A review by nerdybookster
Dread Pirate Arcanist by Shami Stovall

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Second in the Frith Chronicles, this follows Volke and his fellow arcanists as they travel the ocean and learn more about what it means to be an arcanist (I find the pronunciation very entertaining). They have stopped on the island of Landin to witness a bonding ceremony for griffins, and while there are asked to find a missing baby griffin. They end up running across a pirate who is looking for a specific book, which they just so happen to have. Illia, Volke's adopted sister, decides they need to bring the pirate to justice and they see if they can't go up against a dread pirate and win. There was a lot that I wondered about in the novel. Volke gets very hurt in this one and nearly doesn't make it out of it. I found it funny that even being enemies, the rest sent their own eldrin to sit with him and keep him warm/company while he got better. I am curious about Adelgis and his aversion to certain things. It was an interestingly written novel that has me curious to know how the next will play out.