Academy Arcanist

Astra Academy Series, Book 1

By: Shami Stovall

Narrated by: Shaun Grindell

Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Hopes. Dreams. And literal nightmares out to kill a young boy.

Gray Lexly, son of a candlemaker, wants to escape his life of old-world technologies and study at the prestigious Astra Academy, a school for arcanists—those who can wield magic. But Gray has a major problem. Every night, as he sleeps, he's visited by monsters. When they injure Gray in his dreams, he wakes with the same wounds in real life . . .

On the night Gray might finally die in his nightmares, he is saved by the kind and mysterious Professor Helmith, a powerful arcanist. She offers to protect Gray and invites him to attend Astra Academy.

Before that can happen, Gray must bond with a mystical creature to become an arcanist himself. Will he bond with a unicorn? A pegasus? A kitsune? Whatever he bonds with will determine his magical abilities, so he must choose wisely.

And when trouble finds Professor Helmith, Gray must become powerful enough to help her and fend off the terrible nightmares, before it's too late . . .

©2022 Capital Station Books (P)2023 Tantor

Characters pull you along with the story

Likes: CHARACTERS!! The environments were diverse and well thought out. The mythology was well read and followed as much as possible for the animals. Story was good but you could tell it was setting up for many books ( not a bad thing).

Dislikes: Villains, I felt there needed to be more with the story for the villains. They were just there. The main characters had alot going on, villains on the other hand; not so much.

Overall: I would recommend

It was ok

I honestly don’t know how I feel about this one Mc is kinda dumb and I really enjoyed the character development in the previous series but I don’t think it really showed until a couple of books in I’ll probably get the next one but idk about after that

fun

it's a fun listen. I feel the end was rushed but overall I enjoyed it. I love the world Shami created. I cannot wait for more of this story to unfold

Hidden Gem

Found author on tiktok. The book was amazing! I can't wait to start book 2!

Great book!

If Harry Potter and Pokémon had a baby? Loving the series. Can’t wait to begin the second book.

Great story

I didn't know this was all part of a much larger story this was so good I have to go back and read all the rest of the story!

Another Hit!

Another great story! I love the universe she is creating! Love the magical creatures and the characters! If your a fantasy reader Shami Stovall should be on your list of authors!

Not Bad But Not Her Best

I've been a big fan of the author's Frith Guild Chornicles since the beginning. That series I found entertaining, engaging, relatable, and emotionally moving. I wouldn't call this book bad, but its far from the quality I was expecting. I found the main character annoying more often than not and his brother drove me up a wall almost the entire book. I found the twist lack luster and the character dynamic across the book just plane lacking. Where the story does redeem itself is in the forshadowing of the climax.

Great piece of the Frith world!!!

I am so pleased with this story! I can’t wait for more! I love this world Shami Stovall has created!

Harry Potter Knock-Off

Couldn’t get into the story. It’s a shame because it sounded like it had great potential. The main characters are slow and the protagonist has an annoying hero complex that just gets old. In general, it’s just too ‘nice’. I won’t be proceeding with the series.