Celestial Academy: Essence Book Review – Olivia Pharos

I got this ARC off of Netgalley and I’m so glad I did. It’s not an LGBTQ+ book so I was dubious but OMG as soon as I started listening to this book I was hooked, it’s quite frankly, hands down amazing! I didn’t know what to expect but with a work of art like that I bet the next instalment will be better.

Any spoilers will be in italics so if you want to read this review be warned you don’t ruin it for yourself because that would be godawful!

Buy Celestial Academy: Essence by Olivia Pharos

Celestial Academy: Essence by Olivia Pharos is a captivating blend of magic, destiny, and romance, making it an unforgettable read for fantasy lovers!

Celestial Academy: Essence Synopsis

In a world where Heaven and Hell exist on Earth, I am as low as one can be. My life is filled with drudgery, degradation, and constant danger—and that’s before I started dealing Angelescence, a drug only I can produce, and one that people would kill for. One mistake lands me in chains, dragged to the Celestial Court by a terrifying captor. My punishment? Forced conscription to Celestial Academy, where Godric, the most powerful nephilim and Heaven’s assassin, is assigned to mentor me. His mission: uncover the secret behind my unique ability to capture Angel Essence.

We despise each other and the proximity we’re forced into, but soon, our personal war fades in comparison to the darker truths he unearths within me. As deadly trials approach at mid-term, an internal conflict rages, and the threat of another Apocalypse looms. And somehow, I’m at the centre of it all.

Celestial Academy: Essence Rating – 4.5/5

Overall I really like this book, I think it’s better to listen to this one and the narrator Amanda Leigh Cobb did a fantastic job. Let me know what you think about my Celestial Academy: Essence book review. Did you think I was too harsh? Spot on? Or a little too nice with my ratings?

If you haven’t read the Celestial Academy: Essence book, I suggest you do so as soon as you can because honestly it’s one of my favourite non LGBTQ+ books and I can’t wait for more!

Celestial Academy: Essence Plot – 4.8/5

At first I thought the plot was really difficult to follow jumping in head first but after the first couple of chapters it became a lot more clear and easy to follow. As I listened to this via audiobook I found it probably easier to follow than a physical copy. The plot was well thought out, easy to digest and had me wanting to hear more and missing too much sleep.

I found at times that it was a little hit or miss, some scenes dragged on a little longer than they had to but overall it was really well planned and executed.

Celestial Academy: Essence Charachters – 4.5/5

Here we go, the characters were great, well thought out and described well enough to create quite the image in our imaginations. I have nothing wrong with that. I also liked how some of them grew on me over the course of the book, one work; Ginny!

However, I did feel that there were quite a few characters which meant they got a little diluted and some of the ones I really liked didn’t show up enough or their backstory wasn’t really touched on which was a shame.

I LOVED the use of sarcasm, the names such as arch angel spawn, angelhole and more! It was right up my street and that’s what made it so well written!

Celestial Academy: Essence Emotion – 4.8/5

I cried, I cheered, I got goosebumps while walking to the doctors and I got mad at the end. Even though I saw the plot twist coming, I was still enraged. It’s got all the emotion you need and I think the biggest tug on emotions were the bonds made through friendship.

Celestial Academy: Essence Ending – 4/5

Endings can be hit or miss and this one was almost a slam dunk. Some questions were left unanswered but on purpose. You had a clear outline on what you think might happen next and it didn’t end in total doom or gloom which is great.

The one thing that knocked this down to a 4 out of 5 was Gidieon. Now I thought he was hiding something from the moment he said he was the only one that survived the trials and the big bad man said that he let her escape so he must have done the same with him. However, the line I didn’t make was when he talks about basically having sex with her but says, “weather she wanted to or not”. That to me was ICK and totally not needed.

Celestial Academy: Essence Spice – 2/5

There was some other the clothes stuff, a kiss at the end but the most spice came from Wyen talking about her feelings. I’m looking forwards to seeing where this might progress to. I don’t take spice ratings into account for the overall rating as all books vary.

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