“Academy of Villains” by Ever King is an action-packed fantasy with a tyrannical king and an academy of mages who can’t be trusted. In this enemies-to-lovers story, a prince and an assassin join together and use their schooling at the academy to try and break a curse that threatens the kingdom and its people or to risk perishing like those before them who attempted to end the curse.

Events in the story happen quickly, making this a fast and easy read. When a lot is happening, it doesn’t take long to become intrigued by the characters and plot and to invest time in figuring out what will happen next. Readers who enjoy Greek mythology will enjoy references to objects, gods and the like from the popular myths. However, if a reader isn’t familiar with these references, it won’t hinder their understanding. The author does an amazing job of briefly explaining the significance so the reader can keep up with what’s happening.

Even the academy is quite an intriguing setting. Some aspects are reminiscent of Harry Potter as there is a sorting ceremony and a class on absurd creatures where some students end up dead or missing. There’s also a gothic feel to the academy with its architecture which makes it feel cool and distant but homely at the same time. Each student having a grimoire of their own is a fascinating concept because only the mage the book belongs to can see the spells it contains. This makes the magic aspect more intense because other students can’t guess or predict which spells will be used against them, making the use of their own magic in defence tougher.

As for the enemies-to-lovers aspect, it’s mostly one-sided as the other feels a pull right from the beginning. Still, it takes a while for the characters to warm up to one another and earn their trust, creating a nice slow-burn romance with lots of tense moments. There’s one moment in the book where I feel the character caved too easily when I would’ve liked a bit more resistance or something to explain that character’s change in emotion. I still enjoyed the romance aspect and loved to see the two characters bantering and trying to one-up one another.

While the plot is strong and the characters are interesting enough to follow along, there are places where the story is undeveloped. I would’ve liked to see more world-building regarding those who aren’t mages. The way they live (quite poorly) is hidden from mages and their quality of life is due to the King, but it’s never explained how the King benefits from it. And Kiara is affected deeply by it, even fueled by it, but it’s not brought up often enough in the story to understand why. It’s connected to her background as an assassin, but even then, only snippets of that past are revealed so it’s hard to form a connection with her. Even the prince’s background isn’t reflected on much, so his relationship with the King isn’t clear and his opinion about someday ruling is rarely touched on despite it being a big responsibility that would place a lot of pressure on him. I would’ve liked to learn more about the secondary characters too. They’re so interesting but hardly anything is revealed about them.

There are other places where the book feels underdeveloped or questions are left unanswered and it makes the book feel less tangible and real because of that. Yet, it’s an enjoyable read and other aspects made it worth continuing. Some readers are okay to overlook places that need to be fleshed out a bit more and still get into the story itself, but other readers who are unable to suspend their belief may find this a tougher read to get through.

Overall, the story has a lot of potential, and the author has an amazing idea worth pursuing. It will be interesting to see what happens in the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ever King for providing me with an arc and giving me the opportunity to share my honest opinion in this review. “Academy of Villains” by Ever King is out now and available to purchase and read.

This book gave me such Harry Potter vibes but with more ruthlessness! What interested me in reading the arc for this was the description and thought it was right up my alley.
There were some pacing problems throughout but it was an enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to the next!

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

FINALLY!!! This is exactly the kind of novel I've been wanting to read and let me tell you. EVER KING DELIEVERD, assassins, magic, romance & cursed kingdoms likeee what more do you need?!?!

✨Ok let's talk about; female assassin has one goal in mind: kill the prince, and break the curse, but that doesn't go as planned. When she soon discovers the very thing, she despises him for is also within her as well, now she must go undercover at the academy and retrieve the mission from within but that’s not going to be so easy, when you have the prince and the entire academy watching your every move. Oh, and let’s not forget the bantering and chemistry along the way. She says she despises him but can’t help being attracted to him...hmmm wonder why?

✨ What to expect: Enemies to lovers, Villan gets the girl, Greek mythology retelling, secret societies, “I came to kill you but fell in love” & epic fight scenes. Spice level: intense making out, closed-door

✨Only problem: I didn’t like how fast she became so OP, I wanted more development, but other than that I LOVED the characters both MMC & FMC are such bosses and their CHEMISTRY OH MY GOSH you must read if you enjoy; magic academia, forbidden love & incredible story building

✨As always thank you to Ever King and Netgalley for this ARC stay blessed everyone 😊🙏

This book was so fun! I flew through it in a couple of days because of how entertaining it is. I love the enemies-to-lovers trope and this author did it so well. I genuinely felt the connection between them. This combined with a dark academia makes it an intriguing read and I am definitely excited for the next book.

