Heir of Prophecy

The Clash of Prophecies #1

by Analeigh Sbrana

The first thrilling novel in a new adult romantasy duology following a young woman who finds herself the Chosen One to two conflicting prophecies—from the author of Lore of the Wilds.

Magic has always been something at the periphery of Audra’s life. As a human, she knows that magic exists, but it is something that is beyond the mist. Until one day the mist comes to shore, bringing with it the all too real Fae and upending Audra’s life entirely.

She is kidnapped from her home and taken to a school to be trained as a soldier by the Priestesses, Fae beings who are an ominous presence with a cult-like mentality. Audra must band together with a group of other prisoners to survive their new world filled with guilds, magic, and danger. The Priestesses are searching for the mythical Heir of Prophecy who will save them from an eternal winter. They know the Heir is among the student prisoners at the school and are getting more and more desperate to flush out him or her.

What Audra needs to know is what exactly it means to be the Heir... because she’s pretty sure it’s her. Her magic is wonky in exactly the way it was foretold. As she tries to hide her true nature, something strange keeps happening. A vision, a very hot and very underwordly vision comes to her. And what he has to say will put her life in even more danger and force her to make a decision that puts the fate of the entire world at risk.

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Dark Academia, Romance, Fae, Adult, Audiobook

441 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 25, 2026

Reviews

[Esta]

POV: You get kidnapped by culty Fae Priestesses, conscripted into magical war school, find out you've got magic powers, discover you might be the prophesied Heir and start having visions of a dark seductive Prince of the Underworld.

Let’s be real, Heir of Prophecy grabbed my attention because it has a demon shadow daddy with a grill who can taste emotions and I knew no matter what I’d be tickled reading this. Some things I am very easy to please with and mysterious shadow daddies are but one of those things, what can I say.

But then I soon found out how anti-colonial and anti-capitalist and anti-monarchy it was. Not to mention the gothic tones with really frikkin sinister trees and ominous castles. Was this book written specifically for me?

Not only did this entertain me, but Heir of Prophecy did something I haven’t seen done much in fae-centred fantasy romance: depicting the fae as monstrous colonisers and oppressors. I was also particularly struck by the analogies around magic and its parallels to wealth and capitalism and corrupt billionaires, in the fae realm. The social commentary and symbolism is woven into the world with a deft hand and very meaningfully, without hindering the flow of the story and that's what pushed this into five star territory for me.

Now, I do think this will come down to subjective preferences and what you personally want from your romantasy: I experienced Heir of Prophecy more as a dark academia fantasy with a romance subplot that really starts to take shape in the latter half. From the inciting incident at the beginning, I felt like the author was really taking the time to beautifully and intricately build up this cold, grand, crumbling, gothic-toned fantasy realm, particularly in the first half, with classroom scenes, lore, magical lessons and all the ominous-castle-with-its-dark-secrets worldbuilding goodness, before bringing in a splash of deadly trials to up the action in the second half. And I LOVED that. Inject that lore and unique magic system into me baby.

Not to mention the found family!

For the romance-led readers, that romance subplot will get going for you in the latter half, so you’ll have to be patient. (And yes, there is a spicy scene: 🌶 Chapter 50 I think?) I do think the sequel potentially could level up the romance to fantasy ratio, let’s see.

Either way, gimme more Audra and Zhaire, because while that ending was incredibly, incredibly satisfying and cathartic, the door has been kicked open wide for new… circumstances… in book two, and I’m seated.

Thanks so much to HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for the ARC.

[Analeigh Sbrana]

I feel so unbelievably lucky to have been given the opportunity to tell Audra and Zhaire’s story. Thank you for joining me on their journey.

[Gabriela]

It’s easy to read the premise and think, just another story with humans, fae, and the chosen one foretold by a prophecy. But hey, there’s also an underworld demon prince with his own prophecy to take the intrigue up a notch. I ran to find this book after one of my favorite romantasy authors posted that she couldn’t put this down, and I can see why. I was dialed in pretty much from the beginning, although some of my friends here on GR found this slow.

Audra, an innkeeper’s daughter, is kidnapped from the mortal world along with a group of other humans and taken to the fae world, where she is forced to enroll in a magical war academy. The fae are convinced that one of the humans is their next Heir, prophesied to end winter and bring full magical strength back to their realm.

If you’re tired of ACOTAR, and stories where the fae are revered like demi gods (and there are rumors of sympathy for colonialism), this might be more up your alley. Personally, I have a soft spot for ACOTAR and always will, but I just wanted to point out the themes here feel vastly different.

Experiencing the story from Audra’s POV, the fae are like fascist imperialists, who have no regard for the devastation created by plucking humans from their homes and families. Instead, they are condescending in their expectation that the humans should grovel in gratitude for the opportunity to compete for nobility, wealth, and essentially allegiance to this new kingdom that treats them like scum. I detect a fierce disapproval of slave raiding, trafficking, forced religion and xenophobia. Rightly so.

The aspect that really kept my interest was watching Audra’s internal conflict as she navigates trying to succeed academically (while still hating the system), hiding her unpredictable power, and her strange pull to the demon prince who keeps appearing in her dreams. While her indecision and secrecy are painful to witness at times, she’s also relatable to all those eldest daughters out there who try to handle everything on their own.

I don’t always feel the need to explain, but up until the 80% mark I was sure this would be 5⭐️’s for me. However during the last 20% the progression of events, Audra’s decision making, and the romance all felt like they went abruptly into fast forward mode (although I admit I was glued to my kindle). I also felt like the themes and feelings of the characters were hammered in a little too heavily in this last stretch, giving me the feeling that the readers weren’t trusted to reach the right conclusions. And the thing is, I was already enraged by the injustices presented, so some of the conversations felt redundant.

Overall though, I’m still completely on board with the themes in this story and dying to see what happens next. I’m excited to see more of the demon prince and his underworld, and find out what happens with the human and fae realms.

The audiobook narration by Wesleigh Siobhan and Guy Lockard was incredible, and I would bump my listening experience up to 4.5 ⭐️’s for their work. I also appreciate the authenticity of having black narrators since the MC’s are both black.

Many many thanks to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager and HarperAudio Adult for the ALC and ARC.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pre-read: a mortal is prophesied to save the fae world, so she is kidnapped by fae priestesses and forced into a magical war academy. Will she help the priestesses or be lured by the Prince of the underworld who also wants to stake a claim?

[Sophie]

DNF 23%

This is so boring. That’s it. That’s the review.

Here’s the thing: I’ve been putting this book off for months because the prologue didn’t impress me.
Now that I have read a few more chapters, I can’t say that my opinion has changed all that much, and sadly I have to agree with the lower ratings.

The pacing is way too slow, and there is a ridiculous amount of internal dialogue. It’s not every book that makes me want to start skimming barely 10% of the way in, but this one might have just set a new record. I’m bored out of my mind. Please, keep telling me everything instead of showing me…

Then there’s the fact the FMC doesn’t even meet the MMC until the second half. I can only assume the romance is going to feel rushed and underdeveloped, but I wouldn’t know because I never got there and I don’t want to, either.

─ ✦ ────

✎ᝰ.┊ pre-read: a bit hesitant to start since i heard the pacing is super slow. let’s see if it’s for me 🤞

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

[BookishKB]

✨🔮 Heir of Prophecy 🔮✨

Eek I loved this so much and I need book two asap 😍😍

The beginning is a bit slower paced, but I was immediately pulled in by the worldbuilding. The character work was strong right from the start. I loved her love and loyalty to her family and her connection to the women in the brothel. Then watching those quick but meaningful friendships form at the academy.

The ending is not a cliffhanger, but it lands in such a good spot that I still need the next book immediately.

Also I am going to need the audiobook because I just know it is going to be fire 🔥🎧

💫 What to Expect
• Chosen one FMC
• Underworld prince
• War academy
• Found Family
• Erratic magic
• Fae Fantasy
• Prophecies
• Cult of Priestesses
_ _ _ _ _

⭐ Final Rating: 5 Stars
📅 Pub Date: August 25, 2026
Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

[Nafisa]

thank you harper voyager for the arc!

heir of prophecy asks one of my favorite fantasy questions: what does it mean to be the chosen one, and who does being chosen actually benefit?

twenty-three years ago, the heir promised, the world’s salvation, was born to restart the season cycle. that premise gives the story its mythic weight, but the book does not treat the prophecy as a clean gift. it treats it as a burden, an inheritance, a cage, and maybe, eventually, a choice.

this story is filled with gorgeous world building, character descriptions, and the kind of fantasy detail that makes a world feel lived in rather than simply explained. i was struck by the descriptions of brown skin. i feel like i left this book with thousands of new words for beauty, warmth, and complexion. lines like, “his skin was a warm umber, and silken brown waves brushed manicured brows, framed arrogant eyes,” made me pause. how beautiful. how intentional. how rare it still feels to read descriptions like that and feel the care behind them.

and the side characters? i loved them. deeply. immediately. the kind of side cast where you start building a fan cast in your head before you have even finished the book.

wilder, the soldier king.
callum, the honorable friend.
lottie, the gentle heart.
cersha, something rooted and thorned and impossible not to love.
noel. yes, noel. second chance something. i am looking respectfully and also slightly not respectfully.

but at the heart of the story is audra.

audra is a girl who has already learned responsibility through survival, family, work, and the inn. so before she is ever asked to carry the fate of the world, she has already been shaped by the smaller, relentless duties of everyday life.

she has the energy of a parentified child who has spent too long managing responsibilities that made her self-reliant, but also made it harder for her to accept wisdom, love, help, gifts, or even evidence that contradicts what she has been taught.

and honestly, there were moments where i wanted to shake her a little. lovingly. but still.

audra’s stubbornness is protective. it is fear dressed as certainty. it is survival dressed as duty. at one point, she even notices that she is “forbidden to speculate,” which, frankly, might be the highest crime against humanity. speculation is where freedom begins. wondering is where the cage starts to crack.

and then, eventually, something clicks for her.

what i appreciated so much is that the story does not stop at the moment of realization. in a lot of fantasy, once the character finally sees the truth, the narrative rushes forward and we are just meant to accept the pivot. but here, there is reflection. there is accountability. there is a moment where audra has to reckon with the fact that she is stubborn as hell and that some things might have unfolded differently if she had been able to question sooner. i loved that. i loved that her growth was not just about seeing the truth, but about understanding the cost of not seeing it.

that is where “fight just to spite your fear” feels like such a perfect heartbeat for this book. because fear is everywhere in this story. fear of prophecy. fear of being wrong. fear of betrayal. fear of wanting something that was never promised to you. fear of becoming what other people named you before you had the chance to name yourself.

