4.5⭐️ for the narration!
2.5⭐️ for the actual prose.

I am thankful to have gotten the Audio/ ALC for free from Netgalley and the author so I can leave my voluntary review.

I’ll be honest, I needed an audiobook and didn’t feel like searching for one. This has been as a “listen now” in Netgalley for a while and I always passed it by. Why? I had a feeling it wouldn’t live up to its description and would be a copy of other current popular fantasy books and I was right.

But I’m going to focus on the audio part of it as that’s what I am tasked to review.

The narration is great! The way Amanda Leigh Cobb handles the material is great. At first I chided myself for putting this off so long as I got completely engaged with the FMC because of the narration. She was funny and spunky and her energy reading the character just drew me in. So A+ for the narration which makes this a better book than it is!

Sadly once the FMC gets to the academy itself it just doesn’t have the power to keep one hooked. That’s not the narrators fault at all. It’s like when you have a fabulous actor working with a bad script, there’s only so much they can do.

So if you haven’t read any other popular fantasy of late that are similar or have a real penchant for angel and demon content then you may really like this.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Thank you netgalley and Olivia Pharos for the audio book arc in exchange for an honest review.

Well this was an almighty surprise!
So as I started listening to this I got major zodiac academy vibes.
This was all action, all banter and all consuming slow burn from the start.

Wen is a demons slave and her bestie sarah is also a slave together it’s a struggle to just get through every day without drawing attention to themselves.
Wen has started saving her money from selling angel essence on the side to get them out of the slavery. Until she is tracked down and arrested by Godric an archangel son.

Wen is then thrown in the celestial academy by the archangels to discover what and who she is.
Godric is forced to become her mentor and train her for the trails.

This is an extremelyyyyyyy slow burn enemies to not lovers (yet)
Not quite yet but possibly found family
Major action packed
Hogwarts meets zodiac academy with their bestie fourth wing.
It’s definitely worth a read/listen for sure.
The narrator is top she’s so good and I’ve listened to some of her narrations before and she is great.

My only gripe on this is there is a whole lot of info and action so at some points it was over whelming and I had to go back and re listen.

But 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Join Wen on a heavenly adventure filled with magic, romance, and unforgettable characters.

Olivia Pharos' debut novel, Celestial Academy: Essence, is a captivating and splendiferous (IYKYK) read that will leave you breathless. With its fast-paced plot, witty humor, and dynamic characters, this book is a must-read for fans of fantasy and romance.

Why you'll love it:
* A unique and magical world: Step into a realm filled with celestial beings, ancient magic, and breathtaking landscapes. Pharos' world-building is both imaginative and immersive, drawing you into the story from the very beginning and taking you across multiple realms.
* A sassy and unforgettable heroine: Wen is a witty and snarky protagonist who will quickly win your heart. Her sharp tongue and quick wit add a touch of humor and relatability to the story.
* A slow-burn romance that will keep you on the edge of your seat: The enemies-to-lovers romance between Wen and her celestial mentor is a slow-burn that will leave you longing for more. Their banter, tension, and undeniable chemistry will keep you captivated.
* A diverse and lovable cast of characters: From the mischievous Jinny to the cinnamon roll Lorcan, the characters in Celestial Academy: Essence are well-developed and full of personality. You'll find yourself rooting for their friendships and love stories.

Genre: The line between YA and New Adult (NA) can sometimes be blurry but, this first book in the series feels more YA to me especially with the book cover art. I expect more adult themes to surface as the series progresses.
Perfect for fans of:
* Powerless
* Mortal Instruments
* Crescent City
* Crave

Grab your copy of Celestial Academy: Essence today and embark on a celestial adventure you won't forget!

Listened to this via audiobook at 1.5 speed, which is what I found to sound more like a natural speech rate via my Bluetooth ear buds. The narrator did a good job.

Engaging story, fast paced start to draw you in. The lead female isn't too ditzy or self deprecating, which can be really annoying. I look forward to the next installment to see how things pan out.

This is suitable for young adults, the love interest is only blooming at this stage.

There were some good puns which made me laugh :D

Nice to not have a cliff hanger ending, but enough opening for the next book.

This book had a very interesting plot but it was kind of all over the place. The ending didn't feel like a resolution to all the questions that were brought up throughout the story. The audio narration was good and easy to follow and I enjoyed listening to it. If you like a school setting with challenges about angels and demons you will probably enjoy this book! Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGallery for the audiobook listen!

This book: Instantly was addicted to this book. Mixture of hogwarts (the main characters are at a college type of school- 18+ aged characters) mixed with Percy Jackson but for adults. Looking forward to reading the next one!

Narrator: She did a great job!

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️4.5 Stars

This book was quite the surprise. It has the makings of a very interesting fantasy series. It is set after the apocalypse and demons and angels have taken over the world. Wen has been demon owned for most of her life as most humans are. Along with her best friend Sarah, they have been working on getting free. She has been selling "angel essence" a street drug she makes from angels to help get enough money to obtain their freedom. She gets caught and has to go to celestial academy. This book is axction packed and the fantasy elements are easy to follow. My only problem is the romance. It almost feels like an after thought and godric is so harsh to her throughout most of it that it does not feel like romance at all. Other than that it is a very fun read and the narration was very well done. I am looking forward to book two.

This was a gripping listen! I thoroughly enjoyed landing right in the middle of something in chapter one - no slow world building here.

As a story, I enjoyed this - it's a post-apocalyptic setting set in our world with angels, demons and a few other types of beings. There are hierarchies involved within these races too, giving a scope for some political movements. There's also a magic-type school and trial involved. And cliffhangers. Yes. Plural... This book is told from the FMCs point of view, and the epilogue is from another character's POV - I thought this was clever and a really good way to set up book two!

I listened to this as an audiobook and want to just talk about Amanda Leigh Cobb's performance for a second... I'm not new to this narrator and really enjoyed her narrating other books. Her ability to sound annoyed and frustrated, be feisty and sneaky and also be a whole host of other character voices is brilliant. It helped tell this story. I never felt confused as to who was speaking, or when thoughts were internal or external.

Her speed is also perfect - sometimes I speed up a book to 1.25/1.5 but this narrator keeps a good pace and listening at 1x speed was good enough for me.

Overall, an enjoyable listen. Yes, some people may not enjoy this type of book, but it's a well narrated book with a storyline that includes magic, plotting, and the slowest of slow burns I have ever read.

What a ride! It’s told from Wen’s POV. We don’t get Godrick’s POV until the epilogue and WHAT?!? Like we didn’t get enough of a cliffhanger without it. I’m not the biggest fan of a cliffhanger but to leave me with two is not okay. Olivia Pharos does it so well that she leaves me with a “thank you” on my lips.

Let’s talk about the TROPES.

* It’s supposed to be enemies to lovers but it only ever gets to a kiss so don’t expect spicy scenes. They don’t even happen off the page.

* Hints of competing for her heart/love triangle shenanigans to come.

* The Chosen One/prophecy vibes but the ever present question as to which side will she ultimately benefit.

* The best friend (Sarah) has something about her that’s shrouded in mystery.

* Forced proximity as she’s bound to him by a celestial leash that he can make visible at will. He’s tasked with being in charge of her and her extra training.

Not a trope but the witty banter is wonderful.

It’s an audiobook so let’s talk NARRATION.

Amanda Leigh Cobb is a narrator that’s new to me and I swear she sounds like another that I love when she does her masculine and accented voices. She does a fantastic job of keeping her characters straight so the listener doesn’t get confused as to who is talking and there is quite the cast. She does an excellent job with her accents. At first I thought that they were going to be gimmicky but she does an excellent job at keeping them regionalized.

I thank NetGalley, Olivia Pharos, and IBPA for the ALC of this audiobook and the opportunity to share my thoughts and opinions with others. I’ve discovered I can read book 2 on Kindle Unlimited so I’m going to torture myself by reading it while knowing that the final book won’t be out until 2025.

Yeah, it’s really that good.

Can I just say WOW 🤩 I need the book and need to know what happens! I really enjoyed the audio of this book, I think the narrator did really well. I liked the writing style and will be recommending it to some friends who also enjoy fantasy.

This one just wasn’t for me. I know some will love it but I didn’t like the characters so it took away the enjoyment.

I loved every second of this book ! I found the premise of this book interesting the female protagonist was bold ,funny and I enjoyed seeing her relationships develop with other characters in the story. The narrator was great and fit the role perfectly ,her voice worked for all the different characters while making them all easy to distinguish each one and it makes this a book I would definitely recommend as an audio book .
The pace was steady and kept my interest throughout, but my favourite bit of the book was the character interaction and banter .

Good narration with interesting world building. I enjoyed the story and it kept me coming back. I want to read the next book in the series to see what happens.

I enjoyed the book but it sid not captivated as many other books have done. I enjoyed the story but it was almost to much to keep up with.

I thank Netgalley, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), and Members‘ Audiobooks for providing me with this audio review copy.

Synopsis

In a post-apocalyptic world where Angels, Demons, and other fairy tale creatures made themselves known and took control over world governments, Wen White and her best friend Sarah barely scrape by as indented assistants to the demon lords. Wen is determined to buy them out by selling the only-to-her visible substance she dubs ‘Angelesence’ but when a deal goes awry and she is captured by the alluring and almighty nephilim Godric, she is carted off to celestial academy to determine what kind of being she truly is. Under the private tutelage of Godric and her other angelic teachers, she learns to harness her own strength, discovers millennia-old mysteries, and learns to trust in her ‘friends’.

My Experience

As we are thrown into the story it moves at a good pace and the double pack of humour in the writing told through Wen’s snarky personality had me gripped. To see quite serious situations and terrifying people made fun of was a really nice twist to the usually somber dystopian atmosphere. As soon as the plot progressed to the academic setting though, the humor felt overused.

This was also the point where the plot progression halted for a sizeable portion of the book and only picked up again at the end. Instead, we got overly extensive banter and inner thoughts, that took up so much space, that from time to time I forgot that Wen was in an actual conversation at the moment.

As more characters are introduced you get that the author shoots for the found family vibe that may come in book two, as Wen slowly combats her paranoia with strangers (really slowly though). I could have used more flesh to the secondary characters‘ personalities to get this thought across better so that they also mean something to you by the end.

Godric was an interesting character who would have shone with a little more to him than just protecting Wen.

The story was really intriguing in the beginning but the longer it went and nothing was answered with the simple explanation of ‘I can’t tell you’ or ‘I don’t know yet’ was aggravating.

As the end was in sight though the plot progressed again and gave me enough to be curious about the second book. As many plot points were set up and not addressed in this title I hope those to pass in the next one.

As for the spice

This is truly a slow burn with only overly graphic thoughts thrown around.

The Narration

The Narrator gives her all with different tones of voice and accent for every character and she nails Wen’s personality. Fantastic narration.

My Rating

C A W P I L E
5 6 6 6 7 8 6

3.5 ⭐️ | 1 🌶️

This book just isn’t for me. I could get into it and can’t say I found any buy in for finishing it. I found the main characters annoying. Sadly I dnf the book

I did like the narrator

ARC audiobook review from Netgalley: 4 stars!

I absolutely loved the audiobook narrator. I found it so easy to decipher which character was speaking, and for one woman to do it all - that is a task! I would have loved a dual narration for this book... But still she crushed it!

For the book itself, my goodness this slow burn is driving me wild.
I love Wen's sassy attitude!
Wen and Sarah's friendship is precious. I was hoping that this could have been slightly more than a friendship... 💜
Godric and Wen's banter is hilarious, and I just want to know what happens next! Bring on the spice! PLEASE!

