3.5 stars
Thanks to the publisher for a digital ARC for review.

After a series of mental health struggles, dropping out of college and chasing men who take advantage of her, Lennon Carter is ready to end it all. That is, until a mysterious phone call informs her she’s been accepted into Drayton College—a hidden academy where students learn the mystical art of persuasion. With a semblance of direction and purpose, Lennon ventures off to Drayton, only to discover that academic rivals, eerie demons, suspicious professors and many more secrets await.

AN ACADEMY FOR LIARS started off so strong—I was hooked in the very first chapters and intrigued by the mystique surrounding Lennon’s history, hauntings and journey to Drayton… but then everything fell apart. There are few more disappointed in this book than I.

This feels like a classic case of “great concept, poor execution.” The premise is extremely exciting: A secret college, a unique magic system, dark academia vibes, an MC with a troubled past seeking purpose and acceptance. But with all of these elements came a whole lot of confusion, loose ends and unexplained phenomena.

The good:

-Lennon was an engaging main character. I appreciated the ways her background led her to the desperate, somewhat vicious place she finds herself in. She’s a pretty consistent character throughout (some might say TOO consistent by the end), and I rooted for her.

-The magic system was very unique, albeit too unexplored. The idea of persuasion to impact people, animals and the surrounding world is something I haven’t seen much of before, and I liked the idea of classes teaching principles of this concept.

-I found the questions raised about good vs. evil and the role this magic could play in our world interesting. Character motivations varied, showcasing the ways persuasion could help or hurt.

-The ending of the book was action-packed and pretty gripping.

The disappointing:

-Pretty much every character aside from Lennon felt really flat, and in a lot of cases, entirely unimportant. There’s a found family aspect to the story, but Lennon’s classmates could largely be interchanged with one another with little to no consequence. By the end, I barely remembered certain students’ names because they were so undeveloped—but, for some reason, they’d play a major role in an escape, death or plot beat.

-I wanted so much more from the magic system and school. The classes started off interesting, but then the plot flew by and we barely learned anything about how the magic was used. Over time, it became a little too limitless, as well. All of the sudden, people could not only influence other people but also impact matter, persuade entire cities, create full illusions, etc. 

-Lennon’s academic growth was unbelievable. When she first begins her studies, Lennon is at the bottom of her class, struggling with no concept of how to pull ahead. But all of the sudden, she’s mega-powerful and

being recruited to the prestigious Logos house, which barely showed interest in her prior to their induction ceremony

? The “chosen one” narrative was too convenient and didn’t pay off. 

-I still have SO many questions. There were entire scenes in the first half of the book that I thought were building up to some big mystery reveal, but they never were discussed again or amounted to anything.

Who was the boy Lennon saw through the elevator and why was not mentioning him important? What was up with all the moths? What was the purpose of the Amsterdam scene and the “monster” they ran from?

There were so many pieces that felt extraneous to the puzzle Henderson was putting together here.

Ultimately, I wanted so much more from this novel. It didn’t feel tight enough to propel me through the story, and the ending didn’t have the payoff required to feel worth all the mystery. I definitely feel like there are stronger dark academia books to turn to than this.