This past summer it was simply impossible to ignore Arcana Academy by Elise Kova. It was everywhere and mostly got really positive reviews. All the reason for me to try it out. Did it work out the way I hoped? 

About the book

Arcana Academy by Elise Kova
Series: The Arcana Academy #1
Published by Del Rey Books on july 22, 2025
Pages: 553
ISBN: 9780593726341
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romantasy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A woman who wields magical tarot cards lands herself in a false engagement with the headmaster of a mysterious academy in this first installment of an enthralling fantasy romance series from the bestselling author of A Deal with the Elf King.

The dazzling first edition hardcover of Arcana Academy will feature gold foil page edges, designed endpapers, two interior black-and-white maps, a custom-stamped case, and a premium dust jacket with foil—while supplies last!

Clara Graysword has survived the underworld of Eclipse City through thievery, luck, and a whole lot of illegal magic. After a job gone awry, Clara is sentenced to a lifetime in prison for inking tarot cards—a rare power reserved for practitioners at the elite Arcana Academy.

Just when it seems her luck has run dry, the academy’s enigmatic headmaster, Prince Kaelis, offers her an escape—for a price. Kaelis believes that Clara is the perfect tool to help him steal a tarot card from the king and use it to re-create an all-powerful card long lost to time.

In order to conceal her identity and keep her close, Kaelis brings Clara to Arcana Academy, introducing her as the newest first-year student and his bride-to-be.

Thrust into a world of arcane magic and royal intrigue, where one misstep will send her back to prison or worse, Clara finds that the prince she swore to hate may not be what he seems. But can she risk giving him power over the world—and her heart? Or will she take it for herself?

Book One of The Arcana Academy Series

My review

Before reading

To be honest, my expectations skyrocketed after reading just so many positive reviews. Of course I would have known that this book is so hyped and therefore not really for me. Furthermore, I tried another book by this author once, A Deal With the Elf King. I think I didn’t get that far in that particular book, because I can’t remember anything about it. Moreover, it took me a while before I actually felt the urge to pick this new book up, because I just wasn’t feeling like it. Maybe this should have been a sign, because unlike many others, I couldn’t enjoy this book as much.

Characters

One of the main reasons why I wasn’t really enjoying this book were the characters. Main character Clara seemed to have endured a lot in the past. However, the author is just telling us all about this instead of letting us take part in her emotions and empathize with her. To me it feels like Clara was lacking any emotional depth after all the stuff she faced already in life. Unfortunately, she never manages to grow as a character and therefore to grow on me. Same applies to Kaelis. He is the romantic interest, but again, I didn’t feel it. At all. He has an agenda of his own, but Kova again tells instead of shows. The chemistry was therefore lacking, something that shouldn’t be the case for a romantasy. 

Writing

Whilst reading I always take a look at what other people say, especially when I have trouble with the book myself. I didn’t have a real problem with reading this fantasy, but I did have with the intrigue. The novel is long, but is a fast read nonetheless. However, it doesn’t suck me in at all and this is entirely because of the writing style. The author is getting repetitive plenty of times, and fails to make the reader feel like they are part of the story and the world. For such a hyped book, this feels pretty mediocre. But this shouldn’t come as a surprise, should it?

Plot

Despite this book containing an exceptional and unique magic system, the plot falls flat in execution as well. The idea of wielding magic by inking and using tarot cards is something you don’t encounter often in books and the author delivered in this aspect. However, if you’re unfamiliar with tarot like me, this world building and magic system proves to be a bit challenging. The entire arcana is explained in the back of the book, so that means a lot of leafing back and forth whilst reading. Fortunately, you can also deduce the meaning of certain cards from the rest of the story, so you could choose to not have the full explanation constantly at hand. Considering the unfolding of the plot, this is rather uneventful. Kova fails to create any suspense, again by being repetitive and rather telling instead of showing. For me, it was really hard to be engrossed in the story and feeling the urge to continue reading. If it wasn’t for the ease this book reads with, I would probably have put it aside. There’s happening a lot in Clara’s world at once, but it just fails to being captivating. In fact, the plot unfolds in quite a formulaic way, one of the shortcomings of today’s romantasy novels. This genre is so oversaturated that it’s hard to create unique characters and plots. The ending is interesting, but still doesn’t spark enough curiosity with me.

Final thoughts

As you may already have figured, the hype train got me good once again. After seeing so many positive reviews for Elise Kova’s Arcana Academy, I was hoping to finally be able to enjoy a highly popular book once again. Unfortunately for me, it didn’t manage to delier. If you’re looking for a book that’s pure entertainment, this book is the perfect choice. However, if you’re an experienced reader and value character development and a plot that brings you food for thought, then you might leave this book for what it is. The author is pretty repetitive and rather tells the reader instead of showing, which leaves no room for your own imagination. This aspect makes this book pretty digestible for people who are solely focussed on the books that are popular on social media. Both plot and characters are all mapped out for you, so you don’t have to think a lot. Unfortunately, this detracts from quality. At this point I’m unsure whether I want to pick up the sequel once it releases.