Great book! Already ordered the next one!! The tension and slow build is amazing! Some concepts aren't flushed out and are left vague and confusing but overall well written with good character development! Love the humor!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 3.5
This was a good read. It reminded me of Zodiac Academy and The Mortal Instruments! There is a lot of world building in the beginning. It’s an intriguing mix of dystopian and urban fantasy. The concept of the apocalyptic world being run by angels and demons is well done. Wen, the FMC, is so sassy and snarky. I also love the MMC. The slow burn trope is everything.
Some of the writing also reminded me of Crescent City. The author gives a lot of detail and information though, which sometimes overwhelmed me. But most of the time added to the story!
Thank you NetGalley!

While this is not usually my go to trope, I enjoyed it. The FMC was slightly annoying and redundant, and I can see why people could DNF this just based on that alone. I look forward to the 2nd book and high hopes that it will be more engaging to me.

I enjoy this book, it was a fun read. Gave me Zodiac Academy, I am excited to see where this series goes.

I absolutely loved this book and the way this world was presented. Wen worded things, especially about humanity, in a way that all of us can relate. Cannot wait for Null!

Thank you NetGalley for this ebook copy!

This story wasn't for me. I like the overall concept, the storyline was there. It was just a bit drawn out. I ended up skimming a good bit.

I didn’t care for the FMC. Her snark was amusing at first but it became a little bit of a shtick that lost its appeal after a while.

I did like the MMC. I found him intriguing and I wish we could have seen his POV throughout.

Overall, I think the writing style wasn't for me, but the general idea was good.

I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

I have to say, I had really high hopes for this one. I’d seen people talking about it online and thought this is going to be great! I felt disappointed. Firstly, I dislike Wen. I think her banter is annoying and frankly she acts so childish it’s hard to picture her as an adult. Comebacks are only cute so many times and then it just becomes annoying. The constant questioning everything got old too.

I also felt as though this story could have gone in a million other directions. An angel/demon book is so fascinating, but I feel like it didn’t meet that mark.

Godric was too vague about literally everything and it wasn’t a “mysterious” vague just a plain old “i don’t want to tell you” vague. It made his character uninteresting.

Finally, I felt like there was no resolution to anything & it felt like I dove into this world and got nothing out of it. I know it’s a series but some questions should have been met.

ALSO, her friends are about to die but she’s going to spend time mind-talking with Godric? come on

i really enjoyed the paranormal and angels vibes! it was so zodiac academy and it was interesting! it probably could have been developed a bit more but it was still fun

This was pretty good! I enjoyed all the drama and the plot was solid. I can’t wait for the next one!

This was really bad…
It looks like it didnt go thru any editing process, I realize that as an arc it might be an unfinished copy but it is miss in SEVERAL editing rounds.

As far as characters go, the sister of the main protagonist just serves as way for her not to be killed by her demon roomate who by soñé chance is super friends with her, just an example of how nothing about character motivations makes any sense.

I dont know I really disliked this one, won’t be reading the second one

Format: E-Book
Rating: 4 Stars
Spice: 1

This book has everything. It gives Zodiac Academy feel without the need for 9 books and 500 pages. The story follows Wen, a demon-owned human slave looking to find her and her best friend Sarah's way out of slavery. Through some dark transgressions, she finds herself in front fo Godric and Archangel's son, who are looking to punish her. For her punishment, she is sent to the celestial academy to grow and become apart of their world. But, Wen and the academy are not what they seem.

I thought this book was great. I thought the story was well developed with enough world-building to kick it off. We met some main characters, some new players, and a sneak peek at where the series will go. I thought Wen was a great FMC with a whole lot of attitude and bite to back it up. She is fierce to love and loves fearlessly. I really enjoyed the academy and watching her come to her true self without worrying what some many people think of her.

This book was one that without the romance (helloooooo slow-burn) would stand on its own without it. My only compliant is the super casual language sometimes. I know it was chosen on purpose for Wen, but the name-calling and such did get a little old at times.

Overall, great book, and happy to have had a chance to read it!!!

I loved this book. I think the world building and the character development were great. It was a fun read and I couldn't put it down. Balancing all of the world building and characters can be hard but I think Pharos did it really well and I can't wait to read more

The omparison of this book to Hogwarts and Zodiac Academy really caught my interest. It's definitely a slow burn, but I love a slow burn enemies-to-lovers so i really enjoyed this book! I found some of the writing hard to follow at first, the slang names for the different types of angels etc, but once I got into it,I couldn't put it down! Looking forward to reading the next book

I started Celestial Academy because it promised to merge elements and magic from Crescent City, The Mortal Instruments, and Zodiac Academy.

