Well what a book to start off the month with.
Arcana Academy
Elise Kova
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?
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I think I’ve found one of my top ten reads for this year, honestly, I was hooked, I just loved this book.
I’ve read a few books featuring tarot before, but not as part of a magic system, and it was so brilliant and inventive. I loved the setup of what the different cards meant and the power they would produce, as well as the fact that some were more special than others. I don’t know a lot about tarot, as you can probably tell, but I didn’t feel like I needed to take it all in.
Honestly, I feel like I could be here all day listing the many ways that I adored this book; there was just so much going on, and all of it ticked my boxes. It was straight into the action and was full of political intrigue, with characters playing all sides and ones whose intentions were not always clear. It was delicious, not knowing if or when Clara would be betrayed or discovered, especially as she got closer to Kaelis.
The slow-burn chemistry between Clara and Kaelis was fantastic, especially as Kaelis has an air of mystery around him and is always holding back, and Clara feels he is her mortal enemy. It really made for some fireworks. Having said that, there were a few romantic scenes that, if I’m honest, felt a bit shoehorned in; for me, it didn’t really fit as well with the rest of the story. Not enough for me to think any less of the book, but enough to notice.
I loved how brutal the academy was; it made Clara’s resilience really shine through, but also because it made everything that much more tense during the different trials that the initiates have to undertake. It served as a brilliant backdrop to the journey Clara finds herself on as she has to delve deeper into the academy than most students to help further her cause.
Arcana Academy is a book I highly recommend because I loved it, despite its minor flaws. And that ending!! Honestly, I am both very excited for what is to come and very annoyed that I will have to wait after that cliffhanger.
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