An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole Published by Sourcebooks on December 30, 2025
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Cozy / Paranormal
Pages: 432
Format: ARC
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.
An Arcane Inheritance truly snuck up on me. Before I knew it, I was drawn into the world that Kamilah Cole created and in tears by the end! I definitely am adding all of Cole’s other books to my TBR.
The beginning moments of Ellory having deja vu moments were subtle but interesting enough to keep reading. I loved that I truly got to know who Ellory was as a character before getting bogged down in all the magic and fantasy elements. I love a good dark academia novel, but seeing one from the perspective of a Black Woman was more fascinating and made me rethink my own privileges. Ellory’s being from Jamaica and having her parents send her to her aunt in America to have a better education and life was another layer of separation from her peers at Warren. She was already so many steps behind but was so goddamn determined to make it all work.
I loved my precious little, grumpy, baby Hudson Graves! Seeing him and Ellory team up to figure out what was going on was so interesting, plus their banter was chef’s kiss! Although I was totally bawling at the end and just wanted to wrap both Ellory and Hudson in a little blanket and give them forehead kisses.
The world building and magic in place was such a masterpiece. It was giving Ninth House vibes (but handling all the racism and white privilege much, much better) with all the magic and paranormal aspects. I absolutely love a magic system that has limits or rules in place. With this one, any magic performed means a memory has to be sacrificed to power it. It reminds me of a book I read An Unkindness of Magicians where any magic performed also needed a sacrifice (I really want to re-read this book because I read it during grad school and that was a busy time).
The ending and the mystery revealed was actually a surprise for me. I don’t want to give any spoilers, so I’m not going to say what I thought it was going to be, however, wow! I was not expecting that reveal, I tip my hat to you Kamilah Cole!
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