This book was absolutely phenomenal.
From the first page and reading from Wen’s perspective, I was captivated by the world building. I have always been a fan of books that explore angels and demons but haven’t found one recently that caught my attention. This was not the case for this book. Each character was unique and true to themselves. I really appreciate that consistency. I was really impressed with the suspense in Wen’s journey and I loved Godric!! Two thumbs up for the slow burn and the amazing plot. I can’t wait to read the next book!

If you enjoy fantasy romance with enemies to lovers, forced proximity and lots of tension with a unique mix of urban fantasy, dystopian, paranormal romance and supernatural academy you’ll definitely love this book!

Celestial Academy: Essence by Olivia Pharos is a different take on the end of time and is a very enjoyable read. The book is big but doesn’t seem one page more than needed to tell the story.At first, I really wasn't sure what type of read this would be for me. I love these type of books, but when done completely done right. But omg, this was done trully right!
The writing is chef kiss and Olivia Pharos did a perfect job with the worldbuilding and all this beautiful characters!

Anyway, also the cover is gorgeous!! Literally a piece of art! Who is the designer? You did a wonderful job!

Thank you to NetGalley and Olivia Pharos for providing me with an ARC of this book! Celestial Academy: Essence is out everywhere on December 15, 2022! Don't miss it!

Celestial Academy: Essence is the first book of the new Celestial Academy series by Olivia Pharos. The story centers around a young woman named Wen White who is taken from her existence as a slave in a post-apocalyptic world where Earth is controlled by Angels and Demons to be a new conscript at the mysterious Celestial Academy. During her upheaval she is also forced to work closely with Godric, a powerful Nephilim who detests Wen as much as she does him.

The book is a strong first edition to a new series. It sets up the world in detail, and transports the reader into an urban fantasy world where Angels and Demons can be found at every turn, and the concepts of good and evil are gray instead of black and white. While at times the world building can slow down the plot, I appreciated the author’s attention to detail. While there is always something familiar about a modern setting, it’s important to differentiate between the reality the reader knows and the world the author is trying to create. While almost everyone has a certain image of Los Angeles, it’s not post-apocalyptic LA.

The book is written in the first person, primarily from Wen’s perspective. She’s a sarcastic and relatable narrator and her commentary is at times hilarious. I thought at times she was a little too quick to be confrontational, especially when we’re introduced to all her roommates at the academy, but it does make her consistent from start to finish. She, like the author, does go into great detail with her internal monologue, and can linger a bit in her descriptions, but it’s never without a purpose. There is absolutely no question as to where Wen stands on her option of someone or confusion as to what she’s experiencing.

The book is described as a slow burn, and there is not a lot of spice. However, the chemistry between Wen and Godric has me planning to read the second one to see what finally happens between them. They are a perfect example of enemies to lovers, and hopefully we will get more of the lovers part in book two.

Overall I would give this book a solid 4 out 5. If you liked Crescent City, The Bargainer, or other modern fantasies you should definitely check out Celestial Academy.

(I'll be posting this on Instagram on 11/28)

Labelling this as new adult implies there's going to be some kind of sexual content, which there isn't. The romance is also a bit ridiculous. We hate each other from the start, and then suddenly at the end we don't. I mean, we know it from the get-go because it's labelled a romance and the blurb makes it quite clear that these two will fall for each other, but The author could have included some more subtle hints that Godric was interested in Wen aside from random territoriality and occasionally not being as much of an asshole as usual. We certainly haven't achieved the "soul-searing enemies-to-lovers passion" the author indicated, not romantically and not sexually. This book leans firmly YA.

Wen and Sarah's friendship is really unhealthy. I know they come from some fucked up shit, but it's still weirdly unhealthy codependence. Sarah is meant to be some saintly perfection who everyone loves because she's so nice, and Wen is her diametric opposite, snarky and assholish and everyone hates her unless they love her because she's being rude to Godric and they dislike him more.

The drug thing didn't make a lot of sense. Wen is the only one who can produce this ridiculously popular drug that can sometimes give people angel powers. She sells tiny amounts, very infrequently, and changes up her process every time so she doesn't get caught, and yet somehow she ends up with a child trying to buy from her and Godric catching her, but she was never caught by criminals previous to this. She has somehow saved like a million dollars despite selling teensy amounts very infrequently. If that drug was worth that much money, there is no way she wouldn't have been yoinked by some kind of gang. A kid made it through her vetting process.

The book is also far too verbose. It isn't necessary. I did a lot of skimming because it just couldn't hold my attention. There were some grammar/editing issues, but this is an ARC so it's forgivable.

