Title: Divine OathsAuthor: Elizabeth Agyemang
Pages: 384
Publication Date: September 1, 2026
Publisher: Requited
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Fantasy / Romantasy
Synopsis:
Ninth House meets Legendborn in this thrilling dark academia debut following a new student fueled by questions about her prestigious university and the haunting answers she uncovers as her heart pulls her in two different, dangerous directions.
Westfield University was supposed to be Sianna Adu’s dream school. But just when she’s on the cusp of attending the elite academic institution hidden in Virginia’s swampland, an unexpected tragedy changes everything. In one day, Sianna loses her family and gains an extraordinary power—the ability to see lifelines and witness other people’s pasts and futures.
With all she’s lost, Sianna puts her college dreams on pause and spends her days navigating dead-end jobs and a not-so-secret crush on her coworker. But when Kasem Saint James, the undeniably handsome heir of Westfield, approaches her with a strange request, the future Sianna has long deferred becomes a dangerous new reality. Worried that her powers are now tied to Kasem, she has no choice. Fate has called her to Westfield.
At an academy where secret societies abound, connections are everything, and an ominous history—stretching back centuries—determines the future, Sianna and Kasem must piece together the past to undo a curse that binds them to each other.
With a swoony romance and jaw dropping twists, this layered dark academia novel introduces a university where nothing is quite as it seems.
Divine Oaths pulled me in as soon as I saw the cover. It’s so stunning, and I was instantly intrigued. Then I read the premise and was sold. It was a dark and atmospheric read, and I enjoyed it.
From the start, I was intrigued by Sianna, her ability, and why she was being drawn to Westfield. The story is told from her perspective, and she has a strong and compelling voice. Once she arrived at the university, I had even more questions. There are a lot of secrets surrounding Westfield and the people connected to it, and I enjoyed uncovering them as Sianna did. Sianna’s ability to see lifelines and glimpse people’s pasts and futures was also really interesting, especially as she began to understand how it connected to everything happening around her.
The worldbuilding was rich and atmospheric, and I loved the Gothic vibes throughout. Westfield being hidden away in the Virginia swampland made it such a unique setting for a university, and I thought the atmosphere worked really well with the darker elements of the story and the history of the school. The secret societies, the history of the university, and the Saint James family curse all added to the mystery. There were definitely parts of the history and magic that I would have liked to know more about, but it was immersive and eerie.
Sianna was a great protagonist, and her character arc was one of my favorite parts of the book. A piano prodigy who went through unimaginable trauma and loss, she has to deal with a lot even before she goes to Westfield and even more when she’s there, both with her ability and everything she begins uncovering about the university, and I thought it was interesting to see how those experiences changed her. I also liked that her past as a piano prodigy and her current jobs showed just how much her life had changed before the story even began. The pressures and responsibilities she faced definitely defined who she is and what she does now.
The romance was ok, but I’m not really into love triangles. It never really took over the story for me, and it was pretty clear who Sianna would end up with, but it didn’t feel super necessary. The main romance was slow-building, and you can definitely tell they’re both holding back. Opening up and being vulnerable is so difficult for both of them, which is no surprise considering all they’ve both been through and continue to go through, and all the secrets they both have. And I loved seeing them slowly build a relationship, learn to trust each other, and let those walls down. They have a lovely connection and great chemistry.
The story has a good mix of dark academia, supernatural elements, family secrets, and mystery, and there were several times when I thought I had things figured out only to realize there was more going on. There were some really good twists throughout the story, and I enjoyed watching the pieces of the mystery all come together in ways I didn’t anticipate. Overall, it was an entertaining and intriguing dark academia fantasy.
“There was a difference, I realized, in playing because I could or had to, and playing because without music, my heart beat in empty silence.
“Even a stone may shift in water, even if it was over time, over decades. Through life and death. This was that shift in them. And maybe there had bn more shifts, tiny erosions in the patterns their parents before had shaped.”
Elizabeth Agyemang is the author of several books, including the graphic novels Fibbed, which was a Parents.com Best Children’s Book of 2022 selection, a Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Kids 2022 pick and a Fox 43 AM Live Best Book of the Week pick, and A Beginner’s Guide to Leveling Up, both of which she illustrated. She is also the author of the young adult novel Heart-shaped Lies, a mystery thriller which has been featured on Ebony Magazine, Paste Magazine, OkayAfrica, and Girls’ Life Magazine, and Divine Oaths, a dark academia, romantic fantasy that is her adult debut. When she isn’t gushing over books or comics, she spends her free time dissecting classic movies and TV shows. Find her works online at elizabethagyemang.com.
Elizabeth is represented by Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary.
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