Delightfully dark and wickedly fun, Academy of Villains throws readers into a school with a cast of morally gray (and sometimes downright devious) characters. The story crackles with tension, competition, and plenty of sharp-edged banter. The main character’s journey from underdog to potential menace is thrilling to watch, and the world-building adds just the right amount of danger and intrigue. While some plot points feel a bit rushed, the fast pacing, scheming, and chaotic energy make this an addictive read for fans of villainy done right!

Academy of Villains follows Kiara, an assassin trained since birth to be one of the Nameless. Her latest mission? Kill the crown prince of Ithaka and break a dark curse. But when things don’t go as planned, she realizes the only way to complete her task is by working *with* him instead. As tensions rise and trust is tested, their partnership becomes more complicated than either of them expected.

I was immediately drawn to this book because of its ties to Greek mythology, which is my hands down favorite. Thankfully, it delivered! The story leans into familiar fantasy tropes, but with plenty of action and twists that kept me turning pages. The writing was fluid and easy to sink into, making for a quick read.

Where it lost me a bit was with the characters and their romance. Lucian’s overprotectiveness went *way* overboard. I get that he cared about Kiara, but she’s been a trained assassin her whole life—she doesn’t need someone constantly hovering over her. And while I liked Kiara, I expected her to have more conviction. Her feelings for Lucian shifted too fast for my taste; one second, she wanted nothing to do with him, and the next, they were kissing. I would’ve liked to see their dynamic develop more gradually.

Despite those issues, I still enjoyed the book! If you’re into fast-paced fantasy with assassin-royalty dynamics and a bit of Greek mythology woven in, this one’s worth picking up. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Ever King for my free e-reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a great book hangover cure that has also now put me back into a book hangover. This was so much fun and checked all the boxes I needed.

I made it about 40% of the way through this book before I had to make the choice to DNF. While the initial world and magic systems held so much promise, the characters all felt flat and it felt like none of the story was being fleshed out at all. It gave me no reason to feel engaged. I wish I could have loved it because the idea was great, but I couldn’t connect with the plot or characters.

Wow! I really enjoyed reading this book. It was like a more adult Harry Potter with other romantasy tropes added in. It was easy to understand the world and I loved all of the nods to greek mythology!

This was not my favourite. Good and interesting premise, but I felt it was a bit springy. Good potential and fancy magic system.

I have a lot of things to say.

I have been hired to kill this prince

This quote caught me off guard. Reading this sentence made me realize I might just enjoy reading this book—which I did.
This book follows the journey of an assassin named kiara with a mission to kill the crown Prince of the country.
On the night they gain their powers as mages she is mistakenly misidentified and thus gets mixed with them. She also finds out she’s a very unique mage.
I loved it’s unique magic system and the author’s writing style, I would have given this book a five stars if not for something.
As much as I loved the vibe and all, I found some statement contradicting each-other. Also it was very weird that the nobody knew she wasn’t enrolled into the academy until after some days.
But if I were to ignore that, the book was very lovely.
I loved the main character vibes and my favorite character was Tobias

3.5 rounded up to a 4 ⭐️

This has a lot potential. The story has a lot of uniqueness to it and overall I liked it.
I would have liked a bit more of a why they start to like each other. And I think that’s a big part of why I can’t rate this higher.

But as I said, overall a nice story. If you like YA and trials give it a go.

In the beginning, I loved the idea of this book. The plot is creative and is a good mix of tropes. It got pretty overwhelming though and felt like there was a lot missing. Like it was moving too fast and not touching on things it should. Just kind of running through the story too quickly and not developed enough where I need it. Also the writing style felt very pointy and not poetic enough. I didn't really know the characters very well. I made it to 30%, but then I had to dnf it. I think the plot is a great idea, but I just needed more from the writing style.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an ARC copy

Thank you Netgalley and Ever King for this arc!

I love a Greek Mythology retelling. Especially Enemies to Lovers. I like how fast the plot moves. It didn't linger as much as some enemies to lovers tropes do. I would like to explore the Academy and magic systems more. Some predictable moments but all over well executed story. Looking forward to the next installment.

This was my first time reading a retelling of the Nyx mythology, and I loved it! The magic system is so unique, and the plot is heavy and in-depth. It definitely takes all of your focus to get into this, so don’t pick it up expecting it to be a light read! The dynamic between the FMC and the MMC had me swooning (can we say shadow daddy??). It’s YA so don’t expect any spice, but there’s definitely LOTS of tension and banter.

Loved this book and how it was written. It was funny but it didn’t take over the plot. Can’t wait to read the next one!

DNF 20%
I wanted to like this really bad but unfortunately I couldn't connect with the characters or the story. I'll may return to it another time but for now I'll leave it unfinished.

4.5 ⭐️
1 🌶️
0 💧

Plot! Wow there is so much going on with this book. Make sure that you give this all your attention when reading because it’s so in-depth, It gave me high fantasy/Harry Potter/Greek Mythology vibes. There is no lull, this book filled every single chapter with awesome magic, beautiful sceneries and interesting characters. It has a magical academy, secret society’s, cursed kingdom, assassins, forbidden love and so much more. This book is listed as YA, but what it lacks in spice, it makes up for with love. I was swooning so hard. Lucian is my dark prince.

*The Nameless, they called us after stripping us of our identities.

*But tonight, it ends. This isn’t about revenge—it’s about justice.

*If his love is a curse, I’ll wear it like a crown.

This book had a Harry Potter/throne of glass feel. There was quite a bit of repetition. The characters were so easy to connect with right away, can’t wait for the second book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Firstly thank you for the arc read.

The book kicks off straight away with our female main character, a Nameless assassin having to infiltrate a magical school to kill the Prince. She quickly discovers she’s actually a mage something she’s always hated.

This book gives Harry Potter vibes right from the off with a sorting ceremony and magical houses. This continues with the students having lessons like Care of Magical beasts. I love Harry Potter so this was fun for me! I also loved the use of a grimoire for their magic, it added a nice change to the usual style of magical system we get.

The mythology references in the book was good and it wasn’t too much. It added a good element to the story.

I liked reading this book, I got through it quickly and it kept my attention, with the writing being compelling with the startings of beautiful world building for the future books.

However this book is by no means a perfect. There is so much potential with this book but I feel like there is a missing depth to it. It felt a little like there were lots of plot holes and missed chances for more. I hope as this is the first in the series we will slowly over time get more and more and it will get better and better.

I loved everything about this book, the world around it. I would definitely would want to read it again in a year. The love interests have been make me giggle and kicking my feet’s

I would recommend 💖

This is good but not great. I think the issue is that while reading you keep encountering similarities to other popular fantasy series. It can be distracting but it also forces comparison. And in comparison Academy of Villains does live up to those other books. A couple of areas I saw that felt inspired:
Initially there is a sorting based on magic
There is some similarity in the class names that are used - Care of Magical Beasts
There is a basilisk type creature later on the book
One of the types of magic are ShadowMage
And there are affinities - sort of a secondary magic

I enjoyed the story overall but felt like it could use some more development and more character depth. Something that will distract from all that comparing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m rating Academy of Villains by Ever King a 3.5, but for the sake of star ratings, and because I don’t think it deserves a lower score, I’m rounding up to 4 stars. The atmosphere and concept of an enemies-to-lovers dark academia story immediately made me a sucker for this book. The blend of Greek mythology, dangerous magic, and secret societies created an intriguing and immersive setting that kept me engaged.

Kiara’s journey as an assassin-turned-mage, thrown into a ruthless academy where she must choose between vengeance and a greater destiny, was gripping. The worldbuilding and dark themes were well done, and the tension between her and the prince added an enticing layer to the story.

However, I found the character development a bit rushed, which made the emotional moments and relationships less impactful for me. I wanted more depth in the connections between the characters, especially since the premise set up such high-stakes relationships. If the story had slowed down to allow for more organic emotional growth, it could have been even more powerful.

That said, the book still delivered an engaging read with a compelling atmosphere, and I’m excited to see where the series goes next. I want to thank NetGalley and Ever King for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. If you love dark fantasy with an intense setting and mythology-inspired storytelling, Academy of Villains is worth checking out!

Omg I want more! Like right now!! This story is amazing, the world building the characters the details the back story all of it. I’m officially obsessed with this I need the next book like right now.

Academy of Villains is exactly what it sounds like, you get mystery and a lot of questions In my opinion things pick up quickly. What had me sold on this was the description it’s definitely Slytherin-coded and I loved every moment of it!

It’s a dark fantasy romance that takes place in a school what more can you ask for? Oh and there’s the MMC whose name is Lucian who you’re gonna end up falling in love with! The MFC Kiara's is 🤌🏻 she’s a strong independent person, you’re gonna be rooting for her for this whole book

There’s secrets, a love story, and trials. I would recommend this to anyone who loves magic, fantasy, romance that involves enemies to lovers and of course Slytherin or anything that feels like Harry Potter this is for you guys.

Thank you NetGalley and the author ever king for allowing me to be an arc reader for this I’m glad I got to experience this world and the characters I can’t wait for book two!!