Thank you to the author and netgalley for allowing me this read.

I was sucked in so fast into this book that it took me back to my staying up way late to finish reading. I read it as fast as possible and finished in 3 days. I am such a sucker for Greek mythology stories and they will forever be the top of my TBR any chance I get a new book.

The magic and even the curses really drag you into the book from the very first few pages and I seriously look forward to reading more.

⋆｡°✩ ᴀʀᴄ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ ✩°｡⋆

ᴛɪᴛʟᴇ : Academy of Villains
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ : Ever King
ꜰᴏʀᴍᴀᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅ: E-Book
ᴘᴀɢᴇ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 451

Tropes:
⚬ Magic Academy
⚬ Assassin FMC
⚬ Greek Mythology
⚬ He Falls First
⚬ Cursed Prince MMC
⚬ Dual POV

The title is what drew me to this book. An Academy of Villains?! Yes please. Then i saw that the book has Greek Mythology inspiration and i fell in love. I have always loved Greek Mythology!

This book is like Harry Potter, meets Greek mythology, meets secret society's, meets Dark academia!! (even a hint of gossip girl!?!?!?! throwback!) I really enjoyed all the mysteries and clues they needed to search for! (We even get a one bed trope! yey!)

The magic is this book is really unique! I loved how books were involved with the magic! I could just picture in my head a magically glowing grimoire popping up next to some kick a s s magic!

Kiara is an Assassin sent to kill the prince who attends the Academy. Kiara's determination to do her job somehow ends her up enrolled in the Academy herself and you get to see her unravel a world she knows nothing about. Lucien is the Prince who's magic is Shadows (We love a shadow prince!) he is drawn to Kiara straight away, i just adore how all consuming his thoughts of her was. Not just the magic but himself as well. The romance between them is slow burn and is a definite enemies to lovers. I love how there relationship grew, nothing too fast like some stories.

Side character? we have plenty! I'm fully invested in the boys of Raven now! I cannot wait to see how things progress with each of them, there was a little foreshadowing of what's to come next and i was so happy! PLEASE tell me they are all getting their own book? Especially Tobias and Kaspian!

Now I'm sat here really wanting book 2! IM so excited for the next journey

•• “𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭, 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘦”

This book is an ode to the fated mates trope. It may as well define it for all of romantasy, and it reminded me why I love this trope so much. It’s the idea that your perfect match is out there, completing you in every way - and honestly what could be more romantic than that?

•• “𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 - 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳”

Now don’t worry, despite the immediate pull Kiara and Lucien have things never feel like insta-lust. There’s a nice build up and lots of internal conflict on both their ends that really made their relationship arc beautiful. They may fight that fate for different reasons, but once Lucien falls he never looks back and I absolutely ate up his protective and slightly possessive ways. He loves Kiara in such a pure way and it really was a breath of fresh air.

•• “𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘒𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘢,” 𝘐 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳. “𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯”

The foundation is set for an amazing storyline, with just enough answered here to leave me happy while I wait for more. This does have more of an upper YA feel to it, with fade to black spice, but the series does ramp up as it goes.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:
•𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴
•𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 - 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀
•𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻 𝘅 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲
•𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹
•𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆
•𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀
•𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀
•𝗙𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲

I’m totally here for the vibes of Academy of Villains! There’s almost nothing I love more than a Dark Academia with a unique magic system and characters I can’t help but love, and this checks all the boxes.

Here's what you can expect:

🔪 Stabby Assassin FMC
🌚 Shadow Daddy
🥀 Fated Mates (Heartstring bond)
💔 Enemies-to-lovers
🏰 Magic Academy
🔒 Secret Societies
📖 Grimoire Magic
🔍 Solving Mysteries & Unraveling Clues
🏛️ Greek mythology–inspired love story

When Kiara infiltrates the Academy to assassinate the Cursed Prince Lucian, she finds herself captured and having to improvise. Pretending to be a student during a choosing ceremony, Kiara shockingly discovers she has magic. The irony? Kiara despises mages more than anything. Yet, here she is, forced to live as one among her sworn enemies, totally spun around and trying to survive.

