Book Review: Sibylline by Melissa de la Cruz
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Sibylline by Melissa de la Cruz
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for the early copy of this book!
Published: February 3, 2026
Series: Sibylline #1
Genres: Young Adult // Fantasy, Romance
Rating: ⭐️.75
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Open Door)
Quick Thoughts: Sibylline roped me in with the promise of dark academia, secret societies, a mystery, and a romance subplot. Unfortunately, this book had incomplete worldbuilding and the “why choose” romance dominated the book. Would not recommend if you’re looking for a dark academia romantasy.
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Confinement
Death
Blood
Death of parent
Alcohol (minor)
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Magical academy settings
Mystery plots
“Why choose?” romance
Multiple POVs
What is Sibylline about?
Three teens infiltrate the magical ivy league in this heart-stopping dark academia romantasy, the first in a young adult duology from #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz.
Raven, Atticus, and Dorian have dreamed of attending Sibylline for as long as they can remember. But when the magical ivy league rejects them, the friends’ plans of a future together studying the arcane begin crashing down.
Until they decide to steal an education.
Getting jobs on campus, they sneak into lectures and swipe forbidden texts, dodging the administration’s watchful eye. In the quiet of night, in the thrill of secrecy, their magic awakens. And so do long-buried attractions that turn their friendship into something more.
But like magic, love can create, and it can destroy. As unrequited feelings and resentment threaten to fracture their bond, the trio discovers an insidious magic that has sunk its claws into Sibylline, killing students and corroding the very bones of the university. Now the three intruders may be the key to saving the institution from wreckage . . . if they don’t wreck one another first.
Sibylline Review
Sibylline roped me in with the promise of dark academia, secret societies, a mystery, and a romance subplot. Unfortunately, this book was not as advertised.
The worldbuilding was lackluster and the magic system explanation felt incomplete. My main gripe, however, was with the characters and romance. The characters are 18-year-olds, but they often felt younger. Because this book is told from all three POVs, we get to glimpse what each character is thinking. A lot of their inner dialogues revolved around identity and figuring out what they want, which felt like a 15 year old “coming of age” story rather than adult characters. This immaturity is part of what made the on page spice and romance overall uncomfortable to read.
Speaking of romance, the why-choose dynamic took up far more of the book than I expected and it feels jammed in at every opportunity. The pattern of near-death experiences followed by "will they ever love me" inner dialogue became laughable and cringeworthy. And the spice scene was the final nail in the coffin for me…just outrageous and odd execution all around.
This story would have been SO much stronger focusing on three close, platonic friends with cool magical abilities infiltrating a university (because I actually did like the mystery part of the plot). As is, I would not recommend it if you're looking for a dark academia romantasy like this book claims to be.
Check out this review on Goodreads or Storygraph.
Happy reading!
Kim
Sibylline FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
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Sibylline is the first book in a duology by Melissa de la Cruz. As of the writing of this post, the second book has not been announced.
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Sibylline has a very brief spice scene that may or may not be a hallucination in Chapter 41.
The spice level is Open Door. Readers are present for the scene but it’s not described in explicit detail.