The Art of the Exile
- Vanessa Bettencourt
- May 15
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 26
Book Info:
The Art of Exile by Andrea Max
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publishing Date: May 13, 2025
5 Stars
Ok. This was a great start to a dark magical academy. I laughed out loud with the scene after the Met. She was hoping to catch him in a compromising hot scene and finds him... snacking. ahah (readers will know what it means)
She is a Sire, and to get her family's acceptance, she spies on those hiding in the Genesis Academy. She has a difficult time accepting that these Masters have so much knowledge and power that could help in the common world.
There are so many fun scenes, the acceptance to the guilds, the tournament, creating a golem bird, dealing with his highness, ahaha. There are Valkyries and dragons, Jewish traditions. Fun read and fun characters. Ok. This was a great start to a dark magical academy. I laughed out loud with the scene after the Met. She was hoping to catch him in a compromising hot scene and finds him... snacking. ahah (readers will know what it means)
She is a Sire, and to get her family's acceptance, she spies on those hiding in the Genesis Academy. She has a difficult time accepting that these Masters have so much knowledge and power that could help in the common world.
There are so many fun scenes, the acceptance to the guilds, the tournament, creating a golem bird, dealing with his highness, ahaha. here are Valkyries and dragons and Jewish traditions. Fun read and fun characters.
Synopsis:
Legendborn meets The Da Vinci Code in this captivating light academia contemporary fantasy following a teen who infiltrates a secret school for the descendants of exiled Renaissance masters to steal their long-lost arts and sciences.
Unlike the high-achieving members of her family’s secret society, Ada Castle has mastered nothing but the art of falling for the wrong guys. But now she finally has the chance to prove her worth: she just needs to gain access to a hidden school that her family has been trying to locate for generations. Granted, she accidentally goes on a date with the recruiter first, then is temporarily abducted, but Ada manages to secure herself an invitation to the Genesis Institute, where descendants of exiled Renaissance masters practice long-lost arts and sciences.
The school is a utopia of sustainable technology, medical advancements, and myths come to life, yet they are unjustly hoarding their resources. Ada goes undercover to steal their innovations for the rest of the world, but Genesis nurtures her creativity and challenges her views, and she can’t help but fall for the school…and maybe also for her frustratingly off-limits recruiter-turned-mentor.
Ada’s tangle of lies starts to unravel when one of her new friends goes missing. To rescue her, Ada is forced to work with a dangerous (and dangerously hot) classmate whose suspicions threaten her cover. And when the information she’s shared with her family puts her missing friend and all of Genesis in peril, she’ll have to choose whom to betray: the family she loves or the school that has helped her find herself.
Content Warning: someone is drugged
Book Links:
About the Author:
Andrea has an MSW from New York University and is a high school English teacher. She lives with her husband and son in New Jersey where she starts a lot of art she’ll never finish.
Author Links:
Website: https://www.andrea-max.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreatothemax/
Tour Schedule:
@tbrbeyondtours & @andreatothemax
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