Review: Prince of Swords (Arcana Academy #2) by Elise Kova

 

Prince of Swords (Arcana Academy #2) by Elise Kova
Del Rey

Publication Date: July 21st 2026
Hardcover | 560 pages

About Prince of Swords:

"Welcome back to Arcana Academy. Tarot magic, forbidden desire, battle, and betrayal collide for the power to change the world in the thrilling second book of this New York Times bestselling fantasy romance series.

The dazzling first edition hardcover of Prince of Swords will feature gold foil page edges, designed endpapers, two interior black-and-white maps, a custom-stamped case, and a premium dust jacket with foil—while supplies last! 

I am terrified. Yet my heart skips a beat. This man might be a monster, but he is my monster. 

Clara Graysword is Oricalis’s most wanted. Hunted and cornered, not even her mastery of tarot can save her this time . . . until the mysterious Worldkeepers appear. This secretive order may hold the key to changing Clara’s fate. If she dares to trust them. 

But the most dangerous alliance of all is one she’s already deeply ensnared within: Prince Kaelis. 

Kaelis, second-born prince of Oricalis and headmaster of Arcana Academy, is the one man she can’t escape—maybe she doesn’t want to escape. Ruthless, dangerous, and bound to Clara by destiny and desire, Kaelis tests her heart as much as her loyalty. Together, they grow closer to the most powerful secrets of the tarot . . . and to the truths they both hide that could destroy the passion that they no longer deny. 

Hidden in plain sight within Arcana Academy, Clara walks the dagger’s edge. Revelations about Oricalis threaten everything she thought she knew, and every choice she makes is the difference between salvation and ruin. 

To change the world, Clara must risk everything—her power, her beliefs, and her heart."

I've been excited to dive back into this world, and Prince of Swords was a fantastic follow-up to Arcana Academy. Prince of Swords wastes no time throwing readers back into the action, which I think is a great way to help us all become immersed in this world once again--it certainly worked well for me, at least, as I was the slightest bit rusty after how long it's been since I read the first book. Fortunately, it was easy to quickly remember our characters and the world and I was right back up to speed before I knew it.  

Clara is a fascinating character to continue to follow, as she is definitely someone who will, at the end of the day, do what she thinks is best for those she loves and the world around her. This sometimes means going against the advice of those around her and being a bit bullheaded about things, and I think that's something that comes with pros and cons and makes for a well-rounded character. I absolutely don't envy the many difficult decisions she has to make over the course of this book, and I think Kova captured all of these aspects really well. 

The romance between Kaelis and Clara is also sure to please many readers. I find that the romance is prominent enough that I think it will satisfy those who really love the romance and relationship aspects of the story, but not overpowering enough for those who don't like the romance as much and just want the other elements of the plot, which I think is the perfect balance and keeps this book feeling firmly fantasy-first.

One of my favorite things has been the tarot card magic system. I feel like it's still one that's a bit hard for me to visualize exactly what they're doing, but it's still just a really cool concept and I have loved learned more about it. I also appreciate how the symbolism of the tarot is actively used in relation to the characters and each one's respective magic usage. And as the magic system continues to develop, so do many elements of the world created in this book, and we learn even more about some background and history that really fleshed out even more about it in a very natural way. 

The stakes are also definitely very high in this book, and it really explores some dark and difficult topics, so be sure to keep that in mind when going into this one. There are so many moving parts, from individual emotion traumas and struggles that many of the characters must tackle to ever-shifting political and social intrigue that impacts so many of the character at different turns throughout the book. The pacing, as a result, is a bit of a mixed bag at times. It is occasionally quite fast-paced and action-packed, but I also think suffers with some much slower areas that brought down the pace quite a bit. That being said, I never really lost interest and continued to have a great time reading it throughout. It's also not the most unpredictable or surprising, but I think it does a really fantastic job of telling a compelling story that will continue to draw readers in.

There are many other things I'd love to talk about with this book, but for hesitancy around spoilers I'm going to avoid most of them and will wrap up with a couple things I didn't love as much about this book.

One thing that pulled me out of the story a few times was with just how many people Clara ended up telling about her rather enormous secret. You can't really have a huge secret that would have horrible consequences if you just keep... telling people. I understand needing to tell certain people for certain reasons, but at the same time, something this important seems extremely risky. It felt like a bit of a disaster waiting to happen, and while I won't say anything about what does or does not happen, I personally just felt a little frustrated and would've preferred more semblance of caution. But I guess Clara is a very bold and brave person, so perhaps it's more a testament to her courage? Either way, it did bother me a bit, and there were just a few too many times where I wondered why people seemed to accept certain things so easily and seemed to have such implicit and easy trust with others, at times.

I also struggled a little bit with how easily Clara just slipped into the role of a teacher. Unless I'm forgetting something from the first book, it felt like a bit of a leap for someone with essentially no teaching experience to suddenly be instructing students who were basically her peers, if I'm remembering correctly. It works for the story and isn't really that big of a deal, but it really did bother me, especially when she had no qualms about it at all and seemed to be a great teacher, as well. 

Overall, Prince of Swords really expands upon many of the strengths of the first book, even if it occasionally falls back on some plot points that feel slightly too convenient at times to keep things moving.  I had a blast falling back into this world and magic system and that ending has me hooked and ready for book three. 

*I received a copy of Prince of Swords courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating or enjoyment.*

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