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Astra Academy #5
Labyrinth Arcanist
Upgraded weapons. New magic. And a way to enter the abyssal hells…
Gray Lexly has returned to Astra Academy to train himself for the ultimate confrontation. Legendary arcanists from across the world are gathering to assist in the ultimate battle of life and death, but will it be enough to stop the rampaging Death Lords who have amassed power in the abyssal hells?
And before Gray can focus on any of that, he must first get married. With pressure mounting from all sides, Gray is grateful to have Ashlyn at his side, but will it last? The soul fragment from Death Lord Deimos still skews his perception, and sometimes Gray doesn’t feel like himself.
Thankfully, he has his twin brother, Sorin, and his mimic eldrin, Twain, to keep him sane as they prepare to enter the most terrifying part of the abyssal the infamous labyrinth.
Gray Lexly has returned to Astra Academy to train himself for the ultimate confrontation. Legendary arcanists from across the world are gathering to assist in the ultimate battle of life and death, but will it be enough to stop the rampaging Death Lords who have amassed power in the abyssal hells?
And before Gray can focus on any of that, he must first get married. With pressure mounting from all sides, Gray is grateful to have Ashlyn at his side, but will it last? The soul fragment from Death Lord Deimos still skews his perception, and sometimes Gray doesn’t feel like himself.
Thankfully, he has his twin brother, Sorin, and his mimic eldrin, Twain, to keep him sane as they prepare to enter the most terrifying part of the abyssal the infamous labyrinth.
- GenresFantasyYoung AdultMagic
429 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 9, 2025
93 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Shami Stovall
45 books826 followersShami Stovall is a multi-award-winning author of fantasy and science fiction. Before that, she taught history and criminal law at the college level, and loved every second. When she’s not reading fascinating articles and books about ancient China or the Byzantine Empire, Stovall can be found playing way too many video games, especially RPGs and tactics simulators.
If you want to contact her, you can do so at the following locations:
Website: https://sastovallauthor.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GameOverStation/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SAStovall/
Email: s.adelle.s@gmail.com
If you want to contact her, you can do so at the following locations:
Website: https://sastovallauthor.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GameOverStation/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SAStovall/
Email: s.adelle.s@gmail.com
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 9, 2025
Absolutely loved this book. I’ve been devouring practically everything in the Frith Chronicles universe since 2020, and this book was no different. Sat down at about 9:30 am this morning to start reading it, and at 12:27 pm I leaned back with a sad yet satisfied expression on my face. (I say sad not because of anything to do with the ending or the story, but because I’ve now finished the book.) I love this world Shami’s created, and getting to experience more of it is always a blessing. Seeing Volke, Zaxis, Lynus, Zelfree, Adelgis, Lucien, and all of my other surrogate children, and the lives and families they’ve built, will never, EVER get old. Nor will getting to explore the newer aspects of this wonderfully rich world, particularly the abyssal hells (they make it all somehow even more fascinating and wondrous). I eagerly await Gray, Twain, Dee, and everyone else continuing the adventure in Elder Arcanist, and I’m looking forward to seeing what else Shami has in store, particularly for the old friends we haven’t been reunited with yet. In the meantime, I think I’ll go gobble up the Kirin Arcanist series. :)
February 19, 2025
This book is a major improvement from the previous. It re-centers the characters in the present and prepares them for a final showdown in the near future. I just wish it wasn't so obvious how near that future would be.
We start this book tying up the loose ends from book 4. Gray needs to tell his family about his upcoming marriage so we go back to his home island for a wholly uninteresting and pointless chapter telling his parents and getting some weird gossip-vibes from Phila. It seems like it is just a setup to tell us that Sorin isn't at home and is exactly where I hoped he wouldn't be at the end of the last book - Exie's house. She is desperately trying to woo him and for some reason it is having exactly zero effect and yet she is persisting. I'm not sure why we've spent so much time on this one-sided high school romance. Sorin's reaction to seeing Gray is good and honestly his explosive anger over Gray leaving Nini behind is kinda deserved. Gray really did not try to stop Nini from running towards one of the 4 Death Lords of Hell while they were trying to escape. I don't blame Sorin for being upset at that, though he does come around awfully quick. This whole beginning setup seems like it was just to introduce us to another rich family with limitless resources; this time we meet Exie's eccentric aunt who is a master artificer and mystical creature researcher. Gray is handed a book that just tells every creatures strengths, abilities, auras and method of evolving (kinda like a pokedex). It's just another way for him to learn exactly what he needs to know without going to class for a year or years. It follows my pattern for Gray - all of his power feels so unearned.
