a book about a Society dedicated to exploring its campus is just one of the many mysteries of A Darker Mischief.
The following passage struck me as as potential barometer for how a reader might react to A Darker Mischief:
If describing someone stepping from a circle into its center by using “unlooses himself from its tenebrous perimeter” strikes you as poetic rather than pretentious, you may have an easier time with A Darker Mischief than I did. Suffice it to say, I found it to be a major letdown, which was especially sad considering the glorious cover and the fact that it was one of my most anticipated 2024 reads.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Spoilers below!
Meet Cal. He’s your generic dark academia outsider protagonist. Stupid runs in his family (his insurance adjuster father is getting sued for failing to maintain insurance for his haunted house hobby), so he ignores every red flag under the sun about both Luke Kim, the soccer-playing, drug-dealing, street artist/love interest whose most interesting (though oft repeated) quality is that he’s a chimera, and Society, a secret society that hasn’t come up with a better name in their two-hundred-year history (though don’t fret, they have the obligatory Latin motto(s)).
Society is all about exploring the secrets of Essex (an elite New England boarding school founded on the grounds of a Colonial college à la Yale that never made it past the Revolution), and luckily for us all, Cal spent the entire summer before entering Essex reading about its history, so every piece of info dumping is prefaced with “I read about (insert monument name)” or some variation thereof (I counted nine before I got bored).
Don’t worry about remembering which building is where or which alumnus/a/ae did what because we hardly revisit any of them (either structure or graduate). The exclusion of a map in a book about a Society dedicated to exploring its campus is just one of the many mysteries of A Darker Mischief.
The following passage struck me as as potential barometer for how a reader might react to A Darker Mischief:
One of the hooded adults, wearing a silver masquerade mask and holding a staff unlooses himself from the tenebrous perimeter and steps forward.
‘You are now part of a two-hundred-and-ten-year-old tradition: the creative, through exploration of Essex’s rich history,’ the man says. ‘Society was founded on the idea of brotherhood; working together, forming bonds that will lead to lifelong friendships while uncovering campus secrets.’
If describing someone stepping from a circle into its center by using “unlooses himself from its tenebrous perimeter” strikes you as poetic rather than pretentious, you may have an easier time with A Darker Mischief than I did. Suffice it to say, I found it to be a major letdown, which was especially sad considering the glorious cover and the fact that it was one of my most anticipated 2024 reads.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
March 9, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc -
I was super excited to get a chance to read this early as everything about it seemed to hit my niche, but unfortunately it didn’t land for me as well as I wanted it to.
I love the frame of the story. I’m never going to turn down a spooky old boarding school, and when you throw in a secret society and a healthy dose of gay? I’m in. The Skulls is one of my favorite guilty pleasure early 2000s movies and this seemed to be along those lines.
Ultimately though, some of the pieces of the book just didn’t come together for me. I wasn’t a fan of some of the characters or the dialogue, and was mostly let down by the ending.
I did really enjoy the main character though, and the cover is swoon worthy. The atmosphere of the book is amazing, along with the world building.
A lot of the things I didn’t enough just come down to my preference though, and there is a good story in the book so my suggestion is to read it for yourself and see if you enjoy it.
A lot of people do seem to love it from their early reviews, which I’m so happy about!
I was super excited to get a chance to read this early as everything about it seemed to hit my niche, but unfortunately it didn’t land for me as well as I wanted it to.
I love the frame of the story. I’m never going to turn down a spooky old boarding school, and when you throw in a secret society and a healthy dose of gay? I’m in. The Skulls is one of my favorite guilty pleasure early 2000s movies and this seemed to be along those lines.
Ultimately though, some of the pieces of the book just didn’t come together for me. I wasn’t a fan of some of the characters or the dialogue, and was mostly let down by the ending.
I did really enjoy the main character though, and the cover is swoon worthy. The atmosphere of the book is amazing, along with the world building.
A lot of the things I didn’t enough just come down to my preference though, and there is a good story in the book so my suggestion is to read it for yourself and see if you enjoy it.
A lot of people do seem to love it from their early reviews, which I’m so happy about!
Read
March 20, 2024I really enjoyed this novel. The story was compelling and I loved the main character. There were twists I wasn’t expecting and the plot flowed well throughout the book. I didn’t love the ending as much as the rest of the book to be honest, which did tie up all the loose ends, just not in the way I was hoping. I still liked the book overall and would recommend it the dark academia, young adult novel to those who e hoy those genres.
May 17, 2024
Whoever’s saying they don’t like this book has no idea what a good book is
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