Don't you hate it when this happens? You start reading a book, you can't put it down and then all of a sudden you're absorbed into another book series! Of course, I am totally joking, I love it when that happens! And that is exactly where I am after finishing this great read.
The Knightmare Arcanist follows main characters Volke and Illia, orphans from the Isle of Ruma. Volke has always dreamed of becoming an Arcanist, the most revered people in society, capable of immense magic which they use to protect and defend. To become an Arcanist a person needs to bond with a mystical creature. On the Isle of Ruma, chosen individuals participate in a bonding day called the Day of Phoenixes, those chosen have to take part in three challenges to prove their worth in order for a phoenix to choose them to bond with.
Unfortunately for both Volke and Illia, their background and their upbringing means that the Bonding Day challenges are not for them, no matter how hard Volke tries. So, they take it into their own hands to track down their own mystical creatures. After a successful, even if very dangerous and life threatening trip, Volke and Illia both bond with their creatures - Illia with Nicholin, a ferret type creature called a rizzel, and Volke with Luthair, a walking suit of armour known as a Knightmare.
And from here the story follows our heroes as they make their way from the Isle of Ruma (coincidently, the Isle is named after Gregory Ruma, one of the most famous Master Arcanists and hero to Volke), in order to start their Arcanist training where they are joined by Atty and Zaxis, also from the Isle who had earlier bonded with the phoenixes. From the Isle of Ruma more challenges await them as they have to find a Guild of Arcanists to accept them, work on their magical powers and figure out exactly what it is they can do. Not to mention a quest to find out if one of the Master Arcanist is the person everyone thinks he is (see the clue above). Whilst they work this out, friendships are formed, alliances are made and relationships tested and questioned. At a time when 15 is considered adulthood, it couldn't be a more confusing time to figure out where you fit into the world.
We have quite a batch of characters to follow and keep track of, all with their own mystical creatures with various quirks and talents. But, because of the way the story is written it's very easy to keep track. As ever with reads like this, I am constantly in awe of the imagination of writing that goes into this type of story. It astounds me the way authors can create such believable fantasy worlds, with these amazing characters and talents - my brain just doesn't work that way.
Reading through the chapters and I could feel the islands and the seas from the way it had been written, it was very easy to imagine old harbour towns, large ships and the sound of waves. Each location was very easy to picture - the author does a great job with this. You can feel the hot sun and easily imagine the bustling towns.
I feel like we have only scratched the surface of the story of Arcanists, this first book in the series acted as an amazing scene setter, and I think we have a lot more to find out about each of the characters. I felt like little plot ideas and character traits for each character was just planted as a seed in this book and I'm very much looking forward to finding out where they end up.
So, all in all, this was a five-star read for me. I'm so pleased I was able to be involved in another TheWriteReads blog tour, which has consistently introduced me to new and fantastic reads. Another one I highly recommend, give it a read and let me know what you think.
MHR x
I received this as an e-book in return for an honest review as part of The Write Reads Blog Tour.