This book was a simple yet surprisingly complex fantasy with minimal world-building—but honestly, it worked! The magic system stole the show, especially the shadow wielding and that insanely cool star magic. Seriously, *chef’s kiss*.

The romance? Sweet, but not exactly groundbreaking. It was there, it was nice, but I won’t be daydreaming about it.

It’s a quick, enjoyable read, and the Greek mythology inspiration had so much potential—I just wish there had been *more* of it shining through. That being said, the descriptions? Stunning. The way the world and emotions were portrayed left a lasting impression.

Overall, a fun, magical escape that I’d recommend if you’re in the mood for something light yet enchanting!

A great new romantasy/fantasy series that will leave you waiting for the next book. Including elements of magic, deceit, romance, drama, and mystery this one was a real page turner.

I enjoyed every second of this read! The complexity of the plot and the ties to Greek metrology were so well thought out and executed. The flow of the story kept me captivated and wanting to read one more chapter (I stayed up all night finishing this book!). The magic and atmosphere made me so nostalgic and was comparable with reading Harry Potter/ zodiac academy for the first time! Anyone that’s a lover of fantasy and a good enemies to lovers will fall head over heels for this book and aching for more!

✨🐍 Imagine Hogwarts, but everyone is a Slytherin 🐍✨

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Academy of Villains to read and review. This book was a fun read. Set in a magical academy, it had so many element of my favourite Romantasy tropes: trials, fated mates… one bed….

The magic system is unique and well thought out. The FMC, Kiara, is a badass assassin, and the MMC, Lucian, is a broody prince… and her target.

My only complaint is that I wish there was a bit more depth. What was it like growing up as an assassin? What are the psychological effects of not having a name? How did it compare to life at the Academy? Did she leave behind any assassin friends? Was she pumped to have her own room? These things aren’t strictly necessary to the story, but would’ve helped connect with Kiara.

That being said, I did enjoy reading Academy of Villains. It had strong Harry Potter vibes, mixed with some Throne of Glass. There are a good amount of interesting side characters whose stories I hope we delve into in the future.

I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers so this book was perfect for me!

The romance when they actually got together was executed beautifully. It was somewhat confusing in the beginning with their situation, but that feeling disappeared about halfway through the book.

I didn’t like the predictability of the book, the plot was a little too obvious but other than that I loved this book.

Read if you love:
Enemies to lovers
Fated mates
FMC assassin
Forbidden magic

I was so surprised by the depths of this book! the world building was amazing, and so much fun. I loved the magic system so much. And don’t even get me started on the slow burn romance. I cannot wait for book 2!!

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I DNF’d this at 89 pages.. I just couldn’t get into it and didn’t connect to the characters. It picked up really quickly and then kind of went no where? It gave me huge HP vibes and I couldn’t stop comparing it. It just wasn’t my cup of tea!

Alright, so Academy of Villains had me hooked from the jump. A dark academia Greek mythology retelling with Nyx and Erebus at the core? Say less. I was ready for the magic, secrets, and messy characters, and this book absolutely delivered.

Kiara is that girl. An assassin sent to infiltrate a magic academy, only to realize she has magic herself? That’s drama. That’s tension. That’s exactly what I signed up for. The stakes are high, the world is dangerous, and the cursed prince? Let’s just say temptation comes in many forms. If you love slow-burn, high-stakes romance where trust is questionable and the chemistry is chemistry-ing, you’ll be eating this up.

The world-building is top-tier. The way the magic system weaves into the plot? Chef’s kiss. It felt rich, layered, and full of intrigue, especially with the secret societies lurking in the background. Ever King has a way of setting a dark, cinematic vibe that makes this book feel like you’re watching it unfold in real-time. I was invested.

Now, let’s keep it real—the pacing was fast, maybe a little too fast. I wanted more time to sit in Kiara’s past before she was tossed into the academy madness. There were also a few predictable moments if you’ve read other dark academia fantasies. Did that stop me from devouring it? Absolutely not.

The romance? TENSION. Kiara and Lucian have this push-and-pull dynamic that had me in a chokehold. If you live for the enemies-to-lovers energy, forbidden attraction, and that ‘I hate you but also maybe wanna kiss you’ vibe, this delivers. Hard.

Final verdict? Academy of Villains is dark, immersive, and full of twists, betrayals, and tension-filled romance. If you love morally gray characters, sinister magic academies, and a romance with actual stakes, add this to your list.

