Genre: Fantasy, YA, Magic
Length: 446 Pages
Published: 23rd August 2022
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Academy-Arcanist-1-Astra/dp/1957613173
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60839624-academy-arcanist?
Hopes. Dreams. And literal nightmares out to kill a young boy.
Gray Lexly, son of a candlemaker, wants to escape his life of old-world technologies and study at the prestigious Astra Academy, a school for arcanists—those who can wield magic. But Gray has a major problem. Every night, as he sleeps, he’s visited by monsters. When they injure Gray in his dreams, he wakes with the same wounds in real life…
On the night Gray might finally die in his nightmares, he is saved by the kind and mysterious Professor Helmith, a powerful arcanist. She offers to protect Gray and invites him to attend Astra Academy.
Before that can happen, Gray must bond with a mystical creature to become an arcanist himself. Will he bond with a unicorn? A pegasus? A kitsune? Whatever he bonds with will determine his magical abilities, so he must choose wisely.
And when trouble finds Professor Helmith, Gray must become powerful enough to help her and fend off the terrible nightmares, before it’s too late…
He’s a man who operates at his own speed—and it’s the speed of a corpse.”
Before Academy Arcanist I had not read anything by Shami Stovall but after reading this book, I will be reading everything I can! The moment I finished Academy Arcanist, I got the second book in the series, Mimic Arcanist, and finished that in a day too!!
Academy Arcanist is the book you get when you cross a magical school with mythical creatures (think creatures such as hippogriffs, unicorns, reapers, mimics, dragons, etc.) and a trio of misfits trying to stake their claim on their world.
A person isn’t one deed or event. You may know the outcome, but you don’t know the story.”
This book is incredibly immersive, with an in-depth world building that isn’t too heavy or hard to follow. I was deeply rooted in the story and Grey as our MMC, and although the book is slightly longer than your average book, the fast pace enables you to read through the story quickly, whilst still being deeply invested in Grey’s journey.
It was like Darkness was offering Death its hand.
If you open this book, get ready for attacks on our MCs, dark forces, mythical creatures bonded to students and characters following their dreams no matter the odds or danger. This is a great YA read that perfectly sets up Book 2, Mimic Arcanist. I just wish I could have read these books in my teens!!!! It would have fit perfectly alongside my reads of Divergent and Percy Jackson!
Shami Stovall is a multi-award-winning author of fantasy and science fiction. Before that, she taught history and criminal law at the college level, and loved every second. When she’s not reading fascinating articles and books about ancient China or the Byzantine Empire, Stovall can be found playing way too many video games, especially RPGs and tactics simulators.
If you want to contact her, you can do so at the following locations:
Website: https://sastovallauthor.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GameOverStation/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SAStovall/
Email: s.adelle.s@gmail.com
The Pen Not The Sword 