Romance Recs

Dark Academia

• Jordan & Devonnie • Season 3 • Episode 2

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Grab a cozy blanket, light your candles, pour yourself some tea, and get ready for these recs! Devonnie and Jordan give your their top dark academia romance. Full of mysteries, broody MMCs, in the most moody atmospheric settings. From traditionally published titles to new indie releases you're sure to add something new to your TBR.


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Devonnie:

Welcome to Romance Recs. We are a romance obsessed bestie sharing book Recs broken down by genres and tropes so you can be sure you're getting exactly what you want out of your next read. Hi guys. Dev here. How are you?

Jordan:

Great. Thanks. reading?

Devonnie:

reading? Oh my gosh. This is such a hard question. We're reading so much. Okay. First of all. I am currently reading and listening to Wild Card by Elsie Silver is the last book in the Rose Hill series. I am devastated. I am also reading and listening to our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven. Oh my gosh. When I tell you this book is so beautiful, like I'm obsessed, I can't wait to see where it goes. I am still reading Revolve, which is an arc from Bal Cbra. Um, it's the third in. Off the ice series and I thought I was listening to one more, but I feel like that's enough for now because who do I think I am?

Jordan:

I don't know. The audacity

Devonnie:

Yeah. Oh, wait, wait, wait. I actually did wanna mention that I just finished listening to, in Reading King of Envy by Ana Huang and Chef Kiss Chefs f. If y'all wanna talk to me about that book separately on the side, please hit me up because I have so much to say. That was my favorite book of the series and I thought nothing could top book one. She lost me in the middle. She lost me in the middle, but book one and now this one. Oh my God, I can't wait for the next book. I'm excited for the next one. So yeah, that's, that's been my reading journey thus far.

Jordan:

Wow. I am, that is so much. I'm so

Devonnie:

yeah.

Jordan:

And hi everyone. I am Jordan. I am reading a Conduit of Light by Chelsea on Tompkins

Devonnie:

Woo.

Jordan:

I'm, yeah,

Devonnie:

Chelsea.

Jordan:

I love her so much. Um, and listening to two different alcs right now. The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts. Yes. I went back

Devonnie:

crazy. That is so crazy.

Jordan:

It's the third book in the series. I listened to an A LC for the previous one last year and I just was like, you know what, I'm gonna apply for the next one because is it the greatest thing ever? No, but it's really nice if you want like atmospheric. This time of year, like if you just want hours and hours of listening to like what they're making for food and where they're going and this, it's a palette cleanser for sure. Sorry, this is a whole nother tangent. And I'm also listening to Threaded Lies by K. Bromberg, a sequel to a book I have been waiting for for a year. So

Devonnie:

Yeah. Wow.

Jordan:

everybody.

Devonnie:

right. I love that you got the next book though.'cause that is so frustrating when you have to wait for series. But I love that you got the next A LC. It's like instant gratification kind of, you

Jordan:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Um, both of those, I listen to ALCS of, the previous books in those series, so

Devonnie:

Yeah.

Jordan:

I'm feeling good about that. But why are we here today? We're not here to talk about our current reads. You would never know it, but.

Devonnie:

I know. Unfortunately, we're not gonna spend all day just talking about every single thing we're reading. Today's episode is about dark academia. I know. You're so excited. Everybody clap at cheer because we love this. And also, Jordan, you mentioned atmospheric and how, uh, the, Nora Roberts book is atmo. That is exactly how I think of dark academia books. Like they're very atmospheric. The, because the people, the characters, the plot plays a point, but the location is also, I feel like very integral. To the dark academia vibe and I've got a record. Yeah. It's another character. And if you don't have that, they could, they might as well be a Hogwarts, you know what I'm saying? Like, well, actually Hogwarts was a little, you know, let me not, let

Jordan:

canceled Hogwarts,

Devonnie:

Yeah, I know,

Jordan:

we've canceled them.

Devonnie:

But also, Hogwarts itself was also pretty dark academia, so it's actually correct. Um, but no, the, it, it can't just be that they're just at college or they're just, you know, the, the, the. Academic institution that the characters are at has to lend itself to that atmospheric vibe. Um, and I have one rec that is like exactly that. Like I feel like it nails dark academia on the head, even though it's not traditionally dark academia, but.

Jordan:

to hear about it.

Devonnie:

I know I, I'm sure you've, you've heard you've heard enough about this book. I could not stop talking to you. Um, before we go there though, I think, should we do some quotes or fades?

Jordan:

absolutely. I was able to find a really cool quote from one of my recs today, and it's a longer quote that I chose, but I think it also really lends itself well to the relationship that plays out, in this book. So Enigma by RuNyx. You seem to have a mistaken impression that you have a say in what I do with my life. She began, let me make it very clear. You don't, if I wanna walk off a cliff, I will. If I want to take early morning walks with a handsome stranger, I will. If I want to apply for an award, knowing it makes me bait, I will. You don't have a say in it. Her chest was heaving by the end of the tirade. The number of words coming from her mouth surprising. Even her. He sat still watching her with icy eyes, burning the side of his mouth, curled in that damn smirk. Try it. Try walking off a cliff. I will block you. Try making yourself bait. I will catch you and try being with another man and I will use his blood and make you the canvas.

Devonnie:

Okay. That's not how I expected that to go,

Jordan:

Oh,

Devonnie:

but um, absolutely.

Jordan:

I knew it was longer than our usual quotes, but I just felt like it really represents the book so well.

Devonnie:

Yeah, that's giving, I need to see how chaotic this relationship is. It

Jordan:

I will use the blood to, and you as the canvas.

Devonnie:

that's crazy. He is not playing about her. Whoever these, I didn't read that book, but yeah. Whoever these characters are, I need to know more.

Jordan:

I will tell you more in a little bit.

Devonnie:

Yeah. Yeah. Uh, my quote is also from one of my recs, uh, my favorite, uh, this also. I feel like it doesn't give anything away, but it shows the relationship between the two characters as well as what's going on in their environment.

Jordan:

Mm-hmm.

Devonnie:

Don't you see Sydnee? He says his eyes wild, his voice raw. They're lying to you. They're lying to all of us and we all go along with it because we want to be someone so badly. That's how they get us our need, our want to be seen and heard, but they don't care. They don't see us like that. They see us as something to be used and disregarded until there's nothing left of us. I will preface that this is not, I don't think this is the main character, the male main character who says this, it's someone else, but it's still,

Jordan:

Yeah.

Devonnie:

it's an important relationship. Um, so Yeah, Yeah, it's very intense. Just like this entire book.

Jordan:

Hmm.

Devonnie:

And that quote is from Grave Matter by Korina Halle, which is one of my recs today.

Jordan:

Awesome. Well, do you wanna just, do you wanna jump into it?

Devonnie:

Absolutely. Okay.

Jordan:

the quote, like, to give us more, I need to know

Devonnie:

Okay. So Grave Matter by Karina Halley, first of all, uh, thank you so much Karina for the arc that I received at Book Gowns and Crowns because Delicious, I love it so much. Okay. Grave. Grave Matter is a gothic psychological thriller that takes place at an institution. It's called the Madrona Foundation, and it's located on Vancouver Island, which also amazing because, you know, being a pnw girly. That whole vibe. It's fall, it's foggy, it's misty. That was very prevalent in the entire story. Uh, the main character is Sydney Deek, and she has been dreaming about studying and working for the Madrona Foundation forever. She's currently getting ready to graduate or close to graduating, university. In her master's program, I think. But this would be like a level up in her education because she is studying to be an aspiring mycologist, which is the study of mushrooms and fungi and stuff like that. Uh, so Sydney gets into the Majora Foundation and oh my God, first of all, day one on the plane, things go awry. The Madrona Foundation is not what it seems, right? You meet all of these characters. Yeah. It's not what it seems like. You think these people are making promising steps in finding cures for Alzheimer's and cancers and all these diseases, and when you get there it is. So scary at what cost? Because there are ghosts roaming the halls. There are animals that are supposed to be dead, but are clearly alive. There are so, and me telling you that, guys, I'm not spoiling anything because Karina, Halle herself has written this in the, um, description of the book. Like, so these are, these are the types of things that are at play at the Madrona Foundation, just right off the little inlet. Yeah, like it is so good. There is a romance there. The romance. Not made the focal point, but it is the entire, it is, it is the book, even though you don't know it until really the end, um, it, it, carina's writing is just so good. Karina is just amazing. It's very atmospheric. You feel. There were times when I was reading this at night and the hairs on my arms would stand up because I was so creeped out. The things that are happening in the book, you're just like. This is unbelievable. It is very good.'cause they're studying at a, foundation. It's pretty much just cabins and they have boarding. I am labeling it as dark academia. It's very dark. Yeah. And it's very academic, you know what I'm saying? I need everyone to read this. I think it's a perfect read for this time of year. So give it a try. If you haven't, I would also recommend listening to it because the audio book is phenomenal. It is creepy. It is so good. And you kind of find out more about Sydney as well as the other people who are, uh, attending the foundation and the people running it. I will warn you, the plot twists in this book will leave your jaw on the floor. Some of them you may be able to see, but most of them you are so confused. You, you, it's, it's just so crazy. So yeah, if you're looking for something exciting like that to read Grave Matter by Karina Halley, love it. Love it so much.

