A spellbinding adventure brimming with magic, mystery and a fiercely compelling heroine you can’t help but root for. With rich world building and non stop twists, it’s a must read for fans of magical academies, enemies to lovers romance and high stake secrets

This book had good potential — tarot cards, a main character who breaks the law to survive. The first half of the book was interesting, but then the story started to "drag" and became boring. The plot felt overly stretched; in my opinion, the book could have been at least 200 pages shorter. The ending also turned out to be far too predictable.
Still, I'm grateful to NetGalley for the ARC.

ARC Review

The first few chapters hooked me right away — we're immediately thrown into action, secrets, and a magic system that's actually intriguing and layered. I loved that the world felt rich without being overwhelming from the start. You can tell there's a lot to uncover, and the first few twists really pull you in fast.

The side characters were also a real highlight for me. Silas especially stood out—loyal, interesting, and not just there for decoration. I also loved that there wasn’t just one storyline we were following: you had Clara and Kaelis working together to find the World Arcana, Clara’s ambition growing stronger, the mysteries around her sister and mother, her old friendships outside the academy, her new friendships (and rivalries) inside it. It kept the story feeling full and alive without ever dragging.

Now — I have to scream a little about Clara and Kaelis because their slow burn?
It was SO GOOD.
Finally, a fake relationship/arranged partnership that didn't instantly dissolve into instalove or forced chemistry.
Clara and Kaelis actually felt like two people figuring each other out, building trust slowly, growing a working partnership first before even considering romantic feelings. Their bond was developed so naturally, so patiently, that I was absolutely hooked on every interaction. It was the kind of slow burn that makes you sit up straighter every time they share a look or a conversation.

Which is why it was so gutting when the infamous 60% mark happened.
Kaelis was in the middle of saying the sweetest things — honestly, it was shaping up to be a heartfelt, meaningful confession that would have felt perfectly timed and satisfying.
And then Clara completely undercuts the moment with, “We both need a good fuck, Kaelis. This doesn’t have to be hard.”
Cue me throwing my book across the room.

And it didn’t stop there. Around 80% in, Clara confesses her love to Kaelis, initiates them sleeping together... and then immediately afterward says “This isn’t the kind of sweet relationship” and that it’s “better if we don’t confuse things.”
Like... what???
Girl, you were the one who kissed him, confessed, and pushed for more, and now you’re acting like it’s better if it all meant nothing? I can’t even explain how frustrating that was.

And let’s be honest—the spice scene itself? Totally unnecessary. If it wasn’t going to mean anything to the characters emotionally, it shouldn't have been there. Plus, it was painfully awkward to read. Quick, rough, no tenderness—like they were strangers or, worse, like animals.
It honestly ruined Kaelis’s character for me in that moment too. He had been built up as someone with this hidden softness, and then suddenly during sex he’s written like some aggressive, dominant cliché that completely crushed the personality we had gotten to know.
Stop changing character personalities for spice scenes. PLEASE.

After that, the relationship between Clara and Kaelis felt weird and uncomfortable. The emotional core between them cracked, and it took away from what could have been an incredible slow-burn dynamic.
It was frustrating because the story still had so much good going on—the worldbuilding stayed strong, the plot continued to develop in interesting ways—but the weird shift in their dynamic dragged down my enjoyment of the middle third of the book.

Honestly, if that scene and the fallout had been written differently — or even skipped entirely — Clara and Kaelis’s relationship could have easily been one of my favorite slow burns ever.

The final battle scene picked up beautifully, and the final plot twist absolutely renewed my excitement for the next installment.
The magic system was unique and incredible to discover and follow along, and even though this book fumbled its romance elements in the end for me, the bigger picture still feels strong enough that I’m eagerly waiting to see where the story goes next.


Final Thoughts:
Arcana Academy is a promising start to a new series with an engaging magic system, complicated politics, and multiple storylines that never feel boring.
Clara and Kaelis could have been an all-time favorite pairing because of their genuinely fantastic slow burn romance that unfortunately got ruined by the spice.
But despite my frustrations, the world, the stakes, and the political tension have me hooked. I’ll absolutely be picking up the next book, hoping for a more emotionally satisfying continuation!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

I absolutely love a unique magic system and this book delivered where that is concerned!

This book follows Clara who was a prisoner but gets the chance to join Arcana Academy for a price. She must help Prince Kaelis steal from the King in order to remake the world.

As mentioned, the magic system was so cool and it was so interesting to see how it all played out. It was definitely hard to keep track of which tarot card did what but I went in with the notion that if it was important then it would have been mentioned more than once.

As for the characters - I would have definitely liked some more character development. I still feel as though I don’t quite know any of them particularly well or what motivates them but I hope that will change with the next book. Clara was a bit more of an open character as we know she doesn’t want to go back to prison and wants to bring her family back, however, I would still like to see more dimension from her. I want to really feel her pain. I think I just haven’t fully connected to the characters as yet given that there are so many to keep track of.

I’m still really looking forward to the next book and can’t wait to continue this series. I think the next book will elevate the story if we unravel more of the mystery.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book consumed me and reminded me how much I love a dark and magical academic setting, I couldn't put it down!