My only complaint is that I found the story a bit predictable in a way and knew where it was going to lead. I also found that the pacing was slow at times.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book.

I absolutely adored The start to this series. For a book about villains, the characters sure did win me over.

our main character starts off with a mission to assassinate the prince but somehow ends up enrolling in a magical academy and finds out that she has magic. A super rare one at that too.

Fast forward to our main character and her target, the prince, have to team up to and The curse that is plaguing the kingdom.

Needless to say, I will be eating up the rest of this series please and thank you. I have no idea what is going to happen next, but I cannot wait to find out.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this for a review.

Unfortunately, I couldn't connect with this story or the writing. I had a hard time getting invested in the characters and their relationships.

I also feel like this book is better suited for a younger audience, which makes sense given its YA classification. The story has some interesting parts, but not enough (for me) to keep on reading.

"Academy of Villains" scratches that dark academia itch in all the right ways, though it definitely leans more academia than dark. Following Kiara, an assassin who discovers she has the very magic she despises, this book delivers a fun twist on the magical school trope with some seriously swoony enemies-to-lovers action. The magic system is genuinely unique - I'm particularly obsessed with how the grimoires work and the whole starmage versus shadowmage dynamic. Plus, any book that manages to make me actually care about side characters deserves extra points.

That said, while the pacing keeps you turning pages, it sometimes feels like it's rushing through moments that deserve more time to breathe (like, hello, I wanted more of those trials!). And though some readers might find the plot twists predictable, I was having too much fun with Kiara and Lucian's banter to really mind. If you're in the mood for a fantasy that blends Greek mythology with Slytherin energy and a dash of romance, you'll definitely want to pick this one up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ever King for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Academy of Villains” by Ever King, published in late 2024, is a dark academia fantasy romance that intertwines Greek mythology with a modern magical academy setting. The narrative centers on Kiara, a formidable assassin from the Nameless, who infiltrates the Academy of Magic with a mission to eliminate Prince Lucian and break a lingering curse on the kingdom. Unexpectedly, Kiara discovers her own latent magical abilities, identifying as a Starmage—a lineage believed to be extinct. This revelation complicates her mission and entangles her fate with that of Lucian, a Shadowmage and the very target she was sent to eliminate.

The novel draws inspiration from the Greek mythological figures Nyx and Erebus, infusing their story into the characters’ development and the overarching plot. The academy setting is richly depicted, featuring secret societies, perilous trials, and a sentient environment that adds depth to the world-building. The magic system, centered around grimoires and elemental powers, is both innovative and integral to the plot’s progression.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC opportunity for this book in exchange for an honest review.

I gave this book. 3.5 ⭐

I think it was a good premise, face paced with the added romance with inspired by mythology.

I do love a fast paced book and when the action moved quickly. At times I felt a tad too quickly meaning I couldn't engage as much as I would have liked with the characters but an enjoyable book overall!

Would definitely read another book by Ever King!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ever King for providing me with an advanced reader copy of Academy of Villains in exchange for an honest review!

I made it through 87% of this book but ultimately did not finish. The opening was engaging and set up a promising dark academia fantasy with a unique twist. Kiara’s infiltration of the academy and her discovery of hidden magic was compelling, and the initial world-building drew me in. However, as the story progressed, it felt like it lost momentum. The romance between Kiara and Prince Lucian, which should have been central near the end, didn’t fully capture my interest.

The writing had moments of brilliance but was occasionally choppy, which disrupted the flow. While the description hinted at a rich blend of academia, assassins, and Greek mythology, the execution felt scattered. The Greek mythology elements were minimal—leaving the title and premise somewhat misleading. The story had potential but needed more cohesion to tie its many intriguing ideas together.

Overall, Academy of Villains is an enjoyable read with a strong start but falls short in delivering a fully developed narrative. Fans of dark academia and morally gray characters may still find it worth exploring!

This was an incredible read! It was really really fast paced, and I loved the slow burn element that was present even though the plot was fast and easy to keep up with! I loved how it was almost love at first sight 😏 for him! I love the academia vibes, and thought the author wrote this really well!

This is a book i definitely will be reading again soon, so I can really absorb it all!

*Academy of Villains* by Ever King is a super gripping read! It takes you to a mysterious academy full of dark secrets and characters who are a little morally questionable, which makes everything feel intense and exciting. The romance adds a nice twist, and the characters are all so interesting—you're constantly rooting for them (even when they’re a bit bad). It’s one of those books that keeps you hooked with its mix of suspense and drama. If you like stories with a darker edge and complicated characters, this one’s definitely worth picking up!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this for a review.

Unfortunately, I didn't feel this story or writing was for me. I felt the plot was a bit too fast paced for my liking, and as a result I struggled to get invested in the characters and their relationships.

I also think this book is better geared to a younger audience, hence the YA description. As a twenty something year old, this story read too young for me (which is on me for not researching properly). Perhaps the fast pace is better suited for this younger audience.

Thanks again to the author and I wish you all the best with everything.

First thank you to Netgalley and the author for a free copy of this book. I have only a few complaints about the book. Things were sometimes repetitive, especially when it came to the inner dialogue. I also would have liked it if the relationship built up slowly. Everything happened so fast, and all of a sudden, they were in love. I would have liked it to have built up into the second book. Despite all that, I absolutely loved this book. It was a fun read and I couldn't put the book down. I can't wait to finish this story because I need to know what happens next.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7328159834

Academy of Villans is a great start to what promises to be a thrilling series. I loved the world building and suspense. Kiara a former assassin enters a dark magic academy with the mission to kill Prince Lucian. Can’t wait to see where this all goes!

Thank you to Ever King and NetGalley for an eARC of Academy of Villains!

"Curse or no curse, I'll burn the whole world down before I let her fall."

3/5 Stars

The premise of this book is really interesting - while it took a different turn than I thought it would, I still thought the book was an enjoyable read and. I would be interested to read more in the series. I felt like this book was a combination of so many other popular fantasy books. There was a bit of Throne of Glass, a bit of Harry Potter, and ever some Blood and Ash in there, too. While the parallels were there, this book had it's own unique spin.

I enjoyed the concept of secret societies and the scavenger hunt for secret symbols - I wish this had been expanded upon a bit more. We were only really introduced to one secret society but early in the book it seemed like the secret societies were going to play a bigger part in the story.

I enjoyed the cast of characters - particularly Lucian's friends. They provided some intrigue and comedic relief and I am interested to hear more about their story later in the series. While Kiara makes a couple friends the relationships don't seem that close and the friendships she does have seem a bit contentious. I hope this gets built out a bit more as the series develops because otherwise her stay at the academy will be pretty lonely.

I like the enemies to lovers concept for the love story, but I felt like the couple was enemies and all of a sudden they fell for each other. I didn't think there were enough scenes where the couple actually got along or got to know each other before they turned into lovers.

The ending of the book left quite a few plot points open so I am interested to see where this leads in future installments.

Overall, I think the pacing of the book could use some work and the world building for the series should have been spread over a few more books. Despite that, this series has potential and I definitely want to see what Ever King has in store for us with the second book!

Really fun and great concept to it, pacing was a bit weird but overall enjoyed this one!! Excited for the other books!!

I’ll admit, it took me some time to get into Academy of Villains, but once I did I was hooked!
It gives you enemies to lovers, one bed, found family, magic academy, shadow daddy, dark curse, magic trials, fated mates, and unknown/hidden magic!
There is just so much to enjoy and I really liked the characters. I love that Kiara’s development was slow and that they didn't become lovers right away. I loved that she still had doubts and I love that Lucian understood that and stayed by her side anyways and let her make choices.
The world sounds incredible that they are in and it sounds like book 2 will give us even more of a look at the world building!
Academy of Villains is pretty fast paced, there is a lot that happens, but it doesn’t skimp out on anything you need to understand and enjoy the story!

This was a mess. The world building was all over the place. It’s clear the author has a whole lot of ideas but all of them were poorly executed. It felt more like a first draft than a locked and loaded book. There were so many times where I was wondering my if I’d hallucinated while reading. Some prime examples: girl cuts her hand and opens a secret passage; she explains the whole thing to the guy and how she cut her hand; in the next chapter they’re in the secret passage and she’s like woah I know this place and he’s like how and she says “long story”. I’m sorry but you literally just explained this to him. Girl is an assassin sent to kill the prince. She decides to go to the greenhouse to get some poisons and asks the greenhouse attendant to show her poisonous plants and describe how they work. She’d be identified as the assassin in two seconds. It was almost like there was a checklist of things and tropes the author wanted to have in the book and the list got longer as the book was being written. The only reason I’m giving it two stars over one is because I want to find out how the curse gets broken and there were a whole lot of ideas here (too many) even if they were poorly executed.

Enemies to lovers, academia and trials. This fantasy had everything needed to grab the readers attention! The mmc controls shadows and is a broody, mysterious prince. The fmc is an assassin who finds out she has magic when she’s on a mission to kill the prince.

I was obsessed with this book! I couldn’t put it down. The story was fast paced with the characters dealing with trying to overcome a curse.

I liked how the magic system and how they had grimories to access their magic which grew alongside their abilities. Plus the story had hot guys, secret societies and mysteries to uncover.

I’m curious to see how the story unfolded.