AN ACADEMY FOR LIARS by Alexis Henderson – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

An Academy For Liars by Alexis Henderson
Published by Ace Books on September 17 2024
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 464
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Despite a strong dark academia vibe and some interesting world building elements, An Academy For Liars lacked a cohesive plot and likeable characters.

“Lennon was no hero. And she wasn’t even sure she had the spine to call herself a villain.”

I had high hopes for An Academy of Liars, but unfortunately it didn’t quite work for me, although there were elements I really enjoyed. Lots of readers seem to enjoy it, though, so perhaps I wasn’t the right audience.

The story revolves around Lennon, a twenty-four year old woman who just caught her fiancé cheating on her. She flees her engagement party after walking in on her best friend and soon to be husband Wyatt in bed together (the nerve!) and winds up at an abandoned mall. When a nearby payphone starts ringing and she answers it, she’s surprised when the person on the other end invites her to apply for a spot at an exclusive, secret school called Drayton College. With her personal life in shambles, Lennon decides to make the trip to Utah and takes part in a very strange application process.

When she is accepted into the Academy—a school where select people are chosen for their natural abilities of persuasion—Lennon is thrust into a competitive and dangerous environment, where each student’s progress is closely scrutinized. Lennon turns out to have a rare talent for “calling” elevators, the students’ main method of travel from place to place. With the help of her advisor Dante, she works to hone her skills in order to prevent a disaster. Drayton Academy is in danger, and Lennon might be the only person who can save it.

I’ll start with the positive. I loved the dark academia vibe that Henderson created, with the mysterious Drayton College and the even more mysterious teachings of persuasion. As the story progresses, we learn more about the origins of the college, and trust me when I say there are plenty of dark and violent things going on behind the scenes. The College exists in a sort of time warp, where no one knows about it unless you are a student or a faculty member, so right away there is a mystique to Drayton that made me want to find out more.

The act of persuasion itself is also very dangerous. Students are taught various mind control techniques and must use them against each other as practice. Physical injuries such as bloody noses, broken bones, terrible headaches and more are just part of the deal if you decide to become a student, and I liked that the stakes are so high for Lennon and her fellow classmates.

I also want to mention the romance, which I thought was going to be more prominent, but it turned out it was a very small part of the story. Lennon is attracted to her advisor Dante, but it’s Dante that keeps her at arm’s length, even though you can tell Lennon really wants to hook up with him. I was relieved that the story didn’t focus heavily on their romance, and the few scenes that did deal with their relationship were nicely done.

But I did have some issues. First, the world building was very confusing at times and didn’t feel completely thought out. I didn’t really understand what the whole point of “persuasion” was. Why are these students learning to control others? What do they do when they graduate? Are they ultimately evil tools for the higher ups at Drayton? Even the students at Hogwarts studied for specific jobs that made sense, but I never got the feeling there was a goal for when you graduated from Drayton.

I also didn’t understand how “calling elevators” fit in with persuasion. I guess Lennon could “persuade” an elevator to appear out of nowhere? But that doesn’t really make sense either. I loved the elevator idea, though, an interesting mode of transportation that can take you long distances in only a few seconds, but I wish it had tied in with the main focus at the school, learning the art of persuasion.

There are also quite a few plot holes, like the moth on the cover of the book, for instance. I still have no idea what the significance of the moth is. Dante is covered with moth tattoos, but the reason behind them is never explained (unless I missed it). 

I also struggled with the characters’ ages. When I think “college” I think of 18-22 year olds, and I had a hard time wrapping my head around people in their mid-to-late 20s who are living in dorms with a roommate, going to parties at night, and attending classes. (I get it, you can go to college at any age! But for this story, that didn’t work for me.) The characters themselves are pretty immature and acted exactly like college kids: lots of drama, drinking, and doing drugs. And unfortunately, I really didn’t like Lennon at all. She ignores everything her professors tell her to do, refuses to stop asking questions when it’s none of her business, and is extremely rude. She annoyed me a lot, and her fellow classmates weren’t much better. Lennon, as we learn late in the story, is also a special snowflake, and I had to roll my eyes when her special powers are revealed.

I did like the end, however. The last few chapters are exciting and even scary, and we learn some things about Dante that made him much more interesting. Parts of An Academy For Liars were very well done. If only all the various elements felt more cohesive, it would have been a much better story.

With thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.