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A review by snailey95
Arcana Academy by Elise Kova
adventurous
emotional
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
4.0
Thank you to Net Galley and Hodder & Stoughton for a free e-ARC of 'Arcana Academy' by Elise Kova.
'You are somehow better and worse than I could've ever imagined - everything I needed and the last fucking thing I wanted.'
Arcana Academy follows Clara, a gifted 'arcanist' - someone who can ink, read, and magically wield tarot cards in a kingdom where all arcanists must work under the royal family or else they are imprisoned. To be trained under the throne, they go through the magical Arcana Academy to learn how to hone their skills and be placed in service to a clan or the royals.
I really enjoyed Arcana Academy - it is a solid 4 star romantasy for me! It would have been 5 stars, however Kova leans a bit heavily into the tropes at times and in that way it became quite predictable. I struggled to get into the book at first as some of the dialogue and descriptions were giving me the ick (for lack of a better term!) I was having flashbacks to some of the cringey-ness from the Powerless series when I first started. Maybe this aspect improved as the story developed, or it may have just been me getting too invested in the plot and characters to care as much after a while. Who knows? Regardless, I am a bit of a hypocrite as I enjoyed many of the tropes utilised, especially the dynamic between Clara and Kaelis (dare I say hot?)
'Why does everything with you straddle the line of pleasure and pain? Why is it that it's never enough?'
Clara is a great main character - however I absolutely loved Kaelis and am so curious as to how his character grows and for us to get more insight into his backstory in the sequel! The found family aspect is also really lovely.
The magic system of Arcana Academy is so detailed and intriguing. I only know a little about tarot, and I imagine this would be even more effective if you have more knowledge - however Kova does a good job of explaining tarot generally and laying out how this applies to the magical system in this book.
My only other criticism is that some of the plot devices annoyed me slightly at times (although I appreciate they make sense in terms of the characters' intentions) - like why are we hiding vital information from Clara that would be useful for her to know?! (until it becomes a useful point in the plot). Similarly, Clara's reasonings for some of her actions irked me to no end, especially given her worldview about the unfair system of the kingdom. (On the other hand, I know what grief can do to someone's common sense!)
I am shooketh by the ending and very excited to read the next book! Overall, I highly recommend Arcana Academy - if you struggle with the start like me, try to stick it out as it is definitely worth it!
'You are somehow better and worse than I could've ever imagined - everything I needed and the last fucking thing I wanted.'
Arcana Academy follows Clara, a gifted 'arcanist' - someone who can ink, read, and magically wield tarot cards in a kingdom where all arcanists must work under the royal family or else they are imprisoned. To be trained under the throne, they go through the magical Arcana Academy to learn how to hone their skills and be placed in service to a clan or the royals.
I really enjoyed Arcana Academy - it is a solid 4 star romantasy for me! It would have been 5 stars, however Kova leans a bit heavily into the tropes at times and in that way it became quite predictable. I struggled to get into the book at first as some of the dialogue and descriptions were giving me the ick (for lack of a better term!) I was having flashbacks to some of the cringey-ness from the Powerless series when I first started. Maybe this aspect improved as the story developed, or it may have just been me getting too invested in the plot and characters to care as much after a while. Who knows? Regardless, I am a bit of a hypocrite as I enjoyed many of the tropes utilised, especially the dynamic between Clara and Kaelis (dare I say hot?)
'Why does everything with you straddle the line of pleasure and pain? Why is it that it's never enough?'
Clara is a great main character - however I absolutely loved Kaelis and am so curious as to how his character grows and for us to get more insight into his backstory in the sequel! The found family aspect is also really lovely.
The magic system of Arcana Academy is so detailed and intriguing. I only know a little about tarot, and I imagine this would be even more effective if you have more knowledge - however Kova does a good job of explaining tarot generally and laying out how this applies to the magical system in this book.
My only other criticism is that some of the plot devices annoyed me slightly at times (although I appreciate they make sense in terms of the characters' intentions) - like why are we hiding vital information from Clara that would be useful for her to know?! (until it becomes a useful point in the plot). Similarly, Clara's reasonings for some of her actions irked me to no end, especially given her worldview about the unfair system of the kingdom. (On the other hand, I know what grief can do to someone's common sense!)
I am shooketh by the ending and very excited to read the next book! Overall, I highly recommend Arcana Academy - if you struggle with the start like me, try to stick it out as it is definitely worth it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Grief
Moderate: Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder