3/5 ⭐️

I did enjoy this book. It was very difficult for it to keep my attention, but that could be distractions around me or I didn’t vibe well with the writing.

The dialogue between characters got annoying. Wen so overly hateful and I loved Godric’s grumpiness. The book confused me and with the size of it, there could have been so much more information presented to help set the scenes.

This is a world that is easy to follow but certainly not boring! I like how fast paced this without being rushed the entire plot. The dialogue is witty without being overly comedic and forced. It’s definitely an interesting story and I am captivated to see how it is going to end for them.

The reference to zodiac academy and crescent city is what captured my interest but I was left wanting. It is a fun book for sure but the pacing was inconsistent and certain words or phrases would completely take me out of the book.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars.

I had super high hopes for this book. It was marketed for fans of The Mortal Instruments, Crescent City, Fourth Wing, and Zodiac Academy, four series I absolutely love! I think Celestial Academy: Essence had potential but fell short in terms of characterization and world-building. I also think it fell into the trap of relying too heavily on tropes and not actually having meaningful or organic interactions.

The main character, Wen, is snarky to the point of being completely unlikable. So many times she had the opportunity to get the answers she was seeking or make an ally and she just blew it because of her attitude and inability to say anything that wasn't a sarcastic retort.

There were so many scenarios in the book that revolved around Wen being protective of her friend Sarah but there was no substance to their friendship beyond "this is my best friend Sarah." Their backstory was briefly explained but there was no platonic chemistry and quite honestly it didn't even really feel like Sarah liked Wen. They barely had any interactions after the first couple of chapters. Sarah's character as a whole was incredibly two-dimensional and just served a purpose as the one nice person in the book.

I do see people bashing the romance aspect of this book and Godric's character but I will say - if you liked Darius in Zodiac Academy, you'll like Godric in Celestial Academy.

The 'world-building' in this book was just a brief info dump in the very beginning that never got built upon, even after our main character learned there was more to the world than she knew about previously. It was also very 'this is just the way that things are' and the why and how of it all was never explained, which I really want to see in a book that's based on near-future Los Angeles. It's easier to forgive when it's a completely fantasy setting.

The author did a great job of laying a trail about Wen's real identity and backstory that makes you really interested in what is going on with Wen - who she is, WHAT she is, and how she got to where she is now. The clues were laid out enough that you feel like you may have some idea of what's going on but also everything that is revealed makes you come up with more questions than before.

Overall, Celestial Academy: Essence had a very interesting premise but needed some more editing and the world-building and characters needed to be fleshed out more.

Thank you to Olivia Pharos and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

After seeing people say that this was like zodiac academy but better I knew I had to give it a go and I wasn’t disappointed!

The slow burn between Godric and Wen is slow but mark my words it is simmering and cooking. I love a good slow romance they are always the ones that are worth reading.

I am so invested in these characters even when I do get lost in the plot at times, I kinda overlook it because I just love the characters so much.

For fans of:
- Psycho Beasts
- Psycho Academy
- The Treasured One
- Bonded Nightmare
- Draw Down the Moon

Imagine what LA would be like if angels and demons went to war and took over Earth...and they all suck. Now imagine being a human slave girl scrounging for a chance at freedom who gets sucked into celestial drama. Welcome to Celestial Academy.

This book includes:
- angels, Nephilim, demons
- celestial warfare

This book is fun and fast-paced. It's almost like a smutty, romantasy BookTok version of "Good Omens." However, the writing style was not for me and I found the use of smut to be very jarring.

I received this eBook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Seventh Wonder Press, and Olivia Pharos for the opportunity to review this book. This review is also available on my GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

This was a great book I loved everything about it. I also listened to the audiobook and was equally as good.

OMG i loved Wens character! So funny! The world building was absolutely marvelous! Loved everything in this book!

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC and ALC of this book first in a series

Unfortunately I was not able to enjoy this or care about the characters... I listened to 65% before I DNF'D the book.

I can see allot of others liking this book but it wasn't for me

Celestial Academy: Essence is a solid entry in the magical academy genre. This YA fantasy follows a group of teens as they navigate their newfound powers at a school for the supernaturally gifted.