Jordan:

Sounds so good, and I love hearing the concise, what it's about because I got so many voice notes from you during about reactions without being too specific and I, I need to go read it now.

Devonnie:

Yes.

Jordan:

My first rec is gonna be my most straightforward, dark academia, a hundred percent dark academia vibes from start to finish. Enigma by RuNyx is from my quote, was from this book. So this is the ultimate dark academia romance. It's full of themes of death. Secrets and loss all tied into an undeniable attraction between two very flawed characters and the secrets, they will drive you crazy in the best way. And I think that also is a running theme throughout dark academia, right? There has to be something to uncover. There has to be some air of mystery, but like the secrets in this are so layered and interesting, Salem attends Mortimer University to try to discover the truth about her sister's mysterious death. So Salem is obsessed with forensics specifically, post death. She like bodies. Um, she's very into the forensic sides of that and, tries to follow her sister's steps. Through this university, like what was her sister a part of? She's gonna become a part of that. She's gonna angry in herself in what her sister's life was while trying to uncover this secret. Right. And it, it all surrounds this very secret society and she's trying to figure out how to become their next interest because she thinks that's what happened to her sister, um, cz. Is the ultimate, mysterious, dark and broody artist. Okay. I And he's

Devonnie:

Oh, your quote makes sense. Your quote makes sense.

Jordan:

Yes. So I will use his blood and make you the canvas. Yes. And he, I think he does, if I remember right, does work with blood. Any whom? But he sees her and is like. I'm obsessed because she looks just like, she looks like she should be in a dark academia book. Like, I mean, she is just you know, and so he is obsessed with her and he, but he has his own secrets and he has his own mysteries that he's trying to uncover, but they're working in very opposing ways to try to figure this out. And so it's really interesting. I'm trying to remember. I think the first time they see each other is. At the scene of a death, he finds her standing over this dead body, like on the beach and it's very ethereal. And he's like, what are you doing? Just standing there drawing this. It's dark academia. It is secret

Devonnie:

dead bodies.

Jordan:

And more people die. It's good. It's so good. I liked it. so RuNyx, I know people I feel like either love their stuff or it's just not for them. I did read what was the first one? Um. I'm trying to remember Gothikana. So Goana was one of the very first dark romance or dark academia that I ever read. And I thought it was okay. I thought it was interesting, but it wasn't my favorite. I enjoyed Enigma way more than I enjoyed that one.

Devonnie:

Is, is Enigma a follow up to Ana?

Jordan:

no, it's its own. It's its own. So I'm just saying like, if you've tried RuNyx from Gotha. This is different. So yeah, give it a try.

Devonnie:

exciting. Yeah.

Jordan:

And perfect for this time of year.

Devonnie:

Right, exactly. And that old dark academia book, I mean, also it depends on where you live, right? Because if you're in sunny California, you might, you might not be feeling the vibe, but for all the Pacific Northwest book besties, perfect time of year to read this stuff. This is so good.

Jordan:

Bellevue has a fog warning right now.

Devonnie:

Does it?

Jordan:

All day. A heavy fog warning. Yeah, because

Devonnie:

Oh, I love

Jordan:

no visibility. I know. It's so fun.