The magic system is pure genius. Mages are sorted into powerful classes, and each one is gifted a grimoire that conjures the right incantation for battle or defense. Kiara’s no stranger to danger, but magic is a whole new game. She must master her spells on the fly, dodging the enemies who fear what she is, while still plotting Lucian’s downfall.

Kiara is a total badass, but let’s talk about Lucian. He has that mysterious shadow daddy vibe, but as secrets unravel and his backstory comes into play, I found myself hopelessly rooting for him (and maybe swooning a little, too).

Then, toss in secret societies, fated mates, and a quest that’s equal parts epic and deadly. The result is a spellbinding, twisty, utterly unputdownable adventure that left me staying up way too late until I devoured the entire book.

𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 4.5⭐

If you love dark academia, morally grey characters, and enemies-to-lovers tension, Academy of Villains by @Author | Ever King 👑 is one to add to your TBR.

This story follows Kiara, an assassin sent to infiltrate a magical academy and kill the prince. But things quickly become complicated when she discovers she has magic of her own. Between secret societies, dangerous magic, and students disappearing, the academy is full of dark secrets waiting to be uncovered.

I loved the dark academia atmosphere and the mystery throughout the story. Kiara is a strong and determined FMC, and watching her navigate a world she was trained to destroy while discovering her true power made the story really engaging. The slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance added just the right amount of tension and intrigue.

If you enjoyed Zodiac Academy, Harry Potter and love Greek-Mythology-inspired books, Academy of Villains is definitely worth picking up. 💖

#Netgalley #arcreview #academyofvillains #romantasyreads #bookreview

My Goodreads review is already live, and my Tiktok post will be live shortly.

"This is such a fun series. Books 1-3 are already out, and I spied a Book 4 pending on Goodreads! But so far Book 1 is and absolutely fun and unique retelling of the Nyx and Erebus myth, but it doesn't read as a straight retelling. Our FMC Kiara is a badass survivor and our MMC Lucian is a handsome dark prince with a few secrets of his own. I love their chemistry, the humor and the interesting lore and magic of the world. If you like the Throne of Glass and Crescent City series, you'll love these books!

I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review."

I really loved Academy of Villains by Ever King and found myself staying up late just to read one more chapter.

Kiara is such an interesting main character. Taken from her parents as a child and raised by the Nameless to become an assassin, she has spent her entire life being trained for one purpose - to kill Prince Lucian. But when she finally gets close to him, everything she thought she knew about her past and her mission begins to unravel. I really enjoyed watching her journey as she discovers her magic and begins training at the academy, especially as she learns just how powerful and rare her abilities actually are.

One of my favourite parts of the book was the tension between Kiara and Lucian. Their connection builds naturally throughout the story and I loved how protective they become of each other over time. I do wish there had been a little more spice as we only get a few kisses, but the slow-burn tension between them was still so good.

The magic system, the academy setting, and the trials woven into the story kept me completely hooked. There were so many moments that made it hard to put the book down, and the ending left me really excited to see what happens next.

If you enjoy magical academies, slow-burn romance, and a story full of secrets, power, and twists, this is definitely one to pick up. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Ohhh, mythology and dark romance, you really can’t go wrong with this one. It’s an enemies to lovers story around Kiara an assassin and unknowing Starmage assigned to kill Lucien, Prince of the realm and a Shadowmage. But she cant quite bring herself to kill him. Along the way they learn why and are drawn together to journey to break a curse. So good!

The characters are layered and the world built in this story is fascinating. I can’t wait to read more!