I can say that I will gladly continue this series, and hope that I can ARC review the next audiobook!

**5 Stars – An Engaging Fantasy Romance You Won't Want to Put Down**

I thoroughly enjoyed *Celestial Academy: Essence* by Olivia Pharos, so much so that I binged the entire audiobook in just two days! The story pulled me in from the start with its vivid world-building and intriguing characters. Even though some of the character development was a bit predictable—especially the relationship between Wen and Godric—it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book.

One of the standout aspects for me was the concept of a post-apocalypse where demons and angels coexist with humans. This idea was executed brilliantly, adding depth and a unique twist to the typical fantasy setting. The dynamic between the characters kept me engaged, and the unfolding romance was both satisfying and fun to follow.

I’m eagerly anticipating the next installment to see where the story goes next. If you’re a fan of fantasy and romance, *Celestial Academy: Essence* is definitely worth a listen. Five stars!

My jaw dropped multiple times! I listened to the audio and LOVED IT!! The story pulls you in immediately. I love ALL the morally grey characters. I really hope the second one is done like this with the same narrator as well.

I don’t know what is going on…recently it seems like I’ve found a few more books that have angel/demon dynamics in them. I won’t say that Celestial Academy: Essence the first book in the Afterworld series has large religious intonations, because it definitely does not. It is more like various teams playing on the court. You have team Angels, they appear to be the upper crust of society now and make many of the rules in the human world. Then there is team demons who tend to run some of the shadier happenings in this world. There are also some fey, vampires, shifters, goblins and other supernaturals hanging out too. Then there is the bottom of the food chain so to speak, the humans. Most are sold into slavery to Angels, demons or others. They have been since the world was lost in the magical war twenty-ish years ago. This is the story of one of those Humans, Wen.

Wen, well what can I say I loved her from the beginning. She has sass, an unusual talent, a really high threshold to pain, a mouth that runs away with her when it should just shut up and a propensity to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Owned by a demon she is doing everything to get out of his clutches along with her best friend and roommate Sarah. Wen will do whatever it takes, even if that means selling Angel Essence (something only she seems able to collect) to earn the money needed to buy their freedom. After she is busted by Godrick one of the Nephilim, whom she dubs Angelhole (see sassy), she is swept away to the Celestial school to be trained by none other than the sexy half angel she just can’t help antagonizing. As Godrick tries to whip her into shape, Wen just tries to stay alive in this magical school that seems to want her dead.

There are fights and challenges to move to the next level. Wen, will have a shot to learn what she is capable of and possibly a little bit into the question of who/what she really is. With her bff Sarah also at the school, at least she has one ally.

I hear this is like Zodiac Academy (ZA), but I haven’t read that series yet and so cannot comment on the similarities. Still that said now I want to jump into ZA as well. I always enjoy the magical school set up. Wen is roommate with four other women of various background and the five of them make up one team. They are supposed to learn how to work together to pass the tests coming at them. A little had to do with a demoness, a fey, a paltry human, a Nephilim and whatever Wen is. It was also nice that all the characters are around twenty so them lusting a little here and there felt slightly more mature and less icky. The romance aspect of the story is a really slow burn. The forced proximity wore Godrick down as Wen is likeable overall and her needling of him turned from aggravating to flirtatious. It is a fun relationship to watch.

Come back to me - always

I’m really excited to see what is in story for the characters of this story in the next book. The ending wasn’t a cliff hanger, but the author definitively gave us a tease and dropped a little bomb to get the reader really excited to see where the next story is going to go.

Narration:
I have listened to a few other books that Amanda Leigh Cobb has narrated. I think she is a good pick for this series as it is through Wen's PoV and Amanda delivers Wen's humor and snark really well. She brings out both the tough and the vulnerable sides of the main character while not diminishing the performances of the other characters. I enjoyed her performance of the novel and believe it added to my overall enjoyment of the book. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.