Celestial Academy :Essence by Olivia Pharos was thrilling, exciting and fast paced.
set In a dystopian setting where Heaven and Hell are literally on earth where we follow Wen White an interesting character that is supposed to be a lesser being until she is captured commiting a crime that is supposed to be inpossible to commit. and instead of her death that she thinks is imminent she is sent to Celestial Academy. I am looking forward to finding out where this series goes in the future and will be purchasing this for my self as well. I would like to thank Netgalley and Olivia Pharos for the opportunity to read this engaging read.

Olivia Pharos’ Celestial Academy: Essence is a fantastic action packed story, following hilarious and lovable characters. The writing style is excellent, with descriptive and exciting prose that brings this unique world to life. The characters share such laugh-out-loud banter, balanced with some tension of various sorts. I thought the spice to relationship building was a little out of balance for me, I wanted a bit more connection before the spice - totally a personal preference! The narration was casual and youthful, an excellent match for Wen’s personality.

This was such an enjoyable listen that I just couldn’t pause. I finished it in under 24 hours! I’d recommend this book to any romantasy reader in the mood for a light and funny read. But be warned, you WILL find yourself leashed to these characters and consumed by the blackhole that is the Celestial Academy Afterworld Series!

Wen is a drug dealer in a post-apocalyptic world. When she gets caught by an Angel and taken to celestial court she fears her life and that of her friend, Sarah is over. But she is instead sentenced to attend the Celestial Academy?!

This book is (in my opinion) a better world-building version of Fourth Wing. It has all the tension and angst of Mortal Instruments.

This book was giving!

Tempted to clear my tbr just to read the next book!

Celestial Academy: Essence by Olivia Pharos was a great story that followed Wen, a drug dealer who is caught dealing Angelescence by Godric and taken to Celestial Court. She is enrolled in the Celestial Academy and Godric is set to train her.

This story takes place in the Afterworld, a post-apocalyptic world where angels, archangels and demons exist on Earth. It combines wit, violence, chaos and romantic tension between two characters.

I enjoyed this audiobook and look forward to the next installment in the Afterworld series. Thank you NetGalley, the Publisher and Olivia Pharos for the advanced listener copy.

"Celestial Academy: Essence" introduces us to Wen, a demon-owned human navigating a post-apocalyptic world dominated by demons and angels. Her life takes a dramatic turn when a botched deal lands her in Celestial Academy, where she's mentored by two arch-angels and develops a complex, love-hate relationship with the enigmatic Godric. The dynamic between Wen and Godric, coupled with Wen's budding friendship with Sarah, another demon-owned human, forms the heart of the story.

The narration by Amanda Leigh Cobb adds depth to the characters, making their struggles and growth engaging to follow. Though the plot can get intricate and occasionally confusing, the audiobook format makes it easy to revisit and catch up. With its cliffhanger ending, "Celestial Academy: Essence" promises a compelling start to a series with intriguing world-building and character development. Fans of supernatural academies and slow-burn romances will find much to enjoy here.

It was a funny audiobook to some parts but not my kind of book when it comes to fantasy.
The FMC has a funny way of storytelling, nonetheless sometimes it gets me confused. Maybe if I it wasn’t in audiobook I could follow better. I don’t know.
The MMC has a good introduction and I found the character really interesting.
Their relationship reminds me a lot of Violet and Xaden from fourth wing.
3 stars and a huge thank you for the opportunity to listen to it!!!

The book took a little while to get into at the start but the training scenes with the FMC and MMC kept me wanting to listen. However, I do think this book had almost a little bit too much happening. It also seems strange that Wen is super special but so Sarah is also special but we find out very little in this book. And what we do find out is rather confusing. From an audiobook standpoint it was hard at times to know who was speaking in terms of the roommates as they sounded similar. I think reading the actual words might have made the book less confusing overall..

It also felt like a Zodiac Academy and Crescent City mashup so that could be why it felt a little overloaded. I did however, very much enjoy the tension between the 2 main characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ALC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Our FMC is conscripted to the Celestial Academy for her crimes, whilst carrying out her sentence she is assigned to Heavens most ruthless soldier and assassin. They hate each other and their forced proximity and yet they have cravings. Cravings they can't act upon as not only is it forbidden but it could lead to disaster for everybody.

The first chapter captivated me and I was taken on a journey with incredibly high stakes, an enemies to lovers trope, life or death trials, a moody soldier and a sassy female MC to go with it! I really enjoyed the characters and their interactions, not only in a one on one setting but also as a collective. The world building was easy to follow and I didn't feel like information was being thrown at me. There are many fantastical elements in this story, it makes me want to read the next instalment ASAP!

The narration of this was enjoyable. It really set the book for me. I was able to visualise and see what was being described throughout the book.

If you are a Fantasy lover you are going to want to pick this up.

An amazing story. Had no idea where it was going to go the whole time. Kept me intrigued and wanting more. I can’t wait to read the rest of the story. I want to know what happens. I was definitely living in the world. The narrator also did an amazing job. I would have to say one of my favorite.

4 Stars

What a unique take on fantasy! This book is Hunger Games meets Supernatural. I love how this author was able to take Angels and Demons and build a whole fantasy world around them. Throw in a hard headed human girl and you have the magic of this book. It was so creative and engaging. there is tons of action that keeps you on your toes. I am not a huge fan of Bully romance but it didn't make me want to stop reading. Overall a solid book with great narrators.

Thank you to NetGalley and Olivia Pharos for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

I requested this title based on reviews saying it had similar vibes to Zodiac Academy and Mortal Instruments. I have not read either of those complete series, but based on the TV/Movie adaptions of Mortal Instruments, I would say that would definitely be a good comparison. A human girl learning that there is more to her than meets the eye and lusting after the MMC - that definitely sounds similar but with different spins and story lines. Seriously, I'm a sucker for this type of story. Add it to a post-apocalyptic world and I'm totally in.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The narrator, Amanda Leigh Cobb, did a phenomenal job. She portrayed Wen in a way that made her relatable. I love how she changes accents depending on the character. This story is perfect for an audiobook, but some of the world-building details did get lost on me. I think I would have to reread it in the physical copy a couple of times for me to completely follow.

There were quite a few twists that I did not see coming. I am excited to continue reading/listening to this series to find out what happens next.

I don’t often listen to audiobooks so this was definitely a change of pace especially given that it takes in a fantasy world. But boy did this make me want to listen to more audiobooks now. Something about the narrator had me completely mesmerized and hooked to the story that I had literally finished it in less than a day. I sat from start to finish just listening to the book filled with amazing action and romance- politics and found family. A mix of everything with a complete turn within the fantasy genre I don’t typically encounter. A GREAT read🫶🫶

I love the nostalgia this book garnered for me!
The ‘Mortal Instruments’ meets ‘Lucifer’ feel, was really captivating as the author managed to keep the book still really unique.
"Celestial Academy: Essence" is a captivating journey into a richly imagined world of magic, mystery, and self-discovery. The author's descriptive writing style manages to vividly brings to life the enchanting setting and the intriguing characters in this story. The protagonist's journey is both thrilling and heartfelt, filled with twists that kept me eagerly turning the pages.
The author masterfully balances action with moments of introspection, creating a narrative that is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining. While some pacing issues occasionally arose, the overall experience of reading this book was highly engaging and satisfying for me!
This book is a definite must-read for fans of fantasy!

This book was pretty good, I would definitely recommend

~This was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

While I didn't care for the audio as much as I thought, I really enjoyed this story. I can't wait to continue the series.

Wen and Sara are enslaved by demons in a post apocalyptic world where heaven and hell literally inhabit the earth. Wen will doing anything to get the money to buy their freedom. But perhaps Wen has gone too far as her latest exploits have them both sent to Celestial Academy where they can both lose their lives. Is her mentor Goderick there to help or hurt? Only time will tell.

This enemies to lovers new adult Academy romance was so much fun. Wen is quick with the mouth and her comments had giggling out loud . I love the names she has for Goderick. The world building was unique yet easy to follow. The narration was very good and added to the enjoyment of listening to the audiobook. I highly recommend this one to fantasy lovers.

I was really excited for this one because it was compared to one of my fav series....

It was decent. I was entertained but it was a little amateurish in spots. I actually think maybe it was more an editing thing rather than the fault of the author. It was well worth the read though and I am searching for book 2.

The characters were great and I thought the storyline was fun. It just didn't feel 100% cohesive in spots. It is an indie author and had I known that going on, I might have had a different mindset but having said that, it still stood up well to someone who can be super hard on fantasy books.

4 stars well done

This was an entertaining listen from start to finish. I'm excited for the next in the series! The characters are charming in the most disastrously wicked way. The whole vibe was giving very much Helluva Boss and I'm here for it. I loved the play on angels, the "apocalypse", demons and the true face of evil. I highly recommend this book, if you're not a delicate soul.

Very, VERY boring! I requested this book because of the comparison to Zodiac Academy which I thought was so silly it ended up being super entertaining. Here, it was just boring. Things happened but I couldn't have cared less for the characters and what happened to them. I pushed myself to finish the audiobook but I definitely won't be reading the sequel. 1.5 stars

Thank you Independent Book Publishers Association and NetGalley for allowing me to receive this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

The premise of this was really interesting to me and I was excited to listen to it but the way it panned out was not my favorite. I feel like it got so confusing at times that I just lost interesting in reading it. It could have been better if the way the book was presented was better.