Book Review :: Arcana Academy by Elise Kova

Arcana Academy by Elise Kova
ISBN: 0593726340
on 22 July 2025
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Magic
Pages: 553
Goodreads

Clara Graysword has survived the underworld of Eclipse City through thievery, luck, and a whole lot of illegal magic. After a job goes 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?

Last updated on 9 March 2026

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What is Arcana Academy by Elise Kova about?

Arcana Academy by Elise Kova is about Clara Graysword – a thief who’s been scraping by on stolen luck and illegal magic in the grimy underworld of Eclipse City.

When a job goes wrong, she’s sentenced to life in prison for inking tarot cards – a rare power that’s only supposed to belong to the fancy, chosen few at the elite Arcana Academy. No big deal. Just her entire future gone.

But then the academy’s headmaster – the mysterious Prince Kaelis – swoops in with an offer she can’t really refuse. He needs her to help steal a tarot card from the king, all in the name of recreating a legendary lost card. And so he smuggles her into Arcana Academy as a first-year student. Oh, and his fake fiancée, which she has to play along with.

So now Clara’s navigating arcane magic, royal politics, and a prince she’s absolutely, definitely, one hundred per cent determined to hate… who turns out to be a lot more complicated than expected.

She’s got two options: hand him the power… or take it for herself. Guess which one sounds more fun.

My thoughts on Arcana Academy

I wanted to enjoy this book so much. I think the concept of the book is so so cool – magical tarot cards?? Um, yes please – which is one of the reasons that I picked it up.

But there was just something about it that wasn’t for me. And as I write my thoughts for this review, I’m trying to pinpoint what that was.

Some of the things I did enjoy about it:

• I did like the magic system. As I said, i think the taort magical cards and having to draw your cards was a really neat concept and not something that I’d read before.
• I like how we were just launched into the story; I think it started out quite strong and I definitely read those first few chapters really quickly.
• I didn’t mind the main character, Clara, at the beginning. She was pretty feisty.
• The academy part of the story was a good – I do love a book that’s set in a school, an academy, a learning environment etc.

And there were the things that I didn’t really enjoy that much.

I felt like the world was a bit underdeveloped – there were definitely questions that I had throughout the book and at the end that I felt weren’t really addressed. Clara got really annoying, really quickly, and I didn’t care for the leading man – Prince Kaelis – which made it hard to keep reading. I also didn’t like how fast they ‘got together’ or developed into something. Could have done that in book 2 and it might have made that better … Unsure!

The plot was … okay? I appreciate where it was trying to go, and some of the nuances of the story, with it’s potential to keep going into book two, but there was definitely something that fell short, and I struggled through the second half.

For such a long book (over 500 pages), I felt like it could have had a few chops, but at the same time, a few things, like the world-building, could have been expanded a little bit.

Which, of course, might have happened in the second book, Prince of Swords, but I’m now not invested enough to pick it up. 🙈

Did I just fall into another Booktok/Bookstagram trap? Maybe.

If you like fantasy, romantasy, tarot magic, academies… do check out the book and see if it’s something for you. Unfortunately, this was just a 2-star read me, which is ‘it was okay’ – mostly based on those few things I liked at the beginning.

Ah well. You win some, you send some to the opshop.

Have you read Arcana Academy by Elise Kova? What did you think?