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.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart, This is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin, & Dragon Cursed by Elise Kova

        

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released!

Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart

Publication: January 13th, 2026
Random House Worlds
Hardcover. 320 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"A space shuttle flight crew discovers that the Earth they’ve returned to is not the home they left behind in the first book of this emotional, mind-bending thriller series from the creator of the hit Netflix show Manifest and the bestselling author of The Warehouse.

“If The Martian and The Twilight Zone had a baby, it would be Detour—a thriller that messes with your head as you scramble to piece together what’s really going on.”—Steve Netter, Best Thriller Books

Ryan Crane wasn’t looking for trouble—just a cup of coffee. But when this cop spots a gunman emerging from an unmarked van, he leaps into action and unknowingly saves John Ward, a billionaire with presidential aspirations, from an assassination attempt.

As thanks for Ryan’s quick thinking, Ward offers him the chance of a lifetime: to join a group of lucky civilians chosen to accompany three veteran astronauts on the first manned mission to Saturn’s moon Titan.

A devoted family man, Ryan is reluctant to leave on this two-year expedition, yet with the encouragement of his loving wife—and an exorbitant paycheck guaranteeing lifetime care for their disabled son—he crews up and ventures into a new frontier.

But as the ship is circling Titan, it is rocked by an unexplained series of explosions. The crew works together to get back on course, and they return to Earth as heroes.

When the fanfare dies down, Ryan and his fellow astronauts notice that things are different. Some changes are good, such as lavish upgrades to their homes, but others are more disconcerting. Before the group can connect, mysterious figures start tailing them, and their communications are scrambled.

Separated and suspicious, the crew must uncover the truth and decide how far they’re willing to go to return to their normal lives. Just when their space adventure seemingly ends, it shockingly begins."

I'm always up for a good space-related sci-fi thriller, and I've enjoyed some of Rob Hart's work in the past so I'm looking forward to checking this one out. 

This Is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin
Publication: January 13th, 2026
Knopf
Hardcover. 368 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"A stunning new work from universally acclaimed Daniyal Mueenuddin, whose debut short story collection won the Story Prize and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Book Prize, the National Book Award, and the Pulitzer Prize.

NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026: Town & Country, Bustle, AARP, Kirkus

Moving from Pakistan’s dazzling chaotic cities to its lawless feudal countryside, This Is Where the Serpent Lives powerfully evokes contemporary feudal Pakistan, following the destinies of a dozen unforgettable characters whose lives are linked through violence and tragedy, triumph, and love. Orphaned as a little boy and fending for himself in the city streets, Yazid rises to a place of responsibility and respect in the Lahore household of Colonel Atar, a powerful industrialist and politician, only to find that position threatened by conflicting loyalties and misplaced trust. Born on Colonel Atar’s country estate to a poor gardener, Saqib is entrusted with the management of a pioneering business, but he overreaches and finds himself an outlaw, confronting the violence of the corrupt Punjab Police. The colonel’s son competes with his cherished brother for the love of a woman and discovers that her choice colors his life with unexpected darkness as well as light.

In matters of power and money and the heart, Mueenuddin’s characters struggle to choose between paths that are moral and just and more worldly choices that allow them to survive in the systems of caste, capital, and social power that so tightly grip their culture. Intimate and epic, elegiac and profoundly moving, This Is Where the Serpent Lives is a tour de force destined to become a classic of contemporary literature."

I really like the premise for this one and am eager to read Mueenuddin's portrait of Pakistan through a variety of settings. 

Dragon Cursed by Elise Kova
Publication: January 6th, 2026
Entagled: Mayhem Books
Hardcover. 448 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"The moment you see a dragon is usually your last…

Since the dragons emerged–along with the scourge that ravaged our lands and people–there’s only one human city that remains standing: Vingard.

But the hellfire from above is nothing compared to he threat from within. For there is no worse fate than being dragon cursed. Slowly and excruciatingly, you’ll be transformed into a mindless beast who destroys everything–and everyone–you love.

Any of us could be tainted. Any of us could be lying. Any of us could be caught and killed by the authorities.

And I’m terrified that I might be next. There’s only one other person who might suspect my secret. He’s like my shadow, following me wherever I go. Part protector, part tormentor, fully annoying. Sometimes I think I am just one of the million unfathomable secrets he keeps hidden.

Because Lucan definitely knows something.

And if I’m dragon cursed, death might be the only mercy I get."

I'll be reading this one for review soon and I'm so intrigued--I don't think I've read anything with a curse quite like this one, so I'm curious to find out how Kova tackles this concept!

