Dread Pirate Arcanist (Frith Chronicles Book 2)

This book is such an intriguing, inspiring, captivating, and thought-provoking read!!!

It was great catching back up with Volke, his “adopted” sister Illia, and the rest of the arcanist gang for another exciting adventure!

This book was a fun, quick, easy read that I was unable to put down! The pages just flew right by and before I knew it, I was already on the last page!

This is the third book I’ve read from the talented writer, Shami Stovall. A few months ago I had the privilege of reading her book, “Knightmare Arcanist,” which is Book One of The Frith Chronicles Book Series. I totally loved it, so I was very excited to read her latest work, “Dread Pirate Arcanist,” which is Book Two of The Frith Chronicles Book Series.

This book focused on Illia and her brother, Volke, and their continued growth as arcanists. They are in the middle of a competition to be assigned to watch over and protect the newborn griffins. However, when Ryllin, the griffin ruler and father of the cubs goes missing his newborn son, Bedivere, wanders off and goes after his dad to find him. The team of arcanists, Illia, Volke, Hexa, Atty, Zaxis, and Adelgis must now go searching for Ryllin and his son, Bedivere as they are top priority to find before they come into harm’s way. Unfortunately, after the news breaks in town, two young brothers, Leo and Grant, determined to prove their bravery and hope to one day bond with a griffin go off secretly to find the missing cub. Now, the team is not only looking for the griffins, but also two young reckless boys. When Volke and Zaxis finally catch up to the boys who have found the baby cub, they realize they all have been badly hurt and are on the brink of death. Can Volke and Zaxis save the boys and the baby cub, Bedivere? Who hurt the boys and the cub? Where is Ryllin? Is he okay? Who will ultimately be protecting the newborn griffins? And this is all just the beginning of the book!! There is sooooo much more to the story – there are pirates, a plague, revenge motivates, hidden treasures, magical secrets, plot twists, surprising misdirections, and so much more!!!! Sorry, no spoilers here!! But you definitely will want to read this book and find out!!

Like last time, I really liked the characters. Illia and Volke were still ever so enjoyable. It was great have so many returning characters come back and I enjoyed making new friends and enemies (lol) with the additional add-on characters. I instantly liked Volke from book one and he was his same passionate, caring, determined, competitive, compassionate self! Now, Illia was a bit of a spitfire in this book! She really came out of her shell and was strong, sassy, fierce, sarcastic, driven, and a bit stubborn lol! She also showed her vulnerable side and opened up about her past, her weaknesses, her flaws, and her desires. It felt real, raw, and personable.

I think the author did a fantastic job on her character development as these characters were so real and personal on many levels and that says a lot as this book is part of the YA fantasy genre.

This book really showcased Illia and her past. I felt she was more reserved in book one, but here in book two, she was more front and center as the main bad guy, Dread Pirate Calisto, was actually from Illia’s former life when she was just a young kid. Calisto is the one who cut out her eye, feed it to his eldrin, and killed her parents. He threatened to kill her if she didn’t behave. Now that Illia is older, wiser, and an arcanist she is determined to set out for revenge since their paths have crossed again.

This book was definitely Illia’s story as book one was more Volke’s story.

I really liked that the author invites you further into her magical realm with book two. This book provides more details and insight into new magical creatures and new magical powers. It was exciting being fully immersed in this mystical, fantasy world full of enchantment!

I also really liked the scene with Kahtona when she addresses the citizens of West Landin about her family and her future plans. What she and her son, Bedivere do is so sweet! I have to admit, I honestly was in tears during this scene and a few others. This book felt more personal as I think my connection to the characters was stronger and who doesn’t love a baby cub!!!

I really liked that this book is full of so many important take-away messages, valuable lessons, and morals that readers of ALL ages can enjoy, appreciate, and learn from!

I love the in-depth amount of research and world-building the author did while constructing this book. The author provided so much detail and such vivid descriptions it made the scenes easy to picture – it was like a movie playing in my head.

This book has a creative story line, intriguing plot points, excellent action-packed structured scenes, fantastic writing style, well-developed characters, important and useful life lessons, instilled valuable morals, and keeps you fully engaged through the last page!

Unfortunately, I felt this book had a lot of similarities to the first book. However, there was still enough unique material to keep this story fresh and new. And as I delved further into this story, I was able to find a few more particular themes that stood out enough to allow this book to remain original.

There are some predictable scenes. However, there are still a few very unexpected twists and turns that you won’t see coming!

This book is book two of The Frith Chronicles Book Series. I personally wouldn’t recommend this book to be read as a standalone as there are many references to the previous book, continued story line, and character overlap. Therefore, I would strongly suggest starting with book one.

This book does mostly have a tidy ending, however, there are still some overall unknown questions that remain unanswered. So, there are definitely hopes for book three!

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it! I think all young adult fantasy readers will like this book too! So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading – you won’t be disappointed!

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**

I read Knightmare Arcanist (Firth Chronicles #1) by Shami Stovall, enjoyed it, and gave it a 5 Star review. I also added Dread Pirate Arcanist (Firth Chronicles #2) to my TBR. Read on for my thoughts!

Synopsis (from the author):
Pirates. Griffins. A lost treasure worth killing for.
While protecting the newborn griffins on the Isle of Landin, Volke Savan and his adopted sister, Illia, run afoul of the Dread Pirate Calisto, the same cutthroat who carved out Illia’s right eye. As a master manticore arcanist, Calisto’s strength and brutality are unrivaled, so when Illia suggests they bring him to justice, Volke wonders if they’ll have what it takes to fight the corsairs on the high seas.

What I liked about Dread Pirate Arcanist:
I liked the way Volke and Illia’s characters grew both within the story and with each other. I also liked Luthair and how he and Volke continued to meld. The plot of the story made it read almost like a standalone, but it had enough threads to carry the story forward into the next book. The encounter and pursuit of Calisto adds a nice revenge theme to the story as well. Overall, an excellent second installment of the series.

What I didn’t like about Dread Pirate Arcanist:
Despite all the good aspects of the book, I thought Volke, at times, came across a little whiny and it was a bit of a distraction. In addition, Addy still is a little bit one-dimensional to me.

Overall impression of Dread Pirate Arcanist:
Good characters, a nice balance of action, and a good story make Dread Pirate Arcanist a great second book of the series. If you like fantasy, give this one a try!

My rating:
4.5 Stars (rounded to 5 stars)