Daybreak

Sorrowsong University #2

by Autumn Woods

Alex’s Corbeau-Green’s world is burning down around him, and Ophelia Winters is desperate to prove she didn’t light the fire.

When Ophelia first accepted a scholarship from Sorrowsong, an elite university in the Scottish Highlands, she wanted nothing more than to destroy Alex and his family at any cost. But that was before she knew him, before they became each other’s everything. Now, after an unthinkable betrayal and the disappearance of his father, Alex is forced to return to New York, desperate to forget what they had, and salvage the damage done to his family. In Scotland, Ophelia is left reeling, alone . . . and watched.

With a new anonymous tormentor threatening to release evidence that Ophelia and Alex committed a murder on campus, it’s clear that they’re going to need each other once again. But can they find a way to trust each other, and repair the love that they had? And even if they can—will it be enough this time to keep them alive?

Genres: Romance, Dark Academia, Dark Romance, Fantasy, Romantasy, Contemporary, Mystery

416 pages, Paperback

Expected publication July 28, 2026

About the author

Autumn Woods is the Sunday Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Sorrowsong University series. She writes gothic and gloomy settings with love stories that’ll tear you apart just to put you back together again. Her books have been translated into twenty languages.

Outside of writing, she is a book illustrator and an aerospace engineer, and you’ll often find her climbing, painting, baking, or walking the British countryside with Mr Woods and their dog.

Reviews

[manas]

PREPARE FOR ME TO BE SO ANNOYING UNTIL WE GET THIS.

[ahmeeka · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh my GOD !!!!!! full review to come xxxx

[Iqra]

Ur girl just secured an arc of this book I’m literally shaking???? Like daybreak is actually in MY hands rn?? 🥹🥹🥹 Best believe imma be ditching everything to start this 🙏🙏🙏

[Saranya [ia]]

꧁𓊈𒆜Pre-Read𒆜𓊉꧂

To the man who ruined me for all others,

Alex, you are a cathedral of contradictions—obsidian and ivory, cruelty and care, silence and symphony. From the moment you stepped into my (Ophelia's🙂‍↕️) life, cloaked in mystery and moonlight, I knew I was doomed. You weren’t written to be loved easily. You were written to be devoured.

I have memorized your wounds like scripture. I have traced your silences like constellations. You are the kind of man who makes pain feel like poetry, who turns longing into a ritual. And I—foolish, devoted, dramatic—have built an altar in your name.

You are my top 1 book husband.
Not because you are perfect. But because you are true. You carry your darkness like a crown, and your love like a curse. You make me ache in ways I didn’t know I could. And I would choose you, again and again, even if it breaks me.

As Daybreak approaches, I am terrified. I am trembling. I am begging Autumn Woods not to destroy you. Not to unravel the fragile threads of hope you’ve given me. But if you must fall, let it be beautiful. Let it be unforgettable.

Alex, if you break my heart, I will write sonnets in your name.

I will scream into the void. I will tattoo your final words onto my soul. I will mourn you like a widow and love you like a storm.

You are not just a fictional man. You are a fever. And I am burning.

Forever yours in fiction and fury,
Saranya
💌💋💋💋

[enola]

WAR IS OVER I can finally buy and read the first book THANK GOD it's a duet and OMFG the cover??? hellooo???

[♡✿Mania⁠✿♡ ꒰inactive꒱]

♡⁠˖⁠꒰⁠ 💌 ꒱ Pre release
OMGGG SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP — life is worth living again autumn finally gave us the release date, you guys are not ready for the person I'll become when this releases litr one of my most anticipated releases ever!!!
I NEEEED THE ARC PLSSSSSS !!!

[Mai ༊*·˚]

ˏˋ 📓 pre-read log ˎˊ˗
↳ march 23, 2026

oh alex corbeau-green, you down bad mf 🤞




______________

Thank you to Slowburn/Zando for the ARC.

[monica ✨ romantasyreader]

will not know peace until this is in my hands

[✨Julie✨]

My most anticipated read of 2026! 🙌🏻

Best believe I will drop everything to read this one the instant I have it in my possession! July, please come quickly!

[yoanna lea. (semi ia.)]

I never craved a book so badly before but here we are a first for everything... currently in withdrawal apparently 😫

[clicktojointhemafia · Rating 5 out of 5]

12 letters, 2 words; what will happen to me if i don't get this book in my hands rn

[INSTANT DEATH]

[anne ⭑.ᐟ (mostly ia)]

SHUT THE FUCK UP. THE COVER??? OH MY GOD???

I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR THE PERSON I WILL BECOME WHEN THIS DROPS BECAUSE MY BOYFRIEND ALEX CORBEAU GREEN WILL BE BACK HOME TO ME.

[dais grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

[Texa]

“desperate to forget what they had” 🧐
Note: if he’s not celibate DNR

[Kimberlylovesreadingbooks]

I'll literally cry if I get this Arc copy 🤞🏾😭

[Erin (erinsreadingroom) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished Daybreak just as much as it finished me. 6 stars. Infinity stars. There is no rating scale in existence that will do this book, and the duology in its entirety, justice.

My emotions and my brain are a scattered, Illegible mess that I couldn’t possibly put into words just yet. My full review is still to come once I can string a full sentence together that I can pretend is poetic and emotionally moving… but until then all I have to say is preorder this book. Right now. You haven’t gotten around to reading Nightshade yet? That’s okay. Order your copy and preorder Daybreak at the same time because now is the perfect time to do so. You won’t regret it.

Alex and Ophelia how I love you so. A reread is definitely in my very near future.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞.

[Toriఌ]

Coming out July 30

FUCKING FINALLY, I’M BEING REUNITED WITH MY BABES!!
I love them so much and after that cliffhanger (that totally broke me by the way) I’m finally ready to continue their story🙂‍↕️

[Sara ➽ Ink Is My Sword · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

This was sooo good!! I love these characters so much. I don't wanna let go :c<3

how lucky am i? AHHHHHHHHHHH starting this immediately.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC copy of this book.

[Noi (in & out)]

well look what I found

[joni ౨ৎ - hiatus]

zando u have my mailing address !

[Lucía]

ᡣ𐭩 grumpy x grumpier - he falls first - mystery - grovelling - ceo x student - yearning ᡣ𐭩 I'm so ready!!!!

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5⭐️
Spice: fade to black 🫑

Tropes:
-completed duology
-dark academia
-romantic suspense
-so much yearning
-found family
-mental health rep
-healing

OMG! I love Alex and Ophelia even more than book 1! Alex is down bad for Ophelia. They are both yearning for each other and I ate it up!

We start off from the ending of book 1. We get to see more of Alex’s mom and sisters. That family dynamic was exactly what I pictured!

The mental health rep was done beautifully and handled with so much care. Alex carries the weight of the world. He’s so overwhelmed which doesn’t help his depression. But he sticks with his therapist and has so much love from his mother, sisters, and Ophelia.

It’s a duology I will reread time and time again. I love this story and the characters!

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[⋆｡ ﾟ sara (rinezha’s version) ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

was it cheesy? yes.
was it corny? yes.
was i still utterly obsessed? also yes!

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is without exaggeration, one of the most perfect endings to a duology I have ever read. I closed this book with tear streaked cheeks, and that rare, beautiful feeling that comes from finishing a story that gave absolutely everything it had to give.
Watching Alex and Ophelia story continue after everything that happened in Nightfall felt like returning to friends you’ve been worried about for far too long. By the time I finished this, they didn’t feel like characters anymore, they genuinely felt like people I knew.

I also have to talk about the mental health representation, because the portrayal of depression in this duology is some of the most realistic and compassionate I’ve ever read in a romance. It felt raw, honest, and so relatable. At times it was amazing to see that level of emotional depth on the page, and at others it was genuinely heartbreaking because of how real it felt.

And then there’s that scene.

The life drawing scene.

I actually lost my mind. I’m being so serious when I say i was screaming into my pillow feral. It’s one of my all-time favourite setups in a romance book, and the way it was written here was absolute perfection, t’s the kind of scene that will live rent-free in my head forever.

Everything about Daybreak just worked for me: the angst, the healing, the romance, the suspense, the emotional payoff. For me it’s rare for a sequel to land the ending so perfectly, but this one truly did.

In short THIS WAS SOMEHOW EVER BETTER THAN NIGHSHADE AND YOU NEED TO PICK IT UP AS SOON AS ITS OUT AND RE READING NIGHTSHADE RIGHT BEFORE READING THIS WAS SO PERFECT I WOILD RECOMMEND!!

Also thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. I will be forever grateful I got to read one of my top books of the year on a sunny day off from work in March

[thea. [reviewing slump]]

Wohooooo it was ABOUT TIME AFTER THAT CRIMINAL CLIFFHANGER oml if i dont get happy ending ….

[Jessica Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

★★★★★

I don’t even think I can fully put into words how much I adored this book.

Firstly, thank you so much to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Daybreak. The way I dropped everything to start this… I genuinely could not put it down. It still feels surreal knowing I’m one of the first people to experience this story.

I cannot wait for everyone else to read it because I truly don’t think anyone is ready for what’s coming 👀 Every single page felt highlight-worthy, I’m not exaggerating when I say my copy is probably 90% highlighted. It was such a beautifully written, emotional, and completely consuming love story.

This was without a doubt my most anticipated read of 2026, and somehow it still exceeded every expectation I had. The yearning? Absolutely flawless. The tension, the build-up, the emotional payoff, everything was done to perfection. I went through every possible emotion while reading this: crying, kicking my feet, staring at the wall in shock… it had me in a chokehold the entire time.

If you haven’t started this duology yet, please take this as your sign to pick up book one immediately. Trust me, you are going to want to be caught up before this releases.

The character growth in this second book was incredible. Watching both main characters evolve, heal, and come into themselves felt so real and so satisfying. I loved the dual POV, being able to experience both sides of the story added so much depth to their relationship and made every moment hit even harder.

And it wasn’t just the main characters, the side characters were just as compelling. The way they developed and came together, especially in moments where support and loyalty mattered most, added another layer to the story that I absolutely loved.

There was a plot twist at around the halfway mark that I genuinely did not see coming. My jaw was on the floor. I had to physically pause and process what I’d just read before continuing.

There are so many moments I wish I could quote because they were just that good, but I’ll stay on my best behaviour, just know you are all in for an unforgettable experience.

Thank you again to the team at Pan Macmillan for this ARC. I already know this is going to be one of those books that stays with me for a very long time… and I don’t think anything will compare for a while.

[Rachel]

BRB gonna go see if I can get an ARC of this booke because I’ve never wanted anything more!

[Caro]

“You make me finally understand what people mean when they say life isn’t long enough.” -Alex. Effing. Corbeau. Green. (Nightshade, 2025)

July 2026 is going to make my whole year. I can feel it!

[bookluvr]

loving the cover 👀 saving my read of book 1 for right before this comes out! i’m excited though

[Meg]

Pre release 🥳😈❣️💋

OMGGGG I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS TO COME OHT WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE JULY THOUGH!! I saw this on my kindle immediately added it to my list on my journal for that month !