Rating: 4/5

An interesting, ya fantasy with a bit of a darker undertone. I love anything with an academy setting, so I was excited to read this. Our two characters are a slow burn enemies. This gives you a lot of what you’d expect with quest, magic, mages and princes. I found the pacing a bit slow at times, and overall this was lower on the romance side. However the detail it the world was excellent and I enjoyed reading it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ever King for the ARC!

This book was very entertaining! I really liked the magic system and the physical manifestations of the magic in this book. In my mind I almost imagined a pixie dust sort of quality to it. I could definitely see a harry potter-esque inspiration with a bit of the book, specifically towards the beginning. However, that completely went away as the book moved on and definitely became its own story. The grimoires and the role it played in the system was a very nice touch I think and really enjoyed that aspect. My favorite part of the book however, were the fighting scenes. I think they were so well done and never confused or lost me like some books do. The last half of the book really picked up speed and hooked me in, I can't wait to see what happens next! :)

Before I started reading this story I saw a couple of reviews that referenced Harry Potter and Throne of Glass when describing this book and I can't lie that I was a little nervous going in. However I was hooked from the very first chapter! I love assassins, a dark academia setting and an interesting magic system which Academy of Villains does not lack.

I found the writing to be descriptive and engaging, you can really picture the locations and different settings as you are reading which makes for an immersive experience. The atmosphere was one of my favourite things about this story and it continued throughout the whole book. Not only do you get a magic school but also secret societys which make the story all the more intriguing. The romance is a slow burn and it definitely feels like it but the chemistry between the two main characters is pretty much immediate - the tension and banter they had on the page was top tier!

Thank you to netgalley and the author for a copy of this book.

Thank you to the author for this e-ARC!

I devoured this! From about 30% onwards I could not put it down. Struggled slightly at the beginning with the literal style of writing but the vibes were immaculate from beginning to end. I could feel the atmosphere of the mystical magic academy and really enjoyed the magic system especially as the FMC grew to understand it too. The relationship between the main characters developed beautifully and I was so invested!

I had a very enjoyable time reading this book! The premise sounded very intriguing to me: a story filled with action, adventure, and romance? All in an academic setting? Say less. Sure enough, right from the first page, I was immediately hooked! The author flushed out her characters perfectly to the point where not only could I sympathize with them, but I also kept rooting for their happily ever after to the very end. There were some moments that felt a little over the top in the story, but very few in between. I would highly recommend this book if you are in the mood for a quick, fun, and magical story filled with romance and suspense!

First of all I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is the book for you if you enjoy magic academies, enemies to lovers, Greek mythology and fated romance.

I was drawn in by the description of this book and was really happy I did, i feel like there was a variety of characters to help build the story and there was a lot of stuff going on, however I did feel like the ending was disappointing, I am intrigued by the second book so will still continue to read the series.

Once I picked this up and started reading, I could NOT PUT IT DOWN. I am not even sorry about this, this really came out of no where. The story progression was good, although a bit predictable at times. I really enjoyed the aspect of unknown power and then trying to catch up to not get left behind. The politics are interesting and I can't wait to see them fleshed out more as the story progresses into more books. I enjoyed the ties back to the Greek mythology basis of Nyx and Erebus, and the grimoires were such a unique twist! I think that may be one of my favorite nuances from this book!

All in all, I am hoping for more overall world building/political development in the subsequent books. So I will be continuing on with this series!

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advance Readers copy for an honest review.


Sigh.

This book has all the right ingredients. Enemies to lovers. Dark academia. Forbidden magic. Political intrigue and strife. All the major ideas to make this a banger. Unfortunately for me it fell completely flat.

Our main character Kiara believes herself to be a mundane and is a part of an elite group of assassins owned by the king. She is tasked to kill the prince while he is at a magic mage academy and somehow in the process gets sorted into a house at the school and is awakened. She is a rare and thought to be extinct starmage. I can't express enough how great this premise is. It's like a mix of Harry Potter meets Zodiac Academy.

Getting through this book was difficult, the pacing was hot and cold, there were parts that lingered that were fairly unimportant while the big moments were written very fast. There were moments I wanted more information of for more time to pass between plot points that could have really benefited from more detail and explanation. The relationship between the 'shadow daddy' and the FMC also fell quite flat for me. There was a very insta love 'my magic is drawn to her' direction in the romance and they quite literally know nothing about each other before the irrational pining starts. I want them to be true enemies and learn the grit about each other before that happens.

