Rating: 3.5 stars

Shami Stovall's Knightmare Arcanist, the first book in her Frith Chronicles series, turned out to be pretty fun and action-packed read. However, it did have some weak points that detracted from the overall reading experience for me. This book follows Volke Savan, an apprentice gravedigger on a tiny and remote island who's dream is to become an arcanist and finally leave his island. To become an arcanist and wield magic, one must first bond with an eldrin (a term for any time of mythical creature). So when Volke meets a knightmare named Luthair, he doesn't hesitate at the chance to fulfill his dreams.

The strongest aspects of this book for me by far were the premise and magic system. In this world, arcanists use magic based on the type of eldrin that they bond with. For example, phoenixes have fire magic, knightmares have shadow magic, etc. This might be because of the Pokemon lover in me, but what I really loved about this system was how much it focused on the bond between the arcanist and eldrin as well as the vast amount of different creatures out there. Overall, it makes for huge potential in future worldbuilding.

What really put me off throughout the whole book, however, was the dialogue. The overall writing itself was quite good, but when it came to character dialogue, it seemed a little simplistic and lacking nuance. The imbalance was quite jarring to me. Another, albeit smaller, issue I had was that the pacing at the very end seemed very rushed. Although everything wraps up, I ended the book feeling like an unwanted guest being forced out of someone's house.

Overall, it was a fun reading experience, and I'm curious to explore more of the world and see more eldrin in the future installments!

I really wanted to like this book. I have a love for Phoenixs so any book about them catches my eye, but yet they seem to disappoint me. I could be a harsh critique because I love phoenix's but this book just didn’t give me that feeling. I think this could be a very popular book among the ya fans, I just didn’t find it any more spectacular than other ya fantasy novels right now.

Shami Stovall delivers a world full of magic, adventure, friendship, secrets and lots of action. Everything is taking place into a well-crafted setting that you can easily visualize, due to the intricate details the writer is offering. The characters have distinctive personalities and while their utter goal is to attain the magic of their world, their motives differ from one another.

Our story follows Volke, a fifteen-year-old boy, who, despite his poor upbringing, is dedicated to becoming an arcanist. Arcanists can wield magic but in order to achieve that, they must form a bond with a mystical creature. What power the magician can control depends on his mystical creature’s abilities. After overcoming many obstacles, Volke manages to bond with a Knightmare named Luthair, under one condition: he must help him take revenge on his first arcanist’s killer. Volke must learn his craft, seak out the person who murdered Luthair’s partner while, in the meantime, trying to stay intact from a terrible plague that drives arcanists and mystical creatures crazy.

The story has a fairytale-vibe with sprinkles of darkness to make your skin crawl just at the right moments. The description of the world setting and the portrayal of the mystical creatures’ appearance and powers were cohesive and clear in a non-tiring way. I could picture, smell and feel everything the writer intended me to.

The characters by not being perfect are more relatable. Even the mean ones (not the evil ones) have redeemable qualities and the will to change when proven wrong. I loved that Volke has petty or bad thoughts, at times, but never acts upon them. He’s good and just and everything he does is filtered by the principles recited on the Pillar: an ancient staircase made of stone with one hundred and twelve steps. On each one are written words of wisdom for every sorcerer to follow; a very imaginative addition to the story.

I equally adored his interactions with Illia, the orphan girl he grew up with. Their relationship is based on loyalty and trust and their friendship is above all else, no matter what’s taking place. Romance is not a priority for this book’s plot so the reader gets to focus more on what’s happening.

The pacing was great for me and the writing made this book a quick read. My only complaint is that I wanted something more towards the ending. I expected/craved for things to not be so obvious; some twist, perhaps, that could change the course of the story.

Still, I enjoyed this first installment of the Frith Chronicles and I’m excited for the next one. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who is up for a magical adventure laced with dark-ish elements.

This ARC was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC. I was absolutely thrilled I got this ARC! I love all things science fiction and fantasy so I was ready and willing to give this a go. Didn't disappoint I loved it! Will read more from this author in the future!