Devonnie:

we're like giggling and kicking our feet.

Jordan:

Fog.

Devonnie:

Fog.

Jordan:

Oh, and I did, sorry. Really quick. I did listen to this one and I highly recommend the audio version if you're wondering which one way to go. They did a great job.

Devonnie:

Good. Good, good. All right. My next rec I've already spoken about on the podcast last season, if you wanna check it out, but this is Blood Over BrightHaven. Um, by rf, no ML Wong. Sorry, rf. Guang did Babble Babel. I,

Jordan:

Mm-hmm.

Devonnie:

um, ml, right? Yeah. ML Wong wrote this book, blood Over BrightHaven. And this, I feel like I will live with the story and the characters of this book forever. Like I constantly think about them. So Blood Over BrightHaven is. I wanna say dystopian, but it's not because it's also, it also feels like really far back in time. Um, but it follows, Ana Sana is an orphan. She has been an orphan since the age of four and her entire mission, you know what, sorry, I'm gonna pause right here. Because Ana is a, a woman trying to get into a male dominated field magic. Okay. And then Sydnee from Grave Matter, like there's a quote where Sydnee says, ever since I was little, I've always wanted to be a Madsen mad scientist. Not just a scientist, but a mad one. These women are so similar and I'm just gagging that I put them together. Uh, because Cyana is very much so giving mad scientists vibes, but like mad magician, I don't know. She wants to basically be taken into or be the first woman ever admitted into the high magistrate, and it's a male dominated field. Only the men can, um, study magic. Women who study magic are typ, right? Typically reduced to hysterics. Like literally, there are doctors who come in to try to give the women, um, medicines because they're hysterical. When they have my I, it grounds my gears, I promise the gears have been grounded down to a fine dust, but it is so good and so integral to the story. Cyana achieves her goal. She achi, she achieves her goal. She gets into the high magistrate, but of course they don't make it easy, right when she is supposed to get a lab assistant, someone to work through spells with, because everything they're doing is to keep their city running smoothly. There's something called the Blythe, kind of like a plague that is like. I don't know if it zeroes in on magic, but it is, it is sucking the life out of their times. But of course, the people in the high magistrate are very secluded. They have their little town and they wanna keep that going. So all the magic is used to keep the Blythe away and also keep, um, their city running smoothly. Ion's supposed to get a lab assistant who's qualified, who can manage these tasks. Instead, they find her a janitor. They give her the janitor, but what they don't know is that that janitor is the last of his clan. He walked across the frozen tundra where the blight literally picks people off. It just kills them, and the way this thing strikes it is so heartbreaking. It unravel them and it is. It unceremonious. It just happens. There is no warning. It just appears outta thin air and just removes people from the planet in the most horrific way. And every year, or every few hundred years or something, these clans try to make their way across the icy tundra to get to the city to escape the blight. And during that trek, many die. It's kind of like a great migration. Anyway, he ends up with Cy and. I am trying not to give too much away. He knows. He knows more.

Jordan:

He has more

Devonnie:

Then he had, yes, and he, he knows more about the blight than everyone else. He knows where it's, where it's coming from. He knows what's happening, or they're like literally unraveling it as they go. Him and Ana make the best team, but it is also heartbreaking the level of hiding and secrecy that he has to do to make sure he and his niece. Who he's pretending as his daughter are safe. Um, there is a, a small love story that really is not the focal point in this story. It comes at the very end. And honestly, I don't know if I trust Cyana with that love because I feel like it took her entire life to see what was right in front of her. And then it was too late and her actions led to the destruction of this entire thing. Um. I don't wanna give too much away, but I highly suggest I, this is very dark academia. Highly suggest reading or listening to this. Um, the voice actors are really great in this as well, and the story is just so rich. But one thing I will say is that you will be triggered. There are things in here that you can immediately relate to present day, like women being told to calm down, not being, not having access to things. Immigrants moving into an area that they're deemed, you know, not that they're not

Jordan:

And then blamed for

Devonnie:

And then blamed Yes. And then also treated so poorly just because they don't have the same tools that you stole from them. You know what I'm saying? All of those things will raise your blood pressure. But ML Wong did such a beautiful job of like, oh, did I just like lose ear? I felt like the air was just such,

Jordan:

At first I was like, that wasn't interesting.

Devonnie:

oh wait. Sorry. My stomach is cramping.

Jordan:

Something from this book came and like stole the words out of you, you're

Devonnie:

Or the universe was like, stop talking about it. Stop. You done? You cut me off.

Jordan:

And time Jordan has Rex too. Don't.

Devonnie:

Oh my God. Yeah, I know. Okay. Well with that, I'm just gonna say read, but over BrightHaven, I think it's a wonderful book. I gave it five stars. Um, that's all I got.

Jordan:

That sounds really, it sounds really interesting and very different from,

Devonnie:

Yeah. Yes. The magic system is very, very different. Like I've never read something with their magic system. So that's always interesting when you find new ways to, um. Read about magic.

Jordan:

Awesome. Well, speaking of magic, um, mine too features magic. I'm gonna go more into definitely 100% fantasy realm with Avalon University Book One Blood and Betrayals by Jeanette Rose and Alexis Roone. Okay, I think I've talked about this on the pod before. I don't know if I've featured it as a rec though. Holy cow. I'm still obsessed with this. Writing up the description of this book last night. I tossed all of my arcs out the window and I'm gonna reread this book, which is a lot because it's 1,026 pages.

Devonnie:

I did not know that.

Jordan:

It's a big beefy gal. I mean, she is,

Devonnie:

Wow. Yeah. That's thick. Ooh, nice and floppy.

Jordan:

It is so floppy.

Devonnie:

Mm-hmm. Let's spread it. Yeah.

Jordan:

Well, a SMR forget.

Devonnie:

A brought to you by Jordan.

Jordan:

the flop. So this is perfect if you want. Moody, dark academia, full of mysterious backgrounds, sexy characters. When I say everyone's sexy, everyone is sexy. A. Badass and I would say very unique. FMC. It's all set in a fantasy university. So Avalon University is where beings from all the realms send their best and brightest to harness their magic. Okay? But this is after they've harnessed their magic. So they already have their matured. Everyone is late twenties into their thirties. Going to this university, right? I mean, and especially when you have beings that live so much longer, it doesn't make sense to send them when they're just little baby 18 year olds. So these are people that have discovered their magic. They have control over it, and now they're gonna go, go to this university to really utilize it and learn more and become the best of the best

Devonnie:

Yes.

Jordan:

summer. Right? So RFMC summer ended up at the school. She doesn't know how. Someone applied for her, which is weird because she tries, she's been living in the human realm just trying to fly under the radar. So she's not sure who applied for her, uh, red flag number one. But she wants, she needs the security of the school.'cause the school has wards, and it's supposed to be safe. And so she is going there to utilize the safety and learn more. Um, but she's just hoping to keep her head down, learn as much as she can, and she didn't care to learn anything about her past. So she does have some questions about her lineage that she's never known about, but she really does not want to know. She's faee, but she refuses to socialize with any other faee. Which is un, which is un fae of her because faee are kind of like pack oriented. They, faee stay with faee, right. She does not trust them. She wants nothing to do with them because her appearance is slightly different than other faee. And she smells a little bit different because, you know, she just, yeah. So, but she just wants nothing to do with them. She doesn't trust him. Other creatures in this university include her bestie, vampire,

Devonnie:

Love that.

Jordan:

golden boy. Angels, a personal trainer of hers who is a berserker

Devonnie:

A be.

Jordan:

Max is my favorite. Um, a Brody maj of a headmaster. There's shifters and one sadistic shadow stalker. She doesn't know who it is. He appears as a literal shadow. Man, and he is stalking her. Okay.

Devonnie:

a love interest?

Jordan:

I will not confirm or deny who is. I will tell you book one, not a why choose.

Devonnie:

Interesting.

Jordan:

so cool. Um, it's is right up there for me with Zodiac Academy and the cliffhanger was. Absolutely brutal. I was just sobbing tears streaming, but I laughed my way through most of this book. Like, I mean, it is hilarious. The banter is amazing. Summer, and her best friend Alice are just like, they're roommates and they are hilarious together. Just, just, it's just amazing. And she's a vampire. And let me tell you, she's dark and depraved, and. She is a vampire, like her dad is Dracula I believe, or some big, he's like leader of the vampires, but he hates her and so he treats her like shit. And she's like, let me run my dad's black card and let's get whatever. It's just so much fun. There's so much fun. And there's different dynamics. The angels, and then you go to the angel realm. God is a woman, I can tell you that right now. You learn God is a woman and do you interact with her? Maybe read and find out, and it's just everything is so good. Okay. And there's so much smut. I would like so much smu. It's so hot. It's so freaking hot. Uh, book two doesn't come out until March, 2026, but I don't care. I'm gonna read it again at least one more time, and I really hope you all do too, if you like. Fantasy. If you like, you know, the different species and all of that, please do it. Um, there is, you get to know the angels really well and let me just say her love interest, who she ends up being with, in this book. She's into more rough stuff than he is. But she never says anything, but he can just tell based on like what she asks in there. And so without talking to her, he goes and he reads more about this. He does research. He asks her, do you prefer this or that? And he goes and does research so he can be more of what she needs in the bedroom it's

Devonnie:

over here trying to look for it.

Jordan:

It's just so cool. Yeah. It's long buckle in, but it is so worth it and it's so funny and heartbreaking

Devonnie:

I know I, you been talking about it for a while and I do want to listen to it, so I'm like over here on Libby

Jordan:

I don't.

Devonnie:

to see if they have it.

Jordan:

I don't know if there's an audio version yet. I don't think they've

Devonnie:

Oh, it's not,

Jordan:

No. So I, so I am on this is so, um, Jeanette and Alexis, they run and own their CEOs of Rosen Star Publishing. They just published their own and until now have also published. Amber v Nicoles is their third author, and so they publish their own books. they've made it Rosen Star, and so I am on the street team for Rosen Star Publishing, so I got an arc of this, but I mean, seven Stars loved it

Devonnie:

Seven stars. I love that. Uh, yeah. I thought they had a, um, audio book. Okay, so

Jordan:

Mm.

Devonnie:

I'm gonna have to wait because a thousand page book right now, I,

Jordan:

Yeah, no, I mean, you need time for that. Although I read it for how long it is and how slow of a physical reader I am. I flew through it.

Devonnie:

Did you read the physical copy or a Kindle?

Jordan:

Kindle, absolutely

Devonnie:

book books on Kindle. are all three pages long when you're on the Kindle.

Jordan:

Yeah. I was not lucky enough to be chosen for a physical arc. All their physical arcs were special editions too. They made them special edition. It was so cool. They're so there's the authors are really cool too. So

Devonnie:

Yeah.

Jordan:

any who, go read it. And when you do, please message me and tell me like reactions as you read. Tell me guesses. Tell me theories because I still have so many theories I need to talk to people about.'cause there's still so much. Anyways,

Devonnie:

I know. I love that. Um, uh, and now back to you. Thanks. We're over here at, Uh Romance No, I don't actually have another, um, I know I don't have another, I just had two that I, I know. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm pretty sure I've read more dark academia, but I can't think of any other one that's.

Jordan:

you were willing to,

Devonnie:

me, you know? yeah, yeah.

Jordan:

are your special addition? What are your special nods? Do you have any, like, Hey, we've mentioned them before, but go back and read these.

Devonnie:

Absolutely. Now that you ask, um, the Coven and the Cursed by Harper Ellwood, which I, we've mentioned on the pa, we love that there's another book. What is it? Is it the Damned or Damned? Either way, it's The Damned. I think. it is Bele Buzz is Beb.

Jordan:

Yep. That one

Devonnie:

That one is his story.

Jordan:

that demons.

Devonnie:

Yeah, because, huh? Why would that even be a name? Like please just be so for real.

Jordan:

I think it is actually a bi, I wanna say

Devonnie:

bi, Yes, it's biblical, And that pisses me off because, okay. Anyway. Be

Jordan:

B.

Devonnie:

bub. Bumblebee is the damned, and that's coming out either this year or the beginning of next year. I can't remember.

