Okay, wow.

When i was approved to read this ARC, i had no idea what to expect, I wasn’t sure about the tarot aspect, because it’s not something i have vast knowledge in, so while reading, i felt like i learned so much.

I can strongly say that the last line of the book had me so shook that i audibly gasped and scared my children. I didn’t see it coming and i should have, so thats why this got 5 stars.

I absolutely love a fake engagement or marriage of convenience trope and this one was done so well. I love Kaelis and Clara, and everything about their hate for each other. It lights a fire in both of them and it is so wonderful to see how they slowly start to melt.

This book is going to be the romantasy of the summer and is not all of 2025. This was written so well, it was fast paced, and easy all at the same time. I truly couldn’t have asked for me.

Spice: 🌶️.5 (so much undeniable tension that i was a puddle for the man that kaelis is)

Tropes:
🃏 fake engagement
🃏 enemies to lovers
🃏 secret identity
🃏 intricate magic system
🃏 possessive MMC
🃏 i will do it myself FMC

This isn’t my first book from Elise Kova but I really couldn’t connect with the story. I thought the concept was interesting with tarot cards and magic but it was overly complicated. The world building was fine nothing to write home about. The romance was just not there I wasn’t feeling it at all.
Don’t think I would recommend this to a friend sadly. It sounded better than it was

This book was phenomenal. The magic system surrounding tarot cards was fascinating. The academy itself was beautiful in terms of aesthetics but brutal and cut throat in terms of students and academics. The entire dynamic between our FMC and MMC was to die for. This book had me STRESSED. It was so good, we have an incredibly strong and intelligent FMC and it was a very high stakes situation. I put off finishing this book for days because I was scared of how it would go HAHA I’m obsessed! I can’t wait for it to come out and for news of book two!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for sharing this ARC!

Mark my words: Arcana Academy is going to be the biggest romantasy release of the summer! The level of obsession that I have with this book is, quite frankly, disturbing. I finished this days ago and I can't bring myself to pick anything else up because I'm still thinking about it. The magic system is incredibly unique and if you like magical academia settings you will love this. If you take Fourth Wing's college feel with One Dark Window's card magic but throw in a Throne of Glass-esque plot you will have Arcana Academy. And don't even get me started on Clara (our FMC) and Kaelis (our MMC) - I need more of them. I need it now. I honestly don't know how I am going to make it until book 2 comes out.

This book has to be one of my top reads of the year! I devoured it and at times couldn’t stop thinking about it!

Arcana Academy by Elise Kova, a truly excellent book that pulled me in and made me want to keep reading. I now can't wait for the next book in the series because I simply need to know!

oh my gosh I love love loveddddd this book!!!! this was such an addicting read, I literally could not put it down. such a good mix of mystery & fantasy. i’m genuinely already a fiend for book 2

The twists and turns throughout the story with Clara and all the emotional depth and growth you see with her struggles had me hooked. I enjoyed the magic system, because it wasn't the same old same old, and anything with a different spin on magic always intrigues me. I don't fully have a feeling on Kaelis just yet, I don't want to get my hopes up too much. I will definitely be getting the second book the moment it comes out.

Listen, I devoured this book. Magical tarot cards? A morally gray prince? A fake engagement that’s basically a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers masterpiece? Say no more. This story had me in a chokehold.

Let’s start with Clara Graysword, our resident badass. She’s been hustling her whole life, surviving the underworld of Eclipse City by using her very illegal tarot magic. But when she gets caught and thrown into prison, her options go from bad to worse—until Prince Kaelis (broody, dangerous, hiding way too many secrets) offers her a way out. The catch? She has to help him steal a powerful tarot card from the king himself, and to keep up appearances, they have to fake an engagement.

And let me just say—Kaelis is the kind of love interest that will ruin you. He’s cold, calculating, and just unhinged enough to keep you guessing. But the tension between him and Clara? Absolutely unreal. Every interaction is laced with snark, power struggles, and a whole lot of chemistry that neither of them want to acknowledge. (Which, of course, makes it 10x better.)

Now let’s talk about the worldbuilding, because wow. The Arcana Academy is dripping with mystery, filled with powerful elites, ancient magic, and danger around every corner. Clara has to keep up the charade of being Kaelis’ fiancée and a first-year student, which means secrets, betrayals, and high-stakes magic at every turn. Every new reveal just adds to the intrigue, and I could not stop flipping pages.

This book delivers everything—court intrigue, hidden agendas, found family (kind of), and a heroine who is not about to let some prince control her fate. And the ending? Let’s just say I need book two immediately.

