4 ⭐️ Great Start


Quick Thoughts:

This feels like an academic version of One Dark Window, and I loved it! Bring on complex magic system, and slow burn romance.

I loved:

Plot
There are multiple layers to this plot and I will briefly talk about some so no one is spoiled. Clara has escaped prison for illegally making magical cards, however escaping really is just another trap. Clara is now stuck working with the second born Prince, Kaelis, as a tool to steal a powerful card from the King. Clara is thrust into the world of royal court as well as Arcana Academy. As she's at the academy, more secrets of her past and present begin to unravel.


Clara
A layered character. Clara demonstrates strengths in her confidence in herself, her ability to love others and her ideas. I loved that she also had insecurities, and wasn't perfect at everything. She admitted to many of her faults, and struggled to trust. She didn't fall into the full stereotype of romantasy FMC which I found delightful.


The World
I enjoyed the magic of this world. I think it was unique, and interesting especially as more layers of the plot came about. I will say I wanted to understand the magic system a bit more, and I would have loved a bit more of a breakdown on the minor and major cards. I would have loved a glossary in the beginning to reference especially with battles.

Romance
I loved that this book was a slow yearning burn throughout the book, but still had the “payoff” in the first book. I love that the relationship is not fully established, and many questions are still left even with the ending.

What I disliked

Pacing
The pacing of this book was what brought the rating down. It felt a bit all over the place, I would classify it overall as “medium” but at times it drags on. Towards the end of the book, it was very fast. I overall wish it had a more steady pace especially with the beginning when it “dragged” on a bit more.


Overall, I will be reading the second one when it comes out. I more than likely will buy a physical edition of this book.

What a fantastic read! The magic in this book is so unique and refreshing. Clara is sentenced to life in prison for using arcana cards; however, when an unlikely prince breaks her free and sends her to the Arcana Academy, things get messy. Clara has always had a knack for inking, but does that have to do with the majors? Clara has to navigate passing the academy, finding her sister/friends, and learning more about the prince.

This book is incredibly captivating, and I had the best time reading it! I highly recommend this book for all the fantasy lovers. It ends on a massive cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to get my hands on book two!

Thank you to NetGalley and ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey for this eArc! You will find my unbiased review below.

- Romance
- Dark Academia
- Fantasy
- Fake Engagement

Arcana Academy by Elise Kova is Fantasy/Romantasy novel with a world of magic.

Cara is a prisoner for using her magic illegally and the person who sentenced her is now back to use her. Landed in a fake engagement with Kaelis, Cara must navigate Arcana Academy to help Kaelis get what he wants- a new world while also trying to uncover the mystery of her sister’s disappearance, mother’s death, and her bloodline.

While the beginning of this book was just alright- world building was smooth and not overwhelming and the tarot magic system was a refreshing aspect. I found myself disconnected with Cara until about 40% into the book. And let me say after that, I was hooked! Not only do we have morally gray characters but the mystery in this book is wild! I would come up with a million theories while reading it which was fun! I was able to guess the disappearance of Arina but they really had me going with different guesses. I swear you question everyone in this book! The love-hate relationship between Cara and Kaelis is pretty toxic but I’m here for it! They are a ball of a passionate, hot push pull couple. I also have some theories about Karlis but I’ll wait for the next book.

I would like to see multiple POV in this series. Don’t know if that’s something we’d get but it’s something I want.

This to me is a MUST READ of 2025!

Rating: 5⭐️ / 5 ⭐️

Dark academy, magic tarot world, morally grey characters? Sign me up 😍

Strap yourself in! An interesting read this was! I loved the magic system in this book, it's something completely fresh which sets it apart from alot of other Fantasy novels. Amongst that, we have a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance, amongst politcal dramas between the families, which makes for a long book (story wise and page wise) but it all comes together in the end!

And we alllll love an magical Academy book with trials 😍 There are tarots, myths and legends, past scandals - all rolled up into a tiny little bit of spice 🌶 Just a crumb for you smut lovers!

Wow! I was very surprised by how much I loved this book. The magic system is extremely unique and I loved it.

This book is not like any other fantasy book I have read and I really liked the characters. The pace of the book was good it didn’t feel like it dragged if anything I was left wanting more.