It's compared to Crescent City, and it really shouldn't be.

Bitching aside, it was an interesting read. I found myself getting into it, and I do want to read the next one.

2,5 Stars. The story is interesting but the characters don't leave much of an impression. The o look how hot x character is feels forced and more told than shown. I'm not a person looking for logic in fantasy books but in this book I need to find it... It feels like the writer had too many ideas and pushed them all in one book but didn't know how to execute it and then "fixed" some of it because character x "needs too remember or such." This book could have been shorter and clearer in do many ways.

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Olivia Pharos for the eARC in exchange, for an honest review.

I love this book and binged it super quickly! I couldn’t get enough. This book had the enemies to lovers trope, which I love, and I thought it was done perfectly. I also love the dystopian part of all of this as well. I truly felt all of the detail in this novel provided a movie in my head. I can’t wait to read the next one!

Loved the overall story and look forward to the next installment. The world building is great. My only complaints are with the main character, Wen. She's very whiny, which was not enjoyable. Her internal dialog is really long-winded and tended to be repetitive. There was A LOT of info dumped on the reader in the first 20% of the story which slowed it down considerably which almost had me putting it down and not finishing it.

The cover made me look at the synopsis. The synopsis made me request the book. I wish the story was as concise as the synopsis. A bit more editing would not go amiss.

Wow! This book was fantastic, I’ve not had a book captured my attention from the first few words in a very long time. This book did just that! I’ve had 2 very sleepless night because of it and this book is thick!!

The world building is fantastic and the plot flows so well. The characters are likeable and relatable. The banter is so witty I had many laugh out loud moments. I love the main female character- she is feisty and sassy. Love the tension between her and male protagonist. It’s super slow burn but the storytelling is phenomenal.

I can’t wait for the second book. If you enjoy fantasy romance with enemies to lovers, forced proximity and lots of tension you’ll love this book.

For the first 40%, I loved this book. Wen was hilarious and I loved her sarcasm and wit. I feel like the author’s world-building was incredible and she more than adequately explained the concepts of angels and demons to readers. However, I struggled to connect with any of the other characters and I felt like the plot went downhill in the second half of the book. The reveals were made at such a progressed speed that readers didn’t have time to truly marinate in the knowledge they uncovered. For that, I’m giving this book a solid three stars!

My feelings on Celestial Academy: Essence are certainly mixed however, I will say that I enjoyed it and look forward to the second book.

It’s a classic fantasy/romance book, with an appealing background of angels and demons, which was probably my favourite aspect. The setting of the academy was also great.

My main complaint would be the prose. The colloquial language was annoying at points and there was a decent amount of waffling, which actually got confusing in parts. The length of the book definitely felt too long. During the first part of the book some of the violent parts felt unnecessarily cruel and explicit. Certain characters were over the top and irritating (though to be fair others were unique and interesting). Lastly, while the relationship between Wen and Godric was certainly hot, it had more potential (I have hopes for the follow up).

Overall, not perfect or outstanding, but an enjoyable and fun read.

It was a confusing start but as the story progressed, i was pleasantly suprised to be engrossed into thier apocalptic world. Thank you NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this amazing book set in an apocalptic world, where hell and heaven, good and evil are all there at the same place.

I have so many thoughts.

I came for the cover, stayed for the story.

Wen, our main character, lives in a post apocalyptic America where demons and angels (and other supernatural creatures) rule of the world. Wen is a slave to a demon master, trying to buy her and her best friend Sarah out of their indenture by dealing Angelesence, a drug that only she can create. Things do't go as planned and she gets caught and sent to Celestial Academy.

The world building I thought was good for the most part, but I'm still confused about a few things. Most first books in a series tend to have to just overwhelm you with details so I think the author did a good job of not completely overwhelming us with the details and sticking to the story.

Wen, our main character, bless her heart, is one of those snarky cause she can't help it and it hides her strong feelings type of characters. Godric is our typical alpha male suppressing all his emotions even though it's OBVIOUS he feels something. I love their banter

This is a SLOW SLOW ALMOST GERIATRIC SLOW burn.
Enemies to...wanna be more...
angels
demons
close proximity

Side note: I didn't like her best friend Sarah.
All in all, I was distressed when I remembered that I was reading an ARC and that this is the only book out! That ending...and the epilogue has you waiting with baited breath for the next one.


Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

I enjoyed it upto a certain amount? The World building is great, but some questions do arise regarding the Celestial Academy? Who decides everything? What is the reservation system? Which part of the World? How does travel work? So many unanswered questions.

I liked Wen, but I wish she would just stop speaking and aggravating everyone around. The reasons for her snark make sense somewhat. But being enslaved for eighteen years, yet Wen seems have no problem in dealing with her trauma, her scars disappear conveniently? I wish Wen as a character would have been explored more deeply.

I really liked the banter between Wen and Godric, the highlight of this book. Godric is just doing his job, and yet looking out for Wen. He is always there for her, honestly he deserves better, poor guy.

I hated Sarah. Like seriously, lets spill my best friends secrets, to some stranger in a strange place, after 5minutes of conversation ??? I really hate the toxic relationship between Sarah and Wen. A little more backstory might have helped.... The too good personality, where "Sarah is the brains", just doesn't add up. When has Sarah made a smart decision? She has been promoting the co-dependency and using Wen. I hope in the next book, their would be significantly less of Sarah. Might read the next book for Godric.

This book really picks up around the 50-60% mark but unfortunately the beginning is quite hard to get through. I think the main character, Wen, was supposed to come off as funny and quirky but she just came off as really irritating and annoying.
This book is also very unnecessarily wordy. It almost feels like the author was trying to prove something by writing this book and sat down with a thesaurus next to them so they could use big words that sometimes didn't necessarily fit in with the context.
Overall, it ended up being a good read but I really had to force myself to get through the first half of the book until things started picking up.

Basically, our girl Wen is living in a post apocalyptic America where demons and angels (and other supernatural creatures) are the reigning powers. Wen is owned as a slave to a demon master, but she’s doing her best to get herself and her best friend Sarah out of their indenture by dealing Angelesence, a drug that somehow only she can create. Obviously things don’t go as planned when she gets caught and sent to Celestial Academy to atone for her crimes. Overall, I think if you like the idea of a paranormal boarding school (zodiac academy, the scholomance, crave) but you don’t necessarily need smut you’ll love this. This is very much a slow burn but still a really fun amd creative book.

A gripping and highly entertaining page-turner. Excellently written.

I cannot say what it was that drew me to the book, but as soon as I read the book description, I was intrigued enough to pursue an ARC copy rather than wait for its release next month. By the end of page 1, I was hooked. It is rare for me to come across the book which grips me at the expense of my everyday life, where I would sooner forgo a meal, fake flu-like symptoms so that I can stay in bed and isolation for a few days, and ignore the ringing of my phone, rather than put the story down.

Olivia Pharos has a brilliant gift for storytelling and this is a fantastic debut. The character's voice draws you in and grips you. I loved the wit and humour throughout. There is plenty of it, both subtle and laugh out loud. It is Wen's one defense against the fears, the suffering and pain she endures. She has a unique voice that lingers with you long after you stop reading the book. The world itself is expertly woven. The characters were perfect, each with their own voice, and each one intriguing and interesting, and I wanted to know more about them all. The characters have a staying power long after you finish reading the book.

At the end, the book left me bereft and desperately needing book 2. I am very much looking forward to the next installment of the story.

I honestly cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you love fantasy or romance, or both in one story, this is definitely a book I would highly recommend. On my bookshelf, Celestial Academy:Essence sits comfortably and proudly beside those written by authors such as C.L.Wilson.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

I enjoyed reading this first installment of this series. Story had a great combination of dystopia and mysticism.

I look forward to the next installment of this series.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Overall, I LOVED this book! I was hooked from the first chapter, and I was slightly annoyed with myself that I finished it so quickly! This is a binge-worthy read, and I am definitely going to revisit this in the future.

It is the perfect fantasy read that is set in an Afterworld that is Heaven and Hell on Earth. This contemporary fantasy contains unforgettable characters, enemies-to-lovers trope, mystery that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, and suspense as an apocalypse stakes.

I simply cannot wait to reread this in the future!

2.5
Unfortunately, Celestial Academy: Essence just wasn't for me. Reading the book felt like an uphill battle, for the most part, it was unnecessarily wordy and repetitive without furthering the plot until around 60%. I found the main character, Wen, to be irritating with her constant questions and inner musings and her relationship with her best friend, Sarah, was unhealthy in its co-dependency. The book did pick up towards the end and the last 20% managed to keep my attention. Characters that I did enjoy, were Jinny, Lorcan and of course, Godric who I wish I'd read more from their PoV.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. I just fell in love with this wonderful story and it’s wonderful characters. I just couldn’t get enough of it. I will most definitely be reading more books by this wonderful author.