This story has:
✨️An academic setting
✨️Magic trials
✨️Enemies to lovers
✨️Forced Proximity
✨️Secrets and scheming

The magic system in this with the use of tarot cards for different skills was different from what I've read before. It was explained well and easy to understand despite not having much previous knowledge of Arcana cards.

Clara is a strong-willed FMC who will do whatever it takes to help and protect those she loves. Kaelis is the dark prince and academy headmaster. He is broody and mysterious, feared by many, and subject of numerous grim rumours. But sometimes things aren't always as they seem. The growing tension between Clara and Kaelis throughout was done perfectly.

All the characters are well written and, of course, what academic setting book would be complete without trials and a student we all collectively hate! The story is emotional and full of so many twists and turns that will have you questioning who can be trusted and who the real villains are!

The ending still has me in a chokehold and wish I could read the next book straight away, I NEED to know what happens next 🙈

I was happy to receive an arc of this for my honest review. It has easily become one of my favourite reads so far this year!

Wow this book!
Never have I read a book based on tarot magic and I absolutely adored it.
I loved the main characters and love how their enemies to lovers relationship softens with ALOT of time, patience and mutual grief and anger at the king.
This book was incredible from start to finish as all elise kova books are!

This was such a different take on a magic school and I absolutely ate it up!! The tarot side of it was so well designed and felt so magical. I loved Clara’s story and I’m so excited for book 2. This was a welcome surprise and shake up for magical academia fantasy

I had a feeling that this book would be a five star read from the very first chapter, and at no point while reading it did I even consider changing my mind. There wasn’t a moment of this almost 600 page book where I was bored. The twists and turns kept me guessing throughout and none of my theories ended up being correct.

The magic system that involves the inking, reading and wielding of tarot cards is one of the most intricate and interesting that I’ve read to date. The imagery of the cards, especially the inking aspect was a highlight for me and has inspired a new interest in tarot that I’d never considered before!

The tension between the main characters was incredible. I loved how slowburn the romance was and the ending left enough unresolved between Clara and Kaelis that there is still so much left to look forward to from future books in this series.

Arcana Academy has instantly made it into my favourite books of 2025 and I can’t wait to read more from Elise Kova.

2.75 ✨ ~ 3 ✨

"𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒌."

Arcana Academy is a book with a magic system based on Tarot cards and some of its principles!

𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬:
🃏 Magic System based in Tarot cards
🃏 Academic setting
🃏 Quest for a tarot card with mystery powers
🃏 Enemies to Lovers
🃏 Forced Proximity
Spice: 🌶️ (but really late almost at the end of the book)

𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦:
The magic system and the idea behind it is really unique and refreshing but there was a lack in the execution.
Let me start by saying that you have to know a bit of Tarot cards to follow through with all the explanations and the references in the book, which for me was a con. There is however a Glossary, which is situated in the back of the book (like WHY??, it should be in the front), but still you will not be able to grasp the whole background story of the magic system and how it's working if you don't check a bit the Tarot cards meanings from your own. At times I was really confused on how some cards were working (mainly the Minors) and the frequency of use, the Majors were better explained in my opinion.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬:
I was having trouble connecting with the characters and unfortunately until the end of the book my feelings didn't change ☹️
The FMC and her backstory was interesting and I liked her fierceness.
The MMC on the other hand just didn't deliver! From the begining of the book it was stated all the time how dangerous he is and dark etc but just ✨NOTHING✨ happened, no he literally didn't harm a fly, which is ok, just don't present another character facade and then produce something else!
Lastly I never felt their connection and until the 80% of the book they had one kiss (not real, a "pretend" kiss) and at 83% they went from nothing to something and felt too forced in my opinion, like it "had" to happen if that makes sense.

𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
This was my biggest problem with the book cause firstly I found it really dense written for no reason, like there were so many details and descriptions that could have been ignored and actually didn't give anything to the story. The timeline was also something that I could not grasp and was mentioned a lot of times phrases like: "Days were passing..", "Time marches on..", "Days condense into weeks.." in various moments throughout the book, even between 3 paragraphs on the same chapter!
The pacing was really reaaaly slow and you'll need to push through a lot in the beginning!

𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭:
The plot was interesting and I really liked the whole idea of searching this one Tarot card that grants eveything! The Academic setting though wasn't so strong.


𝐀 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.

"There is no world in which you do not consume my every being" - quote from book. This book has consumed MY BEING!!!

Thank you so much NetGalley, the publisher, and Elise Kova, for sharing a digital copy of this brilliant book with me for an honest review.

If you can't tell from the start of this review, I LOVED this book. To put it simply, it was incredible, and I would be so shocked if this book doesn't blow up on the internet when it is released.

Arcana Academy has such a great magic system - having to ink and use tarot cards adds a whole other level to the strategy these characters have. I also found the use of cards really refreshing compared to other fantasy books magic systems.

The characters are great; there's a good found-family trope in this story and a delicious slow-burn romance with Prince Kaelis. Let me tell you, this romance does BURN. There is so much tension and every slight interaction between Clara and him had me giggling and kicking my feet. Clara is a loveable main character, she's smart as well as reckless and I'm excited to see what she will do in the next book. That next book I need now by the way!!

