Dark Academia
Chains of Scarlet Magic: A Dark Academia Enemies to Lovers Romance (The Crimson Academy Book 2)
Book 2 in the The Crimson Academy series · Reading order →
SpiceDarkness
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- Spice & darkness rated — content warnings listed below
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Why we recommend it
Dark-academia magic and crackling enemies-to-lovers tension drive this second academy installment. Expect shadowed halls, scarlet-tinged spellcraft and a heroine drawn to the very rival she should resist. The atmosphere is moody and immersive, the antagonism electric, the slow thaw into something deeper deeply satisfying. For readers who love rivalry-fueled chemistry wrapped in dangerous magic and gothic ambiance, this leans into brooding intensity and simmering, escalating heat.
At a glance
Chains of Scarlet Magic is book 2 in Adriana Steel’s The Crimson Academy series; to read in order, start with Shadows of the Marked. It rates 3/5 for spice and 3/5 for darkness, on the lighter side for dark academia romance: of the 191 dark academia romance books we rate, almost none score lower for darkness and 4% lower for spice. Tropes: slow burn, enemies to lovers and forbidden romance. It is about as dark as Adriana Steel’s other books on Readark (average darkness 3.3/5). 1 content warning is listed below, hidden until you tap.
Book details
- Published
- December 2025
Chains of Scarlet Magic spice level
Chains of Scarlet Magic is rated 3/5 for spice on Readark’s scale: open door, meaning explicit scenes written plainly, but not the engine of the book. Its darkness rating is 3/5: genuinely dark, meaning violence, coercion or captivity drive the plot, not just the mood. How we rate
Chains of Scarlet Magic content warnings
We list 1 content warning for this book. It stays hidden until you tap, so you can check without spoilers.
Content warnings (tap to reveal)
- Graphic Violence
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