Coliseum Arcanist

Coliseum Arcanist by Shami Stovall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Grand Apothecary of Fortuna, Gillie, has developed a way to guard against the Arcane Plague. In order to get the resources needed to put the defense into place, members of the Frith Guild head to Thronehold. Their goal is to beseech the Queen of Thronehold for resources. Unfortunate timing finds that a new sovereign dragon has hatched, which complicates matters for the guild. People flock to Thronehold for the bonding ceremony and a grand tournament that is taking place. Strange events are happening and Volke Savan has taken it upon himself to investigate.

Coliseum Arcanist almost feels like a response to anyone who might have said the first two books in the series felt like young adult. The tone grew darker and the stakes become deadly. While that happened Volke remains the same overly chivalrous individual, doing anything to uphold his values and protect others. I really appreciated the way the world is growing and how the danger is increasing.

Coliseum Arcanist is a true world builder of a book. Volke finds a guide to Eldrin that Adelgis's father wrote. It was a subtle way to expand the knowledge of the world while not feeling like a simple information dump. The tournament and the new environment introduced the reader to different Eldrin and also showed greater details of the strength of familiar ones.

There is so much more I'd like to say about the Coliseum Arcanist, but it feels too spoiler like for my tastes. I'm quite excited to see where the story heads next.

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