The magic system is intriguing, centered around the idea of "essence" - a unique energy each student must learn to harness. Pharos does a great job of world-building, creating a vivid and immersive academy setting.

Characters are relatable, if sometimes predictable. The main protagonist's journey of self-discovery is particularly well-crafted, though some side characters could use more depth.

While the plot hits familiar beats, Pharos throws in enough twists to keep things interesting. The pacing is spot-on, balancing classroom drama with more high-stakes magical conflicts.

Celestial Academy: Essence is a fun, engaging read that sets up what could be a promising series. It's not reinventing the wheel, but it's a solid choice for fans of magical school stories.

Okay it took me a really long time to get into this book like at least 50% before I started liking it and understanding the world. I’m so intrigued to see what happens next I feel like the last 100 pages were the best and now we have a good base for the next books! Overall low stars only because it was super slow to start but I’m excited to continue this series. If you like zodiac academy this gives very similar vibes!

This book is so action-packed I feel like I can't even sit down and fully compress the amount of amazing things that happened within this book to lead us to such an amazing and groundbreaking epilogue...
This book gets the enemies-to-lovers trope down perfectly, being both believable and arousingly infuriating at the same time.

I almost put this book down. The first twenty percent was too manic and unfocused, and then boom something happened. That is where I found the rhythm since this book comes in waves. Slow sections have you trudging to get through, then a race to the next peak, all while watching the battle of good and evil playing out without truly knowing who is good and who is evil.

The age difference within this enemies to friends (they aren’t at the lover’s stage, yet) theme was a bit cringy. Wen is a mouthy sixteen full of insults and questions, Godric, all scowls, and growls, is somewhere between 30 and 30 thousand. For being an “inexperienced” teen girl, her thoughts are spicy with descriptions way beyond her years.

So many characters. There is a glossary at the end, but you might need to keep notes with both names and how they are related to the hierarchy. Lorcan and Gideon, cousins of Godric, bring humor and lighthearted parts that the book needs. Sarah, Wen’s only friend, is reminiscent of Enid Sinclair from the show Wednesday. Yet, there is more to her story, way more, and the reader is just getting to the tell me more parts with her. And the twenty or so others at the academy all vying for a place without dying first.

What carries this book is the banter. You will find yourself laughing and smirking. As far as I can tell, the plan is 7 books, but with the “oh, that’s interesting”, that carries the reader from one chapter to another, there is no telling how far this series can go.

I’m assuming Olivia Pharos is a pseudonym since the writer comes across as someone with more experience than the usual first-time indie author. Be careful while searching out this book, it appears there are a couple of different authors using the same book title.

With Wen’s spicy thoughts, the Celestial Academy falls firmly into the new adult fantasy realm.

I enjoyed this book. I do feel the book had a slow start and you had to hang with the beginning of the book until you really got into it. Once I got there I could put it down. I want to know more the story and can't wait for the next book!

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This was a bit of a dense read due to the intense worldbuilding, so it took me a bit longer than usual to get through the book. The world-building was fantastic and I loved the take that Olivia took with the Angels, Demons, and Apocolypse, especially with the view that not all Angels are good and not all demons are bad.

I enjoyed Wen and Godric's story/journey especially the humor and banter, even if I thought some of the scenes were a little bit overwritten. For example, Godric and his leash and Wen and her inability to not stop asking questions. I am not sure if I was frustrated for Wen or with Wen.

Lorcan was my absolute favorite and I had a soft spot for Sarah. I loved how the Unitas do come together in the book later in the book even when it seems unconventional. Jinny grew on me the more the story progressed, especially when we learn more about who she is and see how she is just as protective of Sarah.

The only part I struggled with was that I was confused a lot in the book. I think it would have helped if there was a bit more of connecting on points along the way. It left me with many questions which was sometimes more frustrating than intriguing.

With the book ending on a cliffhanger, it did leave me with enough intrigue to want to read the next book.

