DNF Review: Sibylline by Melissa de la Cruz

Source: From Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review. 

Sibylline by Melissa de la Cruz 
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date:  February 3, 2026

  

Format: Ebook

Rating:
DNF @ 20%

Goodreads Synopsis: 

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.

DNF Review: 

After reading the above synopsis, I was so excited to pick this book up. It sounds so much like something I would love. Magic/ School/ Drama/ a love triangle possibly... amazing, right!.. right?

Sadly, this book was not for me and I stopped reading at 20%, so the review here is based on my unfinished read of this book. If you have read it and enjoyed it, I am so happy for you. 

The beginning of the book sets the scene, three older teens who have magic are trying to get into an ivy-league magical school to study. They strike out and all three are rejected. They opt to steal an education and go anyway - they will work at the college and slip into classes etc to learn. 

If a book has a good world-build, I can handle some meh characters and if there are really well written characters, I can deal with a meh world-build. This story had trouble with both things and I was so disappointed about it.... here are some of my thoughts:

As a start, this initial world build was lacking for me. It is essentially the normal world with magic added, and up to the 20% mark it wasn't wholly clear if non-magics knew about magic or not, if it was accepted etc. So that was a bummer. I also really wanted more lead up into their decision to go to this particular school versus others that might have been available. If it is Ivy, there are liked other great schools they could have been accepted into. 

I also found it very hard to connect with how they all got really cool jobs at this school. I work for an Ivy (not a brag, just a fact) and have worked at other higher education institutions as well. It is hard to get jobs at some of these campuses with little to no experience, especially cool ones like they ended up with. They are competing against the locals that need jobs, students that need jobs, AND the work- study students...it just seems a bit too much for my brain to get in line with. 

The characters were Raven, Atticus, and Dorian. They were interesting, I wanted to learn more about them and their magic and how they got to this point, but as the chapters alternated through their POVs it was hard to tell them apart. Their personalities felt flat and too similar. It was hard to keep them straight and even in the 20% I had to pop back to chapter headings to figure out who I was reading. 

Overall this just wasn't it for me. I stopped reading and think that was the best for me in that moment. If you loved this book, enjoyed it I am SO happy for you.