Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to mark your completion of the August challenge to fulfill prompt #5 A dark academia book. Academic years tend to begin in August.

Please include the following:

Title:
Author:
Would you recommend this book?

Title: The Secret Place (Dublin Murder Squad #5)
Author: Tana French
Would you recommend this book? Oh, yes! Definitely! I highly recommend every single one of Tana French's books! She is one of my favorite authors!

Title: The Secret History
Author: Donna Tartt
Would you recommend this book? Uhm. Yeah, I guess. It was just sooooo depressing! It definitely felt like 'noir' to me, which I do not prefer. Tartt's writing is excellent, IMO, but I prefer at least a character or two who is a bit more positive than any of these were!

Title: A Discovery of Witches
Author: Deborah Harkness
Would you recommend this book? 4.0/5.0 - I did not expect to like this, paranormal and vampires not being my thing, so I was surprised at how quickly it pulled me in. It probably helped that it started out in the Bodleian Library (aka Oxford University Library), and that in my past life, as an Interlibrary Loan librarian, I used to occasionally get books from there. So immediately, I was drawn into the setting. The main characters, Diana, a witch who doesn't wish to use her powers, and Matthew, a very powerful vampire, who revels in his, are attracted to each other despite their desires not to be. Throughout the book, they grow, as creatures and lovers, Diana becoming much stronger, and Matthew, becoming less secretive and slowly opening little by little to Diana. Secrets are revealed, families are introduced and enlarged, and the book leaves both satisfied and set up for the next book in the series.

Title: Master Class
Author: Christina Dalcher
Would you recommend this book?
Not sure. I loved her other book Vox and I spent most of this book comparing them and getting confused because they seemed similar. It ended well and was based on history in the states I was unaware of.

Title: Catherine House
Author: Elisabeth Thomas
Would you recommend this book? I'm not sure I'm the right person to recommend dark academia. I haven't loved any book in this genre I've read. I liked If We Were Villains best of all the dark academia books I've read.

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth. Meh. If you're scared of bees, though,don't read this one. My fave dark academia book so far is probably Vita Nostra by Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko. It is very,very different than most dark academia and predates the current craze.

Title: Catherine House

Author: Elisabeth Thomas

Would you recommend this book? Sure! I’d never heard of “dark academia” before, and I don’t really think it’s a sub genre I’d like, in general, but I lucked out with this book. It was very weird and slow and usually I dislike slow but I loved this book!

This thread is to mark your completion of the August challenge to fulfill prompt #5 A dark academia book. Academic years tend to begin in August.

Please include the following:

Title: Dead Poets Society
Author: NH Kleinbaum
Would you recommend this book? No. It's a book based off the movie and offers nothing new on it. I would recommend the movie, however. And I guess the book would be fine if you don't want to watch the movie.

Title: They Never Learn
Author: Layne Fargo
Would you recommend this book? Yes -- I really enjoyed the twists this novel took and thought it was even stronger than her debut novel (which I loved). This novel has been optioned for a tv series and I cannot wait for the adaptation!

Title: A Deadly Education
Author: Naomi Novik
Would you recommend this book: Sure. The setting is (in my opinion) a fresh take. I know Harry Potter has Hogwarts, but the world Novik created just feels different. However, while the setting was new, the plot was old. By page 50 I had guessed the ending as it relied on 50 different tropes. I did enjoy reading it, but it felt like a story I've read 100 times despite this being my first time reading it.

Title: A Separate Peace
Author: John Knowles
Would you recommend this book? Yes. I wasn't sure I would like much in this category so I went old school and picked a classic. It was a very interesting read about a boy's school in New England.

Title: Catherine House
Author: Elisabeth Thomas

Would you recommend this book? No. I felt like the story was building to something, and the by the end, nothing. Events were eluded to, but nothing ever was brought to light

Jacqie wrote: "Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth. Meh. If you're scared of bees, though,don't read this one. .."

I loved Plain Bad Heroines. Very creepy girl school vibe.

Forgot this was the August theme.


Title: A Discovery of Witches
Author: Deborah Harkness
Would you recommend this book? Yes. I actually did recommend it to a friend, who is reading it now.

Title: Catherine House
Author: Elisabeth Thomas
Would you recommend this book? probably not, the pacing felt off. I was really getting into the end but the ending provided just felt like a let down.

Title: Tell Me Everything
Author: Cambria Brockman
Would you recommend this book? Absolutely! small liberal arts college in New England? Check. small circle of intelligent/talented friends? Check. Unsettled atmosphere of unease but not exactly frightening? Check. Young collegiate folks getting up to nefarious things? Check. Highly recommend!

Title: For Your Own Good
Author: Samantha Downing
Would I recommend: Yes! It was a great book to fit this prompt!