Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Academy Arcanist, the first in an exciting series of YA fantasy fiction.
While I’ve always loved fantasy books, in the past few years I’ve only read middle grade titles that fall within that category, so when I was invited to read this and take part in the blog tour, I thought it about time that I branched out into those titles for an older audience. Packed with magical creatures, danger and excitement, this is a read that will capture and hold the attention of its intended audience as they join hero Gray as he embarks on his training to become an arcanist.
Two years before he is eligible to join the academy, Gray is troubled by a series of dreams in which he is attacked – dreams which his candlemaker father refuses to believe are really leaving him with corresponding injuries when he wakes up. Living on the Isle of Haylin, mystical creatures are a rarity but Gray remains convinced that something is controlling his nightmares and counts himself lucky that twin brother Sorin has his back. Experiencing the terror yet another encounter with his nocturnal nemesis brings, Gray is taken aback when an arcanist enters his dream to defend him and having seen off the menace, introduces herself as Professor Helmith from Astra Academy for Arcanists.
Now under the protection of Helmith – who promises to monitor his dreams – and seeing the possibility of leaving Haylin for a more exciting future as an arcanist, Gray vows to do all it takes to enrol at the academy and persuades Sorin to do the same. When the opportunity comes once they both reach 15, the pair of them find themselves onboard a ship bound for the academy in the company of a group of other would-be arcanists and are warned by the captain that not all that want to study will be given places – they will need to prove themselves first.
Reaching the academy, the opportunity comes quickly when the hopeful candidates are taken to the Menagerie – an area where an assortment of mystical creatures live, with whom the students need to bond by completing a challenge set by them if they are to secure a place. Heading in, Gray and Sorin meet several potential choices but all thoughts of choosing are cast aside when Gray is attacked by the monster from his dreams and there is no sign of Helmith coming to his rescue. Overcoming this hurdle, Gray finds his eldrin – the creature with whom he is now partnered – and is reassured by the academy’s head teacher that all is now well. Before long, it is clear that that is not the case and not only is something determined to destroy Gray but Professor Helmith has disappeared. Can Gray find the missing arcanist and can he defeat whatever is plaguing him before it finally kills him?
From the off, it is clear that there is something different about Gray – something that marks him out – making the reader curious as to not only what is is that is attacking him but also why. More ambitious than his brother and keen to avoid following in their father’s footsteps as a candlemaker, he is already plotting how to leave their quiet island home before the possibility of training to become an arcanist is opened up to him. Before he is old enough to undertake the required trial, he is so desperate to find an eldrin that he lies and cheats in an attempt to do so but quickly sees the error of his ways and learns from the experience. When he reaches the academy and meets those who have come from much wealthier families, or who have already found their magical partners, he does not allow them to belittle him or bring him down but holds his head up high and acts with a great deal more wisdom, as he knows his place has been hard earned.
With Gray now settled into the academy, only time will tell just what it is that sets him apart from his peers with his adventures continuing in Book 2, Mimic Arcanist.
As always, my enormous thanks go to publisher Capital Station Books and to TheWriteReads for my gifted e-copy of the book and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour. Academy Arcanist is on sale now – don’t forget to check out the other posts on the tour.
Mrs Sydney's Famous World's Smallest Library 