Every once in a while, I do pick up a romantasy. (Shh…don’t tell anyone.) I don’t know; there is just something fun about mixing a little magic, danger, mystery, and romance. So when I saw Divine Oaths by Elizabeth Agyemang described as a New Adult romantasy with dark academia vibes, I was intrigued.
What I got was definitely an interesting supernatural mystery with a strong main character, secret societies, romance, and plenty of questions to unravel—but it wasn’t quite the type of romantasy I thought I was picking up.
Sianna Adu had plans. Westfield University, an elite institution tucked away in the Virginia swampland, was supposed to be part of her future. Then tragedy strikes, and in one devastating day, Sianna loses her family and discovers that she has gained an unusual ability. She can see lifelines and, through objects, glimpse pieces of the past and future.
Instead of heading off to her dream university, Sianna finds herself struggling simply to survive. She works dead-end jobs, worries about rent, and tries to make a life for herself in New Jersey.
This was actually one of my favorite parts of the book.
Sianna has grit.
She is independent, stubborn, and determined to keep moving even after experiencing a loss that could easily have completely broken down her plans for the future. I appreciated that Agyemang allows us to see that struggle. Sianna isn’t instantly swept away into some glamorous magical existence after discovering her abilities. She still has bills. She still needs somewhere to live. She still has to figure out what comes next.
That grounded struggle made her feel much more real to me.
I also really liked the way her supernatural ability was handled. Being able to touch an object and get glimpses into its history sounds amazing at first. Think of everything you could discover!
Except…would you really want to?
Agyemang does a good job of turning Sianna’s ability into both a gift and a burden—and most of the time, it feels much more like a burden. She doesn’t always get to control what she sees, and knowing things about the past or future isn’t necessarily helpful when you can’t change them. I liked that the magic had weight and consequences rather than simply making Sianna more powerful.
Then Kasem Saint James enters the picture.
Kasem is connected to Westfield, and his arrival pulls Sianna back toward the future she thought she had lost. It also raises questions about her abilities, the mysterious connection between the two of them, and Westfield itself. Once Sianna arrives at the university, secret societies, old histories, curses, and plenty of people with their own agendas begin complicating things.
The supporting characters were another strong point for me. Sianna doesn’t have to navigate everything completely alone, and I enjoyed watching the relationships surrounding her develop as she tried to figure out exactly what was happening. With so much mystery involved, it was fun trying to decide who could be trusted and what pieces of Westfield’s history really mattered.
My biggest issue with Divine Oaths, however, is less about the actual story and more about how the book is being presented to readers.
I picked this up because I saw it categorized as New Adult romantasy. And when someone tells me “romantasy,” my brain admittedly goes somewhere very different.
Give me strange kingdoms. Magical worlds. Mystical creatures. Sprites. Goblins. Fairies. Elves. Dragons. You know…fantasy fantasy.
And honestly, the cover reinforced that expectation for me. It has the same lush, dramatic, magical look that I’ve come to associate with a lot of romantasy novels—the kinds of books where I expect mystical creatures, elaborate magical systems, hidden kingdoms, or some other larger fantasy world waiting inside.
But Divine Oaths is set in our modern world, and its supernatural elements are much more contained. Most people don’t seem to be walking around openly using magic or interacting with mythical creatures, and Sianna’s abilities felt more paranormal to me than the type of magic I normally associate with many of today’s romantasy releases.
That doesn’t mean a fantasy novel needs dragons, elves, fairies, or an entirely invented world to qualify as fantasy—it absolutely doesn’t. And the dark academia label makes sense, particularly once Westfield and its secretive history become central to the story.
Still, I can’t help wondering whether a different cover and slightly different marketing might have better prepared readers for what this book actually is. A cover leaning more toward paranormal romance, supernatural suspense, or contemporary dark academia might have set more accurate expectations while still capturing the mystery and romance at the heart of the story.
Because expectations matter.
When both the genre label and the cover suggest one kind of reading experience, readers naturally walk into the book expecting certain things. Put the right book in front of the wrong audience, and you run the risk of readers deciding early on that it isn’t for them—or even putting it on the DNF pile—not because the story is bad, but because it isn’t the story they thought they were buying.
I can easily imagine someone looking specifically for sweeping fantasy romance picking this up and wondering where the fantasy world they expected went. On the other hand, readers who love paranormal abilities, secret societies, mysterious universities, curses, contemporary settings, and romance may find exactly what they’re looking for here.
So don’t go into Divine Oaths expecting dragons to fly over Westfield University.
Go in expecting a resilient heroine, a dangerous supernatural gift, a mysterious university, complicated relationships, old secrets, and a curse that needs unraveling.
Once I adjusted my expectations, I appreciated the story much more for what it actually was.
For me, Sianna and her abilities were the highlights, and the mystery kept me interested. The genre mismatch with what I expected kept it from being a higher-rated read, but I’m glad I gave Sianna’s story a chance.
Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — 4/5 Stars
About the Book
Publisher: Requited imprint of Hachette Book Group
Publication Date: September 1, 2026
Genre: New Adult Romantasy / Dark Academia
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — 4/5 Stars
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Synopsis:
Ninth House meets Legendborn in this thrilling dark academia debut following a new student fueled by questions about her prestigious university and the haunting answers she uncovers as her heart pulls her in two different, dangerous directions.
Westfield University was supposed to be Sianna Adu’s dream school. But just when she’s on the cusp of attending the elite academic institution hidden in Virginia’s swampland, an unexpected tragedy changes everything. In one day, Sianna loses her family and gains an extraordinary power—the ability to see lifelines and witness other people’s pasts and futures.
With all she’s lost, Sianna puts her college dreams on pause and spends her days navigating dead-end jobs and a not-so-secret crush on her coworker. But when Kasem Saint James, the undeniably handsome heir of Westfield, approaches her with a strange request, the future Sianna has long deferred becomes a dangerous new reality. Worried that her powers are now tied to Kasem, she has no choice. Fate has called her to Westfield.
At an academy where secret societies abound, connections are everything, and an ominous history—stretching back centuries—determines the future, Sianna and Kasem must piece together the past to undo a curse that binds them to each other.
With a swoony romance and jaw-dropping twists, this layered dark academia novel introduces a university where nothing is quite as it seems.
Meet the Author
Elizabeth Agyemang is the author of several books, including the graphic novels Fibbed, which was a Parents.com Best Children’s Book of 2022 selection, a Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Kids 2022 pick and a Fox 43 AM Live Best Book of the Week pick, and A Beginner’s Guide to Leveling Up, both of which she illustrated. She is also the author of the young adult novel Heart-shaped Lies, a mystery thriller which has been featured on Ebony Magazine, Paste Magazine, OkayAfrica, and Girls’ Life Magazine, and Divine Oaths, a dark academia, romantic fantasy that is her adult debut. When she isn’t gushing over books or comics, she spends her free time dissecting classic movies and TV shows. Find her works online at elizabethagyemang.com.
Elizabeth is represented by Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary.