Celestial Academy: Essence by Olivia Pharos

Book 3/5
Narration 4/5

My first audiobook ARC so this was exciting! I was initially unsure of the narration, but by the end I really enjoyed her. Well done to Amanda Leigh Cobb!

☆ forced proximity
★ enemies to lovers
☆ slow burn

This book is very colloquial with lots of inner monologue which can be frustrating at times, but I appreciate this is a preferred style for other readers. Lots of YA name calling and snide comments. Godric's nickname of God-awful was funny the first time but personally, it should have just been the once, not every chapter.

That said, the plot itself was such an interesting premise, I enjoyed seeing a world where heaven and hell existed on earth. A world full of humans, angels and demons. The slow burn was good. My feeling is this book was inspired by Sarah J Maas Crescent City, Zodiac Academy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but for now I am rating this a 3 star and I couldn't put them on the same level. For me, it needs less sarcasm and more lore and world building to give it that edge, but you can see the inspiration!

Enjoyed the alternative POV at the end too!

Thank you to Olivia Pharos and NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m sorry, I just could not get into this story! The only thing I thought was cool was the Angelessence. There were just too many things going on at once. Way too much world building packed into one book. Also, it is hard when the real world exists (like living in LA and being human) but Heaven and Hell exist ON EARTH too so then you have Angels and Demons interacting with human real world lives. It just was too much for me. Also the swearing and name calling and rude comments and belittling of each other was like WAY WAY over the top that it became distracting.

Celestial Academy: Essence by Olivia Pharos. Afterworlds #1. Angels and demons working together in a post apocalyptic world. Forced proximity, enemies to lovers, slow burn.

Concept and storyline is interesting, but the execution had missed opportunities. Pacing seemed all over the place and plot seemed to stall halfway through. World building felt a little incomplete. Despite these issues the narration was good and was what kept me on track to finish.

I was provided with a review copy of the audiobook and this is my honest opinion. I gave this book 3 stars. I am unsure if I will continue this series at this time. Thank you again NetGalley and Olivia Pharos.

Wen and Godric were fun characters in an expansive world that is interesting and has the potential to be exciting. As with all first books in the series, this book has a lot going on and in some areas dragged a bit. The banter, though, between Wen and Godric was often hilarious and Wen is a strong character that I enjoyed following. The narration of this audiobook by Amanda Leigh Cobbs was good- she did a great job with the whole story but I wish there was a bit more variance and maybe even a male narrator. I'll be borrowing more books from the series to get deeper into the world and hopefully, to see these characters get their HEA!

Story: 4/5
Narrator: 4.5/5

This book draws you in and gives you all the feels along the way. If you are a person to yell at characters, you'll love this book. If you are a person who loves to be shocked by twists, this book is for you. I did NOT see that one coming. Wen's sassiness no matter what she's going through will have you rooting for her from the beginning until the end. I cannot wait for the next audiobook.

The story itself was unique, fast paced & so fun. I found myself loving the characters and wishing I could dive into this world and be BFF’s with the main character. The way I was rooting from her from page one & couldn’t get enough of the plot and friendships/relationships.

I devoured every second of this book and cannot wait to get into the next one. Highly recommend this to all of my morally grey + fantasy lovers!

The audiobook itself was also done very well!

This is the type of book that reminds me of just why I love fantasy books so much. Well. Done. 👏

What a fun book. I listened to the audio and once started couldn’t stop till it was finished, then immediately looked for the next book in the series. I loved the snarky attitude of the main character and can’t wait to see where the series goes from here.

This was my first angels and demons books I’ve read. The storyline was great and I looked forward to reading more books like this.
The beginning of the book didn’t really pull me in at first, I wish there had been more to the world building. There were times where a lot of information was thrown out at once and it was a lot to take in at once.
I loved the slow burn, the name calling, the plot, I loved listening to the audiobook.
The ending was really great, it left me wanting more. I can’t wait for the next book, I hope to get to know the characters much more and I can’t wait to see what is in store for Wen and Godric!

I think I just found one of my new favorite narrators! Amanda Leigh Cobb did such an amazing job! I think this book could have benefitted from dual/duet narration, but I think Amanda did a great job and really channelled the snarky FMC.

This book had a really interesting premise, and for the most part, I enjoyed it. Wen gets conscripted to the Celestial Academy where Godric, a powerful nephilim, is to be her shadow and trainer while she hones her skills and discovers and develops her abilities. This was a good slow burn, the annoyance and attraction a constant simmer between these two.

I love a good sarcastic FMC, but at times I felt like it was a little much, especially when dragging out life-threatening situations. And the nicknames were fun, but again, felt a bit overdone. It made her feel a bit one-dimensional. I wish there would have been a little less sarcasm and a bit more world building/lore development. There were a lot of names and classifications thrown about, and at times it was a bit much to keep up with.

The story concept as a whole was good, and I definitely think listening to the audio enhanced the experience. Overall, it was a fun listen, and I am definitely curious to see what happens next.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for the advance listener's copy!

This was very surprising in a good way! I am huge zodiac academy fan and this was reminiscent of that, but not a copy of the concept of course. I loved the overall plot and world building. Super unique and I will definitely be reading the second book!

I love this genre and while I think some of the book was really good - the world building, the slow burn romance, and the strong female lead - I really didn't like the overall tone.

The heroine was very sarcastic, and the narrator reflected that well - but it was too annoying for me. Some of her phrases or the narrators tone of voice really rubbed me the wrong way. I did appreciate her internal struggle with falling for the "enemy" but I thought her other interpersonal relationships were strange. For example, she had a good friend - Sarah - who she almost seemed in love with as well. She obsessively guarded her to the point that it was weird. Other characters did too. The book didn't really explain why either - I felt like Sarah was some poor puppy they were trying to protect but deep down I think Sarah has some supreme power or something because some of the people in charge also seemed intrigued by her. It was a weird power struggle.

I also initially thought this world building was good until one of the angels used his "member" as a blade to attack the heroine. What? It was so weird it was laughable. Such a strange scene in the book for me I couldn't take it seriously. It really turned me off from the book.

I unfortunately will not be reading the rest of the series when it comes out.

I really enjoyed listening to this audio book and the demons/angels angle was a new trope to me and one I'll be looking for more books with this kind of theme in the future.

I loved Wen, she was so feisty and fierce throughout the book and her nicknames for the other characters were brilliant. I can't wait for more from Wen and 'God-awful'.

The only real gripes I had were at first the accents of the narrator seemed so far fetched I couldn't get into the book but these soon grew on me. However, I did feel that no matter what was happening to Wen she did feel one dimensional with the voice always seeming to have the sarcastic undertone.

All in all I enjoyed this audiobook and will listen to the rest of the series

Thank you to the publisher for providing a free copy of this book via Netgalley

Wen is a demon-slave turned Celestial Academy recruit. She navigates her new role in life and her sexy Angle-spawn mentor.

Celestial Academy is a post apocalyptic Heaven vs. Hell romance that can be compared to the Zodiac Academy series. The writing of Olivia Pharos leaves the reader anxiously waiting the conclusion to Wen's struggles.

Her slow-burn reluctant love interest Godrick "God-awful" is a sexy and cunning influence on Wen. He is invested in developing Wen's skills, and despite his obligations, will do anything to keep her alive and within his grasps.

As a new to audiobook listener, I can't wait to hear how the rest of the story unfolds!

This narrator really does keep you focused and interested! The story itself was intriguing and well written. I’m running off to find the next book.

Thank you Netgalley for this audiobook!

I liked this way more than I expected! This 100% has Zodiac Academy vibes but focuses more on Angels & Demons living in a post apocalyptical world. I Really hope I get to listen to book 2 soon!

In the backdrop of a post apocalyptic world, Wen, a servant to a demon, has an unusual ability to steal essence from an angel, which people use like a drug. Selling the essence - with a goal to raise enough money to buy out her and her best friend Sarah’s indentures - eventually gets her in trouble with the big bad law angels, the insanely hot Godric being one of them (actually a nephilim). Wen is expecting to be punished but instead is enrolled in the celestial academy where her cohort includes demons, archangels, and other mythical creatures. With wen’s unique powers, Godric the hot daddy angel is tasked with figuring out WHAT she is… besides an abomination.

This is your typical enemies to lovers, sassy (obnoxious) FMC, fantasy story. The idea seemed cool but unfortunately there was a lot I didn’t like. The relationships made little sense, people just hate each other instantly for no reason (or love in Sarah’s case… seriously what’s special about her). The love interests interactions were dry and the only reason you knew they liked each other is from them thirsting for each other at the weirdest times. I just knew early on this wasn’t for me and I started getting really lost about 70% in. The trials dragged out with very little action and lots of long unnecessary dialogue. Will not be continuing the series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance listener’s copy of the audiobook.

3.5 🌟

While I enjoyed the overall plot, there were a few areas where the story could use some improvement. It felt unnecessarily long in some parts and the distribution of time throughout the story felt bizarre. Some days spanned several chapters while literal weeks would go by in a single line. The world building wasn’t my favourite, and the information dumps could have been handled better.

Wen goes on some intense internal monologues that feel unnecessary, and she’s overly snarky. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good sass queen, but some of her quips had me cringing.

Everyone’s obsession with Sarah was also mind boggling. She’s as useful as a rock and contributes nothing to the story. She’s the equivalent of Elain from ACOTAR. I said what I said. Her only personality trait is that everyone thinks she’s nice (but nothing she does is actually mentioned in the story?)

Notes on the narration: I wish this were a duet, in the newer style where male characters are narrated by a man and female characters are narrated by a woman.

Format: Audiobook ALC thanks to NetGalley and the publisher-all opinions and thoughts are my own.

This is for the people looking who love Paranormal, Academia dark romance! The beginning takes a little to get going but once it does, it’s very fast paced and a lot of action. I enjoyed the main character’s snarky attitude and dark humor but can see where some people mind find her off putting at first. Keep reading though!

The tension between Wen and Godric was so fun to read and I enjoyed the friendship between Wen and her best friend.

Some of the Tropes:
- Forced Proximity
- Enemies to Lovers
- Greek Mythology
- Paranormal Romance
- Morally grey characters
- Slow burn
- Hidden powers
- Academy
- Angels and Demons
- Friendship/found family
- Amazing banter
- Training sessions with MMC
- Trials

The narrator does a great job with each character but I did struggle at times remembering/understanding the hierarchy of supernatural beings with the audiobook-it was a lot to take in at first. But otherwise, the audio performance was very well done!

I love a good academy book, which this was.
The FMCs feistiness and sarcasm was a bit annoying in the beginning. She was a bit too much but I feel like she toned down a little throughout the book or I just got used to her.
The story felt new, fresh and fun! A lot of mystery and a super slow burn.
I would classify this as romantic fantasy so far but I think it will turn in to fantasy romance.

I absolutely loved this book. It started a little slow for me, but it worked out. The relationship between When and Sar threw me for a bit. I didn't understand the root of the devotion to her friend. I liked the constant questions from FMC and the balance of characters.