Giving this book 5 stars doesn't feel like enough. I think this will be one of the top fantasy romance books of 2025 it was that good.

I absolutely LOVED Arcana Academy. The tarot-based magic system is quite literally the coolest magic system I have ever read. The complexity of it and the sheer forethought to plan the magic alone let alone the world building, politics and then overarching plot? Incredible. I loved that there is multiple aspects to the magic from inking, wielding and reading.

Clara is an intelligent, multilayered FMC with many secrets of her own and secrets that were kept from her. She is pulled from prison by the second son, Prince Kaelis, after illegally inking tarot cards (as only Arcana Academy graduates may ink in service to the crown). She makes a deal with Prince Kaelis and enrolls in Arcana Academy.

As a huge dark academia fan the setting was so well done and I enjoyed being in the student's lessons learning about the different aspects of tarot magic. The trials were so exciting and tension filled and were a highlight of the academic portion.

The romance was slow burn and felt almost star-crossed. You wanted to root for them but also both were hiding things and not being fully truthful to one another. As time went on, you could see how the two came to genuinely care for one another.

The ending had me speechless and I am eagerly awaiting book 2. I will be pre-ordering a copy so I can read it again upon release.

Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey for the ARC. You do not want to miss out on Arcana Academy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the arc.

Honestly, I was on the fence about whether I really wanted to read this book based on the description but I am so glad I did. I can normally predict a good portion of most books by a certain point but this one kept me guessing. I’m still not sure which characters can be trusted. I really liked the magic system and that it felt more like a fantasy with romance than a romantasy if that makes sense. I’m already looking forward to book 2 even though this one hasn’t come out yet.

I'm predicting this to be one of the hottest new fantasies of the year! I was immediately interested before I even started reading with the concept alone. Once I started I was immediately hooked and could not stop reading! Clara is a fun, it's not sometimes frustrating FMC to follow along with. While I agreed with her at times, I also wanted to knock some sense into her at others. I found the magic system to be unique and intriguing, and definitely I'm excited to explore more of as the series continues. I was so really excited and really enjoyed the romance, I'm really loving this return to slow burns? Maybe it's just me but I feel like we fell away from slow burns for a little while there and we're back to them and I am in love. Despite the fact that this book is almost 600 pages, I never found myself getting board or thinking that we could have just cut whole chunks away and been just fine! This is definitely a book I'll be picking once its been realeased and I have a feeling I will not be alone!

I will admit that I struggled to get into this book. I'm not sure what caused it and I am hesitant to blame the book because it was honestly so amazing. But I found that I had to force myself to pick it up. That being said, once I really got into it (around the 50% mark), I didn't want to put it down,

This book is an amazing blend of dark academia, heavy world building, a plot for the ages and one of the most unique magic systems that I have seen in a while. Magic based around tarot? YES PLEASE! I especially loved that even though it could have been a super complicated magic system, the author does a great job of keeping it balanced with being extensive, yet mostly easy to follow. She does include a guide in the back of the book of each of the cards and their power, which is helpful to reference when I found myself getting a bit lost.

I thought the author does a great job at balancing a tropes in a way that doesn't feel "tropey". Found family, though they play a bit of a backseat through most of the story, and a fake engagement with one's enemy that clearly will lead down a very particular path.

I do wish that we had a bit more time with the Prince, understanding his motivations and character, but overall I am decently pleased with him as an MMC.

I am so excited for book 2

I loved the concept of this book and thought the magic system was unique. However, it could have been editied down or split into two (maybe three!) books. It's trying to set up way too many things to be the first book in a series. Pacing was an issue because of the length and it started dragging about halfway through. While I found this book enjoyable enough, I won't be picking up any future books in the series.

Fans of Elise Kova will not be disappointed. Her writing style carries, though it feels more polished and refined than her earlier works. Looking forward to seeing where she takes the series.

