Gothic and Dark Academia Reads

We’re excited to present these gothic and dark academia titles, including a wealthy, but cursed family, a murder mystery, a fated reincarnation love story, and a novel about an ultra-secretive talent school!

VANTAGE POINT by Sara Sligar
9780374282295 | 1/14/25

The old-money Wieland family has it all—wealth, status, power. They’re also famously cursed.

Clara and her brother, Teddy, grew up on a small island in Maine in the shadow of their parents’ tragic deaths, haunted by rumors and paparazzi. Fourteen years later, they’ve mostly put their turbulent past to rest. Teddy has married Clara’s best friend, Jess, and the three of them have moved back home to take over the sprawling, remote family mansion known as Vantage Point. Then Teddy decides to run for the Senate—an unnerving prospect made much worse when intimate videos of Clara are leaked online. The most frightening part is that she doesn’t remember filming any of them. Are the videos real? Or are they deepfakes? Is someone trying to take down the Wielands once and for all?

Everyone thinks Clara is losing her grasp on reality. But she knows the truth: the videos are only the beginning. Years ago, the curse destroyed her parents. Now, it’s coming for her.

Sara Sligar, the critically acclaimed author of TAKE ME APART, returns with another shocking, breathless novel of Gothic suspense. Brimming with palpable tension, VANTAGE POINT reveals a twisted web of family secrets and political ambition that raises questions about the blurred lines between public and private personas and the nature of “truth” in our digital age.

THE LOST HOUSE by Melissa Larsen
9781250332875 | 1/14/25

Forty years ago, a woman and her infant daughter were found buried in the Icelandic snow, lying together as if sleeping. Except the mother’s throat was slashed and the infant drowned. The case was never solved, and there were no arrests, no convictions. Just a suspicion: the husband did it. When he took his son and fled halfway across the world to California, it was proof enough of his guilt.

Now, a year after his death, his granddaughter, Agnes, is ready to clear her grandfather’s name. Still recovering from his death and her own devastating injury, Agnes is desperate to escape the shambles of her once-stable life—which is why she agrees to an interview on Nora Carver’s popular true crime podcast. Agnes hops on a last-minute flight to the remote town of Bifröst, Iceland, where Nora is staying, where Agnes’s father grew up, and where, supposedly, her grandfather slaughtered his wife and daughter.

But when a local girl goes missing the same weekend Agnes arrives, Agnes and Nora’s investigation is turned upside down. Suddenly, everyone in the small Icelandic town is once again a suspect. Unearthing old and new truths alike, Agnes finds herself in a web of secrets that threaten the redemption she is hell-bent on delivering, as well as her life.

Set against the unforgiving landscape of remote Iceland, THE LOST HOUSE is a chilling and razor-sharp thriller with twists that will leave you breathless.

OUR INFINITE FATES by Laura Steven
9781250333889 | 3/4/25

Evelyn remembers all her past lives. She also remembers that in every single one, she’s been murdered before her eighteenth birthday by Arden, a supernatural being whose soul—and survival—is tethered to hers.

The problem is that she’s quite fond of the life she’s in now, and her little sister needs her for bone marrow transplants in order to stay alive. If Evelyn wants to save her sister, she’ll have to:

1. Find the centuries-old devil who hunts her through each life—before they find her first.
2. Figure out why she’s being hunted and finally break their curse.
3. Try not to fall in love.

THE DOLLHOUSE ACADEMY by Margarita Montimore
9781250320650 | 2/11/25

Ivy Gordon is living on borrowed time. For the past eighteen years, she has been the most famous star at the Dollhouse Academy, the ultra-secretive, elite boarding school and talent incubator that every aspiring performer dreams of attending. But now, at age thirty-four, she is tired of pretending everything is fine. In secret diary entries, Ivy begins to reveal the sordid truth of her life at the Dollhouse: strange medical exams, mysterious supplements, and something unspeakable that’s left Ivy terrified and feeling like a prisoner. Is something truly sinister powering the Dollhouse’s success?

Ramona Halloway and her best friend, Grace Ludlow, grew up idolizing Ivy. Now both twenty-two, neither has made much headway in showbiz until a lucky break grants them entry to the Dollhouse. They’re enchanted by the picturesque campus and the chance to perform alongside their idols—though nothing prepares them for the fiercely competitive training boot camp. When Ramona begins to receive threatening anonymous messages, it’s easy to dismiss them as a prank from a rival. Her bigger concern is Grace’s skyrocketing success, while Ramona falls ever further behind. As the messages grow more unsettling, so does life at the Dollhouse. Can Ramona overcome her jealousy and resentment to figure out what’s really going on? Will Ivy finally find her voice, before another young performer follows her catastrophic path?

With dark academia twists and enormous heart, THE DOLLHOUSE ACADEMY is a novel about the complexities of friendship, our desire to be seen and understood, and the true cost of making our dreams a reality.