We then whisk away to the Kross Family compound for the wedding of two teenagers. The ceremony itself was nice and subdued. I thought the imagery of the Kross house was thematically nice. But there was a horrifying second while reading that I thought we were about to drop the YA rating and tone of this series to experience the wedding night of Gray and Ashlynn in detail. It really felt like we were setting up for a hardcore scene that was thankfully demoted to a fade to black. I'm glad we wrapped up this sub-plot so quickly and that it is finally time to return to school. I am a little sad that this seems to be the death of Ashlynn's character though. I really liked her and her dynamic with Gray in the earlier books. She was her own person, she had ambition and training to back it up. Their early interactions were competitive in nature and built from pushing the other person. But now that they are married Ashlynn feels like Gray's prize for being so awesome and a piece of eye candy that he keeps snickering to himself that he has. It's even weird that the school has separate rooms for married students so they can sleep together. It really feels like they could have accepted being back in their dorms with their friends. There was a lot of room for growth with more characters. It was the whole reason the boy-group developed any kind of comradery. But I guess we have to know that they sleep together sometimes now.
While I was so glad to make it back to school for their second year, it did feel a bit off. In year 1 there was a structure to the course work that lent itself to interacting with a variety of teachers with different specialties. Now however, with the entire class 1A signing up for the brand new Abyssal Sentinel line of education, it felt so nebulous. Who is teaching them to fight in the Abyss, a place only 3 living people have experience in (and they are part of the class and not a teacher)? It feels like it shouldn't have been so focused this early and maybe we spend this book just going over combat again. Improve magic, do some research, let Deimos give some lectures instead of throwing random professors and arcanists at the students to speculate. I really like the school aspect of this story and this didn't scratch it.
The biggest thing this book liked to focus on and expand upon in the lore was the idea of auras. A way to channel your magic and manipulate all people around you in a specific way to your bonded creature. Another really cool concept and we're told is super advanced stuff. Which is why I hated it. All of our 16-year-old students who barely had a freshmen year are pushing themselves to learn what theirs is and how to use it immediately. This should be upper-classman level stuff that these kids are not ready for. I'm ok with super boosted Nini learning hers in the middle of living in the Labyrinth because she is in extreme conditions, fighting for her life and her reaper has already evolved. But then everyone wants to know theirs and the professors can just rattle them off. Some seem super useless in 99% of circumstances, but it's good we learn each members' abilities because Gray needs another ass-pull uber ability. His aura is that he can copy all auras at the same time. Yay! Another way for Gray to just be hilariously over-powered compared to every single other person. How did Zahn ever lose anything ever if he had a mimic?
Speaking of mimics, there is one sub-plot that runs through this entire book that I thought dragged the whole story down with it. I don't like how single-minded Gray is about defeating fear and powering up Twain. I get that he just wants to be stronger, but it feels like he is just looking for a shortcut. The only thing he ever does. If we didn't have the swinging sword of Damocles of the Hells falling apart I'd say just give him a year or three to montage working out and slowly mastering his friends abilities. Then it will feel like he grew into his cosmic power. But no, he has to race to level up and force a true form awakening for plot. And I'm just not happy that he succeeded. He didn't need more power. Gray does not deserve to be the strongest person of all time. I still don't like him. And yet I'm so invested in Deimos and the word that I'll let Gray have his big moment once the final book comes out.
We start this book tying up the loose ends from book 4. Gray needs to tell his family about his upcoming marriage so we go back to his home island for a wholly uninteresting and pointless chapter telling his parents and getting some weird gossip-vibes from Phila. It seems like it is just a setup to tell us that Sorin isn't at home and is exactly where I hoped he wouldn't be at the end of the last book - Exie's house. She is desperately trying to woo him and for some reason it is having exactly zero effect and yet she is persisting. I'm not sure why we've spent so much time on this one-sided high school romance. Sorin's reaction to seeing Gray is good and honestly his explosive anger over Gray leaving Nini behind is kinda deserved. Gray really did not try to stop Nini from running towards one of the 4 Death Lords of Hell while they were trying to escape. I don't blame Sorin for being upset at that, though he does come around awfully quick. This whole beginning setup seems like it was just to introduce us to another rich family with limitless resources; this time we meet Exie's eccentric aunt who is a master artificer and mystical creature researcher. Gray is handed a book that just tells every creatures strengths, abilities, auras and method of evolving (kinda like a pokedex). It's just another way for him to learn exactly what he needs to know without going to class for a year or years. It follows my pattern for Gray - all of his power feels so unearned.
We then whisk away to the Kross Family compound for the wedding of two teenagers. The ceremony itself was nice and subdued. I thought the imagery of the Kross house was thematically nice. But there was a horrifying second while reading that I thought we were about to drop the YA rating and tone of this series to experience the wedding night of Gray and Ashlynn in detail. It really felt like we were setting up for a hardcore scene that was thankfully demoted to a fade to black. I'm glad we wrapped up this sub-plot so quickly and that it is finally time to return to school. I am a little sad that this seems to be the death of Ashlynn's character though. I really liked her and her dynamic with Gray in the earlier books. She was her own person, she had ambition and training to back it up. Their early interactions were competitive in nature and built from pushing the other person. But now that they are married Ashlynn feels like Gray's prize for being so awesome and a piece of eye candy that he keeps snickering to himself that he has. It's even weird that the school has separate rooms for married students so they can sleep together. It really feels like they could have accepted being back in their dorms with their friends. There was a lot of room for growth with more characters. It was the whole reason the boy-group developed any kind of comradery. But I guess we have to know that they sleep together sometimes now.
While I was so glad to make it back to school for their second year, it did feel a bit off. In year 1 there was a structure to the course work that lent itself to interacting with a variety of teachers with different specialties. Now however, with the entire class 1A signing up for the brand new Abyssal Sentinel line of education, it felt so nebulous. Who is teaching them to fight in the Abyss, a place only 3 living people have experience in (and they are part of the class and not a teacher)? It feels like it shouldn't have been so focused this early and maybe we spend this book just going over combat again. Improve magic, do some research, let Deimos give some lectures instead of throwing random professors and arcanists at the students to speculate. I really like the school aspect of this story and this didn't scratch it.
The biggest thing this book liked to focus on and expand upon in the lore was the idea of auras. A way to channel your magic and manipulate all people around you in a specific way to your bonded creature. Another really cool concept and we're told is super advanced stuff. Which is why I hated it. All of our 16-year-old students who barely had a freshmen year are pushing themselves to learn what theirs is and how to use it immediately. This should be upper-classman level stuff that these kids are not ready for. I'm ok with super boosted Nini learning hers in the middle of living in the Labyrinth because she is in extreme conditions, fighting for her life and her reaper has already evolved. But then everyone wants to know theirs and the professors can just rattle them off. Some seem super useless in 99% of circumstances, but it's good we learn each members' abilities because Gray needs another ass-pull uber ability. His aura is that he can copy all auras at the same time. Yay! Another way for Gray to just be hilariously over-powered compared to every single other person. How did Zahn ever lose anything ever if he had a mimic?
Speaking of mimics, there is one sub-plot that runs through this entire book that I thought dragged the whole story down with it. I don't like how single-minded Gray is about defeating fear and powering up Twain. I get that he just wants to be stronger, but it feels like he is just looking for a shortcut. The only thing he ever does. If we didn't have the swinging sword of Damocles of the Hells falling apart I'd say just give him a year or three to montage working out and slowly mastering his friends abilities. Then it will feel like he grew into his cosmic power. But no, he has to race to level up and force a true form awakening for plot. And I'm just not happy that he succeeded. He didn't need more power. Gray does not deserve to be the strongest person of all time. I still don't like him. And yet I'm so invested in Deimos and the word that I'll let Gray have his big moment once the final book comes out.
January 9, 2025
another great book from an amazing author
This is a great book in the series including some life changing moments for Gray. Though this book doesn’t have much fighting in it. What it does have is a lot of plot filler getting us all caught up for what I expect to be one of the best books ever next. If you haven’t read her books you r missing out. As always I loved your characters and am only sad that I have to wait so long for the next book. Keep up the great work and I will read your husband’s book next month
This is a great book in the series including some life changing moments for Gray. Though this book doesn’t have much fighting in it. What it does have is a lot of plot filler getting us all caught up for what I expect to be one of the best books ever next. If you haven’t read her books you r missing out. As always I loved your characters and am only sad that I have to wait so long for the next book. Keep up the great work and I will read your husband’s book next month
January 11, 2025
Always wish it didn't end
Right there. I love these stories with the cut little mimic cat. He has the best lines and is also an adorable cat. So definitely love that. Plus, you have dragons. Everyone loves a good dragon. There is everything in this book adventure, danger, fantastic creatures and a wonderful exciting world.
Right there. I love these stories with the cut little mimic cat. He has the best lines and is also an adorable cat. So definitely love that. Plus, you have dragons. Everyone loves a good dragon. There is everything in this book adventure, danger, fantastic creatures and a wonderful exciting world.
January 12, 2025
Need More Shapeshifter (Eldrin)
Shami Stovall keeps on keeping on with this series. I can’t wait for the next book as always, especially after that ending. There’s so many ways the magic in this series can go, and the adventures these kids can take. Definitely keeps on getting better!
Shami Stovall keeps on keeping on with this series. I can’t wait for the next book as always, especially after that ending. There’s so many ways the magic in this series can go, and the adventures these kids can take. Definitely keeps on getting better!
February 14, 2025
Good book / series, but I wish the author didn't constantly reiterate knowledge (example, what a typhoon dragon looks like, or what power it has, etc). Like I get doing it for maybe one or two chapters at the start as a kind of reminder, but it'll happen at like 80% thru. It's to the point where noticeable and felt like it's being done just to make the book longer.
January 9, 2025
AMAZING BOOK!!!
Shami Stovall made this book amazing! One of her best series yet. With a marriage to fighting a death lord, achieving true form and more, it was just amazing. Everyone should read this series. Can’t wait for the next book.
Shami Stovall made this book amazing! One of her best series yet. With a marriage to fighting a death lord, achieving true form and more, it was just amazing. Everyone should read this series. Can’t wait for the next book.
January 11, 2025
Out of this world
I love these books and the author. The amount of joy I have gotten out of reading these books I can't ever forget. The unique ideas that went into this story are truly amazing. Keep up the amazing work it will alaways be appreciated.
I love these books and the author. The amount of joy I have gotten out of reading these books I can't ever forget. The unique ideas that went into this story are truly amazing. Keep up the amazing work it will alaways be appreciated.
March 8, 2025
Action, love, and loss
Labyrinth Arcanist exceeded expectations, delivering a transformative journey of action, love, and loss. I eagerly anticipate the Elder Arcanist's release, hoping for an early arrival. Shami Stovall has earned a lifelong fan.
Labyrinth Arcanist exceeded expectations, delivering a transformative journey of action, love, and loss. I eagerly anticipate the Elder Arcanist's release, hoping for an early arrival. Shami Stovall has earned a lifelong fan.
January 10, 2025
shami did it again
Every damn time. Shami wrote a super engaging and well written book that my only real complaint is that I finished it to quickly.
Every damn time. Shami wrote a super engaging and well written book that my only real complaint is that I finished it to quickly.
January 12, 2025
Very good read
I enjoyed reading this book and I recommend this book to anyone who likes LitRPG and progression types of books with lots of action
I enjoyed reading this book and I recommend this book to anyone who likes LitRPG and progression types of books with lots of action
January 17, 2025
This series just keeps getting better. I'm looking forward to the final book of the sextet.
January 27, 2025
Favorite so far in this series
February 19, 2025
another bloody brilliant book
I officially love this series the characters are engaging , funny and interesting
Hope everyone gets a happy ending!
Can’t wait for the final book
I officially love this series the characters are engaging , funny and interesting
Hope everyone gets a happy ending!
Can’t wait for the final book
March 21, 2025
I love love love this book! I can't wait for the next installment!
Also, that Gen Z blooper scene fried my Gen X brain. Lol!!
Also, that Gen Z blooper scene fried my Gen X brain. Lol!!
May 2, 2025
Can hardly wait for MORE!!!!
May 26, 2025
3.5 stars
November 16, 2025
I need more
I need more and i need them now. I can't stop reading. The cliffhangers absolutely suck but gets me even more excited for the next one.
I need more and i need them now. I can't stop reading. The cliffhangers absolutely suck but gets me even more excited for the next one.
December 7, 2025
the last chapter had me dead
If you don’t love this book you at least have to read the last chapter “my arcanist ain’t no simp” probably the most memorable line from it
If you don’t love this book you at least have to read the last chapter “my arcanist ain’t no simp” probably the most memorable line from it
January 21, 2025
Another Home Run
Shami’s ability to world build and explain the scene in vivid detail while not becoming a bore are nothing short of fantastic! I really wish she would finish the next book already! I can’t wait!
Shami’s ability to world build and explain the scene in vivid detail while not becoming a bore are nothing short of fantastic! I really wish she would finish the next book already! I can’t wait!
February 28, 2025
Always leaving us wanting more.
Like all the other books in frith chronicles, and astra academy the author knows how to make you never want to put the book down and leave you wanting more when the books. Love the twists and turns, and it always makes me laugh when hints at Pokémon are sprinkled in to some of characters.
Like all the other books in frith chronicles, and astra academy the author knows how to make you never want to put the book down and leave you wanting more when the books. Love the twists and turns, and it always makes me laugh when hints at Pokémon are sprinkled in to some of characters.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews