Description

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Elle Magazine Best Fantasy and Science-Fiction Book of 2025

Indie Next List Pick for January 2026

A modern-day dark academia fantasy with a twist, perfect for fans of Babel and A Deadly Education.

Warren University has stood amongst the ivy elite for centuries, built on the bones—and forbidden magic—of its most prized BIPOC students…hiding the rot of a secret society that will do anything to keep their own powers burning bright. No matter who they must sacrifice along the way.

Ellory Morgan is determined to prove that she belongs at Warren University, an ivy league school whose history is deeply linked to occult rumors and dark secrets. But as she settles into her Freshman year, something about the ornate buildings and shadowy paths feels strangely…familiar. And, with every passing day, that sense of déjà vu grows increasingly sinister.

Despite all logic, despite all reason, despite all the rules of reality, Ellory knows one thing to be true: she has been here before. And if she can't convince brooding legacy student Hudson Graves to help her remember a past that seems determined to slip through her fingers as if by some insidious magic…this time, she may lose herself for good.

"Draws readers into its spell before asking readers to consider who pays the true price of power—and what it means to refuse to let the powerful win." — Laura R. Samotin, author of The Sins on Their Bones

About the Author

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Kamilah Cole is the bestselling author of So Let Them Burn and This Ends in Embers. A graduate of New York University, Kamilah is usually playing Kingdom Hearts for the hundredth time, quoting early SpongeBob SquarePants episodes, or crying her way through Zuko’s redemption arc in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Praise For…

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"A twisted, propulsive, and utterly captivating dark academia with magic and madness at its core, AN ARCANE INHERITANCE draws readers into its spell before asking readers to consider who pays the true price of power—and what it means to refuse to let the powerful win." — Laura R. Samotin, author of The Sins on Their Bones

"A tautly paced, keenly observed thriller, set against an atmospherically rendered backdrop where questions of privilege and wealth haunt the narrative just as much as the literal ghosts. This is everything I adore in a dark academia book." — Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning

"Kamilah Cole’s foray into the world of dark academia is nothing short of masterful. From the very first page, readers are transported into an academic hellscape that is as outwardly alluring as it is deadly. Ellory Morgan’s story is infused with a growing tension that kept me turning the pages well after midnight, and Cole does a remarkable job of peeling back the layers of glossy varnish and ivy-clad brick to expose the rot beneath. Romantic and meaningful and at times downright bone-chilling, An Arcane Inheritance is the sort of story that reminds us that all power comes with a cost." — Kelly Andrew, New York Times bestselling author of Your Blood, My Bones and The Gravewood

"As twisting as it is relentless, Cole weaves a tale of power and sacrifice, ripping apart the ivory facade to reveal the rot that lies at the heart of our most honored institutions. A tour-de-force that centers the academia in dark academia, An Arcane Inheritance is a must-read!" — K. M. Enright, Sunday Times bestselling author of Mistress of Lies

"A stunning meditation about what it means to belong within institutions built on foundations of exclusion. An Arcane Inheritance blends the occult and dark academia in a riveting narrative while also questioning what it means to be remembered—and who is or isn’t given that privilege." — Liselle Sambury, author of Blood Like Magic and Delicious Monsters

"Unforgettable and unputdownable, An Arcane Inheritance is a visceral dream of a novel that will haunt you even in the daylight hours. Kamilah Cole has woven a genre-defining triumph." — Chelsea Abdullah, award-winning author of The Stardust Thief and The Ashfire King

"Intriguing, skillful, and an interrogative mirror to ghosts that haunt—An Arcane Inheritance uncovers the dirty underbelly of academic institutions through a thrilling and propulsive mystery. This is dark academia at its finest." — Maddie Martinez, author of The Maiden and Her Monster

"An Arcane Inheritance reads like a stunning fever dream. With sizzling tension between academic rivals, chilling twists you won’t see coming, and a narrative that seeks to dismantle privilege and those who abuse their power, this dark academia fantasy truly sets the standard for its genre. A must-read." — Pascale Lacelle, New York Times bestselling author of Curious Tides

"Old-world glamour meets the underbelly of modern academia in this ivy-wrought thriller about the magic and brutality of memory. Cole’s voice is deft and elegant as fountain pen, sharp enough to draw blood." — S.T. Gibson, #1 Sunday Times and USA Today bestselling author of A Dowry of Blood, An Education in Malice, and The Summoner's Circle

"Academic rivals to lovers at its absolute best, this twisty dark academia is a must read! Kamilah Cole has become an instant one-click author for me!" — Katee Robert, NYT and USA TODAY Bestselling Author

"An intriguing, atmospheric puzzle box of a novel that is both an alluring romantic thriller and an incisive takedown of all that haunts our most hallowed halls." — Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six

"An Arcane Inheritance is a subversive and thrilling dark academia novel, rife with mind-bending mystery. Kamilah Cole is a master of atmosphere and her lush prose completely transported me." — Alexis Henderson, author of An Academy for Liars

"Get Out meets The Matrix in this solid excursion into dark academia from Cole."—Publishers Weekly

"Smart, well-plotted, challenging, and often funny, An Arcane Inheritance is an irresistible story of ghosts, magic, and education combined to great, and horrific, effect."—Shelf Awareness

"Cole’s writing is vivid and creative, sometimes even poetic. She excels at conjuring Warren’s special cocktail of sinister spookiness and academic intensity."—Kirkus Reviews

"Cole's YA fanbase will be clamoring for this new-adult work, especially those who appreciate her fantastical world-building and knack for turning fantasy tropes on their head."—Booklist

"Cole makes her confident new-adult debut with the dark academia fantasy, which takes a few pages from Inception, The Conjuring, and more."—Elle