5 stars!!
I didn’t know what I was expecting when I started the book, but I loved every second of reading this! We follow Clara through her journey of entering Arcana Academy and all the issues that come with being in a magic school. I do have to say; the magic system is so unique and the best part of the book! I haven’t read many books that deal with a magic-based system through tarot-cards, but honestly, I wish there were more! Between the world building and the magic system, 5 stars! It has been one of the best reads so far for 2025!
Now, Kaelis enters the story and I am so undecided about him because I want to love him, but I am scared for myself that he might backstab me, so I will be holding him at arm’s length! There are 2 spicy scenes, that I kind of wish were just left out, but the tension between Clara and Kaelis, chef’s kiss!
The cliffhanger at the end made me want to cry, only because I will not have book 2 in my hands until who knows when! I will be purchasing the hardback when it is released in July!
Thank you to NetGalley and Elise Kova for this digital advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This was my first book by Elise Kova, but it is certainly not my last because I enjoyed everything about this! The whole concept of tarot card magic was so intriguing and the writing had me hooked from beginning to end. I loved the magic system in this a lot and the world building was done so well in a way that was both detailed and easy for the reader to follow along. I especially enjoyed the pacing of the story and how it held my interest, but still left room to develop the relationships, world, and plot without being boring. I also loved the FMC Clara and the fake engagement with the MMC Kaelis. Their relationship was done so well and is exactly what I expect from an enemies to lovers romance. Overall, this was such a solid fantasy novel and I can't wait for the next book especially after that cliffhanger!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!
I loved loved loved the concept of this book but quickly lost interest and ended up skimming. There was a LOT going on - but nothing to fully captivate me into the story. 3 stars because I still love the concept but execution wasn’t for me.

Arcana Academy is a dark academia environment with a unique tarot-based magic system. These aspects along with the layered political intrigue and heist plot really made the book shine. A magic system based in Tarot cards, while I know exists in other books, is not something I’ve read before and I thought the author did an excellent job bringing it to life.
I also appreciated the female main character and how she had some flaws. She wasn’t necessarily driven by the “greater good,” but my her own personal motivations that didn’t actually benefit anyone else. That kind of complexity made her feel more realistic and fresh when most often we see the heroine in these types of stories being portrayed as supremely altruistic.
Unfortunately, the romance aspect of the book did fall a bit flat for me. While it was clearly intended to be a meaningful connection, it lacked the spark and emotional tension I was hoping for. The chemistry between the characters felt muted, and the romance didn’t evolve much throughout the story.
If you enjoy plot driven storytelling and aren’t as interested in the romance aspect this is still a really solid read.

This was a great read if you like dark academia settings, tarot cards and magic. I really enjoyed the world building, with the magic system based on the power of the cards and of being able to draw them keeps you pressed into service for the kingdom. Clara can draw the cards but has been in prison for a year since she was doing it illegally and her sister Arina went missing while studying at the academy. So Prince Kaelis has a proposition for Clara in exchange for helping him. Man the slow burn was so good and all the use of the cards, the different clans and while is does end in a cliffhanger it was still a great read.

Thanks to Del Rey and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

I had already read a couple of fantasy novels by this author and I was very curious about this new series, which falls into the “tarot and magic” genre: Arcana Academy.
Many thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read the preview: the novel will be released worldwide in July.

The Oricalis kingdom bases its magical system on the power of cards and the talent of being able to ink and engrave the most powerful ones, according to the four suits (clubs, cups, swords and coins); talented students are trained for three years at the Arcana Academy, run by one of the king's sons, the cruel Prince Kaelis.
However, the career of an inker is a sort of cage: those who pass the levels end up in the service of the kingdom, while those who fail are marked and sent to the mills, where explosions of magical dust are frequent and deadly.
Clara and her sister Arina were raised in secret by their mother and taught to use magic without authorisation, although their familiy origins are unknown. Someone has betrayed them: Arina disappeared while studying at the Academy and Clara spent a year in the terrible prison of Halazar.
Until Prince Kaelis offers her freedom in exchange for a bargain that could be a new trap: Clara must figure out who her allies and enemies are at the Academy, but also who among her old friends has betrayed them and what the royal family is really hiding.

First chapter approved. A compelling novel with a dark academia setting, lots of mysteries and secrets. There is a very enjoyable romantic element. I would like to continue the series.

SHORT SYNOPSIS:
Clara has been a prisoner of Eclipse City for a year. But after proving herself wielding magical tarot cards, the second prince/headmaster of the magical academy gets her out of prison under pretenses of Clara being his betrothed.

MY THOUGHTS:
The tension and slow burn about killed me. Kaelis and Clara were soooo good. I really enjoyed this world Elise built. It felt truly unique and mesmerizing with the use of cards, the different clans, the academic competition. It’s full of details that I’m sure we’re just scratching the surface on in book one.

The romance was soooooo good. I highlighted so many lines that made my heart melt. Prince Kaelis is for the morally grey and shadow daddy lovers. He was so far gone for Clara so early in. And I just wanted her to catch up and for them to kiss already.

The downside to arc reading is that I have to suffer cliffhangers by myself and wait even longer for book two. And I always do expect them in fantasy books, but I was mad when I turned the page and there was nothing more. Elise did us dirty with that ending.

If you loved the magic of cards in ONE DARK WINDOW or the academia+relationship vibes in Fourth Wing, than you’ll gobble up ARCANA ACADEMY just like I did.

WHAT YOU’LL FIND:
Unique magic system
Enemies to lovers
Fake/forced engagement
Slow burn
Dark academia
Found family
Court intrigue
Dark Prince

This is my first time ever reading a book from Elise Kova and I have been BLOWN AWAY. Arcana Academy is a dark academia, slow burn romantasy filled with intrigue and a very rich world building.

What really captured my attention was how amazing and unique the magic system was; the reading, inking and wielding of the tarot cards had me mesmerized from the very start. Truly one of my favourite parts were learning about the Major cards. Definitely felt overwhelming at times with the different number of cards being used. Thankfully, there is a glossary of all the cards and what its unique abilities are.

Now onto the romance aspect. Oh boy, it was the slowest of the slow burns. I loved seeing how Clara and Kaelis's relationship developed throughout the book. The enemies to lovers trope was well done; Clara HATED Kaelis in the beginning. There was none of that "he was a tall, dark man with gorgeous eyes and a sexy body, but he's my enemy so I cannot like him." She DID NOT like Kaelis AT ALL.

My only complaint was that many of the people Clara befriends were not fully developed, despite the almost 600-page book. There were character deaths that honestly made me feel nothing because they weren't fully fleshed out for me to feel anything. I'm hoping to see more side character development in the upcoming books because there's definitely potential there.

An excellent first book to the Arcana Academy series. Cannot wait for the next book!

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey for this ARC.

I have read and not totally loved Elise Kova in the past, but I loved the premise of this book - a magical academy, tarot, and a fake engagement? - sign me up. And it is definitely Kova's best book, at least of the ones I have read. The magical system is intriguing, though I have a hard time picturing cards floating about while in battle, and I liked the academy setting. Our MMC, Kaelis, is broody and morally grey, and our FMC, Clara, tries very hard to be "good" while also demonstrating a clear streak of immature selfishness. The book ends on a not totally unexpected cliffhanger and I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series.

4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Inklore for a complimentary copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

Content Warning: violence, death, grief

+ I haven’t read an Elise Kova book in awhile, but I had to read this one because of it’s premise. Tarot card forgery, magic, and an arcana academy sounded very intriguing!

+ In this world of Arcana, a deck of cards is all you need to fight and defend yourself and Clara is talented in making tarot forgeries which is illegal. And it ends her up on the most notorious prison, Halazar. Clara has a second chance now, posing as the second prince’s fiance and attending Arcana Academy. While she’s there working with him to execute his plans of changing the world, she’s also trying to find her sister Arina, who was at the academy and has disappeared. I thought the setting of Arcana Academy was lush, dark, mystery and even opulent for a school. Clara makes some new friends and enemies.

+ I found the magic of the tarot card deck really fascinating! Also throughout the story, Prince Kaelis has a plan to steal some Major Arcana cards from his father, the king, so at some parts of the story it felt like a heist, which I thought was fun and engaging. I also liked the politics. There is still so much secrecy about some of the characters in this book that I hope will be revealed in book two. Also there is a found family trope.

+ The romance was full of tension but I didn’t feel it was a main focus of the book for awhile. Prince Kaelis has an agenda and though Clara is helping him to keep herself from going back to prison, she doesn’t fully trust him either but is definitely attracted to him. He is the misunderstood, brooding prince with a bad reputation, but he is also headmaster at Arcana Academy. The attraction grows between them – reluctantly, since they are enemies, but by the end they do become lovers. There is some spice, where clearly they choose to keep this relationship casual and physical but I think that works out fine since Clara has a lot going on.

~ The story is under 600 pages, but I did read it in two days. The pacing is slow but not in a way that I got too bored. I was steadily curious throughout. I think there was so much information about how the tarot magic worked that sometimes it tended to get info-dumpy and I still was confused about some things because I felt like I needed actual visuals of these cards. But I was also equally fascinated and wanted to learn more!

~ The romance though fun at moments, wasn’t a lot. I wish Kaelis and Clara had more interactions. Clara is really focused on her studies, finding her sisters, and trying to forge cards for Kaelis.

~ There is so many more secrets to be revealed and there is a cliffhanger ending. So now I will be eagerly waiting impatiently for book two!

