Hey, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Shami
Stovall and her new book, “Dread Pirate Arcanist”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Shami
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Dread Pirate Arcanist
by Shami Stovall
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GENRE: YA Fantasy
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BLURB:
Continue the Frith Chronicles with the second book, Dread Pirate
Arcanist!
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.
A
fast-paced flintlock fantasy for those who enjoy How to Train Your Dragon by
Cressida Cowell, Unsouled (Cradle Series) by Will Wight, and Percy Jackson and
the Olympians by Rick Riordan.
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EXCERPT TWO:
I
missed my adoptive father, Gravekeeper William.
The
days spent as his apprentice seemed torturous at first, since I had never
wanted to become a gravedigger, but now I understood how much he had influenced
my life. He had been the best father I ever could’ve hoped for. I last saw him after
I bonded with Luthair, a short time after my fifteenth birthday.
“Volke?”
“Yes?”
I replied, recognizing Illia’s voice straight away. I didn’t even need to turn
around. I knew she would walk over to speak with me.
Sure
enough, she ambled to the edge of the rocky cliff, one hand on the brim of her
sailing cap. Then she offered me a smile.
“Are
you out here daydreaming?”
“No.”
I slipped my hands into my pockets. “I wanted to spot some of the griffin cubs.
I’ve never seen one in person before.”
Illia
sarcastically lifted an eyebrow. “You weren’t thinking about the Isle of Ruma?”
“W-well,
I might have thought about it for a moment.”
“Yeah.
I know.” She stared down at West Landin, her only eye unfocused. “I’ve been
doing the same thing.”
The
wind played with her hair, revealing the twisted knife scars on the right side
of her face. Her sailing cap kept everything in place, so I didn’t catch sight
of the old wound for long, but I knew it was there.
I
still remembered the first night that Gravekeeper William had brought her home.
She had been five years old, and the injury hadn’t yet healed. The pirate fiend
who had taken her eye had cut in deep, damaging the socket. She had to rest in
bed for weeks, her skin pale and dappled with sweat.
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MY BOOK REVIEW:
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 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!
Did you find this review helpful?
If so, please, please, please mark it as
helpful on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/RUDVMIPM5CX9A
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AUTHOR BIO:
Shami Stovall grew
up in California’s central valley with a single mother and little brother.
Despite no one in her family earning a degree higher than a GED, she put
herself through college (earning a BA in History), and then continued on to law
school where she obtained her Juris Doctorate.
As a
child, Stovall’s favorite novel was Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott
O’Dell. The adventure on a deserted island opened her mind to ideas and
realities she had never given thought before—and it was at that moment Stovall
realized story telling (specifically fiction) became her passion. Anything that
told a story, be it a movie, book, video game or comic, she had to experience.
Now, as a professor and author, Stovall wants to add her voice to the myriad of
stories in the world and she hopes you enjoy.
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CONNECT WITH SHAMI:
Website:
Blog:
Newsletter:
Email:
s.adelle.s@gmail.com
Facebook:
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BookBub Author Page:
BookBub Book Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Amazon Audiobook:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Shami will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to
a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Shami ~ Good morning! Welcome back! It is always a pleasure to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! I really enjoyed reading and reviewing your book, thanks for providing the copy! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hosting me, and I'm really glad you enjoyed! I can't wait to get the third book into the hands of readers, lol
DeleteDid you help design the cover of the book?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for taking time to bring to our attention another great read. I appreciate it and thank you also for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI like the cover
ReplyDeleteI liked the excerpt, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your great review!
ReplyDeleteThis is a new author for me! I wondered if there are any content warnings for this book.
ReplyDeleteI would love to read your book.
ReplyDelete