Thank you to Del Rey for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this- dark academia, plot heavy (which I love) and heavy world building (another bonus) a magic system based in tarot cards was a refreshing change up! The tarot magic wasn’t overly complicated and understandable- which I appreciated because sometimes I get a little lost
Found family and Enemies to lovers (slow burn) forced take engagement - but I wish we got more in depth chapters with Prince Kaelis as I had a really hard time finding a connection with him in the beginning.

This is the first book I read in quite some time that I would give 5 stars. It’s a fun mixture of Zodiac Academy and maybe Yugioh or One dark window. I love the whole fighting with cards aspect and the characters I well written. I will definitely recommend this book

I am obsessed (to put it mildly) and a little shocked at how desperate I already am for the next book.

The start admittedly had me a little confused, trying to understand the different cards and their functions (I only loosely knew tarot before). That being said the story was more than enough to keep me going.

The world building and lore particularly around magic was so clever. I found this to be a real nail biter, never quite sure what was going to happen next. I also appreciated that the connection between Clara and Kaelis was clear but made stronger slowly and thoughtfully.

Loved this book! Highly recommend!

“I’m the chosen one blah, blah, blah. I need to save the world.” Girl, be practical. Just shut up and stop being problematic.

Like, I’m not that big into tarot cards, so going into this, I was a bit skeptical. But how it was explained and explored made some parts easy to understand, and the rest just gibberish. OR MAYBE NOT EXPLAIN IT IN THE GLOSSARY ON THE LAST PAGE OF THE BOOK. The world building, Arcana Academy(the school), and plot were just so messy and chaotic. Coupled with its stock-standard writing, made the plot and the romance just fall flat for me. And I was constantly going, “Who the hell are you?” because they appeared out of nowhere without any explanation. Like this book literally gave me a headache.
2

Thank you to the Del Rey team for the ARC. I was immediately hooked by Kova’s new series. The magic system with the tarot cards was so well done! Kova is the best with writing slow burns and the ending has me reeling. I need the next book by tomorrow but this one hasn’t even released yet so I’ll just have to cry in the meantime.

This was a really interesting read that was very much outside my comfort zone. I’m looking forward to sharing her work with my friends and family and I hope that there are more books coming by this author.

Unfortunately not for me as a reader. I struggled to connect with the writing style and story. I would still recommend if you enjoy romantasy. I did however really like the magic system. It felt unique using different tarrot cards

Ah I enjoyed this book way more than I expected! I've read a lot of fantasy I can confidently say, and also quite a bit in the dark academia subgenre. I can confidently say this one was pretty unique, especially regarding the magic system!

It's so rare these days to get new, imaginative magic systems and the tarot card system in this book was exactly that. If you find that you're reading a lot of the same book over and over, I highly recommend this one. I wish the romance was a little more prevalent at times, but the slow burn is definitely worth it. The MMC in this book is yearning and pining non stop. I also love how this book very clearly does not answer all the questions! There's still so much about the MMC, the other characters, and the worlds before this one that we don't know. They gave us a few answers but left us with good questions too and I can't wait for the next installment!

Clara has been illegally creating magical tarot cards since she was little. After being in prison for a year for this, she finally "escapes." I say it in quotes because she is assisted by the 2nd in line to the throne, Kaelis. Clara must navigate being enrolled in the Arcana Academy with Kaelis as the headmaster, trying to solve what happened to her mother and sister, and her growing attraction to the headmaster. Will she help Kaelis with his plan and will she fall for him after all.

I loved the story and cannot wait for the next in the series.

Would you give up your future to wield magic?

Arcana Academy is a mix Kova's previous series: the dark prince x commoner aspect of Air Awakens, an unique and intricate magic system like Loom Saga and the spice of Married to Magic.

The plot is keeping me on my toes! Each development surprised me because the card / tarot based magic is unlike anything I've read before. I couldn’t guess a single thing in this book. My brain isn’t creative enough.

I appreciate how Clara genuinely hated Kaelis and did not give a description of his appearance until she was comparing him and his brother. Kaelis seems to be attracted to her but hates it so very Jude and Cardan. They have a similar push and pull too.

