Review: An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson

An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided and ARC of this book via Netgalley and the Berkley Besties program, all opinions re my own.

If you like dark academia with a hint of horror and gothic fantasy, this is a wild ride. The concept was really unique, but this book is either one you are really going to love or it is going to leave you wondering "what just happened?". It certainly left me thinking "Did I even like this?" There were aspects that I enjoyed, while others I thought fell flat in execution.

This follows Lennon in the wake of discovering her fiancé's infidelity. Her self worth is wrapped up in her relationship which is a theme that continues throughout the book, but a mysterious phone call invites her to an interview at the strange and exclusive Drayton University. Upon her arrival at Drayton she is put through a very odd admittance process which includes a written exam as well an in person interview. Lennon finds that she has the gift of persuasion, where she can assert her will on others and at Drayton she will learn to hone that gift and in her case her abilities surpass those of her classmates. She struggles with the morality of persuasion and the mission of Drayton. Her abilities put her in a different category of student and she is pushed harder to develop these abilities than the others for reasons that are revealed much later in the book. Lennon has some issues with her self-worth, so when she is given an opportunity to be loved and praised by her professors, she jumps at the chance and poor decisions are made for the sake of progress. I found Lennon to be immature and unlikable, but I think that was done purposely by the author. The author had the opportunity to explore mental illness, jealousy, toxic relationships, and boundaries but none of those were really fleshed out in the book as Lennon figures out where she fits at Drayton and in the world.

This book is very atmospheric, but left me with a feeling of dissatisfaction. There really isn't a ton of world building as this takes place in Savannah, Georgia; however I thought that the campus of Drayton and the "magic system" could have been described much better. The characters just accept everything a bit to easily when they arrive and the training they participate in. I really liked the idea of the magic and the concepts presented at Drayton, but I would have liked more explanation of how it all worked and more development of the characters. There are a ton of side characters that we never really get to know. There is mention toward the end that "they are Lennon's friends" but they never really develop relationships with her and she is kind of a terrible friend.

In the end, there were concepts I enjoyed but I wanted more explanation of what was going on. I was often confused about what was happening. I feel like the author was trying not to give too much away until the twists and reveals, however by the time we get to the end I wasn't satisfied with the conclusion. I do think there are readers who are absolutely going to love this, but I didn't connect with it the way I had hoped.

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