When is book 2 coming?? I really don’t think I can wait.

**arc was provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

✨ARC Review✨

✅Unique Magic
✅Enemies to Lovers
✅Social commentary
✅Fake relationship
✅Found family/friendship
✅Slow burn
✅Trials

When is the second book coming out?!

I finished Arcana Academy by Elise Kova in one day because it had me on the edge of my seat. This book had no dragging moments. Honestly, I just want to yield magic and tarot cards.

The world building was spectacular. The way the academy and the prison were described made me feel like I was a part of that world as well.

Kaelis and Clara’s slow burn romance made me giddy, swoon, and hurt. I love how Kaelis deeply cares about Clara. He may be perceived as cold and ruthless, but the way he talks to Clara is everything. The prince’s lines can make anyone fall in love.

The other characters from Myrion to Alor to the king all had parts to play. They all help expand the universe of this book in satisfying ways.

I thought that the magic system of inking and using tarot cards was very creative. I don’t know much about tarot, but I am now interested in learning about it thanks to Arcana Academy.

Will I recommend this book? Absolutely. Will I read it again? Yes. Will I read the sequel? YES! I can’t wait for it!

📚 Book Review 📚
Arcana Academy | Elise Kova

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Themes:

✨Unique Magic System
🖤Enemies to Lovers
🔥Slow Burn
🫶Found Family
⚔️ Trials
🥀 Mystery

Thank you @netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review

One of my favourite reads of 2025! I LOVED this book!

In this world magic is used through tarot cards. There are 4 suits, Coins, Cups, Swords and Wands. These all range from Ace to King and each card performs a different thing. In addition to this there are 11 Major cards, which can only be used by Majors.
These cards can only be inked by those graduated from Arcana Academy.

Clara is in prison for illegally inking tarot cards. She receives a visit from Prince Kaelis who is also headmaster of Arcana Academy. They strike a deal and from there Clara is thrust into Arcana Academy, dealing with secrets and trials.

I honestly could not put this down! The magic system is one of the best I’ve read, it was so different and refreshing from others I’ve read. It also constantly had me guessing what was about to happen, usually I can see there the plot is going or predict any twists but I was second guessing myself right to the end.

The slow burn enemies to lovers was delicious and I am obsessed with where this will go!

I’m honestly so fuming that I will have to wait just for everyone else to read this and then even longer for the sequel!

Absolutely loved and adored this book. Seriously. I ate it right the hell up. Magic based on hand drawn tarot cards? Yes please- this was such a fresh and fun concept. I liked that this wasn’t a Romantasy based solely on the romance. That honestly took a backseat to all the other action happening and it ended up being the best slow burn. I think this book is going to blow up when it comes out this summer. Cannot wait for book 2!

2.5 stars. I was excited for a book with an academic setting, but this one didn't quite reach its potential for me.
The magic system seemed interesting at first - I've read another book with a card/tarot-based system and really enjoyed it - but then started feeling drab.
The pacing was odd - the first third was extremely slow, and then it picked up a little in the middle, and then slowed down again. For the romance - I love enemies to lovers and rivals to lovers, but there wasn't really "build up" per se for them. They talked a little, had a few interactions, and then bam spice out of nowhere. When spice adds to the story it's great, but this seemed like it was there more just for the sake of being spicy; it didn't deepen their connection, change their relationship, etc. It also felt like there were a lot of little subplots going on but none of them got fully fleshed out.
Overall it didn't make me really care about their characters, e.g. I didn't connect to them and there weren't any crazy high stakes, and the story felt pretty generic.

4.5⭐

Thank you Elise Kova and Del Rey US for the ARC!

I absolutely loved and devoured this book.
It was amazingly written and the world building was fantastic. I absolutely loved the magic system in this book and how beautifully intricate it was.

The world-building is phenomenal—rich in magic, with complex characters and twists that keep you on the edge of your seat. The relationships are so well-developed, and they pull you in every time. The plot keeps you guessing, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, it throws in a curveball.

