Kuxtal Academy: The Beginning is the first book in a Mayan inspired urban fantasy romance series and follows the Canek siblings as they navigate their world among the fae. 

After the first 60 pages or so both Mira and her best friend Sienna get to Kuxtal Academy and the plot really starts. Before that we basically are getting to know Koa and Mira individually. They have a complicated harrowing history because of their parents way of thinking and the way they grew up. Mira is a science oriented recent graduate who unfortunately loses her beloved aunt at the start of the novel. She’s going through the grieving process while also trying to control her anxiety.  She unexpectedly gets the mark on her arm that she’s been accepted into Kuxtal Academy, a graduate college, which is an unwelcome surprise for her. Her parents pull strings and get her best friend Sienna a scholarship to attend the school to persuade her to attend. While there she finds out several things about her self (like she’s a level 1 magic user), and her aunt might have been hiding some big secrets. She gets romantically involved with Wren Ikari, (a Ix or jaguar shifter and her brother’s business partner).

Koa, Mira’s older brother is a level 1 magic user, a Chikchan (a basilisk shifter that has venom and psychic abilities) who is a junior at Kuxtal Academy. He also owns a nightclub called The Vortex that has a secret club on the lower level that he runs called The Underworld where his fellow fae handle less than legal business deals. His more illegal dealings bring him in conflict with the Cynod (think this world’s version of historical romances ‘The Ton’) the elite group that his and Mira’s parents are apart of. When he meets Mira’s best friend Sienna, everything changes. He’s never felt this way for anyone the way he feels for her….. Not to mention someone has interfered  (aka: stolen) a transportation of ‘goods’ he was having delivered, that Wren was overseeing, putting them all in a dangerous position.

I really enjoyed this first book overall. Like I mentioned it’s, not until after the first 60 pages that the plot at the school really gets going. I like both Mira and Wren and think that they both ( particularly Mira) starts becoming a more interesting character towards the middle/ end of the book (IYKYK) so I was happy to see that occur. Especially because for most of the book you only get the dual perspectives of Koa and Mira at first (it becomes multi-POV with the inclusion of Sienna and Wren toward the end of the book).

Koa, on the other hand is compelling from the start. You’re trying to figure out what exactly he’s up to which keeps you guessing. He has many layers in addition to his bad boy persona. Sienna is an intriguing character because she’s enigmatic in many ways since you don’t get any of her POV chapters until the very end. Not to mention I wasn’t sure what magic she would ‘emerge’ with so that was fun to see when that happened. Also….. HER AND KOA’S CONNECTION! THE INTENSITY, OMG!!! (if you’ve read other fae fantasy romances you can guess what they ultimately are to each other) It was executed so well! It will definitely leave you swooning.  Cannot wait to explore more about their relationship in future books.

I liked the addition of Katia to Mira and Sienna’s friend group and hope we see them making additional friends in the future. The Mercers (Jed, Adler) along with the other Ikari (Atlas and Zane) who are shady business acquaintances of Koa’s were a fun addition and I hope they are used more in future installments (maybe even having their own POV’s).

This book is perfect for fans of Zodiac Academy, and urban fantasy romance.