Overall it feels like I was watching this book from far above using a pair of binoculars. I couldn't get the full scope of world building. I wasn't able to see the full scope of character development. There were no moments where the view expanded from those tiny binocular lenses and allowed the mind to picture our characters in time or space. I felt as though there was a lot of telling and not showing.

I think that this book would be SO SO great with more rounds of edits and more well rounded character development. I want them to banter. I want them to learn each other's vulnerabilities and subtle intricacies before they head off on a quest together. I just want more.

I love a romantasy that incorporates Greek mythology! This book was very much under my radar but so so good! This grabbed my attention from the beginning, and I felt like it was an easy read to get through and had solid pacing.

Thank you NetGalley and Ever King for the opportunity to review this book! This is my honest opinion.

Kiara, a hired assassin, infiltrates a magic academy and discovers that she has magic of her own. Using this to her advantage, she enrols in the academy while staying focused on her ultimate goal: to kill the Prince and break the curse.

The story is compelling, and the writing is easy to follow. The magic system is particularly well done - I loved the concept of summoning grimoires, with each one being unique to its master. However, the pacing of the book is uneven at times, feeling either rushed or overly detailed. For example, the trials felt too quick for my liking and could have been explored in more depth.

Kiara, our FMC, is strong-willed and determined in her mission, and Lucian, our MMC, is the broody, enigmatic prince who becomes fascinated by her. Their romance was lovely! While it doesn't quite follow the enemies-to-lovers trope due to their immediate attraction (especially from his part), there is still palpable tension between them. Was the romance predictable? Yes. But was I still swooning every time Lucian interacted with Kiara? Absolutely yes!

I also wish we had learned more about the side characters, especially the Raven Society. I’m hopeful they will get more attention and development in the next book!

Overall, this is a fun read, perfect for those wanting to dive into the romantasy genre with a dark academia setting.

ARC Review: Academy of Villains by Ever King

If you love dark academia, magical assassins, and a romance filled with tension, Academy of Villains is an absolute blast to read.
The story follows Kiara, a fierce assassin with a mission that leads her straight into a prestigious magical academy—and directly into the path of Lucian, a brooding Shadowmage prince.
Told in dual POV, the book dives into their intertwining fates while unraveling a mystery at the academy that keeps you hooked. Add in some lovable side characters, an intriguing magic system, and a romance inspired by Greek mythology, and you’ve got a recipe for a compelling fantasy read.

It has all the makings of a page-turner—enemies-to-lovers vibes, secret identities, found family elements, and a school setting full of hidden dangers. If that’s your thing, you’ll love this book!

For me, while the story was enjoyable and well-paced, I’ve read my fair share of "shadow daddy" MMCs, so the trope didn’t feel as fresh to me.
But if you’re still into that dynamic, you’ll probably love Academy of Villains a lot more than I did!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️
Some books hook you from the first page and don’t let go—Academy of Villains by Ever King is one of them. This fast-paced, addictive read blends Greek mythology-inspired romance, morally grey characters, a fresh take on magic, and an intriguing fated mates connection that kept me turning the pages.



The story follows Kiara, a former assassin sent to infiltrate a magic academy with one deadly goal: kill the prince and end the royal bloodline. But when she discovers she has magic of her own, everything she thought she knew shifts. At the academy, nothing is as it seems, and the prince she’s supposed to kill? He’s about to have his entire world turned upside down by her presence.



What makes this book stand out is its Greek mythology influences woven into the romantic tension and the concept of fated mates, known as “heartstrings.” Once believed to be lost, this soul-deep connection resurfaces in an era of conflict, forcing Kiara and the prince to confront fate, power, and their own desires—reminiscent of the tragic and passionate love stories from ancient myths.



🔥 What I loved:

✔ Greek mythology vibes that add a unique layer to the romance.

✔ Enemies-to-lovers tension done right.

✔ A different kind of romantasy—no fae, but mages and powerful grimoires instead.

✔ A slow-burn romance with minimal spice, perfect for those who love the tension but prefer less explicit scenes.

✔ Surprising plot twists that I didn’t see coming!



❗ What I wanted more of:

➖ Character depth—I wanted to know more about everyone’s backstory, especially the side characters!

➖ MORE STORY—Just as we’re deep in the action, the book ends! That cliffhanger was painful, and now I need book two yesterday.



💜 Final Thoughts:

This book is a fantastic addition to the romantasy genre. If you love enemies-to-lovers, Greek mythology-inspired love stories, and a fresh fantasy world, this one is for you. I can’t wait to see where the story goes next! Ever King, please tell me book two is coming soon!



Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC.