This review is going to be short, because the book was soooooooo long and I don't know how to really get all of my thoughts together on this.

I really enjoyed Celestial Academy: Essence.

I can definitely see where it could develop into a fun series.

The only complaint I have is the length.

I'm not opposed to reading big books. I love them! This one just seemed like it probably should have been split up, or shortened. It was pretty wordy.

Overall, enjoyable!!!!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of celestial academy: essence. this was a pretty good sci-fi and romance, I didn't love it as much as i wanted to but it was not bad.

Celestial Academy: Essence has an interesting and unique magical system that I’m interested in watching develop. I always enjoy reading strong FMCs, but this one seemed a bit on the insufferable side. The strength and independence seemed forcibly pushed on the reader, instead of letting the reader infer for themselves.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! It was faced paced and the action kept me wanting more. The characters have great chemistry and the FMC is the perfect amount of sassy!
Definitely a must read for fantasy fans out there and I can't wait to dive into book 2!

Really really enjoyed this book! The mention of zodiac academy is what made me seek this book out to even request it! Definitely would recommend!

This book was so good thanks so much for the copy I really enjoyed this so much along with the writing definitely will recommend

This book definitely has a lot of Zodiac Academy and Cresent City vibes, maybe too much. There is enough world building to keep me intrigued. Angels and Demons in a precarious cease-fire in a postponed-apocalyptic world, I'll take it and the army of hot Nephilium.

The writing is poor and there is too much snarky banter between characters. It was to the point of cringe, extra repetative, and too close to SJMism with the name calling, like Angelhole just reminded me of Alphahole, among other things. The mystery of what Wen is not well developed, and the majority of the book is repetitive and uneventful. The author could have benefited from another edit. The book is over 400 pages with a good 20% of the book happens in a matter of 24 hours. Yet, after we get to a "magical" school we get nothing but time jumps. And new information is only dropped in the last 50 pages. None of the characters have much character development. They all just hate Wen, except Sarah who has a super unhealthy codependent friendship with her. Everyone came across as a bit too 1D, when they had so much potential. Honestly, the epilogue I'm Godric's POV gave more character building and was much more interesting than the majority of the book from Wen's POV.

Despite not loving or even liking this I am going to read the next book.

Gwendolyn Weiss has made a lucrative business selling a drug only she can create. How she does it, no one knows, but the angels decide drastic measures must be taken to discover the answers. They send her to the illustrious Celestial Academy, a university for students of all kinds, including Nephilim, Demons, and even some Fae. Here they learn how to harness their abilities to fight alongside the angels in the holy war. Unfortunately for Gwendolyn, Wen for short, she's also assigned a shadow in the form of a very powerful, very wicked Nephilim named Godric.

Readers who are looking for a little bully romance in their fantasy are going to be obsessed with Godric. His assorted nicknames for Wen are terrible. Those paired with the heated stares he shoots her way will have readers giggling and kicking their feet. And with the surprise sneak peek at his POV at the end? Every reader will be desperate for book two right away.

The main issue in this book is that it could have used more developmental editing. Wen's overuse of dude and bro, along with some clunky dialogue and unclear passages could have been smoothed out with a longer editing process. The pacing was a little off as well, the middle of the story seemed to drag on and then get super interesting again right at the end.

Overall, I rated it 3.5 out of 5 stars. The plotline will feel slightly familiar to readers of Zodiac Academy, but it's different enough to still be fresh and a mystery of where the story will go. The slow burn is going to be wonderfully agonizing for readers, having them begging for something. Anything. I'm absolutely going to be reading the next book in the series, and I can't wait to see how this author grows her craft and where she takes Wen's story.

Wen is a sassy, stubborn and hilarious character! The fact she back talks literally everyone? Drew me in faster than anything! This book really has it all, enemies to lovers, crazy villains, magic and multiple twists and turns that will keep you on your feet! I can’t wait for the next book!

Interesting characters and interesting story! The phrasing was sometimes wonky and the dialogue was odd, but overall not a bad read!

I unfortunately couldn't get into the writing of this one and ended up giving up at 30%. The premise was awesome but the execution fell a little flat. Would be interested to see how this author progresses.

I loved Zodiac Academy so it makes sense that I’d want to pick up Celestial Academy. I really enjoyed the book! I’m a sucker for any book of this genre and CA didn’t disappoint. There’s a slow burn romance waiting for you.