I will be posting a video to Tiktok, Facebook and Instagram in the next week. Once I do, I will add the link here to my review.

I loved this book, the world-building was great, the characters were fun, and the romance is a slowww burn enemies to lovers! The world has gone to hell, literally, angels, demons, and all kinds of monsters have taken over the world and poor Wen is just trying to survive the chaos! She is brave and sassy, loyal to her friends and takes no shit from anyone. She is taken by Godric AKA Angelhole to be questioned before the Archangels and they end up throwing her into Celestial Academy with him as her mentor. Their relationship was fire and I loved it. This is book one so there's so much mystery and unanswered questions which will have you coming back for more!!

I requested this title based on reviews saying it had similar vibes to Zodiac Academy and Mortal Instruments. I have not read either of those complete series, but based on the TV/Movie adaptions of Mortal Instruments, I would say that would definitely be a good comparison. A human girl learning that there is more to her than meets the eye and lusting after the MMC - that definitely sounds similar but with different spins and story lines. Seriously, I'm a sucker for this type of story. Add it to a post-apocalyptic world and I'm totally in.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Having the ebook allowed me to really pictures some of the scenes in my head where an audiobook just wouldn't cut it. There is so much detail provided to help with the world building and character development. There were quite a few twists that I did not see coming. I am excited to continue reading/listening to this series to find out what happens next.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for an fantasy/post-apocalyptic/academia romance.

“Come back to me-always.”

“Celestial: Academy Essence,” by Olivia Pharos

Wen, struggling to make a living for her and her sister, sells Angelscence on black market trades. Angelscence is something that shouldn’t exist and shouldn’t be possible to bottle but Wen can. After being caught by angels she is forced into a magic school so they can figure out how she can do it. Godric is her jailer inside the school, keeping an eye out even though the two seem to not be able to get along.

I loved this book. The beginning of the book I wasn’t super sure if I was going to like it but once she was in the school it really picked up. I liked the post-apocalyptic world with angels and demons amongst other supernatural’s. I liked how Wen is a drug dealer but isn’t a bad person, just someone who didn’t have enough choices. She’s smart and resourceful but also strong-willed and impulsive. The relationship was a good lighthearted enemy to lovers filled with banter right from the start. The ending blew my mind, and I cannot wait for book 2 in the series. 5 out of 5 stars.

-Nephilim
-Magic
-Criminal FMC
-Demons
-Magic School

Thank you for the free copy, Netgalley.

For me this book was okay, but nothing special.

There were many things I liked: the academy setting, the "not actually human" idea and how much the two girls mean for each other and how Wen stands up for what she believes in (even when it's not a good idea at all)

What I didn't like: Wen is obsessed with the love interest from the start, but he's a legit a-hole with many many flaws. I don't mind a flawed character, on the contrary, I actually enjoy it more when they are not perfect, but accepting the flaws and working on them is what makes a difference for me.

*SPOILERS*

The story itself is okay, set in a post-apocalyptic world, where the MC is forced to sell some drugs (she shouldn't be able to make btw) so she can pay the demons that own her and her bff and be free. All is good, until she is caught by the angels and they decide not to kill her (yet) for her crimes, but send her to Celestial Academy, a place she didn't even know existed. Well, anything is better than being dead, but things take a crazy turn and at some point Lucifer is involved and she seems to be super important actually, but idk, because the book ended.

I would read more because I'm curious, but I'm also a bit scared. Many people compared this book to Zodiac Academy and while I can sort of see the point (but only because it had an academy setting) I hope is not gonna be as dragged as those books. It that's the case, I probably won't finish the series.

Wen White lives in a post-apocalyptic world where the supernatural creatures have enslaved humanity. She deals drugs to make enough money to buy her contract from her owner. When the angels discover her identity, she is taken to Celestial Academy.
The FMC, Wen is snarky, stubborn, and tenacious. She can be a bit annoying at times to listen to.
Overall, I did not really like the story. In comparing to the zodiac series, I liked the beginning a lot better. There wasn’t bullying and it was easier to digest. But after a while the plot got boring and I lost track of what the goal was.