Kuxtal Academy: The Beginning

Thank you to Nelle Nikole and Mikayla D. Hornedo and NetGalley, for the amazing opportunity to read : Kuxtal Academy: The Beginning as an ARC.

Key words : fae, magic school, found family
These are my thoughts during and after the reading.

The big map of the academy makes me glad I don’t study there—I’d be lost. Pinterest boards are a big yes, and the pronunciation guide is helpful, but I don’t think the magic guide is necessary since it should be explained in the book maybe just as a reminder for book 2. The start is promising, with bad parents but a good sibling dynamic, making me want to read more. Koa and Sienna are definitely endgame. Wren’s first appearance left me unsure, but now I love him. There are too many powers (20!!), and I’m confused most of the time, but Wren has that “bad guy with a pure heart” vibe that I like. Koa being at school and having a club is impressive time management. The beginning was hard to get into and a bit long, but it gets much better. Orange and green as favorite colors scream Katniss and Peeta to me. I’m tired of the parents they are so annoying !! and it took me a while to understand the relationship between Iris and Celeste. The fated mates and tattoos felt a bit too much like ACOTAR, but I still liked how it was explained. I’m excited to read the rest—I wasn’t expecting much from the book but was pleasantly surprised by its blend of magical realism and fantasy.

A fantastic start to a series I'm ready to gobble up!!! Mayan-inspired urban fantasy romance

This book follows a Mira and her older brother Koa at the elite Kuxtal Academy. Mira has been living with her aunt to escape her family's political drama and pressure but the death of her aunt and the appearance of a mark that means she must attend Kuxtal Academy, bring her right back into the mess of things. Koa is already a student at Kuxtal and has begun to make a name for himself with a secret club and some secret business dealings.
*note from me- Kuxtal is a college so everyone is adults and I'd say while the academy is the setting, not much time is actually spent in class (not a bad thing!)

Some things I love:
- A unique magic system inspired by Mayan mythology (please someone let me talk about how cool it is for hours)
- we get two romance plot lines!!! one for each sibling
- representation of characters with dyslexia and anxiety
- mystery and secrets
- spicy spicy spice

Erm...What?!?! You can't leave me like that at the end of the book!!?

I really got into this book, I loved the pov being from brother and sister Mira and Koa. And the fact that there is a Pinterest board at the beginning of the book made it a lot easier to imagine the characters the authors wanted to portray to you the reader..

There was a read connection between the characters and I loved the development throughout the story. I just hope Wren isn't too bound to the Cynod to realise his love for Mira.

I did feel this was a long book and it took a while to get going, it wasn't until I was half way through the storyline that I got hook into the book.

Slow burn romance.

I can't wait for book 2, after that cliffhanger!!

Wow...I needed time to clear my thoughts after this book. And I mean that in the best way possible! I was so excited going into this book as loved the idea of this being set at an academy, and was thrilled that this story is Mayan-inspired. I love diversity in stories and I really hope to see more of it in general. So Kuxtal Academy definitely delivered!

I've seen a lot of people drawing parallels between this and Zodiac Academy, and I definitely think this story is distinct enough to be recognised on it's own.

The authors really achieved capturing my attention and drawing me into the world and story right at the beginning, and I felt like that very rarely let up as the story progressed. It's a long book, but I was grateful for that as I didn't feel ready to leave.

So excited for what's to come!

Thank you to Victoria Editing NetGalley Co-op and the authors for the opportunity to read this ahead of time and share my views on.

First and foremost, I want to extend my thanks to Mikayla D. Hornedo and Nelle Nikole for writing this fresh take on fantasy academia. Additional thanks to NetGalley and GXLD Page | Primal Instinct Publishing for the amazing opportunity to read Kuxtal Academy: The Beginning as an ARC. I was drawn to this title after finishing another title by Hornedo and was particularly interested in the concept of Mayan-inspired, fae fantasy.

The dual POV story itself focuses on Mira and Koa Canek, siblings born to politically powerful parents who treat them like an inconvenience at the best of times. After losing her maternal role-model, Mira finds herself and her best friend forced to attend Kuxtal Academy which is the elite post-grad school where Koa attends. The start of the school year opens Mira up to new friends, new love interests, and new information about her family, her world, and the history of her people. This book is full of slow-burn tension (multiple couples), murder and mystery, political turmoil, and lots of questions left open to wonder about until the next one is released.

At times, it was hard to remember that these characters were in a school setting. Understanding that it is post-grad (early/mid 20s), the situations that they find themselves in are significantly involved, so having them also attend classes, it's a little tough to wrap my mind around and disrupts the view of the characters. I loved that they included a detailed outline of the magic roles and pronunciations to refer back to. I am also a glutton for punishment and adored that it was a 600+ page story because it let's you really delve into the details. I will absolutely be waiting for the second book to continue diving into the web of this world!

I enjoyed the worldbuilding in this, especially the ancient Mayan references.

I also liked the characters. The girls were both strong FMCs. The boys were typical bad boys but with a strong caring and protective side for the girls. I think I prefer Wren over Koa, as he's more inclined to allow the girls to make their own decisions. However, Koa did have some personal development through the book.

My biggest complaint is that this book felt like it was a book of two halves. The first half felt completely different to the second half. Maybe the authors split the writing? The spice was all in the second half, which was a bit jarring and a bit over the top, especially when the sex scenes were so close together and very long-winded.

There are also a lot of unanswered questions, and it ends on a massive cliffhanger. I will definitely read the next one, but I would like to see the next one be a bit more cohesive.

3.5 stars rounded up