audra’s fight is not only against external enemies. it is against the fear that has been mistaken for truth. it is against the version of herself that believes obedience is safer than uncertainty. fighting just to spite your fear is sometimes just allowing yourself to ask the question. sometimes it is accepting help. sometimes it is admitting that the world is more complicated than the story you were given.

and then there is zhaire.

the second-born demon prince.

to be honest, he kind of stole the show for me. in the books to come, i hope we get more povs, because the glimpses we got of him gave vulnerability, tension, growth, restraint, and danger in the exact combination i want from a male main character. he has presence. he has bite. he has softness where it counts.

i will leave you with a closing line:
“i will teach you how to raise entire legions.”

glorious. absolutely glorious.

bring on the army of the dead. bring on the consequences. bring on the complicated choices, the forbidden speculation, the demon prince, and the side characters i am already attached to.

i am so excited for book two. this is the type of fantasy that understands prophecy is only interesting when someone is brave enough to question who wrote it.

[jenny reads a lot]

Chosen one trope? Say less.

[Demi Winters]

How a book can be cozy yet dark and mysterious, I do not know, but Analeigh always brings the best world-building and vibes!

Here's my official blurb:

Heir of Prophecy is a stunning new romantasy set in a magical fae school where students must excel--or be sent to the front lines in a war against demons. The unfolding mysteries of the school built a dark and atmospheric world, while the found family amongst the students brought a cozy aspect. But the tension between the main character and the demon haunting her dreams...well. I can't wait to see more of these two!

[Amanie ✮⋆˙]

“ᴍʏ ᴘᴜʀᴘᴏꜱᴇ ɪꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴅɪᴄᴛᴀᴛᴇ.”

I went into this book pretty blind aside from the trope list, which is what initially convinced me to apply for an ARC. Analeigh does a beautiful job setting the scene and introducing us to this new world, but once we got our bearings…we were thrown out to sea. Literally.

I struggled with the pacing at times and often found myself wondering where exactly we were headed. I think part of what was missing for me was that “WOW” moment — I kept waiting for the buildup to pay off and for everything to finally click. A lot of the story felt a little too spelled out, so I wanted more room to piece things together alongside Audra and have the bigger reveals hit the reader naturally.

That said, I adored Audra. Her eldest-sister attitude™ was EVERYTHING, and watching her come to terms with who she is while being thrown into all this prophecy and magic chaos was one of my favorite parts. Her character growth toward the end?? I already know she’s going to be a MENACE in book two. And I cannot waitttt!

The found family she finds at the Academy was another favorite. They truly carried each other through everything, but honestly, they also carried the story for me at times.

Zhaire was such an interesting MMC too. We didn’t get nearly enough of him, but the pieces we did see felt real and raw, and I’m very curious about where his story goes.

The last 20% is where things FINALLY picked up for me, and then that cliffhanger??? 😭 Needless to say, I’ll be here for book two because I need to see what happens next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC 🖤

[amandathebookworm 📚🪱]

Thanks to HarperVoyager & Libro.fm for gifting me an ARC & an ALC! This feels like a solid 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ so let’s get into it!


PLOT
She is the manager of a coastal inn of the human realm that has been without magic for thousands of years. & one day the fae show up & take people seemingly at random into the fae realm & enter them into this magical academy in hopes of weeding out the lost heir, who will bring the fae realm out of a dark age.
- chosen one trope
- academia setting
- fae, humans, & demons
- gods & religions
- dual-narrated audio
- low spice


PROS
- Really interesting magic system! I liked now they were broken down & finding out why some things worked vs. other things.
- The ending was VERY cool & setting up for a very interesting book 2.
- The cultist/religious obsessive are always an interesting subject for me & this was well done. The propaganda, the strategy used & noted, etc.
- Audra was really easy to root for. She was smart & while she was sometimes stubborn, those situations made sense & if she acknowledged she wasn’t helping she addressed/apologized. She has a solid internal monologue, was dealing with things I feel like any sane person would, & was just easy to cheer on. You felt growth from her already.
- Zhaire & his lil group are actually very interesting to me. I’m interested to potentially explore more realms in the next book.
- I’m also interested in Noel actually.


CONS
- The romance developed oddly for me I think. All the sudden it just *was* & it didn’t feel all that earned. Like there was a spice scene thrown in that I didn’t actually think made sense & felt for the sake of spice vs. story.
- Overall I think this was maybe a little longer than it needed to be? I felt like we spent a lot of time in the “before” that, at least IMO, didn’t add a huge level of depth. But I might be disproven by that in book 2 (& part of me wonders if typing this out I just figured out what Him is 👀). But it did feel like it took awhile to get going.


Def into it & excited for book 2!

[amarachireads]

This was an okay romantasy read with dark academia with lost of prophecies, an academy with magic and a fmc finding herself. I liked the diversity with the characters and the writing style was not bad. The fmc is taken from her normal life she is brought to an academy that exposes a new world filled with mystery, magic and danger. She forms a group with other characters brought to the academy as they navigate the new world, managing the magic and powers and being the chosen one. The romance was okay it’s a slow burn and then becomes faster paced. There were times the book lulled but overall I think it was intriguing. Thanks to the publisher for this arc.

[Stephanie]

2.25⭐️ First off, I wanna say no one is more upset than me for not liking this story. It had EVERYTHING i would want in a book: dark academia, fae, an evil cult, demons, “chosen one” and found family trope. However, all of this is not properly developed in the book. It barely scratches the surface in the story.

The pacing felt completely off from the beginning. I felt like the FMC was a different person at the start of the book, that character felt sure of herself or rather sure of her skills of being able to outwit any unfavorable people. And she was a loving eldest daughter taking care of her sick father and her adopted little brother. All that character development from the first 8 chapters goes out the window once she arrives in the academy. She felt like a different person, often times I found her unbelievably unbearable. She sometimes read as a side character instead of main character.

The found family trope is there but, I felt no connection to them at all. It felt too surface layered that I truly couldn’t care less if something happened to them. This was just very underdeveloped in my opinion. Just like the romance. You get glimpse of him and his pov at the start of the book and then he kind of disappears! He’s supposed to be haunting her or whatever but he truly doesn’t do shit. And when they do start interacting (at the last minute mind you) it felt very insta-love.

The only great thing about this book is that the last 15% truly felt like it was the book, I thought I was going to read. It felt dark, the evil cult was finally utilized and we got more oomph from the FMC and MMC. I just wish it was there the whole time instead of that last few chapters.

Thank you to Avon Books for the opportunity to read this early via Netgalley.

[Katie (katieeatsbooks)]

08/15/2026-08/18/2026

Thank you Harper Voyager for the gifted digital widget of “Heir or Prophecy” by Analeigh Sbrana 🖤

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(Coming August 25th, 2026)

I wanna start by talking about how dang rude that cliffhanger was 👀

Also I wanna thank Analeigh for setting the mood for me personally by causing a giant storm so that I could finish this book in the dark on my bathroom floor surrounded by lightning and thunder 🤪

It really made that ending (iykyk) 100x more intense and kinda stressful for me 😂

But also the world building is immaculate! It’s hard to find an author that can build the world before building the world and we got to see both of Audra’s realities and her transition point shine through immaculately! 🥹

Plus I wanna talk about how yummy shadow daddy Zhaire is 😏 (top 5 favorite shadow daddy’s for sure!)

Anyways 💅 when’s book 2?

[isabellerosereads]

4.25⭐️ oh this was a great time, a twist on the classic prophecy/chosen one trope where she has to choose which world to save and which one to let die???

Tropes/themes:
- Fae, human and Demon realms
- kidnapping and then forced to go to school lol
- academy setting
- rune based magic
- fated lovers

This was very plot first over romance which was a pleasant surprise, I genuinely felt sucked into this story every time I picked it up. A LOT happens in the first 30% with our transition from meeting the FMC in the human world, having her get kidnapped with everyone else and then forced to go to an academy with a normal magical school schedule like it gives you whiplash but I commend the author for making the transitions feel smooth.

Audra is a woman of layers; very eldest daughter taking on pain and responsibility to shield others coded, while also showing a fierce stubborn streak i always love in my fmcs. Now I will say, by the second half of the book it did lowkey feel like she forgot about her family left behind in the human world, but I understand we had a lot going on and the author does make references to human resilience and finding joy and peace amongst utter chaos and cruel fae.

The writing was good! I enjoyed the way we set scenes, the lyrical descriptions were compelling yet not overwhelming. The language and dialogue were a bit modern day coded, especially the little quips and self-observations in the FMCs internal monologue, and sometimes I felt myself getting a tad thrown off by it.

Again the romance is very subtle, like I feel like we barely got to start knowing the MMC until 75% so I was REALLY excited for a well done slowburn….until we threw in a random spicy scene 90% in just to have spice. Like we had had maybe 3 conversations between our couple at that point, so we are still emotionally slowburning for sure, it was not up to MY personal spice preference but I can see other readers eating up a well-done throne scene.

I like the MMCs vibes and his role in the whole plot, but I am expecting the second book in this duology to flesh out his side of the story a lot more because I just don’t really feel like I know too much about him or his classic “MMCs chosen family of warrior friends.” He DOES sound very sexy tho.

Overall, I really did enjoy this, I think its a solid Fantasy that definitely stands out to me with a unique take on some classic tropes and I can’t wait to see how this duology will end!

Thank you to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.

[EmJustReading]

3.75 ⭐️

This story was a great blend between dark academia, and a tournament/ trials situation.

Overall I liked the story, but it felt quite long, and somethings received a lot of details and explanations that I feel could have been skipped. It’s possible that they will be important in the next book… but for example we spent a lot of time in the human realm learning about the world and society. And then we leave, and while it’s shaped our FMC… I think less time could’ve been spent on it.

I enjoyed the relationship that was built between the FMC and the demon prince. And I understood a lot of what the FMC was thinking throughout the story, especially the “who can I trust?”

The narrators were good, and I am interested in where the story will go. Either way I think the FMC has a huge choice to make and it will be difficult to weigh the choices against each other.

I think lovers of the Zodiac Academy would adore this story!

I listened to an ALC through NetGalley. Thank you to the author and publisher!

[book.obsessed.jess]

2/5 ⭐️
2/5 🌶️

Looking through my notes, this one was not for me, and I recognize that. I did think the concept of demons/fae/humans was super cool but my thoughts are..

Plot: I don’t know why but I couldn’t get over some of the direction of the plot on this one. If these are ruthless fae, why waste resources on potentially 100’s of (hostage) humans to attend a school just to maybe find one heir? Additionally, the fae ripped these people away from their homes and loved ones but passing classes are their highest concern? 🤔 Didn’t really make sense to me.

Characters: I actually didn’t mind our FMC but thought she was kind of bland at times. I also feel like we got introduced to quite a few characters but they lacked needed depth. We learned a little but not enough to where I felt connected or invested in them.

Writing/Pace: At times this read a little YA even though the writing was detailed. There was also a lot of telling and not as much showing. &The pace seemed inconsistent at times as well.

Romance: When MMC was introduced, I was so excited- I was like ok, bet, this man is going to make things interesting 😏. However, while he was my favorite character, FMC/MMC didn’t really have a ton of interactions and when they did interact, I wanted a bit more. This one did have one spicy scene and it wasn’t that bad except for the words “slurped” and “pinnacle” being used. 🥴

Thank you so so much to Avon, Harper Voyager US, and Netgally for the earc!

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany)]

Dark academia meets fae romantasy in this series starter! I like what this book is trying to do and think the world-building is pretty interesting. However, most of the book felt like a prologue and it only started to get so good that I was truly feeling hooked in the last few chapters. I feel like I could have done without so much of the school/dark academia elements. What was most interesting what the forbidden relationship between the part human Audra and the demon fae prince she meets, which only really gets going quite late in the book. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

[Karly Rose]

What a wild ride!!

🗓️ ARC Review. Pub Date: August 25, 2026 🗓️
🎁 ARC gifted to me by Harper Voyager

🖤 Dark academia fantasy romance
🖤 3rd person POV
🖤 Ancient secrets
🖤 Found family
🖤 Necromancy
🖤 Academy setting

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

I'm a sucker for an academy setting, so when I heard the premise of Heir of Prophecy I was immediately sold. Overall, I had a great time!

Audra is a highly relatable FMC even though I was frustrated with the choices she was making at many times (BUT they're very believable choices nonetheless given her position). What we know about Audra in the beginning seems to shift as she's thrown into this world and fighting for survival.

This book definitely itched a part of my brain with its thoughtful discussions around cult mentality, indoctrination, and power imbalance. On the outside looking in it can be easy to think you'd never assimilate into this world Audra is forced into...until you see it unfold and realize how difficult these choices are when you're knees deep into the environment.

While I feel like I still don't know much/if anything about our MMC, MY INTEREST IS PEAKED. Heir of Prophecy nicely balances the fantasy aspects alongside the romance. I took a quick peak at Analeigh Sbrana's IG and see that she's marketing this as a fantasy romance / to romance readers, so I imagine the romance aspects of this duology will be cranked up in book 2. I can’t wait (hehe).

Biggest reasoning for not giving this the full 5 stars comes down to the pacing. It felt a bit inconsistent at times, but this book finished super strong. The way this book ended has me SO excited for book 2 in this duology!! Can't wait to be back in this world.

[Izzy]

2.3⭐️

This was almost good and it bothers me that it wasn’t. I wish this book was more edited or read by more beta readers to give the author the feedback that was needed. There is such a cool story here but the execution was not delivered at all.

The characters lacked proper bonding to each other and to the world. The world needed more building than what was given. The mmc needed either more chapters or non at all. Not the 2 chapters in the beginning and the last 2 chapters in a 64 chapter BOOK. Oh my… I’m just disappointed.

[thebookish.dragon]

Format: 🎧
Spice: .5 🌶️
Series: 1 of 2 - Clash of Prophecies Duet


I wanted so badly for this to be a 5 star read for me. On paper, it has everything in the recipe to be exactly what I want (BIPOC representation for not just the MCs, but also the author, Dark Academia) but for whatever reason it just didn’t hit for me. I fear it may just be this author’s writing style and I don’t vibe. I’ve thought pretty hard about it, because I am always intrigued by her plots and blurbs and I think my conclusion is that she writes in a very YA style and at my advanced age of 35…I just can’t find enjoyment in that anymore (though believe me I’ve tried!). That is not to say this is a YA book, because it is not. Also, I think marketing it as a Romantasy was a mistake because the only romance subplot is in the last 1/4th of the book.

I will say on a positive note: the last 1/4th of the book was great. Fast paced, high stakes payoff, and the romance subplot kicks in. This makes me want to read book 2, so this is great news. I really want to support this author, and I’m glad I have interest in continuing so I can.

The audio: Wesleigh Siobhan & Guy Lockard; so I’m not sure if it was the book itself or the narration, but it was really difficult to get through this audiobook and I did soft DNF for a few days to read a few other books in between. The actors pacing was so slow that I had to increase my speed to 1.8x to keep my attention. And now that I think about it, I have had to do that to a few or Wesleigh’s narrations in the past.



I received this ALC from HarperAudio Adult | Harper Voyager as an opportunity to listen and give my honest review.

[Stacey | read.with.stacey]

Thank you to Harper Collins for the e-arc and Librofm for the alc 🫶

4.5⭐️

💭: I really enjoyed this one! It takes a lot of the tropes I really enjoy (magical academy, chosen one, warring kingdoms, academic trials) but puts a fresh spin on it! I really liked the FMC Audra. She’s curious and protective of her family (think eldest daughter). The MMC is a demon Prince with horns who can taste emotions... I thought the world building was well done and I just know there are more secrets to learn about both the fae and demon realms. I also love books with prophecies! The found family in this book is also really well done. Did I mention there are also ghosts?? There was just such a fun constellation of interesting ideas in this book! I look forward to reading the conclusion to this duology!

🎧: This audiobook is narrated by Wesleigh Siobhan and Guy Lockard in a dual style natation. I really enjoyed both narrators. They both had a good range of voices and the pacing was well done. I also enjoyed the emotion they brought to the story!

[Lana Cay]

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This is one of those “I knew I would love it,”
but OMG, I LOVED IT! 😭🙌 It actually exceeded expectations.

🕯️ Conflicting prophecies, ancient secrets & deadly trials. 👀🕯️ What’s not to love?

Ohhhh. Audra & Zhaire, my loves! The push, the pull, the patience. 😮‍💨 The curiosity … the undeniable magnetism. Mm! But honestly, I actually loved that the romance was more of a subplot here. Our new world & the adjustment to this reality really called for it. But don’t mistake me. Did I still get the feels?! YES. Plenty! Audra is just such a strong (& relatable) character that I loved being able to revel in witnessing her journey.

What else do we always love? Found family! The other half of my heart. 🥹 Wilder (MY GIRL), Cersha, Callum & baby Lottie. 🖤 Love love love. & I’m eager to see more of Ivara & Azmera. I appreciate close to nothing more than my MMC’s inner circle to be fierce & devoted (earned). I hope to see much more of them in the next book. We’ve seen enough of Rook to know he’s insufferably hilarious, so we’re already locked in with him. Lol.

Now with the demons, fae & magic here there are some dark themes: death, grief, trafficking (mentioned) & maybe some “religious” trauma. So just be mindful. 🫶

In closing, I cannot wait until the next installment. I also very much appreciate the cliff hanger not being as brutal as it could’ve been. *blows kiss* This was my 1st book by Analeigh & I promise it will not be the last! 3rd person usually takes me a second to adjust to, but that was not the case here. & I really feel like it was very uniquely done here compared to others I’ve read. Loooooved it.

Update: I also got the ALC &— WOW. Wesleigh & Guy did INCREDIBLE! 🤎🤎🤎 Thanks again, NetGalley.

[Bailey Chadwick]

This was my second Analeigh Sbrana book. I previously read "Lore of the Wilds" earlier this year and struggled with it quite a bit. It was an adult book that read YA and it just kind of threw me off. But I definitely wanted to try this new series and I'm really glad I did. Overall "Heir of Prophecy" was a good read. It was an adult book that read adult and that was my biggest worry coming into this. I ended up doing this on audio and I will say the narrators are really good. I think the FMC narrator in particular really put a lot of weight and emotion to this book and she did a fantastic job.

I think Analeigh did a good job at giving us something a bit different in this genre. The fae steal away a human girl to train at their magic academy. Great, right? Not so much. There are definitely fae not to be trusted in this world and I like how things were revealed to us as the reader. I really think her secondary characters shined in this book as well. The pacing was good and I'm really interested to see how she wraps up the series.

[readwithacapricorn]

This was SO so good

I adore Analeigh’s writing and love how she crafts her worlds and characters.

Audra was such an intriguing FMC and I’m SO excited to see where her story goes in the next book

Zhaire. My man. You don’t have the right to be this sexy.

The ending was incredible and brutal, I loved every second of it.

[Izzy⁷♡•°]

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for providing an ALC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

'Heir of Prophecy' is a really solid first introduction to this new series. Quick at grabbing your attention and establishing our main character's current situation in the mortal realm and how her life circumstances shapes her and then immediately flipping all of that into a completely new realm.

I'm not going to lie I loved the academic setting of this story, the day to day of the classes and the world building we get through that, I was sat.

This book did however feel extremely introductory, throughout the entire novel we all know that Audra is the chosen one and we just spent so much time first waiting for her to learn that information and then waiting for everyone to learn that information, and throughout that we have Zhaire trying to basically recruit her. Safe to say there isn't really that much plot, a much more character focused story. And there lies the problem, besides Audra most of the characters are quite superficial. We don't really get that much of the friend group so when things happened I didn't really care and I honestly cannot fathom why Audra was so distraught when things happened to the priestess' we had maybe two scenes with them.

The final nail in this coffin is the romantic plot, I get that this a kind of fated souls type of thing with the various prophecies however, in no world did I buy the progression of feelings that these two had. There was simply not enough build, or actual conversations for Zhaire, especially, to be acting like he was. Also he was just so whiny, acting all tuff almost all the time and then just whining because he couldn't actually kill her.

I also think the voices that the female narrator did for the male characters did not help whatsoever in me not feeling like they were all whiny little boys trying to act all scary and what not.

I'm not really sure if I will keep going with this series, we will see what my level of interest is when the sequel comes out

[Ky (kys.bookish.adventures)]

DNF I am trying to be better about DNFing when a book just isn’t working for me. I may revisit it at some point since others have said the ending picks up but so far this just was not for me. It had so many things that I gravitate towards in romantasy books especially dark academia but I couldn’t get attached to any characters and the pacing was very slow and read way younger than I thought it would. I was hoping the romance would pull me in but unfortunately it didn’t.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the arc!