As a HUGE fan of ZA, I couldn’t miss the chance to read it.

But let me tell you, Celestial Academy is something different. So far, the only thing in common was the incredibly creative complexity of the world-building and the fact it is set at this Academy.

Oh, and Wen slightly reminds me of Tory, but I'll tell you about that later.

Other than that, I found it quite different from ZA. Which is not a bad thing, in my opinion.

The love interest is slowly developed, giving space to the intricate magical elements and mythology.

We know there are vampires and other creatures, but we never see them in this book. The main focus remains angels, archangels, demons and archdemons (and all that is in between these two factions).

I want to take a moment and applaud the author's mythology, which merge biblical and fantasy elements to completely original features, resulting in great action and supernatural powers that will awe you!

Let’s talk about the main characters: Wen and Godric.

Wen is a human with a special skill: she can collect one of the rarest substances, which she sells in clandestine transactions to buy herself and her friends' freedom..

Wen is stubborn, grumpy, and constantly inclined to conflict. She never stops asking questions to literally anyone, and she has a great spirit of initiative, as she was taught she had only herself to rely on. She is a survivor and will always be one.

We see her go from zero to heavenly high levels in this book, as she has the best mentor: Godric.

Godric is something... unearthly. We never see his full potential, but his aura is enough to make Wen’s arms and legs tremble in intimidation (and something else, hehe).

There is one thing we know for sure: Wen is the greatest, most complicated pain in the arse he has had in years. Maybe centuries.

But every great hate-to-love story needs a considerable deal of hatred to fuel the love interest.

The first book feels like an introduction to the world and the characters, but it leaves us with more unanswered questions than Wen has ever encountered.

Characters like Sarah, Jinny, Aela, and Cara gain a lot of importance in the end. And we still have to see if Godric’s interesting younger brother has some sort of role in the next book.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this read. I would have loved more dialogues among the characters, but the amazing action and complex developments were so epic that I couldn’t stop reading. Above all, the final part.

If you love paranormal urban/mythological fantasy with epic characters and a slow burn enemies-to-lovers story, this book is for you!

Received a copy of Celestial Academy: Essence through NetGalley.

Definitely stayed up far too late in my rush to devour this book as quickly as possible. Wen and Godawful are such compelling characters and the lore surrounding their world so intricate that I am ravenous for book 2!

4/5⭐️

A brand-new urban fantasy obsession for me!

I was hooked right from chapter one. The plot, the world-building, the characters and the progression; everything was top-notch. There's a Training Academy, there's mystery, there's adventure, there's slow burn romance, enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity. Basically, everything I look for in a fantasy.
The whole set-up of angels and demons were very well done, characters were interesting, especially Wen. She's brave, outspoken and a survivor. Personally, I enjoyed her inner monologues and banter with Godric.

The twists kept the book interesting and the pace, going. I have a few theories about some characters and hope that my predictions turn out to be accurate in the next installment of the series, which I am super excited to pick up soon.
Overall, a must read!

I received an ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Thank you to Netgalley, the Author and the Publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this series - we have a enemies to sort of lovers, forced proximity and plenty of shenanigans to keep us entertained

We meet Wen when she’s struggling to survive - turning to criminal enterprises to try and save her best friend. She is (ofcourse) caught and sentenced to an academy where she learns more than just how to fight but who she and her friends are.

You have the usual academy tropes but all with some very cool post apocalyptic magic in play. I enjoyed the story and totally didn’t see the twist coming

Holy smokes what a great book! This one has tons of great world building, good paced plot, lots of banter and snarky dialogue and the characters are enjoyable. I found it a little clunky, just not my preferred writing style I think but the story is great!

Holy, I was not ready for this book. Olivia Pharos did an incredible job on Celestial Academy: Essence and I cannot WAIT to read the second in the series. I had previously read reviews of Pharos’ take on a post-apocalyptic world akin with the world building and fantasy that I have come to know and love, but I dont think I was ready to love the book this much. The action, the witty banter, and again, the world-building is next level. I fell in love with the snarky comebacks between the FMC and her brooding counterpart and there were plenty of times where i just did not see the next plot twist coming. Brava for this one and I highly recommend it for anyone who fell in love reading Harry Potter at a young age and advanced into the fantasy lore of SJM, Rebecca Yarros or the like. Loved it.

Such a unique world! I loved the different elements that came together to create something totally new. This is definitely a book to recommend to those who enjoy the Zodiac Academy series. This book also has that little something that is found in ZA. The snark? Perfect. A random thing that I loved was the font choice. It was legible and easy to follow (if you know, you know). I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.