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A review by estapinto
Arcana Academy by Elise Kova
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Arcana Academy catapulted me into a dark academia world stitched together with an elaborate card magic system, a socio-political structure loaded with real-world parallels and a classist academy built to favour nepo babies while grinding the poor into powder (so almost non-fiction. lol/sob.). It’s intricate and impressive, that’s for sure.
This book kicks off with a pretty valid enemies dynamic. Clara hates Prince Kaelis, which is fair, because she thinks he put her in prison and killed her mum. That’ll do it. But they pretend to be engaged so she can avoid going back to prison, and in return, she agrees to help him with a couple of quests.
Reading this was a rollercoaster. I oscillated between being captivated, confused, mildly bored and completely obsessed, sometimes all in the span of a single chapter. There is so much going on: Tarot card magic system, deadly trials, magical heists, escape rooms AND a murder mystery component. It’s ambitious storytelling and I respect it. But I’d be lying if I said the pacing and execution didn’t have a few issues.
The first half, especially, leans heavily on exposition. While a lot of it was necessary (because this world is dense), a couple of scenes and dialogue/inner monologue felt redundant, like the author didn’t fully trust the reader to keep up. That said, your mileage may vary. Books are art and art is subjective.
However, there’s a lot to love here, especially if you’re drawn to high fantasy with complex magical systems. These cards aren’t waiting to be collected like Pokémon cards, they’re inked using rare magical mediums that are harvested with blood, sweat and tears. The card-based magic is super layered. I’ve always loved a good magical classroom scene and we actually see Clara working through the inking, wielding, reading of the magic tarot cards and the card battles were fun, and by fun I mean high-stakes/deadly. Those moments helped anchor the worldbuilding and I appreciated that.
On top of that, some “arcanists” are more naturally skilled than others, like Clara, our FMC, who has to hide how competent she is. Turns out I occasionally prefer a protagonist who has to hide her proficiency over the more standard weak-to-strong arc. She can save herself. Love that for her and us.
Additionally, the cast is culturally rich, with fair skin explicitly described rather than assumed as default, which shouldn’t be revolutionary but kind of is. There is thoughtful inclusion with LGBTIQ+ supporting cast which feels organic rather than tokenistic.
Solid female friendships + Bechdel test approved.
Romantically speaking, it was an interesting dynamic. Clara’s got trust issues for days and there seems to be a pinch of miscommunication with her and Kaelis, who is a bit of an adorable cinnamon roll. They kinda gave me a similar enemy dynamic to Jude and Cardan.
I’m convinced I would enjoy this 10x more on a reread now I’ve mapped out the card lore and world-building and made peace with it all. I think that ending was beautifully done but very rude though.
Thank you so much to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton | Hodderscape for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
This book kicks off with a pretty valid enemies dynamic. Clara hates Prince Kaelis, which is fair, because she thinks he put her in prison and killed her mum. That’ll do it. But they pretend to be engaged so she can avoid going back to prison, and in return, she agrees to help him with a couple of quests.
Reading this was a rollercoaster. I oscillated between being captivated, confused, mildly bored and completely obsessed, sometimes all in the span of a single chapter. There is so much going on: Tarot card magic system, deadly trials, magical heists, escape rooms AND a murder mystery component. It’s ambitious storytelling and I respect it. But I’d be lying if I said the pacing and execution didn’t have a few issues.
The first half, especially, leans heavily on exposition. While a lot of it was necessary (because this world is dense), a couple of scenes and dialogue/inner monologue felt redundant, like the author didn’t fully trust the reader to keep up. That said, your mileage may vary. Books are art and art is subjective.
However, there’s a lot to love here, especially if you’re drawn to high fantasy with complex magical systems. These cards aren’t waiting to be collected like Pokémon cards, they’re inked using rare magical mediums that are harvested with blood, sweat and tears. The card-based magic is super layered. I’ve always loved a good magical classroom scene and we actually see Clara working through the inking, wielding, reading of the magic tarot cards and the card battles were fun, and by fun I mean high-stakes/deadly. Those moments helped anchor the worldbuilding and I appreciated that.
On top of that, some “arcanists” are more naturally skilled than others, like Clara, our FMC, who has to hide how competent she is. Turns out I occasionally prefer a protagonist who has to hide her proficiency over the more standard weak-to-strong arc. She can save herself. Love that for her and us.
Additionally, the cast is culturally rich, with fair skin explicitly described rather than assumed as default, which shouldn’t be revolutionary but kind of is. There is thoughtful inclusion with LGBTIQ+ supporting cast which feels organic rather than tokenistic.
Solid female friendships + Bechdel test approved.
Romantically speaking, it was an interesting dynamic. Clara’s got trust issues for days and there seems to be a pinch of miscommunication with her and Kaelis, who is a bit of an adorable cinnamon roll. They kinda gave me a similar enemy dynamic to Jude and Cardan.
I’m convinced I would enjoy this 10x more on a reread now I’ve mapped out the card lore and world-building and made peace with it all. I think that ending was beautifully done but very rude though.
Thank you so much to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton | Hodderscape for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism