An Arcane Inheritance

De: Kamilah Cole

Narrado por: Joy Sunday

A modern-day dark academia fantasy with a twist, perfect for fans of Babel and A Deadly Education.
Warren University has stood amongst the ivy elite for centuries, built on the bones—and forbidden magic—of its most prized BIPOC students…hiding the rot of a secret society that will do anything to keep their own powers burning bright. No matter who they must sacrifice along the way.
Ellory Morgan is determined to prove that she belongs at Warren University, an ivy league school whose history is deeply linked to occult rumors and dark secrets. But as she settles into her Freshman year, something about the ornate buildings and shadowy paths feels strangely…familiar. And, with every passing day, that sense of déjà vu grows increasingly sinister.
Despite all logic, despite all reason, despite all the rules of reality, Ellory knows one thing to be true: she has been here before. And if she can’t convince brooding legacy student Hudson Graves to help her remember a past that seems determined to slip through her fingers as if by some insidious magic…this time, she may lose herself for good.
"Draws readers into its spell before asking readers to consider who pays the true price of power—and what it means to refuse to let the powerful win." — Laura R. Samotin, author of The Sins on Their Bones

WOW

For those that are looking for great fantasy/magical book that doesn't drag out a plot for multiple books THIS IS FOR YOU just as it was for me! I enjoyed the journey in this book from the begining to the end, through & through.

Dark Academia

🎧 I loved this audiobook! It is a single narrator, but she NAILED this role and really put the work in to make this book more than just words on paper. Kamilah wrote a wonderful story, and Joy Sunday executed the storytelling perfectly.

📖 This is a dark academia fantasy (with thriller/horror aspects) following Ellory, a freshman at Warren University, an Ivy League institution built on bones, secrets, and forbidden magic. The story starts with a slow burn, carefully setting the atmosphere before exploding into twists, magic, mystery, and even a bit of romance. I really enjoyed the dark academia vibes and the magic system, especially as the stakes continued to rise. And while the pacing felt slow until about the 50% mark, once everything shifted, I couldn’t put it down. The high stakes paired with softer touches of romance made the story even more compelling, in my opinion!

One of the strongest elements of this book is its BIPOC representation. Kamilah thoughtfully weaves in themes of racism and microaggressions, offering an honest look at Ellory’s experience as a Black woman navigating a PWI, which adds a certain depth and realism to the story that is hard to come by.

Overall, this is a unique dark academia read with diverse representation and an epic payoff. If you enjoy authors like RF Kuang and Rebecca Ross, this one should definitely be on your radar!

An Arcane Inheritance

This one was 4.5 stars rounded to 5 for me!

An Arcane Inheritance follows first generation Jamaican Immigrant college student Ellory Morgan as she attends her first year at Warren University. Warren University is an elite ivy league school that was built on bones of forbidden magic of BIPOC students and has a secret society that will do anything for their own power.

Ellory continues to get feelings of deja vu as her school year progresses. I kept thinking I knew what was the plot twist or the key as I was reading, but boy was I surprised at the end. I found wanting to keep reading because I wanted to know so badly what was going on.

I found the prose written by Kamilah to be so fascinating and descriptive. I really loved the pacing of the writing itself. I found myself being really immersed in the imagery.

The romance in the story was pretty interesting to me in the context of the overarching plot of the book. I also loved that the book was queer normative. Both the FMC and MMC are bisexual (or at least hints at that) as well as there being other queer side characters.

Cole's novel shows all the different sides of academia, the good, the bad, and the ugly in such a unique way. I definitely recommend it as a unique fantasy dark academia novel and as a thought provoking read!

I listened to the audiobook and loved Joy Sunday's narration. Sunday did a fantastic job narrating the all the different characters. The narration helped keep me immersed in the story and wanted to keep on listening!

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the eARC to review! This review reflects my own opinion.

Irrationally triggered by Li-Berry.

Otherwise this is a great story and great performance. Interesting dark academia with good acting.

Turtle slow

I stayed with this book hoping I’d get a reward at the end . It was kinda cute but it DRAAGGSSSS