My one critique is that at the beginning of the story it started fast-paced then slowed down again, so there was a slight pacing issue, meaning it took me a hot second to get into this book. But I'd say around page 200 I did not put this book down, the pace really picked up and did not stop.

4.5/5 stars from me!

Wow!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
This story was a bit different, I found the world interesting and fascinating, at times it reminded me a bit of Harry Potter.
I really loved the magic system this one is based on tarot cards.
The dark-academia combined with fantasy and romance was absolutely spellbinding🪄
The story takes different twists and turns each time and was mysterious, dark, magical, romantic and tactical.
I fell in love with Clara and the other characters.
I really enjoyed the story and am looking forward to book two. ❤️

I enjoyed this book a looottt!
The world building and magic sistem were amazing! At the beginning it was a bit hard to keep up, but after I got the gist of it, it was easy.
I always were intrigued and enjoyed tarot readings and so this book, being written and using tarot cards was amazing for me.
The romance was chefs kiss!! The chemistry was off the charts and I loved their banter! (I probably highlighted most of it too).
The mystery was AMAZING! I began this book not trusting anyone, got “confused” mid of it and got to the conclusion I still trust no one. And the end proved me right!!!
I cannot wait for the second book and to learn more of Cara’s secrets, especially with this ending! Kealis, I’m am watching you!!!

This story is about Clara, our FMC, who has been sentenced to spend the rest of her life in jail after being caught inking tarot cards illegally. But when she thinks her luck had run out, she finds herself having to accept a proposition from Prince Kaelis, our MMC. He isn’t only a prince but also the headmaster of the prestigious Arcana Academy, a place where arcanists go to learn the craft of inking tarot cards.

First of all, I absolutely loved and was fascinated by the magic system in this book. It was so intricate and I kept wanting to learn more about every part of it.

I’m also always up for a school/university/academy setting and this book didn’t disappoint in that area. I loved following the students through their different classes, tests and trials. The entry test was especially interesting.

I loved the first half of this book; I loved learning about Clara, her banter with Kaelis was on point and I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next for everyone.

Sadly, the second half of this book got really repetitive and I struggled to connect with the two main characters and all the other side characters and just didn’t really care about what would happen to them. I didn’t see any evolution or growth from Clara and was waiting for more, especially after such a great beginning. I didn’t mind the plot twists, even if they were pretty obvious, but like we say in French: je suis restée sur ma faim.

I’m not sure yet if I will continue this series, but can totally see people loving this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to read this e-arc!

Once I wrapped my head around this complex world I was hooked. I loved this! It’s got action, tension, mystery and so many twists. The ending WTF! I think I know where it’s going- but I trust nothing at the this point! This was so well crafted, and had me turning page after page- even though I’d said just one more chapter an hour ago!

Arcana Academy by @elise.kova
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I absolutely get the hype about Arcana Academy! It's such a fun ride! The magic system is one of the best I have read, it uses tarot cards, which is just so cool and imaginative. We have so many badass characters and everyone has their own agenda, which I love. AND THERE IS A HEIST! I love a heist. So much, and is set in a school, and just everything is top tier.

I absolutely loved this one from Elise Kova couldn’t put it down and had to pause the ever growing tbr.

What a way to interpret tarot into a magic system I loved it.

5 star easily and cannot wait to pick up the full trilogy as and when it releases

Arcana Academy completely pulled me in and I couldn’t put it down! The tarot-based magic system was so unique and easy to follow, even as someone with zero tarot knowledge. I loved Clara as a strong yet vulnerable FMC, and the slow burn between her and Kaelis? Perfection. The fake engagement, enemies-to-lovers tension, and forced proximity hit just right.

The story has a dark academia vibe, deep character work, and emotional twists that kept me hooked. That ending? Absolutely wrecked me, in the best way. I need book two immediately.

This book was a bomb. So many good description, interesting relantionships, the worldbuilding was so captivating and the characters complex. I can't decide which one i lime the most, because each of them hâd Something special and unic about them, something that makes you like them sometime and sometime get annoyed with them. Clara's and Kaelis relantion was a like a sweet care with many strawberies, delicious and addicted. Can't wait to see what the future has for our heroine. I want a psysical copy too

So my first comparison was this is very Harry Potter like!

I really enjoyed the dark academia & tarot card magic system. It's a concept that I haven't really come across and it works and is refreshing and interesting to read.

My only negative is that I didn't feel connected to any of the characters!
4.5*

😍 Clara and Kaelis are perfect 😍

The Tarot magic system is intriguing, I really liked learning all the intricacies of each card and all the innate abilities, it's really delved into deeply and I ate it all up. Even the swears are Tarot related, I loved all of it.

'Four Suits' The tension between Clara and Kaelis was utter perfection. I loved every minute of them together and I want more.

The Academy itself was fun to read about with all the twists and turns of the plot culminating in an ending that shocked me.

I have never read from this Author before, but now I will be seeking out her other books as I am enamoured by her writing and I need! the next book in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.