Celestial Academy: Essence by Olivia Pharos is a captivating blend of dark academia, fantasy, and romance that keeps readers hooked from beginning to end. The story follows Wen as she is thrust into the mysterious Celestial Academy, where she must survive brutal trials and navigate the complexities of supernatural politics. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic between Wen and Godric is intense and deeply emotional, filled with tension, passion, and unexpected depth. The author’s world-building is rich and immersive, creating an atmospheric setting that enhances the intrigue and suspense. Overall, the book delivers a gripping narrative with high stakes, complex characters, and an unforgettable romance that lingers long after the final page. If you love dark academia, fantasy, and slow-burn romance, this novel is a must-read!

Celestial Academy: Essence offers an exciting start to Olivia Pharos's series with its unique premise and relatable characters. While it may not be perfect in every aspect, it successfully captures attention through its humor and action-packed storyline.

If you found the intensity of *Zodiac Academy* a bit overwhelming, but still cherished its exceptional world-building and humor, then this book is definitely worth your time. It shares the same vibrant sense of humor and intricate world-building that made *Zodiac Academy* a standout, but it offers a refreshing twist on the enemies-to-lovers trope that won't leave you cringing or in tears.

The interplay of angel and demon lore adds an exciting layer to the story, creating a fascinating backdrop for the characters' development. The dynamics between the protagonists are engaging and filled with witty banter, making their journey feel both entertaining and relatable.

As the plot unfolds, you'll find yourself eagerly anticipating how the story will evolve, especially with the intriguing lore at play. This book promises a delightful blend of humor, adventure, and romance that is sure to captivate readers. Don’t miss out on experiencing this enthralling tale!

Another story of enemies to lovers and a magical school.
As usual, our main character Wen is an orphan and penniless and enterprising girl who is always dancing on the edge of danger. She accidentally got hold of … something left over from a fight between two angels … and accidentally her friend consumed a little of it and her trip was so powerful that Wen realized that it was something she could earn with. And she does earn, and not a little, but still not enough to buy herself free. And then one day, when she is hunting for her new supply again, she gets caught and sent to the academy, where she has to prove her existence to angelic beings, half-angels and other magical youths. On top of that, she also has this mentor who will soon become her lover (of course) and she has to constantly do experiments so that they can understand how she is the only one who can see and collect this essence left over from the clash of the Angels and where she came from in general.
I don't remember how it all ended, but since it's the first part, it obviously had some kind of cliffhanger.
Well, it was, like, the typical growling, self-proclaiming, saving the world with sex story, which was actually mostly nonsense and the sex scenes were completely unnecessary.

Great audiobook and an even better story!
This fantasy story was interesting and didn't seem to follow the classic storyline that has been overdone in recent romantasy stories. This story kept me intrigued the entire time and I found myself easily understanding the fantasy world. I really enjoyed the audiobook and was able to finish it which is hard for me usually.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a wonderful fantasy novel and I am looking forward to another book in this world. This was the perfect combination of fantasy and romance.

Pleasantly surprised by this! 3.5 but rounding up to 4 because I believe Olivia Pharos is self publishing these and honestly the story was solid and that's not something I usually say about self-pubbed, mainly due to a lack of editing. But not here!

People have been comparing this to Zodiac Academy - but like a good version of Zodiac Academy - which is a bold claim since people are feral about that series, but as someone who DNFed the first book because it was horrendous, I went into this hopeful but cautious.

And I came out the other side really enjoying this. Suck it Zodiac Academy.

Looks, is it silly? Is it a bit annoying? Yes. Is it anything new? No.
But is it a fun little potato chip book? Absolutely.
A little treat to enjoy; we're going for junk food here, not health.

I did immediately try to find book 2. I've seen people review it on Goodreads so I assumed it was out and I could find it here, or on KU, but unfortunately it looks like it's not actually available. But take that as a glowing endorsement. I listened to this on audio, and was willing to pick up the ebook immediately, even though I don't really have time to physically read a book right now.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. Initially I could not finish it. I tried again. I loved the narration and I did appreciate the similarities to other books like zodiac academy. I thought it was okay but I struggled to get through it without breaks.

This book was really good esp if you like zodiac academy I love the slowburn romance and the fast pace! Highly recommend this book if you are into fantasy and high school life if that makes sense I can’t wait to read what’s next

This was a fantastic fantasy. Hearts, love, tension. . I . Right away, I was hooked with how odd this situation was, and things only increased, which had me on the edge of my seat.

A school for different creatures is what I wanted to read and it was good enough for me 😅. I like this story

Story: 3 ⭐️
Steam: 1 🔥no smut
Audio: 3 🎧

This was ok. The world building at the beginning was like crammed down my throat and felt very overwhelming. The story was entertaining enough that it kept me listening but not enough that I’m dying to continue the series. It wasn’t bad just kinda meh.

