20+ Gothic, Romantasy, Dark Academia Book Recs
If you want to read a book or book series that is filled with haunted mansions, ancient magic, brooding love interests, and dark academic energy, this book recommendation is for you. Whether you’re craving morally gray characters, secret societies, or fantasy worlds dripping in angst, here are 20+ books that perfectly blend gothic, romantasy, and dark academia vibes.
Perfect for curling up with during stormy nights or dramatic playlists on a weekday afternoon. Let’s dive in.
Pictures from Goodreads and Netflix
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Related to 20+ Gothic, Romantasy, Dark Academia Book Recs :
- Enigma by RuNyx Review Guide
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Enigma by Runyx
Enigma by Runyx is a dark academia romance novel with dark elements which is the main theme of Runyx books. It’s about Salem Salazar and Cazimir van der who are students of Mortimer University. Salem is obsessed with forensics and Cazimir with Arts. They are academic rivals and probably part of the secret society or solve mysteries together.
Gothikana by Runyx
Set in an ancient secluded castle on top of a mountain in Vernemore, Gothikana is a dark academia, suspenseful gothic romance that follows Corvina Clemm and Vad Deverall.
While dealing with the grief of losing her mother, Corvina gets an admission letter to attend a mysterious university of Verenmore. She accepts it as a sign of the universe and finally experiencing the real world after living all her life homeschooled and surrounded by her books.
But as soon as she arrives there she starts hearing rumors and experiencing unexplainable things, a lot similar to things that have been following her for a long time. Until she catches the attention of the silver eyed devil, Vad deverall who happens to be her literature professor with a similar mysterious past like the castle.
Grimstone Series by Sophie Lark
“The truth is, in Grimstone, everyone’s got a dark side…”
Fall and spooky season reads will be incomplete for me if I don’t read anything Sophie Lark. She is the queen of writing eerie, thrilling dark romances with insane plot twists. Which is one of the main reasons I’ve read half of Sophie Larks’ backlists in 2023. You can find more on My year and goodreads.
Now, let’s talk about grimestone. I was saving this book for the fall and spooky season because it’s a gothic spooky dark romance.
The Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros
Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros is a romantasy phenomenon made up of the intensity of military war college entwining with the darkness of an elite academic.
The plot is based on a strong minded but physically frail heroine Violet Sorrengail who involuntarily enters a ruthless dragon training camp where the chances to survive are minimal and acts of treason were ordinary.
Dragons, political games, enemies-to-lovers angst, gothic and high-stakes vibes all make this series everything we adore about dark academia but in the fantasy setting. Are you a fan of morally ambiguous love interests, violence-as-trial and not-so-light on the heart storytelling? In that case: this is the one.
Here is the reading order :
- Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) – May 2, 2023
- Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) – November 7, 2023
- Onyx Storm (The Empyrean #3) – January 21, 2025
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The Kingmakers Series by Sophie Lark
The second generation of the series are also interconnected standalones with different timelines. The series follows the kids of Brutal birthright series by Sophia Lark as they are set to begin their college journey on an island.
“Mafia families from around the world send their children to Kingmakers Academy to learn the skills of criminal enterprise.”
The series will give off Harry Potter x Mafia vibes with many great plot twists and found family tropes just like the Rina Kents legacy of gods series. Here is a recommended order to read the series. Will make a Sophie Lark author guide soon with more details.
- Year One (Kingmakers, #1)
- Year Two (Kingmakers, #2)
- Year Three (Kingmakers, #3)
- Year Four (Kingmakers, #4)
- Graduation (Kingmakers, #5)
The Tarkhanov Empire Series by Bree Porter
The Tarkhanov Empire series follows Konstantin Tarkhanov who is hell bent on building an empire of his own after his father and brother failed to do it rightfully.
After leaving everything behind in russian he began working his way from scratch in his new territory, new york and along the way he found new people who slowly became his real family.
And he’s ready to do anything for them. In this journey, he also falls in love with the widow of the enemy, Elena Falcone as she catches his attention.
The first two books are about them. And the first one ends on a cliffhanger and the 2nd one starts right where the first one ended with a slightly different timeline.
There are supposed to be more books out but since there are no official updates from the author we might not be getting them anytime soon. But find more details