Jordan:

at the end of this. Um, it's coming

Devonnie:

Yeah. One of my favorites. It is so good. Um, the coven, it's amazing it read it and I love that we're continuing the story with characters that we've already met. I don't know if the next installment is gonna be dark academia, but I'm still looking forward to it. It might, it might fit in with our spooky reads,

Jordan:

Yeah, I think it hap, it occurs in hell. I'm pretty sure. I think they go to hell. So I think that's where it is.

Devonnie:

I'm

Jordan:

there's a hell University, I

Devonnie:

Right? Hell, university is crazy. Could you imagine? I go to, I go to university in hell

Jordan:

If anyone has rec for universities in hell, I will take it. But that's interesting that we actually, now that I mention that, it's interesting because my next and my final rec, one of the characters is from hell. He's a demon prince.

Devonnie:

We love that. Look at that.

Jordan:

Oh, love it. Seamless. So Storm bringer by Hazel Rockwood is my latest obsession. You guys, you know how I can obsess over certain things? This is it. It is the hour for storm bringer. Okay. It's not even out yet, so suck on that. You have that to look forward to. I believe it's October 3rd. It comes out. Hazel Rockwood is an indie author. Um, she has a couple of other books out. She has a couple really short novellas, novel for Halloween, and then she has a Christmas one, and then she has a throuple book, one of a series that's not out. Storm Bringer is a y. Choose. Okay, so

Devonnie:

I love that.

Jordan:

Alias whale spin. Well. Is just another storm spirit with minor magic. Too bad. Her pretty face, unrelenting sarcasm and stubborn attitude just won't let her blend into the background because in reality, wave is heir to one of the oldest and most powerful storm bringer families. But she's also half siren. And in all the realms, sirens have been hunted, used, and killed for as long as history has been recorded. She had to leave her mother in hiding to attend the university in order to find answers. She's sure is out there about the mysterious death of her father. My favorite part of this book, besides the smut, had to have been wave's, audacity. Because this girl's audacity, like knows no bounce like, but I was here for it. Okay. Like she was born to put powerful men in their place, but in order to survive, she shouldn't be drawing attention to herself. So there are elementals of all kinds shifters. Demons, angels, like anything you can imagine. And they all come from their home worlds or realms, kind of like in, blood and betrayals honestly, in that way. There's a frat house type group. They all live in this house together, and they're called the powerhouses. I think the 12 powerhouses. Um, there's 12 men. They're all from different realms, and they are all either like super powerful or heirs to their respective kingdoms. Okay, so. Something I thought about that was really cool about this book is that students were all ages like, and I mean like from 20 year olds to a hundred. So like, yeah. So depending on their species because of how they age. right.

Devonnie:

that makes sense.

Jordan:

which was really cool.

Devonnie:

Yeah.

Jordan:

this is more like a place. It's truly a place to go find knowledge and to hone your craft, but it's not like all a bunch of really young kids. So some students are also instructors and professors and because they just keep gaining knowledge, they can go and like hone their craft where it's not as strong. But they're also teaching like if they are the best of the best at what they do and the type of magic, then they teach it. It's kind of open for relationships. There's not as much because of that, because everything is more open and flowing unless they are like administration or unless they're a tenured, professor, relationships don't matter. Anyone can have relationships. It's not a big deal. Well, when everyone's different ages, I mean, it makes sense. And so it's just, I know it's kind of cool. This is a why choose, as I said, but I don't wanna say who she ends up with. Because she meets different people, so many different people, and there's so many different friendships and kind of like reluctant friendships and. With different people and different types of species. And so I don't wanna give you too much about that. And I highly suggest you don't read the synopsis on Good Reads. I'm gonna be completely honest because it, it tells you who the interests are. And I had so much fun having no idea. So

Devonnie:

it like a faded mate situation or does

Jordan:

well, not that

Devonnie:

just all

Jordan:

least right now. So this is book one. There will be more. It did end with a cliffhanger. The last line was like a punch to the heart. I,, I still think about this, the last line of this book before I go to bed every night, I'm like, oh, remember that was so sad. Um. Like wave has a heavy history and like I said, she cannot let her true power, like her level of power, both as a storm bringer and as a siren out. So sirens in this world, if they use their siren powers, it's manipulation. Like they say something in some way, it will take over their brain. So no one trusts them and they get used and all this stuff, and I, it's just, it's so good. It's so good. And like I said, Hazel Rockwood is a newer indie author and I'm just so excited to see her writing Grow and see what she does with this story. And it's amazing actually. Before I'm done with this, I do need to read you a quote because, just to give you an idea for the spice. The spice, there's so many different kinds also, but I remember one of the thing that I always want to see is I wanna see a more dom female main character.'cause we don't get that very often. But because it's a why choose, we get to see her in different positions of power with different men. But one of them, I messaged Deb about this the moment it

Devonnie:

Yeah. Yeah.

Jordan:

Dev, need to hear this. I was screaming for like three pages. I would have to put it down and be like, I, I like, I literally screamed. Okay. Come here, pet. The command rolled from her lips softly and straight to his cock. That sped to full attention. He started to rise to his feet, but Wayla shook her head. Tutut Tut pet Crawl. And like it went on from that and his response was, yes, mistress. I mean, listen.

Devonnie:

Jordan's flab. Were

Jordan:

good. And after I reread Blood and Betrayals, I'm gonna read Storm Bringer already, even though I just did because I need it anyways. That's my rant. Go read Storm Bringer by Hazel Rockwood October 3rd. You won't regret it.

Devonnie:

Yay. Oh man, those some good racks. I love that. Storm bringer is not out yet, so people have something to look forward to, you know, that's exciting. I just added it to my good reads, so once it comes out, hopefully I'll be able to read that.

Jordan:

Yeah. Oh, and I forgot, like, this is the whole dark academia. Like she works in a magical library. Um, so there's that whole vibe. She has to wrangle unruly books

Devonnie:

Oh, that's my favorite little micro

Jordan:

so cute. It's so cute and hilarious. And then like a guy walks up and she accidentally like, drops it and like the spell goes out. And it's just, it allows for such good. Banter and chaos. Absolutely. And it's so cool. But she's also trying to not show her full strength of power, so she can't do what she knows she can do to wrangle them. And she has to be like, she looks at them and like, well, if you're, she's like, you're so powerful, aren't you gonna help? And like,

Devonnie:

I love that.

Jordan:

I know. It's so great.

Devonnie:

I love that.

Jordan:

So. Those are my top dark academia. Recs. I love dark academia. So over on Instagram I'm gonna do a whole post with these and more, for you if you want even more.

Devonnie:

Yes, I know. If you're looking for something else fun and exciting to read during this spooky fall, autumn season. Thanks for listening to this and also we're gonna have more recs for you on the Instagram page.

Jordan:

Yep. And stick around our new schedule for new episodes this season, the first and third Tuesday of each month. You'll be getting a new episode from us next time. Dev, do you remember what they can look forward to next time? Should we give'em a little,

Devonnie:

Um, I wanna give it away, but like, not give it away, but like anything you say gives it away.

Jordan:

Oh, just do it. Just do it. If they're listening, they at this point in

Devonnie:

Okay. Okay. Guys, come back. Because we are talking about all things shadow daddies.

Jordan:

Oh

Devonnie:

been waiting. You've been waiting This. We have, we have read quite a few Shadow Daddy, so we have, I know we have a bunch of recs. I am going to go deep in the trenches for you guys, so Please. Yeah, I know. Like, oh my gosh, don't pull my leg about it. You know what I'm saying? Don't threaten me with a good time. Um, yeah, we're gonna come back with some Shadow Daddy recs. We're so excited. This has been a long time coming, honestly.

Jordan:

Yeah, we mentioned it in one of our very first episodes in season one, so we're finally doing it. Um, so come back first and third Tuesday of every month. You can expect new episodes from us if you wanna support the show. If you wanna keep up to date, if you want behind the scenes Recs or additional Recs from us, make sure you subscribe to our substack. Okay? There's also an option to. Donate and subscribe or you can subscribe for free. Whatever you are able to give helps us out so much and allows us to bring more content and Recs to you. So make sure you're following us at Romance Recs Pod on Instagram threads and we are over on TikTok sometimes. But we will see you next time. Thank you so much for listening.

Devonnie:

Yeah. See you guys next time. bye.

Jordan:

Bye.