Magic, Mystery, and Dark Academia Secrets
Review of Dreamweaving by O.O. Sangoyomi
There is something about a magical boarding school filled with secrets that almost always catches my attention, and Dreamweaving by O.O. Sangoyomi definitely checked those boxes. Published by Page Street YA, this YA dark academia fantasy mixes witches, mysterious dreams, friendship, family secrets, and a disappearance into one twisty story.
While not every part of the book felt completely fresh to me, the mystery kept pulling me along, and I had a lot of fun trying to figure out exactly what was happening.
Deja Freeman comes from a family of witches, but unlike the women who came before her, she was never welcomed into the magical Web. After Deja’s mother died, her aunt deliberately kept her away from magic in an attempt to protect her. But that protection becomes a lot harder to maintain when Deja enrolls at Tanglewood Preparatory School—the same prestigious school her mother attended before her murder.
At Tanglewood, Deja meets Tóbi Ẹkúndayọ̀, a straight-A student who seems to have her future completely mapped out. Tóbi is popular, ambitious, and determined to become junior class president. She certainly doesn’t need the complication of the mysterious new girl who has just arrived at school.
Unfortunately for both girls, something strange connects them.
Deja and Tóbi begin experiencing disturbing dreams that seem to overlap, and those dreams may be connected to the disappearance of one of Tanglewood’s students. As they begin putting the pieces together, they uncover secrets surrounding the school, its history, and the magical forces hiding beneath the surface.
One of my favorite things about Dreamweaving was the combination of magic and mystery. There are spells, witches, strange dreams, hidden histories, and plenty of secrets waiting to be uncovered. Sangoyomi gives readers little pieces of information at a time, which made me want to continue reading just to see how everything would eventually connect.
The mystery was probably the strongest part of the story for me. There always seemed to be another question hiding behind the answer to the previous one. Just when I thought I had a good idea of what was going on, another secret or twist would appear.
That page-turning quality helped make up for one of my biggest criticisms: the overall plot didn’t feel especially original.
Dark academia stories involving mysterious schools, secret magical societies, missing students, dangerous family histories, and groups of teenagers investigating something the adults don’t want them to know are definitely familiar territory. There were several moments where I could recognize the general direction the story was taking.
Still, familiar doesn’t necessarily mean boring.
Even when I felt like I had encountered similar ideas in other YA fantasy books, I was interested enough in the mystery to keep reading. The magical Web and the dream connection between the girls gave the story enough of its own personality to hold my attention.
I also really enjoyed the emphasis on friendship. Deja and Tóbi don’t have identical personalities or experiences, which makes watching them navigate their strange circumstances more interesting. As the mystery grows, the group around them becomes an important part of the story as well. I always enjoy fantasy novels where the characters have to rely on one another, especially when magic and danger start complicating everything.
Deja herself was a little more difficult for me.
At times, she gave off very stereotypical angry-teenager vibes, and I found her personality somewhat off-putting. There were moments when her reactions frustrated me or made it harder for me to immediately connect with her.
At the same time, her backstory adds important context to that anger.
Deja is dealing with the death of her mother, unanswered questions about what happened to her, a magical legacy that was deliberately kept from her, and the realization that the adults in her life haven’t necessarily told her everything. That’s a lot for anyone to process. Even when I didn’t always like how her frustration came across, I could understand where some of it was coming from, and I remained interested in discovering more about her family history.
Tóbi provided a nice contrast. Her ambitious, high-achieving personality and carefully constructed place at Tanglewood give her a different perspective on the school and its secrets. Bringing these two girls together through their shared dreams was a fun way to connect characters who might not otherwise have ended up on the same path.
The Tanglewood setting also works well for this kind of story. A prestigious preparatory school naturally brings with it expectations, competition, traditions, and the feeling that there are things happening behind closed doors. Add witches and a dark history, and it becomes an ideal backdrop for a YA mystery.
Overall, Dreamweaving was a fun and engaging read filled with magic, spells, complicated friendships, strange dreams, and plenty of secrets. I wouldn’t say the core plot reinvented the dark academia fantasy genre, and I struggled with Deja’s personality at times, but the mystery was twisty enough to keep me turning the pages.
If you enjoy YA fantasy featuring witches, magical schools, dark academia vibes, mysterious disappearances, shared dreams, family secrets, and friendship, this one is definitely worth adding to your list.
The mystery ultimately won me over, and despite a few issues, I had a really good time uncovering Tanglewood’s secrets alongside Deja, Tóbi, and their friends.
⭐⭐⭐⭐½ — 4.5 out of 5 stars
Thank you to PageSteet YA and author for the book and my honest review. This book tour is brought to you by Toppling Stacks Tours.
About the book:
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ (4.5/5)
Genre: YA Fantasy / Dark Academia
Publisher: Page Street YA
Publication Date: October 13, 2026
Representation: Black
Content Warning: Death of a parent
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Synopsis:
A high-stakes, dark academia fantasy perfect for fans of The Raven Cycle and Legendborn.
Deja Freeman comes from a long line of witches, each one ushered into the magical Web by a woman before her—only she was never woven in. After her mother’s death, Deja’s aunt sought to protect her from the complications of magic. But when Deja enrolls at the prestigious Tanglewood Preparatory School, her mom’s alma mater, she finds herself walking the same perilous path that got her mother murdered.
Straight-A student Tóbi Ẹkúndayọ̀ is Tanglewood’s most popular student and future valedictorian. The only thing she has left to accomplish is winning junior class president. But her life keeps throwing curveballs, including strange, disturbing dreams that Tanglewood’s newest student seems to share.
Each dream is a piece of a complicated puzzle, but one thing lies at the center: the mysterious disappearance of one of Tanglewood’s best students. Joined by a motley crew of friends, the girls must work together to untangle the school’s dark history before the administration, or something far more sinister, catches up with them.
Meet the author:
O.O. Sangoyomi is an award-winning author. Her debut novel Masquerade was a NAACP Image Award finalist and has been featured in media outlets such as People Magazine, PBS, and more. In 2025, she was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and an Ebony Power 100 honoree. She is a graduate of Princeton University, where she studied literature.