Book Club Review: Arcana Academy by Elise Kova

Arcana Academy

Elise Kova

Arcana Academy, #1

Publisher: Del Ray

Published Date: July 22, 2025

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Fiction

553 Pages / 20 Hours 26 Minutes

Date Read: November 17-24, 2025

Format: 📱

Source: Google Play Books

This is the first book in an ongoing series. As always, if you prefer a spoiler free review please read my quick review instead of the in depth review below.

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About the Book

Clara has been surviving in the dungeons after being convicted of illegal magic use and inking of tarot cards. Her lifetime sentence was cut short by an offer from the academy’s headmaster / kingdom’s prince, for a price. Clara must succeed in entering the academy while playing the part of the prince’s new bride to be... or go back to the dungeons.

Quick Review (Spoiler Free)

This is very much what I would expect of a adult/dark version of Harry Potter mixed with tarot cards. Halfway through the book I felt like I was sitting on the edge of my seat in anticipation. The story kept me engaged the whole way through. And knowing that book 2 is going to release sometime next year... Like, what?? I need it now!

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Now, let's get into the details!!

The plot of this story was pretty interesting. I like that they mixed differently fantasy elements together that blended so nicely. There was the prison system, the education system, and the magic system that were all so nicely woven together that made the flow of the story feel seemless.

The tarot system honestly was neat. I saw a negative review of this book that made me laugh by saying they felt like the tarot system was the characters throwing Pokémon cards at each other. I definitely do not agree but I can’t help thinking about that each time I want to talk about this. The system shows the magic system from start to finish: the inking of the cards, the meaning of the cards, and the usage of the cards. It shows that you have to understand and be good with all the components in order to utilize the magic. It was pretty unique in my opinion.

The characters were all well thought out and I loved that we got to see them all interact pretty frequently. I love when a book can have that much diversity from the main characters without straying too far from the agenda or making things too muddy.

Halfway through the book I felt like I was sitting on the edge of my seat in anticipation. The story kept me engaged the whole way through. And knowing that book 2 is going to release sometime next year… Like, what?? I need it now!

Ratings