Clara, the resilient protagonist, embarks on a tumultuous journey after being freed from a grim fate in prison by the enigmatic Prince Kaellis. Their arrangement—a fake engagement that soon grows more complex—adds a deliciously dark twist to the story, as Kaellis’s own ambitions and secret machinations slowly unfold.

The slowburn and tension between Clara and Kaelis was sizzling as hell. The enemies to lovers aspect of the book made it much more interesting to explore their dynamics.

The ending has me absolutely spiraling. I must have read the last 3 pages 10 times. Jaw on the floor. I can’t wait for the rest of the world to get their hands on this!

•• “𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦, 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦”

I’ve been trying to peel my jaw off the floor and write this review but it’s proving to be a struggle. The more I think about this story, the more in love with it I fall. Unique tarot card magic that reminded me of One Dark Window, a brutal magic academy that was cutthroat like Basgiath, a slow burn hate to lovers-ish relationship that gave me good and bad butterflies, along with secrets and betrayals galore had me hooked from the very start and unable to put this down.

The magic is truly impressive and I have a feeling we’ve only scratched the surface of its potential in this installment. The lore and complexities of the system keep you guessing without being confusing and the fight scenes were so well done that my heart was pounding the whole time. It’s brutal and tricky, and I absolutely ate it up.

•• “𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳”

And when my heart wasn’t pounding cause of the action, it was racing from the tension between Clara and Kaelis. Don’t get me wrong, this is a slow burn, but the prince really knows how to make those little moments count. Possessive touches, sneaky humor, and slipped confessions made the hate to lovers progression feel natural and sweeter than it had any right to be.

•• “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 - 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥”

You have to work for those sweet moments though, and these characters will have you ready to scream a few times. Despite the poor communication between them, I was never frustrated with the hot and cold of their relationship. If anything, it made me truly feel the lows and made the highs that much better.

•• “𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦… 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵.”

The last line of this book pulled an honest to god 𝗴𝗮𝘀𝗽 out of me. And then I just sat and stared at the ceiling for a little while. This was the perfect cliffhanger and I’ll do just about anything to get book 2 in my hands as soon as possible.

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲:
•𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰
•𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲
•𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘆
•𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻
•𝗛𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀-𝗶𝘀𝗵
•𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆
•𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀
•𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀
•𝗕𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘀 / 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀
•𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗽
•𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘁, 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱

This book was amazing. I’m a massive fan of Kova’s, and I couldn’t wait for this. And I was not disappointed. It’s fresh and fun, but has Kova’s amazing prose, characters, and world building. Fantastic.

In Arcana Academy we are thrust into a world where magic users ink & wield tarot cards, however they must go through training at Arcana Academy. We follow Clara, who is imprisoned for the illegal inking & selling of tarot cards. Her only way to escape is to make a deal with the second Prince Kaelis, head of the academy. Failure is not an option as failure could mean death or worse. However, there are other secrets coming to light as Clara tries to navigate who she can trust.

Wow! Let me start off by saying that the plot felt so refreshing to read. Sometimes plots can be recycled & this broke that mold. It left things exciting wondering what was going to happen next. The magic system felt so well thought out & I loved that there’s a glossary explaining the different cards to further immerse yourself into this world.

This is a fast paced novel & it kept me on the edge of my seat. While reading I kept thinking about how I was enjoying the pacing of the book & that the timing feels almost practical as the events aren’t rushed into a short time frame.

Now let’s talk about that ending cause that had my jaw on the floor!! There were a few twists at the end that I honestly didn’t see coming. This does end on a cliffhanger since it’s the first book in the series but I will be eagerly awaiting the next book to get more answers.

I also want to add that this is the first book I’ve read from this author so I don’t have any bias from reading any of her other work. But overall this was a fantastic read & I can’t wait to read some of her other books.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC!!

The words from this book felt like they were transporting me to a familiar world. I loved all the drawing and inking, not many fantasy books are so descriptive when it comes to tarot. I cannot wait for book two but I know I am going to dwell for a long time within the walls of Arcana academy and its students. I loved the friendships formed and old. I appreciated that although the MMC was important the roles of friendship and loyalty were more so.

What a delightful, fast paced, stellar romantasy novel.

The world building and magical system! It was so intricate and as a fan of Tarot in general? I vehemently approve. It was so cool seeing all the different kinds of magic the cards can create and how it directly ties into their meanings.