I also am not sure I’d classify this as a romance. It’s more a fantasy with a romantic subplot that might be more later but for now is basically a crush.

Audiobook performance:
While the narrators voice was fine, the way she pronounced the archangels’ names drove me crazy.

I really really wanted to like this book. It’s checked so many boxes for me of things that I liked. At the end of the day, I had a really difficult time finishing this book. It was wayyy too much like Zodiac Academy. But zodiac academy made it look effortless and this book felt like too much effort was put in, in all the wrong ways. It also felt very high school.

The narration was great though. 5/5!

I loved this audiobook. I thought the main character was a badass in her desperation to survive, the world was full of all the creatures we want in a fantasy book, but not being too crowded, and the plot was quite fun and different. It probably would be a bit to heavy for me if i read it in paper format, but the narrator did an amazing job!

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This book would have been a 5 star for me minus all the sex lmao whip dick like wtf?!?!? i know a lot of ppl like that stuff tho so im still gonna give it a 5 star

4.5 stars!!!! I love Zodiac Academy, and this was advertised as the next ZA, and WHERE IS THE LIE!? This was so exciting, I couldn't stop reading. I was so hesitant to start this because of how much I both loved and hated ZA because of the intense bullying but Celestial Academy felt a bit more realistic and wasn't over the top like ZA. Wen was an amazing FMC, like I'm adding her to my favorite FMC list because I see so much potential in her and this series. This is of course Enemies to Lovers, my absolute favorite trop end its done so well, doesn't try to be too much or doesn't water it down, it's honestly such a great beginning book to this series, I'm more than ready for more!

At first, I wasn't sure about this book, but I stuck with it and it grew on me. It's not a typical book I would choose to read, but the description caught my interest. I really like the sarcasm, wit, and banter between Wen and Godric. I listened to the audiobook as I did work around the house, and found myself giggling at some of the banter. There is a slow burn romantic story wrapped in that was cute and it was very slow. The plot was interesting and had some different elements that I enjoyed.
This book could be categorized as dark academia, but I thought it was kind of light and humorous. It did have some dark elements (check your triggers), but a lot of it was the interactions between the main characters (and some side characters). I am just getting into audiobooks, so I do not have a lot of experience with narrators. I wasn't sure I liked the voices at first. I do think 2 narrators would have made the audio experience more enjoyable. The voice for Godric is not the voice I had in mind. I do think the voices fit well for Wen and most of the other characters. The narrator gave me Gossip Girl vibes. I even looked it up because I was convinced that maybe it was the same person, but I found out the original Gossip Girl narrator is Kristen Bell...you learn something new everyday. They are not the same person, but at times it felt like the same voice. I do think the positive, lighthearted voices helped set the feel of this book as being light and humorous for me. If I had read this book, it might have a different feel.
At the beginning, you are thrown into a story and it takes some time to understand what is actually going on. Parts of the story drag on and the end gets a bit "out there." I did want to keep listening to find out what happened next. It was pretty fast paced and kept my interest.
Overall, I enjoyed this audiobook and am looking forward to reading (or listening) to book 2!

Thank you Olivia Pharos and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for providing this audiobook for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book had a lot of ideas but really couldn’t execute. I found it hard to follow the thread of what the world was. It was post-apocalyptic but there were so many current or recent pop culture references that kept taking me out of the world the author was building. Also, the nicknames and sarcasm and banter were so heavy handed. Every page needed to at least call someone “god-awful” or “angel spawn” or mention her arousal at unnecessary times. The tipping point for me was when the main character gets sliced (?!) by a penis. And there was no explanation for why on earth that happened. The pacing was totally off; the author left me with a lot to be desired from this. The narrator was the only saving grace; she did a great job. I received an audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Excellent story that was executed well via audiobook. As always, I wish there was more than one narrator. I'm not a hater of the FMC doing all the parts but sometimes it takes me out of the story. The end was a bit of an info dump but I was able to grasp most of it. Overall, a most enjoyable read!

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC.

⅘ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Celestial Academy: Essence
Author: Olivia Pharos
Afterworld #1

Okay, this was also another interesting read! Thank you so much Netgalley and IBPA for this ALC! This was a super fun read which would be good for fans of Zodiac Academy. Our FMC is a demon owned, drug dealing human living in the Afterworld. She ends up getting arrested for selling a very high profile drug called “Angelescence”. Her punishment for this, is being carted off to Celestial Academy. Godric is a hot assasin that has been assigned to watch over her. They end up absolutely hating each other, but also being drawn to each other. Unfortunately there are explosive consequences if they end up taking the next step. This book was super fun, my only issues were that I found myself getting a little slumpy at some parts of it. Overall, it did keep me intrigued enough to finish and I would definitely listen to book 2 if they release it on audio! It was refreshing to read a light, spicy, brain candy type fantasy right now.