Review: Arcana Academy by Elise Kova

Arcana Academy by Elisa Kova

Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Hardcover. 576 pages.

About Arcana Academy:

"A woman who wields magical tarot cards lands herself in a false engagement with the headmaster of a mysterious academy in this first installment of an enthralling fantasy romance series from the bestselling author of A Deal with the Elf King.

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.

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?"

I apologize that this review is so overdue! I finished this book about a week and a half ago and started writing the review, but then got way too busy and it took forever to get it done, but it’s finally finished, so here we go!

Arcana Academy is exactly what it’s billed as: a dark(ish) academia fantasy romance. This could be great--or not so great--depending on your reading tastes and what you're looking for. We follow Clara Graysword as she’s given a choice: continue to rot in  prison for illegally inking magical tarot cards, or fake an engagement to Prince Kaelis, the headmaster at Arcana Academy, in order to become a student at the school and help him with an unimaginable task. As you might expect, Clara takes the latter option, and thus begins our story of her joining Arcana Academy and everything that follows. While there, she’s also trying to uncover what happened to her sister (who was also a student at the academy), while also maintaining a revenge plot for her mother’s murder.

Clara is the perfect protagonist for this story and was genuinely entertaining to follow. She’s clever, headstrong--but fortunately  she doesn’t consistently make terrible decisions, which was a nice change--and is always thinking ahead. I really enjoyed seeing how she navigated the many complex aspects of her new situation, including navigating relationships with fellow students, figuring out her new classes, and of course balancing her new "relationship" with the surly prince. She’s incredibly talented at inking cards, but we still see her struggle with certain topics and learning new techniques, which I found to be a great balance of a protagonist who is capable and clever, but not perfect at everything.

This also brings me to some quick remarks on Kaelis. He's not a bad character in the slightest, but he's a bit... boring. If you've read any similar fantasy featuring the grumpy, "evil" dark guy who is just so bad and hates our protagonist, then you've read them all, including this one. This was another case of someone who is constantly described as being so bad and mean and dangerous, but I am not really ever given a reason to believe that. And, of course, as Kaelis and Clara get to know each other and work together more, we see a breaking down of barriers that feels like everything I've seen before. And as negative as this all sounds, I'm not saying it's bad, as it's done fairly well--if a bit hasty and sudden--and I think many readers will enjoy it. It's just not going to blow your mind or bring anything particularly new to this trope.

The magic system is really intriguing, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the tarot card-based magical processes. Some aspects felt a little strange to me and I’d really love to be able to see it in action to better visualize how it works, but overall I found it to be really creative and compelling. The magic ranges from simpler spells to more complex methods and uses, and I liked learning about the different nuances that affect it, such as which inks are used to draw the cards, how they are wielded, and so on.

The pacing in Arcana Academy is a little hit or miss, as it sometimes felt a bit rushed and other times a little drawn out, but overall I was able to follow the story fairly well and enjoyed my time reading it. I do think some things in this book could've used a bit more time for exploration, but it was generally easy to follow. I did find the way that Kaelis and Clara's relationship developed to be both developed at a reasonable and slower pace, as well eventually a bit sudden (as I mentioned earlier) and I think could have been smoothed out a bit at the end. I found Kova’s writing generally smooth and well-crafted, though there were a few moments that felt slightly choppy or like they could have been tightened up or even edited out. There were also a few words thrown in that just didn't fit the story and felt like the author opened a thesaurus to find something different to say (for reference, I think it's great to use a thesaurus, but not if the words chosen don't seem to fit the tone of the rest of the book).

Arcana Academy is a perfectly solid story. It’s well-executed, tells an engaging narrative, and has some strong plot beats and compelling conflicts. The issue is that it lacks anything that truly feels new. The problem is that it's missing anything that brings something new to the table. It's definitely not a requirement that books always be innovating and turning tropes upside and so forth, and I certainly love plenty of books that don't do that, but for this book to be worth the hype I've started seeing for it, I feel like it really needs a bit more. I think people w ho love these tropes and this genre will absolutely adore this book and that makes me so happy for them, but for people who are wanting something to add a bit more depth to the tropes used and/or something new in the motivations and plot, then I'm afraid they may be disappointed.

Overall, Arcana Academy is a strong story that will leave many readers full satisfied, while others, like myself, maybe come away from it wishing for just a little bit more. I will definitely consider reading the sequel to see where Kova decides to take many of the different storylines in this one, and it may just end up being even better than this first book.

*I received a copy of Arcana Academy in exchange for an honest review. This has no affect on my opinions.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org