Malachite by Ashley Andersen – Book Review
Book Details
Malachite by Ashley Andersen
Series: Valmora Academy #1
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Kindle Edition
Published by: Moa Press on April 28, 2026
Goodreads rating: 4.19/5
My rating: 5/5
Malachite. Opal. Agate.
Three stones, three powers, three magical units.
Choose your unit … and hope that it chooses you back.
Malachite is the start of a dark academia romantasy series that gives you enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn, elemental powers, forced proximity, found family and the perfect amount of spice…
Blurb
Arianell Nocthare has been waiting her whole life to enter the prestigious Valmora Academy, where students prepare for war by honing their elemental magic in one of three units. But there are two problems facing Aria on the night of her initiation ceremony. Firstly, her family has been cast into disgrace after her brother was executed for allegedly killing four students in an attempt at dark magic. Secondly, so far Aria has been unable to summon any magic—and being magic-less in an academy where everyone wants to spill your blood is a dangerous game. How will she enter the unit of her choosing and survive without a scrap of power?
Facing blatant scorn from every angle, especially from her brother’s best friend (the tall dark and lethally handsome, Sebastian) Aria is determined to clear her brother’s name and seek justice for his death. Forging a tentative and fraught relationship with Seb, she begins to uncover some terrifying truths about the academy. And a revelation about Aria’s power throws her world into chaos…
Romantasy, dark academia, military training, slow-burn, elemental magic, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, found family, brother’s best friend.
My Review
I wasn’t planning on picking this one up straight away, but FOMO got the better of me.
This was definitely a vibes read. Did it feel original? Not particularly. Did I absolutely eat it up anyway? Heck yes! It’s packed with so many of my favourite romantasy elements and I loved every minute of it.
The story follows Arianell Nocthare as she enters Valmora Academy after the death of her brother. She’s met with scorn and hostility, including from Sebastian, the one person she believed would stand by her brother’s side. Determined to uncover the truth, she sets out to clear her brother’s name and seek justice for his death.
The book is well written and easy to read, if a little lacking in detail. The pacing felt a little bit slow at times, focusing on everyday life at the academy rather than a larger picture and because the story is set primarily within the academy, the world-building is limited. However, we do get glimpses of the wider history and how the world came to be.
I loved the dark academia vibes, the elemental magic system and one of my all-time favourite tropes: found family.
The enemies-to-lovers was also really well done. There’s plenty of tension and the push-and-pull between Aria and Sebastian never became frustrating. And the spice? So, so good.
Overall, this was a fun read. The cliffhanger ending was brutal and I have no idea where the story is headed in book 2, but I’m along for the ride.
We’re all a little ruined. It’s what makes us human.
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