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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A dark academy setting, magical tarot, and a SLOW BURN romance with stubborn MCs who can't decide if they love or hate each other? Sign me up every time.
Luck has always been on Clara's side. After a year of being locked away in Halazar, Clara escapes with the help of the second-born prince, Kaelis. The man that Clara believes orchestrated every painful moment in her life. He brings her to Arcana Academy where anyone with a magical affinity can train to become an arcanist. Kaelis gives Clara an ultimatum: enroll in Arcana Academy as a long-lost noble and Kaelis's newly betrothed where together they can ink the world or go back to the dungeons of Halazar.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The stunning cover of Arcana Academy caught my attention, and the tarot card magic had me hitting the request button on NetGalley so fast! Let me tell you, the story is as stunning as the cover and the tarot card magic is so unique and detailed.
This has to be one of my favorite magic systems. In Oricalis, it's against the law for anybody who has not successfully studied at the academy to possess tarot cards. If you fail, you're as good as dead. This makes it easy for the crown to control arcanists. Clara is natural at inking and wielding tarot, but there is also my favorite, reading. Once a student has successfully become an arcanist, they will be able to use the full minor arcana. The major arcana is a legend that Clara will dive into once she gets settled at the academy.
I have an unhealthy obsession with Kaelis, and I guarantee you will find at least one character in this story that you love. If you love a found family trope, you will be so satisfied. It seems that Clara attracts loyal friendships wherever she goes. The star-crossed club is Clara's found family before the academy. They are a lovable group of people who illegally deal with tarot, run heists, and help marked arcanists escape the city. If you enjoyed the found family in Six of Crows, you will love the star-crossed club. The friends that Clara makes in the academy are unexpected but important for her success and although unwanted, she begins to truly care for these students. Prepare yourself because friends will be lost.
Kaelis and Clara are so perfect for each other. Each time they were alone together, I couldn't stop reading. The slow burn romance was SLOW but so worth it. The story was in Clara's POV and although Kaelis was never straightforward with Clara about his feelings, it became obvious. I just want to know what he was thinking and feeling!
This story ended on a major cliffhanger and left my mind spiralling with so many questions. I know there is so much more about Kaelis that we have yet to discover and I need to learn everything I can about this man.
academia • dark academia • dark fantasy • dark romance • enemies to lovers • fake dating • found family • high fantasy • magic • romantasy • slow burn • spicy
Luck has always been on Clara's side. After a year of being locked away in Halazar, Clara escapes with the help of the second-born prince, Kaelis. The man that Clara believes orchestrated every painful moment in her life. He brings her to Arcana Academy where anyone with a magical affinity can train to become an arcanist. Kaelis gives Clara an ultimatum: enroll in Arcana Academy as a long-lost noble and Kaelis's newly betrothed where together they can ink the world or go back to the dungeons of Halazar.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The stunning cover of Arcana Academy caught my attention, and the tarot card magic had me hitting the request button on NetGalley so fast! Let me tell you, the story is as stunning as the cover and the tarot card magic is so unique and detailed.
This has to be one of my favorite magic systems. In Oricalis, it's against the law for anybody who has not successfully studied at the academy to possess tarot cards. If you fail, you're as good as dead. This makes it easy for the crown to control arcanists. Clara is natural at inking and wielding tarot, but there is also my favorite, reading. Once a student has successfully become an arcanist, they will be able to use the full minor arcana. The major arcana is a legend that Clara will dive into once she gets settled at the academy.
I have an unhealthy obsession with Kaelis, and I guarantee you will find at least one character in this story that you love. If you love a found family trope, you will be so satisfied. It seems that Clara attracts loyal friendships wherever she goes. The star-crossed club is Clara's found family before the academy. They are a lovable group of people who illegally deal with tarot, run heists, and help marked arcanists escape the city. If you enjoyed the found family in Six of Crows, you will love the star-crossed club. The friends that Clara makes in the academy are unexpected but important for her success and although unwanted, she begins to truly care for these students. Prepare yourself because friends will be lost.
Kaelis and Clara are so perfect for each other. Each time they were alone together, I couldn't stop reading. The slow burn romance was SLOW but so worth it. The story was in Clara's POV and although Kaelis was never straightforward with Clara about his feelings, it became obvious. I just want to know what he was thinking and feeling!
This story ended on a major cliffhanger and left my mind spiralling with so many questions. I know there is so much more about Kaelis that we have yet to discover and I need to learn everything I can about this man.
academia • dark academia • dark fantasy • dark romance • enemies to lovers • fake dating • found family • high fantasy • magic • romantasy • slow burn • spicy
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Almost DNF but I got through it. I’m finally FREE!
I love most everything else Elise Kova has written, but this book completely fell flat for me. I I don’t understand how people are rating this book so high.
The pacing was awful. I didn’t connect with any of the characters. In fact, at any point, the author could’ve killed off anybody and I wouldn’t have cared. The romance, if you want to call it that, was nearly nonexistent and super surface level. I was almost rooting for the MMC to just dump the FMC.
I thought I was going to be reading a book that was dark romance, enemies to lovers, slow burn in a magical school setting. This did not deliver on anything other than a magical school setting… which honestly you don’t really get pulled into like you do with other Academy books.
The cliffhanger at the end didn’t even bother me. I was too relieved to be finished with the book. I am not tempted to read book 2.
I love most everything else Elise Kova has written, but this book completely fell flat for me. I I don’t understand how people are rating this book so high.
The pacing was awful. I didn’t connect with any of the characters. In fact, at any point, the author could’ve killed off anybody and I wouldn’t have cared. The romance, if you want to call it that, was nearly nonexistent and super surface level. I was almost rooting for the MMC to just dump the FMC.
I thought I was going to be reading a book that was dark romance, enemies to lovers, slow burn in a magical school setting. This did not deliver on anything other than a magical school setting… which honestly you don’t really get pulled into like you do with other Academy books.
The cliffhanger at the end didn’t even bother me. I was too relieved to be finished with the book. I am not tempted to read book 2.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this book! The tarot-based magic system felt super fresh and unique, and I loved how Clara’s street smarts and talent made her such an easy character to root for. Kaelis, on the other hand, is a total mystery…dark, secretive, and impossible to pin down, which made the push-and-pull between them so good. The enemies-to-lovers + fake engagement tropes worked perfectly, and while the romance is definitely a SLOW burn (with minimal spice, like 1.5/5), the tension was worth it. Add in trials, found family vibes, mystery, and suspense. The last 25% of this book was a whole rollercoaster. If you’re into dark academia, unique magic systems, and slow-burn enemies-to-lovers, this one is worth picking up. I’ll definitely be grabbing the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture, Death of parent
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5⭐️
This is the perfect fantasy with a hint of slow burn romance! I absolutely loved the unique tarot card based magic system. As someone who is interested in tarot cards but has zero knowledge of them, picking up the magic system was pretty easy. There world building and magic system was sprinkled in so it wasn’t an info dump right at the beginning. The first quarter of the book hooked me in, it did get a little slower for the second quarter, but the last half of the book… I devoured it. This is a hearty book, a lot takes place as it essentially covers a whole year during it. I often times had no idea where the book was heading in the best way possible, it kept me on my toes and I had to know what happened next. And don’t talking to me about the last sentence. I’m unwell and need the next book now!
This is the perfect fantasy with a hint of slow burn romance! I absolutely loved the unique tarot card based magic system. As someone who is interested in tarot cards but has zero knowledge of them, picking up the magic system was pretty easy. There world building and magic system was sprinkled in so it wasn’t an info dump right at the beginning. The first quarter of the book hooked me in, it did get a little slower for the second quarter, but the last half of the book… I devoured it. This is a hearty book, a lot takes place as it essentially covers a whole year during it. I often times had no idea where the book was heading in the best way possible, it kept me on my toes and I had to know what happened next. And don’t talking to me about the last sentence. I’m unwell and need the next book now!
dark
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Arcana Academy was a super fun read and it delivered exactly what I wanted! The magic system was genuinely really interesting and unique - it features tarot based magic but different than any other books that have also had elements of tarot. The characters were fun - Clara and Kaelis were both quite stereotypical (girl who has a dark past and will do whatever she needs to survive and protect those she loves and shadow boy who is misunderstood) but still enjoyable to read. The plot had moments of being predictable but did genuinely manage to surprise me at times. And I liked the school setting and look forward to hopefully getting to explore it further. I wasn’t looking for a book that was reinventing the wheel here. I was hoping for a book that was a fun and unique twist on the academia/romantasy genre and this was definitely that!