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

Kind of dissapointing

3/5 star
0/5 spice

4/5 audio

I’m actually really sad about this rating. My wonderful library recommended me this title over a month before it released and I was desperate to get my hands on it. Then the world flipped upside down and I discovered Heated Rivalry (still before this book released). Since my brain was fully and completely occupied with everything HR and I was very much so in a ‘slump’ in every regard outside of HR (especially with books), I waited to read An Arcane Inheritance. I wanted to get back to a more normal spot before diving into this one because I wanted to really love it. Once I had finally found things (especially books) that I actually enjoyed again (that wasn’t just HR), I thought it was time to give this book a go.

Some of my favorite books of all time are dark academia, but I also find that I can be quite picky about my dark academia. I liked the premise and the main character, and I think the book tackles a lot of good topics but the magic plot itself was lacking for me. I found it very disjointed, meandering and I know that you are supposed to be confused throughout, but I found myself just being annoyed that I was so confused.

I also kept getting distracted by the name ‘Hudson’ because I have very rarely in my life come across someone in media or in real life named ‘Hudson’ until of course Heated Rivalry and so every time his name was on the page my brain couldn’t help but get distracted and think about Hudson Williams, which was unfair to this book and the character of Hudson Graves. Although I will say, I did not particularly like the male characters in this novel, and the MMC never worked for me. He was supposed to be mysterious and a bit broody and someone that you love to hate and hate to love, but I just found him quite bland and a bit annoying since he was often a part of the confusion.

Unfortunately this one just didn’t work like I wanted it to, but I’ll certainly keep an eye out for this authors future work!

Loved the world building.

If you are curious about the dark academia genre and wondering which book to start with, try this one. An Arcane Inheritance slowly introduces you to this world of secret society and the paranormal.
I like my dark academia stories extra dark, but I love Kamilah Cole's creative world building and her writing style, so I enjoyed this escape from reality.

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!

Overall not too bad

The book took quite a turn at the end that I wasn’t expecting and then it seemed like the book abruptly ended. I could have had like a longer epilogue or even more of the climax / final showdown scene. It was all over in like a blink of an eye.