It has a promising start, but it quickly becomes boring… but the ending got me hooked all over again and I’m kinda interested in reading the second book. I wanna see godric and wen, and how they would handle all the mess waiting for them in the near future. And speaking of wen, I like her, I do. But let’s face it, it was kinda exhausting being in her head all the time.. especially when she’s being annoying with her snarky remarks most of the time. I still want the best of her tho. Which is rare, bc I wish annoying main characters death. And I grew to really like Godric… I mean he is hot, obviously. But his demeanor is just 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻 Also I expected spicy bits, only to be let down. Bc they barely touchhhh each other. I was begging at some point but I didn’t even get any crumbs… I love slow burn romance but it be driving me crazy at times 😩 I gave this 3.5⭐️ (rounded up) could’ve been better and shorter tho.

Loved this book can't wait for the rest in the series. I now have kindle unlimited so I can enjoy the series when it comes out

2.5/5 stars, that needed some more time in the editing process I think

Thank you to Seventh Wonder Press for the arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Initially, I picked this book up as it said that it was fans of Zodiac Academy and I've been seeing the hype everywhere, but I didn't want to buy it and be disappointed (as it really isn't my usual genre). So when I saw this book on netgalley I figured this was the perfect opportunity to test it out and see if that is something I may want to pick up at some point in the future. Unfortunately, I think there were some good aspects of this book it didn't convince me to pick up things from this genre again.

Even from the beginning, the writing style was something I didn't mesh with, and I can point out a few reasons this was the case. First of all, I adore info dumps in fantasy books usually, give me every bit of information about the world so I can absorb some fantastic worldbuilding. But this one, the entire history of the story was explained in like ten pages by the main character, and in a very bland way. I just wasn't a fan of this, as I love getting explanations, but through the rest of the world and not necessarily the main character just telling me everything that happened in the world.

The main character herself was also something that I disliked, especially how she was written and her dialogue. Even from the beginning, I could tell that she would be snarky, which can be fun especially when sarcasm bleeds into the story. But this was just, too much for me. I was constantly rolling my eyes at things she said, especially as even in serious situations she would mouth off. It got really old very fast, and I was constantly surprised that she didn't just...get killed. Especially as she was living in a world full of angels and demons who could kill her with a second glance.

If I tried to tune this writing style choice out for the main character, I think the overall concept of this book was interesting. I enjoy seeing demons vs angels, and the question if angels really are morally good creatures in this scenario. But even then, the book was kinda slow in the beginning and didn't excite me beyond belief. Urban fantasy just isn't always my preferred genre either though, so that may be my preference in taste.

Again, there were issues with other characters in the book and especially the romance. Most of the other characters beyond the main character Wen and Godric (the "angelhole" love interest) fell flat, and most of them just felt like plot devices to move the story along. And don't get me started on Godric? He seems like an interesting character with layers but he was literally causing physical harm, abusing his power, and forcing the main character to walk on a leash (& subsequently restricting her airway/dragging her when she didn't walk fast enough). I just, that's not the romance I'm in for and isn't even making me interested in the enemies to lovers. It was kind of ridiculous, and I feel that this could have been cut back to make the romance more viable but I couldn't see it. There was even a point in the book where after causing mass amounts of physical harm to her she realized 'oh Godric is hot' and the next time she took a shower she was just imagining him and had an orgasm without even touching herself. and she said she had never had a real orgasm before and it was just not...for...me.

[TW: mention of war and murder, slavery, human/child trafficking mentioned, physical abuse, whipping, drug dealing and use mentioned, arrests, and sexual abuse mentioned]

Unfortunately I tried on multiple occasions to read this only to be frustrated with the language the MC uses. And I DNF around 40 pages. I did not enjoy the endless chatter and the use of ‘dudes’ and ‘bros’ in the interactions. I just could not cope being in her head.
Thank you for the opportunity to review this book but it wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I wasn’t able to get past the dialogue, inner monologue of the FMC, and tone. I continued reading until about 50% because I did enjoy the story and plot! It was very interesting to read a new take on magic and a school for people with magic. However, the dialogue and interactions began to feel forced and immature and I was not able to continue.

This book gets the enemies-to-lovers trope down perfectly, being both believable and arousingly infuriating at the same time. The interactions between Wen and Godric always felt genuine but never had the true feel of hatred, which I absolutely adore.

I loved, absolutely LOVED getting Godric's point of view in the end!

Ahh I just loved everything about this book, I'm sooo looking forward to reading more in this series!!

Why, or why did I wait to read this. I was intrigued by the promised of this being like Crescent City. I love the tropes in this book. Forced proximity, forbidden love. This was such a great read. It's definitely a slow burn, but I love this about it. I can't wait for the next read.

DNF due to the similarities to Fallen Angel by Leia Stone, significant similarities. I will say though, the writing in Celestial Academy was significantly better than Fallen Academy.