Book Review: Avalon Tower by C.N. Crawford

Title: Avalon Tower
Author: C.N. Crawford
Series: Fey Academy for Spies #1
Pages: 496
Publication Date: Sept. 15, 2026
Publisher: Saga Press
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy
Synopsis:

Avalon Spy Academy rules: spy on the fey, resist falling for your mentor, and try not to die in the process.

What I’m hoping for on my European vacation is to read books and drink champagne on the beach. Instead, I end up kidnapped by an arrogant, lethally sexy fey named Raphael.

It turns out, I have a magic power needed to fight an evil fey king. Next thing I know, Raphael has enrolled me in an elite spy academy. There, in the ancient and gothic halls of Avalon Tower, snobbery and brutal competitions are among the oldest traditions.

Making my job harder, the silver-eyed Raphael is my mentor. Romance is forbidden here--a distracted spy is a dead spy. So I need to push his dangerous allure out of my mind as we travel into the Fey realm. If we get captured by the fey king, we’ll die horrific deaths–and humanity won’t stand a chance.

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Avalon Tower is such a great start to the Fey Academy for Spies series! I really enjoyed it, especially the Gothic academy setting and the whole Arthurian legend influence. The story follows Nia, who thinks she’s going to spend her vacation in France reading books and drinking champagne, but instead she gets kidnapped by a Fey, discovers she has a rare magical ability, and ends up at a secret spy academy she didn’t even know existed. Then, she’s thrown into training, dangerous missions, Fey politics, new relationships, and she definitely wasn’t prepared for any of it.

The world-building was one of the strengths of the book. I loved Avalon Tower and all the Gothic vibes, and the idea of a secret academy training humans and demi-Fey to spy on the Fey. I also really liked how the authors incorporated elements of Arthurian legends into the story, like Camelot, Avalon, Merlin, the Lady of the Lake, and the Knights of the Round Table. However, it’s not just a retelling of the well-known legends. They’re woven into the story in interesting ways, and it’s very immersive.

Nia is funny and strong, and I liked watching her adjust to everything being thrown at her, especially as she learns more about her abilities and why she’s so important to this new world. The other characters were great, too, and I really enjoyed the friendships and relationships that developed. Raphael was one of the most intriguing and infuriating. I liked him, but I definitely want to know more about him and what’s really going on with him. There’s clearly a lot more to his story, so I’m curious to see how his character develops.

The romance was slow-building and filled with tension. Nia and Raphael have a complicated history, so there’s some unresolved feelings there, which becomes complicated when they have to work together. I liked the forbidden romance and slow-burn aspect, especially with Raphael being her mentor and romantic relationships being very much against the rules while training. Their relationship definitely has chemistry, and I enjoyed watching all that tension build while they were dealing with everything else going on around them. I’m especially curious to see where things go after everything that happened toward the end of the book.

Overall, Avalon Tower was a really entertaining romantasy. I loved the academy setting and the Gothic vibes with an Arthurian influence, as well as the combination of magic, Fey, spy missions, trials, and political intrigue. There are also some great messages about identity, belonging, trust, and learning to find your place when your entire understanding of the world has been turned upside down. And that ending! My word! Now I definitely need to know what happens next.