~ Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review ~

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book. I wanted to like this book so bad, because it has a lot of elements to it that I like. Wen being able to do something she shouldn't, which probably means she’s not entirely human (so what is she), the sort of enemies to lovers romance, the academy setting, these are all things that I love to read. But I just couldn’t get into it. Wen’s personality for the beginning of the book wasn’t something I really vibed with, and I am beginning to realize I don’t think I like urban fantasies that much anymore. There’s nothing wrong with them, I just prefer to read my fantasy books as a way to not be in the real world. I might pick this book back up sometime in the future because the premise is really really interesting to me, but for now it’s going to be a DNF for me.

I liked a lot of the components in this one, but it just wasn't doing it for me. Maybe I'll revisit another time and it will be better but it wasn't working for now.

I actually listened to the audiobook version of this vs. the kindle book. I thoroughly enjoyed the story though - highly recommend the audiobook. Well done in snagging Amanda Leigh Cobb to narrate this.

Book reviews, but make it a ✨haiku✨ for Celestial Academy: Essence by Olivia Pharos
Laugh out loud banter
Bad time to be named Godric
"Sh*t, I fell for you"

3.5⭐⭐⭐💫
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with both an e-arc and an audio arc!

This book has a magical academy, angels and demons, a post-apocalyptic urban setting, a slow-burn paranormal romance, epic trials, and mysteries that keep you guessing!

I didn't see the Zodiac Academy comparisons until after finishing this book (haven't read that series), though from what I heard I can understand why. There are aspects of a bully romance with how the male lead, Godric, treats the main character, Wen, particularly in the beginning of the book, but that didn't bother me too much. Still, check trigger warnings!

I started this book with the e-arc. At first, the writing and the main character's personality were a bit off-putting. Wen does a lot of rambling in her inner monologue. The snarky attitude, endless questions, and no-filter chattiness in especially serious situations is a bit rough to get through page to page. I knew I would have to read it via audio eventually to be able to get through it.

Luckily, I was able to get access to the audio arc! When I made the switch, things got a lot easier. The narrator is very good, so getting through the excessive monologue was less irritating. While my issues with Wen's personality stayed consistent throughout the book, the story starts to pick up when she finally gets to the academy. From there, I enjoyed it a lot more.

The side characters are probably my favorite part of this book. Lorcan, who I love with all my heart. Jinny, who, even as a demoness, can do no wrong. Jophiel and Azrael, the mysterious, yet powerful archangels. But, of the Unitas girls, I didn't really like any of individually. Rather, I like their group dynamic with all of them together. Just the idea of a group of girls, who don't get along at all, slowly developing some form of a close-knitt friendship is what kept me reading. The endless banter and bickering between them, whether it's as roommates or working together during the trials, is so entertaining to read. I can't wait to see what this group becomes later in the series.

The love interest, Godric, is someone I've come to really love as the story progressed. His possessive tendencies can be a bit unhinged, but I appreciate the level of trust he and Wen are able to reach, especially towards the end. I was surprised to see the author start their romance by focusing more on their training and having them act as a some-what professional pair (with heavy sexual tension between them). Like some books I read, I was expecting to get spicy action all throughout, in addition to the romantic moments. It felt more like a slow burn which is what made me like this book so much more. Seeing their relationship be more drawn out and them have a friendship first felt more natural.

The last thing I wanna mention is the sort of mystery behind Wen's genetic history (Sarah, too). The whole question of "what is she, if not human?". This is the main thing that got me excited for the next book. Usually this gets revealed by the end of book one (and I have two guesses on what she is), but considering that no one, not even the archangels, knows what's going on, I'm interested to see what the rest of the series has in store.

Celestial Academy: Essence by Olivia Pharos
Release Date: December 15, 202

Pages: 422

Afterworld:
🌀Celestial Academy: Essence
🌀Celestial Academy: Null

Format: 📱

What to Expect:
🖤Angels
💙Banter
🖤Demons
💙Dystopia
🖤Enemies to Lovers
💙Fantasy
🖤Forced Proximity
💙Grumpy/Sunshine
🖤Magic School
💙Mystery
🖤New Adult
💙Slow Burn
🖤Suspense
💙Urban Fantasy


Book Description:
Orphan. Slave. Drug dealer.

As a Demon-Owned human, in an Afterworld that literally has Hell and Heaven on Earth, I'm the lowest a being can be. My life is one of drudgery, degradation—and mortal danger. And that's before I started dealing Angelescence. Unlike anything in existence, it's a drug only I can produce, and everyone would kill for.

With decommission and execution closing in, I'm desperate to buy out my and my best friend's Indentures. But upping my operations only gets me arrested, and my terrifying captor drags me to the Celestial Court—on a leash—to stand trial. My sentence?

Conscription to Celestial Academy.

As the most powerful nephilim in history, Godric is Heaven's most ruthless soldier and assassin. And he's been assigned with discovering the root of my unprecedented ability to capture Angel Essence.

We both hate our forced proximity—and each other. Especially since we're seething with explosive emotions and cravings that neither of us ever thought to experience, and can't possibly afford. Anything between us isn't only forbidden, it's disastrous. Potentially for all of existence.

But being embroiled in our passionate war becomes the least of our worries as he unearths even more terrible mysteries within me. Meanwhile, lethal trials loom at mid-term, and a devastating internal war as well as another Apocalypse are brewing...

...and I'm at the center of it all.


Ratings:
FMC: ⭐⭐⭐.25
MMC: ⭐⭐⭐.75
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐.5

BWBH Review:
Positives:
Great for fans of The Mortal Instruments and Zodiac Academy

Not So Positives:
FMC got a little annoying over time
Took a while to further the plot
Pacing was a bit all over the place
Missing Godric’s POV throughout the story

Thank you to Olivia Pharos and NetGalley for the ARC

*ARC received from Netgalley; all opinions are my own.*

TLDR: It gives off the vibes of 2010s YA fantasy, which I would have loved as a teenager, but it's a miss for me now in my 20s. I think it will be very hit or miss, so you may need to read a few reviews.

As I've said, I already know I would have loved Celestial Academy as a teenager; it's very reminiscent of the books and characters I loved. However, it's not the vibe I love now in my 20s.

Our main character, Wen, was pretty insufferable. She was the snarkiest MC I've read in a while; she just never quits, and it makes for a very unenjoyable time in her head. The amount of times I would just start skimming over her dialogue was unreal; the book could have been halved if we just took out her word vomit.

Godric. He's everything you'd expect from a 2010s era male love interest. So hot he has everyone falling at his feet—broody, mysterious, a horrible person to our mc - the usual. Despite him nearly killing Wen and arresting her, Wen is thirsty as hell for him from the get-go. The whole "enemies-to-lovers" trope this book is touted to have just doesn't exist. Wen worships him from the beginning, and Godric is just horrible to Wen.

The plot is a bit all over the place and has large portions of intense infodumping to the point where you learn so much but unfortunately retain nothing. This is the worst near the end when something happens during the trials. I had absolutely no clue what was going on.

This is pushed as a NA contemporary fantasy but feels and reads very heavily YA with mature themes instead. It's also advertised as being a cross between Crescent City, The Motal Instruments, and the Zodic Academy. I haven't read Zodiac Academy, but I don't think it's fair or accurate to link it to CC or TMI.

I don't personally recommend it and don't intend to read further into the series.

Wen White lives in a dangerous world - a world where the supernatural creatures have enslaved humanity. She's been dealing drugs to make enough money to purchase her release. When the angels discover her identity, she is kidnapped and taken to Celestial Academy.

The beginning of this book was very dark and hard to read. The book's tone shifts dramatically once Wen arrives at Celestial Academy. It's full of quippy dialogue and so much snark.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. 4.5 stars rounded up.

I love a snarky FMC. Even better when she's sassing beings who are way more powerful than she is. Wen is awesome, and I love her. She's also fiercely loyal to her best friend, Sarah, which I adore.

The spice level is also good for this book. It's a very slow burn romance, and the tension is building throughout. I love that it doesn't just jump into the two characters having sex with each other. It's more realistic the way this is being set up.

The worldbuilding is pretty cool too, with a post-apocalyptic vibe where Earth has been taken over by angels and demons, governed by accords, stopping their eternal war. Very cool feel to it.

I honestly can't wait until the next one.

I feel like I read a completely different book to some of these reviews!

I absolutely loved the premise going into this - a dystopian future where heaven and hell have come to earth and the world is basically ruled by angels and demons? Yes please! And the first few chapters where this was where we were set absolutely sucked me in. Once we went into the world of angels everything felt disconnected from the very tangible world the author had created. Truthfully I didn’t buy the world building as things went on and there were just too many plot holes for me to want to invest.

Romance
I love, love, love a good enemies to lovers situation. What I do not love is a MC getting off on torturing someone weaker than him and the reader apparently having to overlook this gaping character flaw? Not attractive and I can’t get behind it at all. Also the weird interjections of hormones - like you’re in a life and death situation, in what world would you suddenly be thinking of having sex with someone you don’t know? Would, I don’t know, the perilous situation you’re in not take a little precedence?

I did enjoy that this was a slow burn, as it absolutely needed to be after their start but honestly I needed to see more of them interacting to get behind this. It just felt like lust not love.


Characters
No one felt real. No one felt nuanced or developed. No one felt believable.

That’s all I have to say really - everyone felt very one dimensional or stereotypical (making vague references to past trauma doesn’t suddenly make a character feel developed btw). Wen’s sarcastic and endless comebacks also started to feel more and more forced. Everything she said was constantly dripping in forced attitude and I just didn’t buy it. I love a sassy and strong willed FMC but Wen was not it.

Plot
Could this sort of plot be more overdone? Honestly this felt like an overly long book where not enough happened. It definitely could have done with a hefty edit.

I had such high hopes going into this but i absolutely will not be reading the next installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy

I went into this with very few expectations, drawn in by the promise that anyone who enjoyed Zodiac Academy would enjoy this, and it's true, I did enjoy it, but it holds it's own against Zodiac, in my opinion. Which is big for me to say, since I absolutely love Zodiac Academy.

Wen was such a fun heroine to be inside the mind of. I loved the nicknames she made up for everyone around her and her insults had me laughing throughout the entire book.

There is little to no obvious romance in this, but delightful tension that builds throughout, which I really didn't mind one bit.

This story did remind me of Zodiac, only in the sense both had a 'magical' academy, but it also kind of gave me dystopian vibes and reminded me a little of Percy Jackson, too, but instead of the greek gods, we got the archangels and the archdemons.

The relationship between Wen and Godric is the closest to an actual enemies to lovers I've read since Zodiac Academy, incidentally. I hate nothing more than something being advertised as that when the two main characters have no real source of conflict and are friends within the first couple of chapters. That didn't happen here. The development of their relationship drew me in and I can't wait for it to develop throughout the books.

I also can't wait for the development of the other characters, especially the Unita.

There were a couple of issues throughout the book with grammar and spelling, but those were easy to overlook. They did knock a star off, though. A good editor should have caught these before the books release, but hopefully this will improve as the series goes on and gains more traction.

I thought this was a really good book. I listened to the audiobook as I managed to get a copy of both formats. I liked the characters but thought it would have been good to hear some of their backstop to understand who they are a bit better. That might just be me though as I like to know characters as indepth as possible.
I can't wait to read the next part.

Thankyou to netgalley for sending ne an advance copy to review.

This book is a solid 3 stars simply because of the writing style, overload of information, and how forced some of the scenes felt.

Cons:
There are some things that don't really add up. For example, the main character supposedly only finished grade 6, but is throwing around words that even I had to look up the meaning for on occasion.

Which then brings me to the writing of the author. Most of the story seems to happen off page, and then the main character recaps small bits and pieces of it. The interactions between the main characters (Wen + Godric) seem so forced, and her obsession with him from the beginning seems a little too much.

The other thing I didn't enjoy was information overload at the beginning of the story. I understand it's a new world with new magical systems, but the names aren't easy to remember and the main characters makes up nicknames for each faction that I have a hard time remembering. It was just a lot.

The MC is semi annoying too with too much inner dialogue, and overthinking everything. I've read some books with MC's this way, but they are usually hit or miss with how descriptive they are.

There's also so much going on in the magical system that I had a hard time keeping up. I'm assuming the author is trying to set the stage for multiple books and a big war that's brewing

Pros: What I did like about the story was some of the banter between Wen and Lorcan. That relationship felt genuine and very much like how many friendships start.

I also liked how she wrote in female characters that the MC interacts with and will need to work with later on. Wen has her best friend in the beginning, but then there are 3 more girls that are part of her 'unitas' that will most likely need to help her later on in the books.

To recap: This book was okay. Was lacking in a good amount of areas for plot and character development and the writing style was just not my favorite. (Again, lots of stuff happening off page so I don't necessarily feel the slow burn happening between Wen and Godric) However, if you're okay with lot's of MC inner dialogue and a whimsical overly complicated magical system then you should give this book a try, but if you enjoy a little more mature writing style then I would pass on this series.

This is one of the best books I have read in a while!

The characters have depth, the world is well built and the plot had me gripped right from the first chapter!

I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series!

Calling all fans of Twilight, Crave, Zodiac Academy..this book is for you! I love the adult take on such a popular genre. I found myself not wanting the book to end, as I typically do with all supernatural books I read.

So I gave this book a 4⭐️, but feel like it’s 3.5 star. I love the concept of this book with the apocalypse, angels/demons, academy, and etc., but felt like there could have been a little better execution.

The book starts off slow, and it isn’t until around 70% that it picks up, and at 90% it’s great. Wen, the main heroine, is okay- I neither like nor dislike her. I feel like my issues with her was she was too sassy/snarky. Like almost everything that came out her mouth was either a question or snark/sass where it was just too much, that it got sort of annoying. I also felt that there was to much inner dialogue that made the story start off slow. A lot of could have been taken out and instead used to propel the story further. I felt like even though this takes place in an academy - I have no idea what that academy is about. What are the classes she’s taking? There wasn’t that much interaction with her roommates or really getting to know them, also explain the magic more. I still feel confused on how the magic works and something’s are still left unanswered.

I had to take a few days so I could digest before I could sit down and write this review because this book is the BOMB! I didn't know I needed this in my life! It has an intriguing world, beloved characters, fierce and snarky FMC, loveable and unique side-characters, the story *chefs kiss*

This book is a post-apocalypse story. Our protagonist, Wen, is super snarky so her explaining the apocalypse really makes light of a really severe reality. Angels and demons are now in charge of Earth after 20% of the planet was devastated in what she expresses as<b><blockquote>"Angels and demons started their eternal barfight somewhere else before they crashed into our backyard." Ah the snark, I love it! And it suffuses her personality and therefore the story is brimming with it too and I cannot express how much I LOVE IT!

And now the current status quo, is humans being either subservient to angels or demons, so ownership of humans by either angels or demons is the norm. And off course, that creates a divide and the angel-owned and demon-owned humans antagonize each other because their 'masters' are either good or evil - oh the eternal struggle.

Our beloved Wen is demon branded and that comes with everything that you associates with hell like torture and impossible demands which results in the before mentioned torture. Still Wen is a fucking badass and does everything she can to get her and her BFF out of their indentured servitude.

I love a self-aware MC and Wen definitely is. She is attracted to Godric, who's the top-tier nephilim son of Azrael the Angel of Death. She knows taunting him is incredibly bad for her health, but she can't stop antagonizing mr Death Jr. And she knows she's insane for doing it, and even scolds herself in her internal monologue, but she is totally unrepentant!

The author released an edited version of Celestial Academy with bonus chapters, and I since I think this book is perfect I just cannot express how glad I am that she did! This book is going to live rent free in my head and I pity the books I'm going to read after this because it's going to be difficult to reach this high a level.

5 stars

The slow burn is SLOOOWW but my goodness it is worth it! I was a little nervous going into this since I when I requested the book I hadn't read ZA but I had after getting accepted and didn't really like it. But this book was soooo good. I am happy I got to review it!

This was everything I needed and more after finishing Zodiac Academy. I loved the slow burn and sign me up for any magical school and I am hooked....(not that I would have any chance of surviving. I really enjoyed all aspects of the characters and getting to know them as reading. I will continue with the rest of the series!!!

Well saying that was a wild ride don't even make justice.. The book really gave me Zodiac Academy vibes and I absolutely loved it.. There's angels and archangels and demons and for someone who loved Supernatural as me I did eat it up.. Basically finished the book in two days because I needed to know more and more. Sadly I wanted to continue but the book is only available in KU from what I have noticed and I have a Kobo, I would love to know more about Wen and Godric but with the books being available in only one platform makes that hard