If you love romantic fantasy with a touch of danger, slow-burn tension that will destroy you, and magic that feels tangible—this is your next obsession. Fans of A Deal with the Elf King and The Serpent & the Wings of Night will eat this up

So this was a lot of fun but I feel like the romance was lacking a bit. When I read a fantasy romance, I like for there to be at least a balance between the two and the romance here definitely took a back seat. I did really enjoy the writing though.

I thought this book was slow, a bit hard to get into, and read like a YA until the very end. I also felt like this book was geared more towards people who already understood tarot. Yes there is an explanation of each card and how the magic works for that card but I found myself being like “wait what does that mean?” quite a lot and since i read this on kindle I had no idea there was a glossary in the back to reference.

I thought the last 20% was really exciting and made up for how slow the rest of the book was a bit.

Book #18 of 2025

✨Arcana Academy by Elise Kova✨

By. The. Twenty!

Firstly I'd like to thank netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Arcana Academy.

This book had me hooked from the first chapter and the only reason I didn't read it quicker is because I had pesky things like work and adult responsibilities.

The tension and world building were fantastic; I have never felt so stressed reading the final chapters of a novel before!

Arcana academy is set in a world where certain people are gifted with the ability to ink magical cards. They are given the opportunity to attend Arcana Academy but if they fail or are deemed unworthy, they are marked and sent to the mills to harvest the products needed to ink the cards.

Clara is stuck in the depths of a lifelong prison sentence for selling illegal cards, when Kaelis, the second Born Prince/Headmaster of Arcana academy offers her a second chance. If she pretends to be his fiance and work with him, he will keep her safe and out of prison.

Clara is met with academic and personal trials along the way; can she prove herself to her peers? Is Kaelis telling her the whole truth? Why did her mother tell her to guard her true name?

The con; this doesn't come out until July 2025, which also means I will probably need to wait longer for book two 🥹
The pros; everything. Especially Priss the cat 😍


I give this book 5/5 ⭐s


Re-readability; I will 100% be re reading this!

This one just didn't have the dark academia energy I was looking for. We only got to see a couple classes and then it was just a blur of weeks going by and the setting didn't really matter for the plot. I didn't feel that connected to any of the characters and the romance aspects were really flat. The magic system was cool but I couldn't really grasp it and didn't realize until the end that the glossary was in the back so I wish it had been up front.

Arcana Academy by Elise Kova is an absolute gem of a book! A true 5 star read! It’s the perfect mix of magic, mystery, and a little bit of romance that totally draws you in from the start.

The story follows main character, Clara, who’s thrown into this magical academy where students are connected to powerful Arcana (basically ancient magical symbols). The world-building is so detailed, and you can really feel how rich and complex the magic system is, which I loved. Each Arcana represents a different type of power, and the way Kova introduces it all is pretty awesome—there’s just so much depth to the world. It's a new spin on fantasy unlike any we have seen so far!

The characters are fantastic. The protagonist is relatable and likable, and you can’t help but root for her as she tries to navigate the mystery and danger surrounding the academy. There’s also this slow-burn romance that’s perfectly balanced. It never takes over the story, but it’s definitely there, and it’s heartwarming to see the characters’ connection grow. The friendships and rivalries in the book add a lot of fun, too.

While the pacing can feel a little slow in the beginning as the world is being set up, the second half really picks up, and the twists and turns keep you hooked. By the end, I couldn’t put it down.

The best part? The emotional journey. The characters have to deal with their destinies, their powers, and who they are. It’s a journey of self-discovery, and by the time you’re done reading, you feel like you’ve been on that ride with them.

And let’s talk about that cliffhanger... I cannot believe Elise Kova left us hanging like that! Just when things were getting really intense, she hits us with a jaw-dropping twist that has me completely hooked. Why does the author do this to me? Now I’m left in suspense, eagerly awaiting book 2 to see what happens next. If you’re someone who hates waiting for the next book in a series, prepare yourself because this cliffhanger will have you counting the days until the next installment!

Thank you Elise Kova and Net Galley for the advanced copy read!

Wow. This is my first book by Elise Kova and I must say, I’m impressed.

I received this copy from NetGalley and Del Rey for an honest review. Thank you!

The world building was so deep while also not being too much to get confused. I loved all of the backstory of this book and the setting was amazing, I felt like I was at Hogwarts while reading this. This book is a lot like Hogwarts academy wise, but if you were learning tarot card magic instead of wand magic. The detail was amazingly done and I didn’t feel the need to ever make my own setting. I liked this book from the very first chapter, and the magic was so fun getting to learn about. I really like card magic after One Dark Window so I feel like this sort of filled a space that’s been empty since I finished those books.

Clara is hardheaded, strong, distrusting in everything and everyone around her and I love her for it. I liked her growth from the beginning to the end, she came a long way while still remaining herself. She gives me Jude Duarte/Delilah Bard in Hogwarts vibes and I loved seeing her character plot play out.

Kaelis was interesting to try to understand and uncover all the mysteries about him. I liked his role as headmaster and his slow showing of trust toward Clara. I was skeptical about him at first but by the end I really liked him and was ready for him to get everything he wanted. Though I wish we would get his POV I feel like it needed to be just Clara’s so some of the mystery and distrust between them would remain. I am hoping that we will get POV chapters from him in the next book.

Their relationship was perfectly done as enemies-reluctant allies-lovers with the whole student-headmaster thing adding a cherry on top. The tension was thick in every scene between the two and the love/hate push and pull was absolute perfection. The steamy scenes were 🔥🔥 and I couldn’t have asked for better. I do hope we will be getting more in the next book!

That cliffhanger is criminal and I will be counting days until we get book 2 which is pretty unfair seeing as we have months before book 1 releases. I love cliffhangers especially when the series isn’t complete because that makes my mind ready for the next book and I won’t forget it in the time between books.

✨ Huge thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC! I can’t wait to see where this series goes next.

Arcana Academy by Elise Kova completely pulled me in from the start! There’s just something about Kova’s writing that feels so immersive—her storytelling, her world-building, and the way she weaves tension and romance into every moment. Fans of her work will definitely recognize the gripping prose and intricate character dynamics that make her books so compelling.

Clara, our sharp and determined protagonist, finds herself entangled in a fake engagement with Kaelis, the enigmatic prince and headmaster of the Arcana Academy. Their dynamic is everything—slow-burn, full of tension, and layered with secrets neither of them are ready to admit. But Kaelis isn’t the only one keeping secrets, and not everyone at the Academy is who they seem. I spent so much of this book second-guessing who Clara (and I) could actually trust, and every new revelation had me completely hooked.

The magic system, rooted in Tarot, was such a fascinating aspect of the story. I loved the idea of Arcanists wielding magical tarot cards, and the way Clara’s abilities tied into the larger plot felt so seamless. Add in the intrigue of why she was imprisoned, what Kaelis really wants from her, and the ever-present question surrounding her sister’s fate, and I was absolutely glued to the pages.

And Chapter 16? Easily one of my favorites—one of those moments that just lands perfectly. Between the unique magic system, the compelling character dynamics, and that ending (I need book two ASAP!), Arcana Academy was such a fantastic read.

If you love fantasy with a touch of romance, secrets waiting to be unraveled, and characters you can’t help but root for, Arcana Academy is a must-read!

This book kept my attention through to the end. When a young woman is plucked from prison to participate in a competition to enter a magic academy, more and more intrigue occurs. It is hard to know who to trust. Magic tarot cards are wielded by students and inked by talented practitioners. There’s danger and death lurking everywhere. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Holy hell?? I’m a die hard Elise Kova fan so I had high expectations going into this & not only were they met but exceeded ten fold. If this isn’t a huge hit in the romantasy sphere then idk what’s going on.

The magic system in this world is so unique & Kova does an amazing job of explaining the system, world & character lore as the story goes so you don’t feel like you’re trudging through to get to the plot.

The characters and character development were unmatched, I loved Clara & Kaelis. This book had soooo many of the tropes that i love; he falls first, enemies to lovers, slow burn, fake engagement…just perfection. The cliff hanger….damn.

I loved, loved, loved this book & can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy and am eagerly awaiting the sequel!!

thank you Netgalley & Random House for the eARC

Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC for an honest review.

I gave this book 3 stars only because it took me until about 40% to actually get into the book.

Clara is a arcanist who can create magic by inking tarot cards. These cards are a 1 time use spell. The book starts with her is prison for illegally selling these cards. Kaelis is second in line for the throne and basically blackmailed Clara into an arranged marriage. Kaelis and Clara are enemies to lovers it seems but I never really felt the chemistry between the two.

The world building is great and the magic system was pretty cool. I have never heard of a tarot card based magic system. This is the 1st book in the series and it does end on a cliffhanger.

Excellent new fantasy! This book contained so many elements of the genre that I love, while still feeling very unique. The magic system based on the tarot deck was really fun to learn about. I also appreciated the glossary of what each card could do! All of the characters are harboring secrets that make it difficult to know who to trust. I was second guessing myself the entire book! As a first on the series, I thought there was a good balance of getting enough information while still having a lot of mysteries left to solve. We are also left with a big reveal at the end that has me eagerly awaiting news for book 2!