The characters were multidimensional and flawed which I LOVE. Give me some complicated beans please! Especially, if they come in the sad broody boy variety! Also, Clara is a great MC, she's all hard edges, but not so much so that she's unlikable. She's very balanced in that regard and it makes it that much more fun to see the inner workings of her mind throughout the story!

This was such a wildly fun ride. AND THAT ENDING. I'm so happy that this is my first in the adult romantasy genre.

4.5/5

Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I think I should stop making "most highly anticipated reads" list. I'm just setting myself up for disappointment.

This was... an okay read. I really love the magic system. It's actually what first drew me in. But all the other elements of the book just didn't work out for me. The romance was meh. The magic system was so intriguing. At first, Then it became boring. And I could barely understand what was happening. (Am I just stupid?) I had to read certain paragraphs/phrases multiple times. Clara was fine. But Kaelis was just trying too hard. I think the worst was the dialogue and the supposed "banter". It bordered on cringe. It was hard to read at times, tbh.

I am heartbroken that I didn't end up loving this. I really am.

5 Stars!!!

AMAZING! This book was such an interesting read. I have never read anything like it. The magic system was so fun! I loved learning about all the different types of tarot and what each card could do.

There was definitely some spice in this book, but it was the perfect amount, in my opinion.

I really enjoyed everything about this book; the magic, enemy to lovers, romance, friendships, the school and training, etc.

The plot twist at the end had me shook! I can't believe I have to wait for this book to come out. Why can't I have the second one right now?!

There were so many tropes I loved in this book! I think this is probably going to be one of, if not my favorite book, this year! I highly recommend! I'm going to go and preorder my physical copy right now!

I absolutely loved this book! The magical system was so original and amazing, I love tarot cards so that was a super bonus point for me. The enemies to lovers is super real, they are real enemies and I love the fact that they never really trust eachother even when they are so attracted to one another. The yearning, the tension and the slow burn are amazing!
A definitely must read for me 🙏🏻
4.75 stars ⭐️

Currently in my fantasy era and this one absolutely hit the spot for me 🙂‍↕️🫶🏼 all my fantasy romance lovers out there… you’re going to absolutely devour this one when it releases

The concept of a world filled with tarot magic and an academy that trains wielders of such magic - along with an FMC who is forced to attend this school and enter a fake engagement to help the prince and headmaster of this school gain power and change the world with her unique talents - is great.

The execution? Not so great.

This entire story felt very hollow, and I’m sad to say that because I enjoy the author’s other work quite a lot. But from the beginning, the reader is bombarded with so much information that it’s hard to retain. The academy setting - which I have a soft spot for and was excited about - felt more like window dressing, used to spoon-feed world-building rather than serving as an integral part of the plot.

We barely got meaningful interactions within the academy, and the student characters felt like shells with barely-there personalities. The book introduces an entire academy system with its own mechanisms, but after they serve their plot relevance, they’re promptly discarded and barely mentioned again - just like most of the characters.

I’d wager that aside from the FMC and MMC, everyone else had little meaningful characterization. And that would be fine if the larger plot didn’t revolve around the academy. Why make the MMC a headmaster, the FMC a student, and establish all this academy lore if it’s barely relevant?

We’re also introduced to a separate set of side characters from the FMC’s old life. While she proclaims her love for them, they feel just as vaguely characterized as every other side character in this world, making their inclusion feel pointless.

Similarly, the magic system felt nebulous and hard to grasp as a reader. I really tried, but every time I thought I understood, I was bombarded with more information about the cards, the magic, the lore, etc.

The positives? The interactions between the FMC and MMC. They were cute, well-written, and had chemistry. But I wouldn’t call this an enemies-to-lovers story. He was never really an enemy, and his affections for her were apparent from the start. The attempt to frame their relationship as a hate-to-love dynamic later on felt unnecessary and it wasn’t substantiated at all.

The ending felt a little flat. It was predictable, but I was mildly curious about where things would go. I did enjoy the prose, as I usually do with Elise Kova. And the novelty of a tarot-based magic system might entice me to continue, since I do like the core idea and bare bones of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.