Genres: Dark Academia, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult (????)
Pages: 432
Format: Ebook
Rating:

Goodreads summary: The Cruel Prince meets Ninth House in this dangerously romantic dark academia fantasy, where a lost heiress must infiltrate an arcane society and live with the vampire she suspects killed her family and kidnapped her sister.

It began long before my time, but something has always hunted our family.

Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the arcane society she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the very vampire bound to their family, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.

To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires and inherit their family legacies. Kidan must survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything he can to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs.

When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat—and June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires.

Initial Thoughts

Can I just say—I loved the foreword. It felt like it was written for me. I feel so seen. Two days after finishing Immortal Dark, I haven’t stopped thinking about it. It has occupied my mind and left me emotionally scarred. This might be my first venture into dark fantasy, and it has me questioning whether I’m as dark and twisty as I thought.

Plot Summary (No Major Spoilers)

At its core, Immortal Dark follows Kidan, our ultra-determined, headstrong,  FMC, who embarks on a journey to Uxlay University in search of her missing twin sister, June. Uxlay is a society where vampires (dranaics) and humans (actis) coexist. Unbeknownst to Kidan, she and June are heiresses to Adane House—one of Uxlay’s original houses—making them prime targets in a new dangerous world.

At first, I thought this would be similar to Zodiac Academy with the hidden legacy and fantasy school setting. I was very wrong. The book is described as The Cruel Prince meets Ninth House, which made me hesitant since I didn’t finish Ninth House and never read The Cruel Prince. However, I wanted to support this author, a WOC, whose Ethiopian setting is rich with culture and history. And that foreword? Powerful:

“For the Black girls who’ve always marveled at the dark beauties of vampires. The immortals look like us in this one. And for my Habesha girls who dare to occupy new and wondrous spaces. Hold up your head, and let them see you.”

Characters

If you’re looking for complex characters, this book is the one.

Kidan does some insane things. (Spoilers ahead!) She slams her head into a wall to frame the MMC, Susenyos, and even goes as far as breaking her own arm. Questionable? Yes. But I’m going to stick beside her.

Susenyos is another story. He’s terrifying and captivating—the perfect morally gray character. But dark gray. Like suuuuuper dark gray almost black. And he also has such. a lovely way with words:

• “I can teach you a thousand different ways of loving yourself.”
• “The world loves to punish girls who dream in the dark. I plan to worship them.”
• “It’s a shame that when I finally find my potential equal, she cannot love herself enough to remain in this world.”

But then he (Spoiler!) removes someone’s spine. How does that even happen?! He scares me, yet I can’t look away. I think I love him.

World-Building

The world of Uxlay is incredibly unique. The peace between vampires and humans is maintained through the Three Binds:

1. Vampires can only drink from the Eighty Families.
2. Their original powers (compulsion, shadow-walking, flight) are suppressed.
3. Turning a human into a vampire costs the vampire their own life.

This structure adds depth and tension, making Uxlay unlike any fantasy world I’ve read before.

What Worked

• Immersive Setting: Ethiopian culture and mythology are woven beautifully into the story.
• Complex Characters: Kidan and Susenyos are unforgettable. The side characters are also all amazing. All of them. So well-developed
• Unpredictability: I never knew what was coming next—in a good way.

What Didn’t Work

• Pacing: Before the 150-200 page mark, progress felt slow despite being engaged.
• Timeline Confusion: It was hard to track how much time had passed until the very end.
• Classroom Dynamics: Kidan takes four classes, but we only hear about one for the most part. I wanted more insight into her other courses, especially the mythology class.
• Character Gaps: After a key moment between Kidan and Susenyos on Cossia Day, his absence for several chapters felt unnatural, especially after her car accident.

Final Thoughts

Despite the trauma this book inflicted (in the best way possible), I can’t stop thinking about it. I debated continuing the series but now feel like I have to. Immortal Dark is dark, twisty, and nothing like I expected.

I highly recommend it to readers looking for complex characters, dark academia, and a unique fantasy world. Just… brace yourself. Now, I need a lighthearted contemporary romance to read to recover. Happy reading!