The Frost Eater

The Frost Eater is the first in a new trilogy from Carol Beth Anderson. I had the privilege of beta reading it, and if you're a fantasy/YA lover, you're going to want to run get this one. Right now. Go on, pre-order it.

Nora is a princess and an only child with the gift of frost eating - she eats ice and does magical things with it. She's being raised to rule one day, but it's kind of a lonely life. While traveling through the kingdom with her father, she meets Krey. Krey is a frost eater AND a feather eater. In addition to his powerful frost eater magic, he also gains the power to fly when he consumes feathers. His magical talents convince the king (after some persuasion from Nora) to give Krey a royal apprenticeship.

Krey's got an ulterior motive for accepting the apprenticeship. His girlfriend, Zeisha, supposedly signed on as an apprentice. But he's never heard from her, never been able to contact her, and he can't believe she'd cut him off completely. He's hoping the apprenticeship will give him access to information that will allow him to find Zeisha.

Nora and Krey become friends, and Nora agrees to work with Krey to find Zeisha. One of the royal guards, Ovrun, is Nora's friend (hoping for more, but knowing it can't happen), and he also signs on to help. (I want to see what happens with Nora and Ovrun's relationship. Please don't tell me nothing can happen because she's royalty and he isn't. I think they're my favorite couple in the story.) The three don't know the dangers they'll face, or how far some people may go to keep power and keep secrets. They do know, though, that they must find Zeisha to save her.

I read the beta version of this book. Even though it wasn't in its polished final form, it was an amazing story. I love the universe Anderson is building here. Its history is referred to in such a way that it makes you want to know what comes before this story.

There are several moments in the story where the tension was so thick, I found myself holding my breath. There is attraction, and adventure, and relationship, and danger from unexpected sources. And if you like magic worlds, hold onto your hats. This one's got it. And as if magic wasn't enough, there are DRAGONS.

Another review I read said you'd be chomping your toes to get to the rest of the trilogy. That pretty well describes how I feel! I can't wait for the next book to come out!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary advance copy from the author. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't like.