Final Thoughts:

I thought this was a really good start to a new series and I found the magic system fascinating even though sometimes confusing. I enjoyed the enemies to lover romance, the politics and the found family and I’m always a sucker for a dark academia book. The cliffhanger ending makes me eager for book two!

If I were to put Harry Potter, One Dark Window and Fourth Wing into a blender, I would get Arcana Academy.

Set in a mysterious academy where magic is accessed through inking cards, we follow our heroine Clara, a former prisoner, who makes a deal with a prince of the kingdom, Kaelis. As you can expect from a romantasy book, we have an undeniable attraction between our FMC and the morally-grey MMC that follows the tried and true path of an enemies to lovers plot in a slow burn fashion. However, the romance is not at the forefront of the story – instead it is much more a subplot, and the narrative focuses on Clara’s progression through this mysterious but deadly academy. As this is slated to be the first in a trilogy, I can see the romance become more central to the plot in the next books.

What really stands out in this book is the magic system which is fundamentally unique and inspired which is hard to achieve in an oversaturated genre. Magic is accessed through inking an array of cards – somewhat similar to One Dark Window but still a system entirely of its own. However, whilst this magic system is genuinely interesting, I did find the worldbuilding hard to gauge and quite overwhelming. This book does feel slightly info-dumpy at points and expects the reader to absorb to copious amounts of information which let me down slightly. So do go into this expecting an immense amount of worldbuilding.

Overall, this is a very interesting start to what could be a fantastic series with lots of potential.

This novel is magic! I absolutely loved it! This was my first book that I have read by this author and I will definitely be reading more of her books, because this one simply took my breath away. It brought me into this immersive world of magic and tarot cards! I just know that when this comes out, it will be a best seller. The way this author captured my attention and brought me into this story is beyond amazing. This is full of adventure and mystery that kept me on my toes while reading this! This is a medium paced read filled with lovable characters. It centers around the flaws of the characters as being the main focus. It had strong character developments, as they change and grew in the story. This is a very magical academy that includes a very slow burn romance!

“Arcana Academy” is a fantasy, dark academia novel that comes with romance! This book follows Clara, who is a tarot card crafter. She is forced to infiltrate Arcana Academy, which so happens to be a magical school run by a Prince! As this story unfolds, romance happens, wild things happen and of course all the magical things happen! It comes with twists and turns you don’t see coming! Trials and battles happen! It also comes with the pursuit of power and a found family! It leaves with a cliffhanger and I cannot wait until the second book comes out! Overall,I rate this magical book a 5 out of 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Elise Kova and Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for this advanced reader’s copy of this digital book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I think anyone that loves to read a novel that is based on magic would absolutely enjoy reading this! Content warnings include death, violence, sexual content, blood and grief.

This book is expected to be published on July 22, 2025!

One of the absolute BEST reads of this year. Such great world-building, magic system, suspense, enemies-to-lovers... Love it!

5 Stars

Who is friend and who is foe and even when you think you’ve got it figured out, you still aren’t sure.



This book has it all.
- Academy setting
- Fake Engagement
- Tarot Card Magic System
- Slow Burn
- Betrayals
- enemies/hate to lovers

I was sucked in from the beginning because the magic system was unlike anything I’ve read before. Not being familiar with tarot in general, I completely ate this up.

Our setting is in an Academy school for inking Tarot Cards. With betrayals and truths that have you guessing what’s true or not. Or who to believe.


“For me. You are somehow better and worse than I could’ve ever imagined—everything I needed and the last fucking thing I wanted.”

The slow burn between Kaelis and Clara was slow burning with tension filled and witty comments. Left you wondering if they truly hated or just burned for each other.

I appreciated this was a fantasy with side of romance, but left me yearning for these two characters and that twist at the end was shocking.

I can’t wait to pick up book 2. This is set to be a trilogy and I look forward to what’s in store

Thank you to Del-Rey Books, NetGalley and Elise Kova for an opportunity for an e-arc

Arcana Academy is available for pre-order now and will be available July 22, 2025!

I've been trying to switch up my normal reading genres and this dark academia romantasy was really different for me and I'm happy to have had this opportunity to try this author. It's the first in a new series. It took me a while to be invested and there is a lot to take in, such as tarot card magic, world building, characters and side characters had my brain working to keep track of it all. The plot itself was slow for me but I was intrigued by the main characters' relationship and I enjoyed their banter. The ending is quite a cliffhanger and although this was not a favorite for me, I would def pick up the next one to see where this story goes.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

5 stars. I've been reading a lot of romantasy in 2025 (and also in 2024). And given the success of SJM's books and Fourth Wing, it feels like more and more authors are churning out romantasy books. And because of that, as much as I enjoy reading romantasy, a lot of these books feel like the same old thing. But Elise Kova has been writing romantasy for years, and that is completely evident with Arcana Academy. Because this book was good. So damn good. And quite possibly my favorite romantasy read of 2025. And for anyone that's wondering, it's every bit as good as something written by SJM or Rebecca Yarros.

The thing about Arcana Academy is that it feels like the very best of other romantasy books, while remaining completely original. I definitely got Throne of Glass vibes (Clara is kind of Aelin coded). And of course, Six of Crows vibes. (To be fair, I've been looking for a book/ series to fill my TOG and Six of Crow void, and I think these books are it). But I also got One Dark Window vibes, and even Harry Potter vibes. Yet the book is so completely it's own. There's a really cool/ well-built world and magic system, the slowest of slow burn enemies to lovers romance, found family, heists, and twists! And oh yeah, there's a doozie of a cliff hanger. Not sure how I'm expected to go any amount of time without having access to book 2, but it's going to be a real struggle. Because let me tell you-- after 500 + pages, I'm left with MORE questions than answers.

I'm going to be thinking about this book for days (possibly longer). And if that's not the mark of a 5 star read, then I don't know what is. Thank you so much to Kova, Del Ray, and netgalley for the complimentary copy. I'm now going to go prepare myself for the massive book hangover that will surely follow reading something this good.

This book was incredible. Elise Kova sets the scenes, world and characters so well. I instantly loved the tarot magic and how cards are inked, wielded and read. Learning about Clara and her backstory and her drive to find answers about her family had me on the edge of my seat waiting to find out more. I felt the relationship with Kaelis was a perfect enemies to lovers situation and steamy at the right times. I’m absolutely hooked and can’t wait to read even more with the next book to find out what happens.

This book was a lovely read, I particularly enjoyed the descriptive language used in it, and how well everything was always explained from everything to clothes to the smells that could be smelt. It felt I credibly immersive which I absolutely adored.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publishing company for allowing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, Elise Kova, Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, and NetGalley for the early preview of this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Title: Arcana Academy
Author: Elise Kova
Format: e-book

Review:

This book hooked me right off the bat. I wasn’t sure how different tarot card magic was going to be, but boy did this have a lot of thought put into it. I appreciated the explanation and attention to detail for this magic system.

This is my first Elise Kova book, and I have to say I love the writing style. I felt the sassiness and the feelings of characters. There was detail in places and clothing but not so much that I felt like it was too much. I will be adding many more of this authors books to my TBR, as well as the rest of this trilogy (obviously).


***

Now for some spoiler-y info:
This is my first “dark academia” book. So I’m sure to some this might not fit your exact definition. I loved the split houses and the camaraderie that was found between initiates. But there is plenty of problems between initiates and students of Arcana Academy. Characters were morally grey and it made this even more intriguing.

This is a SLOW slow burn. I wasn’t sure if there would be any spice in this book, given how slow this was. But the few scenes do have some explicit detail. I’m a fan and I want Kaelis on my body now, please and thank you.

If this whole story didn’t pull me in already, the last line REALLY got me anxious for book 2 of this trilogy. I am excited to see where this story goes and what happens!

3.5 stars

There is a lot going on in this book, and that makes sense as it is the first of a series. It did take me about 33% to get into it, but once I got there it gripped me more. I put the book down for probably a month before I picked it back up to finish, but I am glad I did. I will read book two.

There is no doubt that this book is distinctly Fantasy/Dark Academia. I wouldn’t even classify it as romantasy since it’s slooooow burn with more chemistry/attraction and only a few small instances of spice. I appreciated that about it though. The plot (while a little convoluted) was front and center. The relationship between Kaelis and Clara, while prominent didn’t deter from the plot, it added to it. You’re going to get magic, enemies (both personal and academic), intrigue, and a plot to bring down the throne.

For the book taking place at an Academy, I felt as though there were very little schooling/teaching/learning that was mentioned or explained. I think I might have liked a bit more of that and a little less of her purposefully running off on her own or pissing off Kaelis. That's just a me thing though.

There is a lot of world building, and I like that in a fantasy series. There is still so much mystery surrounding Clara and Kaelis. I would have loved to have a deeper dive into Kaelis, but since the book was from Clara’s POV, we only see him through her eyes. Now, Clara & Kaelis both had issues in my opinion. It was hard to connect or root for either of them. They both carry a lot of secrets and they are both so distrustful of people and each other that I never felt as though I was reading about the “real them.” It being the first book makes it more understandable. There are a LOT of loose ends when it comes to understanding either character, their motivations, backgrounds, magic, or personalities.

Now the magic system was cool. It was as though the author had read One Dark Window, took the tarot cards to a whole other level and made it her own. I did have a hard time following the intricacies of it, but that only makes me believe that the author put a lot of time and effort into creating something wholly her own. I’m sure by book two I will have a better handle on it.

There are still a lot of side characters that were brought into book one that I hope will make their way into book two.

Overall - I liked it, but I didn’t love it.