Quick Synopsis – 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. 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?

Song This Reminds Me Of – fOoL fOr YoU by Zayn

Publication Date – July 22, 2025

Bookshop Link – Arcana Academy by Elise Kova (full disclosure I get a commission if you use my link)

Content Notes – This is an adult romance and has sexual content. There is also death of a parent, violence, blood, assault on the main character, and violence against women.

Spicy Rating – 🌶️🌶️

Overall Rating – ⭐⭐⭐out of 5

Review – Arcana Academy has a really interesting magic system. A caster has to ink a minor arcana tarot card using special inks. These cards then release a certain magical aspect depending on the suit and number. The book starts off with stating that the major arcana cards can’t be inked, which we quickly find out there is a reason for that. But no spoilers here!

Clara starts off in prison only to be rescued by the void born second-born prince, Kaelis. Kaelis offers her a choice, help him gain a power to change the world or rot in prison. Pretty easy choice. While at Arcana Academy, Clara discovers more about magic and her own family. I like Clara’s overall storyline, but I had a few things that really bothered me. The first was Clara’s reasoning for wanting more power was to get her family back instead of actually changing or helping the world she lives in. I just thought her motivation for most of the book was fairly selfish. I would have liked to see her engage more with the world around her and form more allies.

The overall story was really interesting, and it built up enough for me to want to read the next book. But I also felt like the lore should have been built up more. We spend so much time working out a heist and going through the trials, but there is still so much history and lore that could have added. I get leaving enough for the next books in the series, but it felt like we spent way too much time at the school and the will they won’t they between Clara and Kaelis. It would have been more interesting if there was more worldbuilding and less wandering about.

Like I said I’ll read the next book, but this could have been better for me. If you enjoy romance fantasy as a genre, I think you’ll love this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Del Rey for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.