🏷️ Academic Setting
51 entries tagged with this trope
The Love Hypothesis
Ali Hazelwood · 2021
Olive panic-kisses a hot, grumpy professor to prove a point. He agrees to fake-date her. Started as Reylo fanfic and you can FEEL it. The 'he's only soft for her' energy is off the charts.
Love on the Brain
Ali Hazelwood · 2022
Bee is a neuroscientist heading a NASA project. Levi is the engineer she's convinced hates her. He does not hate her. He has never hated her. The gap between what she thinks and what's actually happening is comedy gold.
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening
Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti · 2019
Twin sisters discover they're Fae princesses and get thrown into a brutal magical academy. The Heirs — four hot, cruel guys — want them gone. 8 books of enemies-to-lovers torture. It's an addiction.
The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss · 2007
Kvothe tells his own legend from a quiet inn. Music, magic, and the most beautiful prose in fantasy. Warning: book 3 still isn't out. It's been 14 years. Read it anyway.
The Poppy War
R.F. Kuang · 2018
Starts as a school story. Ends in genocide. Rin is a war orphan who discovers shamanic powers. Inspired by 20th century Chinese history. One of the most brutal and brilliant fantasy trilogies ever written.
Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card · 1985
Ender is six years old and the military's best hope against an alien invasion. They train children to fight wars. The twist at the end rewrites everything you just read.
Deep End
Ali Hazelwood · 2025
Ali Hazelwood does it again with another irresistible romantic comedy featuring two brilliant leads who are too smart for their own good. If you loved The Love Hypothesis, you'll devour this.
The Spanish Love Deception
Elena Armas · 2021
Catalina needs a date to her sister's wedding in Spain. Her academic rival Aaron volunteers to help. Their fake relationship feels increasingly real during a week in Spain.
Real Life
Brandon Taylor · 2020
Wallace, a Black queer graduate student in a predominantly white program, navigates microagressions, relationships, and his place in academia. Intense and unflinching.
Love on the Brain
Ali Hazelwood · 2022
Bee gets her dream job at NASA. Her nemesis Levi also gets the job. They have to co-lead. He's been secretly in love with her for years. More Hazelwood Reylo energy and it works every time.
Love, Theoretically
Ali Hazelwood · 2023
Elsie is a fake girlfriend for hire. Jack is the theoretical physicist who keeps ruining her academic career. The hate is electric. The Reylo energy is unmatched.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Heather Fawcett · 2023
Emily is a grumpy, antisocial faerie researcher. Wendell Bambleby is her infuriating, charming colleague who may be more than he seems. Cozy academic fantasy with fae vibes and slow-burn tension.
The Rachel Incident
Caroline O'Donoghue · 2023
Rachel and James are codependent, broke, and sharing a tiny flat in Cork. He's gay. She's obsessed with her married professor. Everything spirals. The friendship is the real love story.
Love, Theoretically
Ali Hazelwood · 2023
Elsie is a theoretical physicist who moonlights as a fake girlfriend. Jack is the one man she can't fake around. The STEM banter is immaculate and the 'he knows she's pretending with everyone else but him' energy is chef's kiss.
Azoth
zeitgeistic · 2013
Harry and Draco are paired for an eighth-year potions project: create a Philosopher's Stone. Alchemy becomes metaphor for transformation, and the magic system worldbuilding is chef's kiss.
Catastrophe Theory
SageMcMae · 2018
Professor AU. Rey is tenure-track. Ben is the department's golden boy. Their rivalry is legendary. The academic politics are sharp and the chemistry is sharper.
Azoth
zeitgeistic · 2013
Eighth year. Harry and Draco are paired as Potions partners for an alchemy project. The magic system is incredible, the banter is sharp, and the slow burn is exquisite.
Atomic Number
Artigas · 2018
College AU. Rey is a chemistry major. Ben is the insufferable TA. The sexual tension in study sessions could power a nuclear reactor. Smart, funny, and absolutely sizzling.
Azoth
zeitgeistic · 2013
Eighth year. Harry partners with Draco for a potions project involving alchemy. The magic system is gorgeous. The academic rivals-to-lovers pipeline is immaculate.
Bending Light
scullymurphy · 2020
Hermione and Draco both return to teach at Hogwarts. Colleagues-to-lovers with incredible worldbuilding around magical theory. The magic system discussions are foreplay. For the academic Dramione lovers.
Azoth
zeitgeistic · 2013
Eighth year at Hogwarts. Harry and Draco are partnered for an advanced potions project. The magical theory is fascinating and the slow burn builds through lab sessions and late nights. Smart, sexy, satisfying.
Azoth
zeitgeistic · 2013
Harry and Draco are paired for an eighth-year Potions project in alchemy. The magic system is fascinating. The slow collapse of their hatred into something else is exquisite. A Drarry classic.
Azoth
zeitgeistic · 2013
Eighth year. Harry and Draco are paired for a Potions apprenticeship. The alchemy worldbuilding is gorgeous and the slow burn from lab partners to something more is masterfully done.
Love, Theoretically
Ali Hazelwood · 2023
Elsie is a fake girlfriend for hire. Jack is the infuriating physicist who keeps seeing through her. The academic rivalry is foreplay and I'm not apologizing for saying that.
The Will of the Many
James Islington · 2023
Vis is an orphan hiding his true identity inside a Roman-inspired magical academy where students literally give their life force to those above them. The twists are relentless.
Azoth
zeitgeistic · 2013
8th year at Hogwarts. Draco needs a Potions partner to complete his NEWT project. Harry somehow ends up being it. The alchemy metaphors for their relationship are *chef's kiss*.
The Annabeth Chase Project
dreamcloud · 2020
College AU. Annabeth needs a fake boyfriend. Percy volunteers because he's an idiot (his words). The friend group dynamics are hilarious and the 'oh no I have REAL feelings' moment is *perfect*.
Love, Theoretically
Ali Hazelwood · 2023
Elsie moonlights as a fake girlfriend. Her newest client's brother is Jack — the theoretical physicist who hates her research. The academic rivalry to romance pipeline is *chef's kiss*.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Heather Fawcett · 2023
A curmudgeonly faerie scholar travels to a remote village to study the folk. Her annoyingly charming colleague follows. Cozy academia meets dangerous fae courts.
The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss · 2007
Kvothe tells his own legend — orphan, arcanist, musician, hero. The prose is musical and the magic system (sympathy) is one of the best ever written. Just don't ask about book 3.
Azoth
zeitgeistic · 2013
8th year. Harry and Draco are potions partners working on the elusive Azoth. The alchemy metaphor for their relationship is brilliant. Zeitgeistic's magic-building is outstanding.
College AU: New Rome University
percyjacksonlover · 2018
Percy and Annabeth at New Rome University, navigating college while being demigods. Monster attacks during finals, study dates in the library, and all the domestic Percabeth content you need.
Love on the Brain
Ali Hazelwood · 2022
Bee and Levi are rival neuroscientists forced to co-lead a NASA project. He's grumpy, she's chaos, and he's been in love with her since grad school. Another Reylo retelling done right.
The Deal
Elle Kennedy · 2015
Hannah needs a music tutor. Garrett needs her to date him so his crush gets jealous. College hockey romance that launched a thousand trope obsessions.
Check & Mate
Ali Hazelwood · 2023
Mallory swore off chess. Then she accidentally beats the reigning US champion and gets pulled back into the world she left behind. The rivals-to-more pipeline is immaculate.
Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands
Heather Fawcett · 2024
Emily and Wendell continue their academic adventures into faerie lands. She's still gloriously antisocial. He's still annoyingly charming. The cozy academia vibes are unmatched.
Azoth
zeitgeistic · 2013
Eighth year. Harry and Draco are potions partners and their assignment is to create the Philosopher's Stone. The alchemy metaphor for their relationship is brilliant.
Daughter of No Worlds
Carissa Broadbent · 2020
Tisaanah is a freed slave with rare magic. Max is a disgraced professor. Together they enter a lethal tournament. The slow burn romance woven through the action is perfection.
The Will of the Many
James Islington · 2023
Vis pretends to be nobody. He's actually the orphaned heir of a conquered nation, infiltrating the empire's elite academy. Roman-inspired fantasy with one of the best twists in recent memory.
Azoth
zeitgeistic · 2013
Harry and Draco are apprentice potioneers forced to work together on the Philosopher's Stone. The alchemy worldbuilding is extraordinary. The slow burn over cauldrons and late nights is *chef's kiss*.
Harry Potter and the Problem of Potions
Wyste · 2017
Once again, Harry needs Potions to become an Auror. Once again, there's only one person who can tutor him. The lessons become something else entirely. Brilliant comedic voice.
Love on the Brain
Ali Hazelwood · 2022
Bee gets her dream NASA project but has to co-lead it with Levi Ward — the man she's convinced hates her. Plot twist: he's been silently in love with her for years. More Reylo DNA in the best way.
Azoth
zeitgeistic · 2013
Eighth year. Harry and Draco are paired for a Potions project involving alchemy. The magical theory is genuinely fascinating and the slow realization of feelings is perfection. Smart, sexy, sublime.
The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss · 2007
Kvothe—legendary hero, musician, and arcanist—tells the true story of his life from a quiet inn. A story of magic, loss, and the pursuit of knowledge at the University.
Commentarius
B.C Daily · 2010
Lily's diary entries during seventh year. Her voice is hilarious, sharp, and completely oblivious to her own feelings for James. The comedy is masterful. Another beloved hiatus fic that lives rent-free in every Jily fan's head.
University of New Rome
smartgirlsaremean · 2018
Percy and Annabeth at college in New Rome. The domestic scenes are pure comfort — grocery shopping, study dates, arguments about architecture. These two earned their peace and this fic delivers it.
The Annabeth Chase Project
greenconverses · 2016
Modern AU. Annabeth is a film student making a documentary about her best friend Percy. The realization that her feelings aren't platonic unfolds through the camera lens. Creative and charming.
Azoth
zeitgeistic · 2013
Eighth year. Harry and Draco are potions partners working on an impossible alchemical project. The slow burn is excruciating and the alchemy metaphor for transformation is brilliant.
Chapter and Verse
MissCoppelia · 2018
Professor AU. Ben Solo is a brooding English professor, Rey is a graduate student. The academic rivalry and intellectual foreplay is intoxicating. If you love dark academia energy, this is it.
Atomic Number
MissCoppelia · 2018
Professor Ben Solo. PhD student Rey. Academic rivals who can't stay away from each other. If The Love Hypothesis had stayed as Reylo fic, this is what it would have been.
Azoth
zeitgeistic · 2013
Harry and Draco are partnered for an advanced potions project in 8th year. Alchemy as metaphor for transformation. One of the most beautifully written Drarry fics ever.