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and found it to be an exceptionally strong opening to the series. One of its greatest strengths is the immersive world-building, which feels richly layered and vividly imagined. The magic system, in particular, stands out for its originality and depth, adding a sense of wonder and intrigue throughout the story. I was especially drawn to the atmosphere of the book: it combines the haunting appeal of gothic dark fantasy with compelling Greek-inspired elements, creating a setting that feels both elegant and distinctive. Ever King’s writing is detailed and evocative, bringing every scene to life with remarkable clarity.
Kiara’s character development was one of the most rewarding aspects of the novel. She begins with a clear purpose driven by revenge, but as the plot unfolds, her motivations and emotional journey become far more nuanced and engaging. Prince Lucian also evolves in meaningful ways, and I appreciated the depth given to both protagonists. Their individual arcs, as well as the dynamic between them, left me eager to see where the story will take them next.
Another highlight was the Raven Society, which introduced an additional layer of mystery and intrigue to the narrative. It was a fascinating element of the story, and I am very interested in learning more about the characters associated with it in future installments.
Overall, this is an impressive and captivating start to a new series. The blend of romance, magic, and plot progression feels well balanced, and the pacing kept me fully invested from beginning to end. It was one of those books that was genuinely difficult to put down. Now that the truth behind the curse has been revealed, I am even more eager to discover what comes next—and I only wish the sequel were already here, and considerably longer.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy to read. I only regret not picking it up sooner.

Absolutely inhaled this! I loved everything about it! Hidden identity, one bed, enemies to lovers, assassins and royalty, magic, academy setting. The world building was amazing. The pacing felt fast but not over whelming. 10/10 would recommend! -Kerin Ray

The title is what first caught my attention, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. This dark fantasy romance set in an academy has everything I love….secrets, trials, and an enemies-to-lovers trope. The story kept me hooked from start to finish, and now I can’t wait to dive into book two.

I didn’t expect to be hooked so quickly, but this one had everything I gravitate toward—moody academia vibes, a morally gray edge, and a story that leans into the darker side of things. Layer in the intrigue of mythology, a strong and unapologetic heroine, and just enough mystery to keep you guessing, and I was all in. The way Ever King reimagines the fated mates trope—especially through the idea of heartstrings—felt unique and thoughtfully done, rather than something we’ve all seen before.

The world building on this was amazing. It felt like Zodiac Academy meets Greek mythology. Kiara learns she has magic and through that she finds who she is supposed to become. While sh originally plans to kill the prince the celestial magic has other ideas for her. While these are all stand-alone it is best read in order to experience the world and overarching storyline

A wonderful journey of self discovery and purpose, this romantic fantasy checks all of the boxes. From a magical academy setting to enemies to lovers and found family tropes, this story is perfect for anyone who loved Fourth Wing and wants a more magic based world. I truly enjoyed this and would recommend to anyone who likes a good slow burn romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! Can't wait for the next one. It was fun, exciting and I really liked the characters. I love how the author bases her characters on Greek mythology. I could not put it down! If you like enemies to lovers and slow burn you will love this!

Academy of Villains was such an addictive read. From the moment the story moved into the academy, I was completely hooked by the atmosphere—dark, mysterious, and full of secrets waiting to be uncovered. The world felt immersive, with magic, mythology, and dangerous challenges all blending together in a way that kept me turning pages.
Kiara was a strong and interesting main character, and I really enjoyed seeing her pushed outside her comfort zone as she faced the trials and everything the academy threw at her. Her resilience made it easy to root for her. The relationship between her and Lucien was another highlight for me. Their dynamic developed naturally and added a softer emotional layer to the darker tone of the story.
The trials were creative and brought a lot of tension to the plot, making the stakes feel real and the outcomes uncertain. I found myself constantly wanting to read “just one more chapter.”
Overall, this was a really enjoyable blend of fantasy, dark academia vibes, and romance. If you love magical academies, dangerous tests, and characters you can’t help but root for, this one is definitely worth picking up.

The world-building, magic system, and characters were all so engaging, and the dark academy setting gave strong Slytherin/Harry Potter vibes that I loved. Kiara is a strong, badass FMC, and Lucian is mysterious, conflicted, and impossible not to fall for.

There are secrets, trials, enemies-to-lovers tension, and constant twists that kept me hooked the entire time. A fast-paced, addictive start to a series I can’t wait to continue