[ShaynaReadsFantasy]

This dark academic fantasy romance hits all the marks and keeps you hooked in from start to finish. I loved the FMC Audra and her strong character and determination as she’s thrown into a new world and her life is turned upside down.
The Dark Academia vibes and setting allow the world building to be simple while the reader takes in the lore of the politics between the humans fae & demons.
Audra finds herself at the center of a fae prophecy, where there’s an heir born each generation that’s said to bring spring and reset the seasons, in turn providing nourishment for the land and people. But this time the heir was born in the human lands, and the fae take Audra along with other humans from many kingdoms to but them through education and trials to find the heir.
As usual being the “chosen one” isn’t the honor it seems.
There’s a great gang of side characters that assemble for those found family vibes when Audra arrives at the academy. Each character is described beautifully with their own unique identity that add a richness to the story and each play a role in Audra coming into her own as she discovers more and more about herself and her power.
The mysterious MMC, the 2nd Demon Prince, Zhaire really shines even while we don’t know a whole lot about him and the demon realm, I am so excited to see where things go and learn more about him and his world in the next books. Zhaire is deliciously dark and mysterious, but when we get his POV you get to glimpse his layers and depth. He yearns for her and that’s all I need.
The romance is definitely a sub plot and slow burn but the crumbs we got were so fantastic I’m fully down bad for Audra & Zhaire. I’ve affectionately named them Demon Daddy and Necromommy 🥵🥵🥵
“I will be as a starved man for the rest of my life now that I’ve tasted the flavor of your desire. All other emotions will choke me, ash upon my tongue.”
😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 end then he FEASTS

The last 30% really start to open up and I can see things being lined up to expand everything we know in the next book, which is one of my favorite feelings to be left with at the end of a book.
I cannot wait for the next book omg I’m SAT.
🎧Audio notes: Wesleigh Siobhan is always fantastic! I felt like she really embodied Audra and helped me connect even deeper into her emotions while immersive reading. The range between characters and the inflections and excitement she pumped into her performance was visceral.
The Dual POV audio was fantastic and Guy Lockard was music to my ears as my Demon Daddy Zhaire! I could listen to him in my ears all day. His performance was spot on what I wanted and I couldn't love this audio more! I hope we have the same performers for the next book!

[Alexis Phompat]

I’m so sorry, but this was not a good audiobook. I can’t tell if the narrator is supposed to have a Bayou or a Jersey accent. She bounces around between several.
The first 42% of this book is slow. And not a good kind of slow. I’m all for buildup and world-building but this was entirely inner monologue and was boring. We don’t even get the MMC till what, part three? And we’re supposed to believe this is a slow burn? The romance feels rushed in the last 40% of the book, it’s definitely not a slow burn even if there will be further books in the future.
I finished this book purely just to see what happens and because I feel like as being gifted an ARC you have a job to perform and a duty to uphold. But if this was a book I used an audible credit on I would have DNF’d it and requested my credit back.
I’m giving it two stars for… well idk why. Two stars feels generous.

[Natalie Sams]

* thank you NetGalley for an ARC version of this book*

Meh. The plot and setting were interesting but the pacing by was off for me with the first third absolutely dragging. The writing cadence gave me “more tell than show” vibes, which is hard for me to stick with. Redeeming part was the FMC rocks.

[Ashley - The Tattered Page]

🎧📖 𝒜𝐿𝒞 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌📖🎧

𝐻𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝒫𝓇𝑜𝓅𝒽𝑒𝒸𝓎 ʙʏ ᴀɴᴀʟᴇɪɢʜ sʙʀᴀɴᴀ

𝑅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: 🥀🥀🥀🥀 ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ 𝟻 ᴇɴᴄʜᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ʀᴏsᴇs

𝒮𝓅𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝑅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: 🌶🌶 ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ 𝟻

✨ 𝐻𝑜𝑜𝓀✨

sʜᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴄʜᴏsᴇɴ ᴛᴏ sᴀᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ. ʜᴇ’s ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴍᴏɴ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇ ᴅᴇsᴛɪɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴇsᴛʀᴏʏ ɪᴛ. ғᴀᴛᴇ ᴄʟᴇᴀʀʟʏ ʜᴀs ᴀ ᴛᴡɪsᴛᴇᴅ sᴇɴsᴇ ᴏғ ʜᴜᴍᴏʀ.

𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌:

ʜᴜɢᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ʟɪʙʀᴏ ᴀᴠᴏɴ & ʜᴀʀᴘᴇʀ ᴠᴏʏᴀɢᴇʀ ғᴏʀ ɢɪғᴛɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ᴛʜɪs ᴀʟᴄ & ᴀʀᴄ!

ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇɢɪɴɴɪɴɢ ᴡᴀs ᴅᴇғɪɴɪᴛᴇʟʏ ᴀ sʟᴏᴡ ʙᴜʀɴ, ᴡɪᴛʜ ǫᴜɪᴛᴇ ᴀ ʙɪᴛ ᴏғ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅʙᴜɪʟᴅɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ sᴇᴛᴜᴘ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ғᴏᴜɴᴅ ɪᴛs ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛᴜᴍ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ ᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ, ɪ ᴡᴀs ᴀʟʟ ɪɴ.

ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴍʙɪɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ғᴀᴇ, ᴅᴇᴍᴏɴs, ᴘʀᴏᴘʜᴇᴄʏ, ᴅᴀʀᴋ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍɪᴀ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ. ᴀ ᴄʜᴏsᴇɴ ᴏɴᴇ ғᴍᴄ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴛʜʀᴏᴡɴ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀ ᴡᴀʀ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍʏ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ᴅɪsᴄᴏᴠᴇʀɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇʀ ᴅᴇsᴛɪɴʏ ɪs ᴛɪᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴀɴ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴅᴇᴍᴏɴ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇ? ʏᴇs. ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀsᴛ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ᴀɴᴅ sᴜᴘᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅs ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴇsᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟʟʏ ғᴜɴ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ɢʀᴏᴡɪɴɢ sᴇɴsᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴀs sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ʙɪɢɢᴇʀ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴɪɴɢ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴘʜᴇᴄʏ ᴋᴇᴘᴛ ᴍᴇ ʟɪsᴛᴇɴɪɴɢ.

ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ's ᴛʜᴇ ғᴀᴛᴇᴅ-ʟᴏᴠᴇʀs ᴇɴᴇʀɢʏ. ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴛɪᴄ ᴛᴇɴsɪᴏɴ ʜᴀᴅ ᴍᴇ ʜᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ, ᴇsᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟʟʏ ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ “ɪ'ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴡᴀɪᴛɪɴɢ ғᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍʏ ᴇɴᴛɪʀᴇ ʟɪғᴇ” ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴄᴀᴍᴇ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴘʟᴀʏ. ᴀᴅᴅ ɢʜᴏsᴛs, ᴀ ᴄᴜʟᴛ ᴏғ ᴘʀɪᴇsᴛᴇssᴇs, ғᴏᴜɴᴅ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ʟᴏᴏᴍɪɴɢ ᴡᴀʀ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴀʟᴡᴀʏs ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʟᴀʏᴇʀ ᴡᴀɪᴛɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴜɴᴄᴏᴠᴇʀᴇᴅ.

🎙️𝒩𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃:
ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴡᴏʀᴋᴇᴅ ᴘᴀʀᴛɪᴄᴜʟᴀʀʟʏ ᴡᴇʟʟ ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴘɪᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋᴇʀ sᴜᴘᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ ᴇʟᴇᴍᴇɴᴛs ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛs ᴡᴇʀᴇ ɢɪᴠᴇɴ ᴇɴᴏᴜɢʜ ᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ, ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ᴅʏɴᴀᴍɪᴄs ʀᴇᴍᴀɪɴᴇᴅ ᴇᴀsʏ ᴛᴏ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ. ᴛʜᴇ sʟᴏᴡᴇʀ ᴏᴘᴇɴɪɴɢ ʀᴇǫᴜɪʀᴇs sᴏᴍᴇ ᴘᴀᴛɪᴇɴᴄᴇ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴏᴛ ɢᴇᴛs ᴍᴏᴠɪɴɢ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏʙᴏᴏᴋ ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇs ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴇᴀsɪᴇʀ ᴛᴏ sɪɴᴋ ɪɴᴛᴏ.

𝒯𝓇𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈 & 𝒱𝒾𝒷𝑒𝓈:
✨ ᴄʜᴏsᴇɴ ᴏɴᴇ ғᴍᴄ

🔮 ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ-sᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴘʀᴏᴘʜᴇᴄʏ

🧚 ғᴀᴇ ᴠs. ᴅᴇᴍᴏɴs

🏫 ᴍᴀɢɪᴄᴀʟ ᴅᴀʀᴋ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍɪᴀ

😈 ᴅᴇᴍᴏɴ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇ x ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ʜᴇɪʀᴇss

❤️ ғᴀᴛᴇᴅ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀs

👻 ɢʜᴏsᴛs + ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ

👑 ᴜɴᴅᴇʀᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇ

⚔️ ᴡᴀʀ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍʏ

🤝 ғᴏᴜɴᴅ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ

🕯️ ᴄᴜʟᴛ ᴏғ ᴘʀɪᴇsᴛᴇssᴇs

🖤 ᴅᴀʀᴋ ғᴀɴᴛᴀsʏ

𝐹𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸𝓉:
sʟᴏᴡ ʙᴇɢɪɴɴɪɴɢ, ʙɪɢ ᴘᴀʏᴏғғ. ʜᴇɪʀ ᴏғ ᴘʀᴏᴘʜᴇᴄʏ ᴛᴀᴋᴇs ɪᴛs ᴛɪᴍᴇ sᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴘʜᴇᴄʏ, ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍʏ, ᴅᴇᴍᴏɴs, ғᴀᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ғᴀᴛᴇᴅ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ sᴛᴀʀᴛ ᴄᴏʟʟɪᴅɪɴɢ, ɪ ᴡᴀs ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇʟʏ ɪɴᴠᴇsᴛᴇᴅ. ᴀ ᴄʜᴏsᴇɴ ᴏɴᴇ ғᴍᴄ + ᴅᴇᴍᴏɴ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇ + ᴅᴀʀᴋ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍɪᴀ + ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ + ғᴀᴛᴇᴅ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀs? ᴄᴏɴsɪᴅᴇʀ ᴍᴇ sᴜᴍᴍᴏɴᴇᴅ.

ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ!
𝒜𝓈𝒽𝓁𝑒𝓎
ʙᴏᴏᴋsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ: @ᴛʜᴇᴛᴀᴛᴛᴇʀᴇᴅᴘᴀɢᴇ

++++++

NOTES:

Beginning has slow pacing

"I've been waiting for you my entire life."

TROPES:
•Chosen One FMC
•World-saving Prophecies
•Fae vs demons
•Magical dark academia
• Demon prince x human heiress
• Fated lovers
•Ghosts x death magic
• Underworld prince
• War academy
• Found Family
• Cult of Priestesses