An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole
Blurb:
A modern-day dark academia fantasy with a twist, praised by the The New York Times and 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.
Review:
“The color brown has been associated with so many things that people would never call beautiful: Dirt. Mud. Shit. But we’re copper and amber, tiger’s eye and smoky quartz. We’re tawny and sepia, umber and russet. We’re forest wood and fresh soil, warm coffee and sweet gingerbread, a spill of ink, a starless sky, a damn good glass of brandy. A person who sees that sees you.”
-Kamilah Cole, An Arcane Inheritance
The prestigious Ivy League college called Warren University has stood among the elite for as long as people can remember, built on the sweat, tears, hard work, bone, and forbidden magic of its most prized BIPOC students. Concealing the rot of a secret society determined to control all of their students alongside the world around them, the danger to those who are unprepared to face them is steep. Ellory Morgan is one of such people.
A freshman student at Warren University and working on behalf of a grant that pays for her education, Ellory Morgan is determined to avoid causing a stir and losing access to what she believes is her ticket to a comfortable life. Living on the campus of a school steeped in rumors of the occult and dark secrets, however, makes keeping her mind on her schoolwork incredibly difficult.
As Ellory settles into her first year, she begins having visions and transportive experiences that seem almost familiar, despite having never experienced those things before. With every passing day and every mystery she uncovers, her sense of de ja vu shifts from intriguing to painful to downright dangerous.
Even though it doesn’t make sense, and she cannot prove it, Ellory knows she’s experienced her life at Warren University before, and she’s determined to prove it. And if that means relying on her academic rival, the cold and ruthless yet arresting and alluring Hudson Graves, she’s willing to take that risk. But working with Hudson requires convincing him to help her remember a past that keeps slipping between her fingers, stolen from her by who she believes is someone (or something) else. If she doesn’t get her memories back, she fears she’ll lose herself for good.
Oh my gosh. I always regret not picking up one of Cole’s books sooner than I do, because they’re (a) amazing, and (b) each book she publishes is somehow a dozen times better than the last. I first dove into Kamilah Cole’s publications after finding and befriending her on Twitter (or X) and seeing the notifications for her original book deal for So Let Them Burn, the first book in the Divine Traitors duology. After devouring that book within an abysmal amount of time, I couldn’t put down her books any longer.
Cole has a supreme talent for writing authentic narratives that weep hard topics many authors avoid, but which she homes in on. Reading one of her books is diving into a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I know I won’t soon forget. An Arcane Inheritance is no different in that it’s immersive, dark, and full of so much intrigue that it’s nearly impossible to put down.
Every time I read some of this novel, I had a hard time stepping away from it. Which is probably why I stayed up until one in the morning my time to finish my readthrough of the book. Refreshing, candid, and brutal, An Arcane Inheritance is unlike anything I’ve ever read.
Fierce female protagonists seem to be Cole’s trademark, yet each of her main characters are so viscerally different that I can tell she spends a lot of time perfecting her skillset in authentic characterization. Especially in Ellory’s case, I loved and related and understood her in ways that made me even more invested in her story. Although I am as white as the moon, I did relate a lot with the fact of being raised in a low-income household and needing to claw my way to accolades in society (especially in regard to education and the publishing world).
Other aspects I loved about An Arcane Inheritance especially involved the world and setting of Warren University. The entire college is painted in a vague style that I wouldn’t usually enjoy for not being able to picture everything around the characters, but this stylistic choice works so well for this narrative. Both because it lends itself to the uncertain, wary conflicts the characters face as well as the twists that pounce on readers throughout the novel.
Honestly, I could go on and on about Kamilah Cole’s work and what I love about it. The easiest way to put my opinion? Read her work. You won’t regret it.
