As an avid fantasy reader, it is hard for me to come by something that sweeps me off my feet and surprises me. More often than not, I have heard about all the tropes, magic systems and political intrigues of countless fantasy books - BUT ever so often, there comes a story that completely captures my mind, body and soul. Arcana Academy was that story. Right from the start, I was thrust into a cruel scene where our main character Clara finds herself in the most horrendous prison known in her world, which is ruled by the cruel Oricalis family and feels hostile, unfair and cold. I was instantly rooting for her, because I AM a sucker for a feral woman with lots of trauma and hidden talents. She fought dirty, was too smart for her own good and made decisions that fit her character so well. I liked her a lot and loved seeing her change and question her own beliefs throughout the course of the story. Her enemy, Kaelis Oricalis, was a worthy counterpart to her, with just as many witty comments, smart remarks and a well thought out backstory, that made me question more than once who the REAL enemy of the story is. He is your classic "dark and brooding" MMC and you can never go wrong with that in my books. Their dynamic was filled with tension, yearning and distrust. I could never guess where their story was going and was screaming at my Kindle screen for them to finally make up their damn mind and just kiss already. But what was undeniably the star of this book was the magic system and the plot. Wielding tarot cards as weapons?? Never heard of anything cooler. The magic wasn't overwhelming and really well thought out. Elise did a fantastic job bringing the fight scenes to life, explaining the intricate rules of the cards and awaken a desire in me to get into tarot card reading ASAP. This was only supported by a killer plot line with lots of secrets between our main characters, lots of things at stake and more than one reveal that made me gasp. There is only one thing left to say: READ. THIS. DAMN. BOOK. Big thanks to Hodderscape for this e-arc!

I don’t know what exactly I was expecting of this book but it wasn’t that. I’ve read the married into magic series of the author and thought it a bit too soft, too slow and too predictable. But I really liked the idea behind Arcana Academy so I thought I try again a book of hers and oh my god this was everything I expect from a good Romantasy book. Firstly the magic system is amazing. Using Tarot cards not only for reading but also as a way of fighting is really intriguing and I loved how everything is explained. The forging of the cards, Minor and Major Arcana- I absolutely loved the concept. And while I thought the school to be very similar to something I’ve read as a child in the beginning it turned out to be much more unrelenting and brutal then I would have guessed. Clara as the main protagonist is amazing. She has a sharp tongue, is clever and the right mix between morally grey and ambitious. The way she does everything to get what she wants and says what she thinks- I loved her from page one. Kaelis? What can I say except he’s amazing too 🤣 boring I know but how can we not love the classic morally grey love interest. But combined with Clara who is equally unrelenting- chefs kiss. In the end the book was much more sad and kinda brutal then anticipated and the ending was not nice. I seem to constantly read books with brutal cliffhangers at the moment. I’ll give the book 4 stars overall because I kinda felt it was a bit slow sometimes during the middle parts but I absolutely recommend it to everyone who loves Romantasy with a good magic system and turns of events you can’t predict. Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC!