Arcana Academy Book Review
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️
Audience: Slow Burn Tarot Romantasy
Length: 576 Pages
Author: Elise Kova
Series/Stand Alone: Book 1 of the Arcana Academy
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: July 22, 2025
Arcana Academy Book Summary From Goodreads
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.
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?
About the Book and Where to Buy Arcana Academy
Escape, deception, and forbidden desire collide in Elise Kova’s Arcana Academy, out July 22, 2025. Clara trades prison walls for a dangerous bargain with Prince Kaelis, who whisks her into a world of arcane magic and royal intrigue. At the Academy, she must play the role of his betrothed—while secretly plotting to steal a powerful tarot card. With praise pouring in for its fresh magic system, lush world, and fiery romance, this fantasy romance is already enchanting readers.
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Special Editions Available
My Thoughts on Arcana Academy
I’m an absolute sucker for Dark Academia, if they write it, I will read it. Also, this was my first tarot card magic book, and I was hooked from the get go.
So this book has so much going on, and can been confusing if you’re not completely focused on reading it. And the beginning might seem like it’s a tad bit slow, but there’s just so much foundation that needs to be laid, it definitely picks up, so don’t worry! Our FMC was imprisoned and then the Prince who also happens to be a headmaster at an elite academy, breaks her out of prison, but there’s a few conditions connected to her release.
Now our FMC is (fake) engaged to the prince, she has to go through deadly trials, magical heists, all whle trying to figure out what happened to her sister. The world building is absolutely insane. It’s such a high fantasy world, and I love it. I like that we get to see inside the classrooms, we see so much about how the cards are drawn, what it takes to make them work, how they can be used in duels against other cards. It’s so intriguing and the author does such a good job at describing it so we can understand how each card is used.
And that ending…I didn’t see it coming!
Tropes:
- Dark Academia
- Enemies to Lovers
- Slow Burn
- Morally Grey MMC
- Found Family
- Fake Engagement
- Forced Proximity
- Tarot Card Magic
- Deadly Trials
- Magical Heists
- Murder Mystery
More Books in the Series
Book 2, Prince of Swords is being released on July 21, 2026.
