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A review by mizchirfmanaged
The Frost Eater by Carol Beth Anderson
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I got this book as a Stuff Your Kindle Day freebie and I really liked it! I had never read anything by Carol Beth Anderson previously but I genuinely enjoyed this book. I'm more into adult fantasy / romantasy now, but 14-16 year old me would've ATE THIS UP.
I really liked how our FMC (Princess Nora) & MMC (Krey, a lyster invited to study at the palace) were platonic - I feel like you don't get that a lot especially in a YA Fantasy. I remember being very romance heavy as a teen (think Twilight, Hunger Games, Maximum Ride), but I think had this book been around it would've been a breath of fresh air to get a break from the romance but still have main characters with platonic chemistry who save the world together. Not to say that there isn't romance, we see that in the last third/quarter of the book, but I really like that the romance isn't one of the main focuses. We see an age appropriate friendship between a major female & male character, whose character developments don't involve figuring out whether or not they're right for each other. They work together to save the love interest of the MMC - and Nora is happy to be helping and doing the right thing!
I also think the magic system is super unique - Lysters (what the magic wielders are called in this universe) have to eat fuel that powers their magic (think like health, stamina, or mana in a video game). A frost lyster will eat ice, a healer has to drink blood, a rock lyster literally eats rocks, a fly lyster eats feathers, etc. I like how it actually quantifies the magic - the limitations are based on how much of their fuel a lyster can eat until they're full, how efficiently they "catalyze" their fuel once it's ingested, and they have to be mindful of how much they use because once it's out they have to eat more fuel to produce more magic. I'm excited and intrigued to see how this develops in the next books.
The villain was a bit one dimensional - dude is power hungry and has gone mad in pursuit of said power. I hope his plot / development is a little more fleshed out in the sequels, a good villain is humanized beyond their villain-ness. They're still multi-faceted people even if their evil trumps that. The villain in The Frost Eater wants to be large & in charge and will do whatever it takes to get there, just like every other villain out there.
I also wish we got more of Zeisha's POV. Her chapters were very short, which I guess is the point since her memory is lost, but I wish we got more of her trying to remember. Her chapters felt like she was almost resigned to her fate and counting the days away. It would have been cool if she was trying to come up with a plan to fight back or escape in what little moments she has at night.
All in all this is a solid start to what I hope is a successful series. A great YA novel that is age appropriate and has a good message.
Would I re-read? Probably not. I rarely re-read books unless I become absolutely obsessed. With that being said, would I read for the first time again? Yes
Will I continue the series? Probably. I liked how this series started but there's a bit I have to get through on my TBR before I would jump in to finish this. I hope I get to it someday though, I'm definitely interested in seeing what's next for these characters!
I really liked how our FMC (Princess Nora) & MMC (Krey, a lyster invited to study at the palace) were platonic - I feel like you don't get that a lot especially in a YA Fantasy. I remember being very romance heavy as a teen (think Twilight, Hunger Games, Maximum Ride), but I think had this book been around it would've been a breath of fresh air to get a break from the romance but still have main characters with platonic chemistry who save the world together. Not to say that there isn't romance, we see that in the last third/quarter of the book, but I really like that the romance isn't one of the main focuses. We see an age appropriate friendship between a major female & male character, whose character developments don't involve figuring out whether or not they're right for each other. They work together to save the love interest of the MMC - and Nora is happy to be helping and doing the right thing!
I also think the magic system is super unique - Lysters (what the magic wielders are called in this universe) have to eat fuel that powers their magic (think like health, stamina, or mana in a video game). A frost lyster will eat ice, a healer has to drink blood, a rock lyster literally eats rocks, a fly lyster eats feathers, etc. I like how it actually quantifies the magic - the limitations are based on how much of their fuel a lyster can eat until they're full, how efficiently they "catalyze" their fuel once it's ingested, and they have to be mindful of how much they use because once it's out they have to eat more fuel to produce more magic. I'm excited and intrigued to see how this develops in the next books.
The villain was a bit one dimensional - dude is power hungry and has gone mad in pursuit of said power. I hope his plot / development is a little more fleshed out in the sequels, a good villain is humanized beyond their villain-ness. They're still multi-faceted people even if their evil trumps that. The villain in The Frost Eater wants to be large & in charge and will do whatever it takes to get there, just like every other villain out there.
I also wish we got more of Zeisha's POV. Her chapters were very short, which I guess is the point since her memory is lost, but I wish we got more of her trying to remember. Her chapters felt like she was almost resigned to her fate and counting the days away. It would have been cool if she was trying to come up with a plan to fight back or escape in what little moments she has at night.
All in all this is a solid start to what I hope is a successful series. A great YA novel that is age appropriate and has a good message.
Would I re-read? Probably not. I rarely re-read books unless I become absolutely obsessed. With that being said, would I read for the first time again? Yes
Will I continue the series? Probably. I liked how this series started but there's a bit I have to get through on my TBR before I would jump in to finish this. I hope I get to it someday though, I'm definitely interested in seeing what's next for these characters!