I immensely enjoyed reading this. I loved the magic system and romance. I think the characters took a back seat to the plot and world building. Next book I’d like for the side characters to be more fleshed out and more character development from Clara and Kaelis.

"Love me, hate me, but only look at me like my existence sets you on fire."

Are you kidding me? I just finished, and ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This was amazing, and now what do I do!? NOW WHAT DO I DO? Arcana Academy was SO FUN. THIS is enemies to lovers. THIS is slow burn. THIS is fantasy romance. THIS is marriage of convenience. I've read a few of Elise Kova's books, and this is my favorite by far. I'm obsessed with Kaelis and Clara. Clara is such a badass and Kaelis is still so unknowable to me. I loved this plot. I loved the magic system. I loved the battle scenes. I love a dark academy. Honestly, I loved it all.

I'm so glad I picked this up. Thank you Elise Kova, DelRay and NetGalley for this eARC. I really feel like this could be one of the next big fantasy romance series.

"There is no world in which you do not consume my very being."

You already know this book ATE when I highlight half the dang thing, ok?! RUN DONT WALK TO ADD THIS BOOK TO YOUR TBR!!!

💫TROPES & THEMES 💫
✔️ NA romantasy
✔️ forced/fake engagement
✔️ slow burn romance
✔️ dark academia vibes
✔️ a heist
✔️ tarot card magic system
✔️ BA FMC

This story right here will live rent free in my head for the next decade, maybe longer I can promise you that. Elise Kova has created the most incredibly rich and magically fascinating world in this new series. From the very first page I was completely enraptured by the story. Clara is one tough cookie FMC, and being in her head while learning this new world helped me understand and follow along so easily!

I always struggle to learn very diverse and deep world building/magic systems/lore. Not here! Not only is Elise a mastermind at creating top notch unique worlds, but she writes it clearly and interestingly that you don’t struggle to understand. And not only that, but the ROMANCE?! *chef kiss*

The romance is one for the ages and the lines that were falling out of the MMC’s mouth had me screeching into my pillow because SIR. 🙈 it was adorable and so very romance and then we even had a little spice sprinkled into it are you kidding me?!?

This was a big book - but never once did it get boring. NEVER. I was hooked the entire time. Waking up at 4 am diving back in because I couldn’t stop reading. The last chunk was so wild and drama filled, and the twists and turns snatched my ponytail into orbit. I still can’t get over that ENDING!!!!

Gosh, do I feel alive after reading that. This book, hands down, will go down as one of my top favorite books I’ve ever read. I am so exciting to read what happens next!! Thank you so much Elise and Kay from Delreybooks for sending me an e-arc. I truly can’t say thank you enough for picking me. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy and reread it all over again. I’m OBSESSED!!!

I have no words for how good this book is. It is like a fantastic combination of Harry Potter, One Dark Window, and Once Upon A Broken Heart with some spice thrown in. This world is built in the magic of tarot cards, and it was a world that wasn’t too complicated to understand, but the magical elements flowed and made sense unlike about 3/4 of the fantasy books I have read this year. The FMC was relatable and strong without making my eyes roll. The enemies to lovers romance was palpable and chefs kiss. The best book I have read in 2025 so far!

Immediately after finishing this book I was convinced that this was very close to a highlight for me. Because the magic system ... just wow.
Now, a couple days later, I find myself not remembering too much beside the magic system, which ultimately made me knock it down to 4 stars with potential for more in the next books.

What did not work for me enough were the characters. The main protagonists were fine, though not too much more. The side characters were underdeveloped - but I'm hoping for much more there in the books to come.

But now I'll tell you why you should read the book regardless: the magic system! Tarot magic! Wielding tarot cards as weapons! A secret card of all cards!

Yep, I was utterly blown away by this and couldn't get enough. So now I can't wait for book 2.

4/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @delreybooks for the eARC!

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