The High Priestess~ P.D Kalnay | Review

Title: The High Priestess (The Arros Chronicles #2)
Author: P. D. Kalnay
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release: April 2015
My Rating: 5/5 Stars

I had the opportunity to beta read this novel thanks to the author.

Synopsis

After returning with the life essence stolen from their father, the six princesses and their trusted friend Allan have set out in search of a mythical dragon far away from the Sky Kingdom. The dragon is their hope waking their father from his perpetual sleep. But unexpected obstacles and unforeseen destinies await the sisters as they race against time.  

Review

I really enjoyed the first novel in this series, but found the introduction of the princesses rather distracting in the beginning. Here that wasn't a problem. Already knowing each princess and having an idea about their individual personalities, I was prepared to jump right into this story. 

This story picks up right where the previous novel, The Spiders of Halros, left off. The princesses are traveling to the birthday party of another noble lady that they've been avoiding for years. After the party they set out to their mother's homeland in search of the dragon that can wake their father. 

This series is great for some lighthearted fantasy. It doesn't delve as deeply into the characters as I generally like, but the story is very fascinating and so much fun that I don't mind this very much. Each of the princesses does develop further from the first to the second novel, which is great. 

This story introduces some new and interesting characters that are very important in the stories of the princesses. Much of this story focuses around the story of Princess Alexandra, who gains new and interesting positions within the various societies of which she is a part. There was so much going on with her throughout this novel that was insane. Let's just say it involves prophecies in dreams, men in the woods, being stranded on an island, and gaining a connection to a goddess. I can't go into too much detail without giving away all of the best parts. 

Each of the princesses gets some time in this novel, as they did in the last. There is more of a focus on Alexandra and perhaps Kristina than any of the others, but we still get some time with Sophia (and Allan), Laura, Julia, and Catherine. I am really looking forward to delving more deeply into Catherine's story later in the story. I find her very interesting. 

The story has a very satisfactory conclusion and doesn't leave you with an extreme cliffhanger as so many novels do these days. There are certainly unanswered questions and many things to be considered. Some huge revelations regarding the Ballantine family. 

The first novel in this series could definitely be considered a middle grade book, but this one branches more into the YA world. The characters and situations are far more grown up. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys fun, fast fantasy reads. I am really enjoying this series. I had to rate it five stars because it was so much fun to read that giving it a lower rating just wouldn't have made any sense.