The Magic Eaters

The Complete Fantasy Trilogy Plus Prequel (The Magic Eaters Trilogy)

By: Carol Beth Anderson

Narrated by: Carol Beth Anderson

Length: 48 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Get ready to devour The Magic Eaters: over 48 hours of dystopian YA fantasy featuring dragons, romance, and a magical world like no other.

Blogger Sara R. Cleveland said, "The Frost Eater is hands down the best YA book I have read in a long time. Maybe ever."

One-click to get the entire acclaimed series!

Book 1 Description:

A spoiled royal hungry for excitement. A young man who hates nobles. Can they foil a kidnapping before they fall prey to an enemy's deadly magic?

Seventeen-year-old Princess Nora Abrios is lonely and bored. Though she’s a frost eater who creates magical ice, she’d give anything for a chance to really cut loose. When a commoner’s flying antics capture her attention, she seizes the opportunity to partner up and escape her dreary palace duties.

Krey West’s girlfriend Zeisha disappeared weeks ago. He vowed to discover her fate. So when his unusual magic catches the eye of the privileged princess, he jumps at the chance to find his love by exploiting the monarchy he hates. But he’s surprised by his feisty new ally’s willingness to defy her family and dig deep into the nation’s darkest secrets…

As new evidence shocks Nora, she makes the fateful choice to flee the capital and join Krey in banishment. And when they uncover a sinister plot which runs darker than the disappearance of one girl, Krey resolves to do whatever it takes…even if he must face down a dragon.

Can Nora and Krey save Zeisha and expose a shadowy enemy, or will their prying spell their doom?

The Magic Eaters is an enthralling dystopian YA fantasy trilogy, plus a sci-fi/fantasy prequel. If you like funny and capricious heroines, smart and snarky heroes, romance subplots, and unique world-building, then you’ll adore Carol Beth Anderson’s fast-paced series.

©2020, 2021 Carol Beth Anderson (P)2021 Carol Beth Anderson

Epic Fantasy, great magic system, and fascinating world building

4.5 stars overall for the full trilogy and prequel. This builds an intriguing and fascinating magic system, where the magic wielders consume “fuel” of some kind in order to be able to use and continue to power their magic. And the “fuel” is directly related to their power - to fly, they consume feathers, to use stone magic, rocks are consumed, vine magic users consume tree bark or other similar environmental items, and frost magic wielders consume ice. There is a hierarchical system in place that definitely drives who can use their powers - often tied to their access to their fuel. The overall plot follows Princess Nora, a frost eater, who discovers the dark underbelly of her kingdom and the magical world when she meets Krey, who is desperate to find out what happened to his girlfriend Zeisha, who disappeared after being recruited into a mysterious magic apprenticeship, supposedly by the crown.

The world in and of itself is fascinating as well. It’s a foreign planet, settled by humans millennia before, which has since befallen to an apocalyptic event that decimated the population almost entirely, wiped out all technology and scientific development, but brought forth magic and magical creatures. Just learning the different aspects of the world and it’s history is engrossing enough to keep the story moving, the world building is excellent.

The characters are the other big plus. Nora is opened up to a whole new perspective on the world, and her entire foundation is shaken to it’s core. The people she meets, connects with, and ultimately joins with are a great cast of characters - playing off each other like family, they become very close knit. The romantic aspects of the story are also built well - there’s a very realistic component to them, and they evolve in a way that in the end makes the most sense for the characters, but it’s not without heartache, sacrifice, and pain. There was even one point where I was so invested, that the shift made me angry enough to actually think I wasn’t going to like the direction the story was headed. But I was wrong, the relationships ended up as they really should have in the end, and overall became very satisfying and felt right.

It’s quite a ride, with the whole trilogy, and the prequel. The prequel really could be read first or last. I actually read it last (order of publication), and I think I actually appreciated it more, especially for the twist/tie-in at the end that really pulled it all together perfectly with the trilogy, but as with anything, that is my subjective opinion and experience. Either way, it was a great series.

Narrated by the author, the narration is quite good and does well to increase the overall enjoyment of the story. You know if the author is narrating it, that you’re also going to get everything pronounced the way it was intended, which is definitely a plus when dealing with fantasy. Definitely a good audiobook series.

Incredible Performance, Incredible Story

This is such a fabulous series! This is my review of the first book because I don't want to spoil the series. But I just finished listening through the audiobooks for the entire series for a second time. Carol Beth Anderson does such an amazing job narrating her own books. I'm blown away every time. And the story itself is magical. I loved it so much. And without further ado, my review:

Princess Nora has lived a sheltered, protected life, which is perhaps why she is so intrigued by Krey's recklessness. After seeing him work magic on a tour of the country, she invites him back to the palace to intern (and hopefully help her strengthen her own magic). Little does she know that wrapped up in a world filled with his conspiracy theories and get more than a glimpse of life beyond the palace.

Krey just wants to find his girlfriend. After she was admitted to a special training program for those gifted with magic, he received a message that she wanted nothing more to do with him. Convinced that she would never write such a message of her own accord, he accepted Princess Nora's invitation so he could be closer to where his girlfriend was supposedly training. Unfortunately, proximity alone isn't enough to help him find her.

There is also a rebel group seeking to undermine the monarchy, but when negotiations fail, they seem willing to do whatever it takes to gain their independence. Would they risk an all-out war or secretly abduct magic users, forcing them to serve their cause?

Told primarily through Nora's perspective, the story is filled with twists and turns, new ideas, and her struggle to know who can be trusted. She begins to grow up as a result of her own quest, not for what is comfortable and known, but for what is true. She is also asked to make great sacrifices, and she comes through every time.

I liked Nora. I liked that even when she was a bit snotty, she always tried her best. I liked that she was willing to give up her own comforts, initially for the adventure of it, but ultimately for loyalty. I liked her idiocies with boys because she truly had no idea how to socialize with people of her own age. I was a bit annoyed by her constant "desire" for Ovrun. Sure, he was "hot," but he was also a really good person. It seemed like her distraction by his muscular physique overwhelmed the comfort she could have felt by his presence alone.

I liked Krey and his mistrust of everyone. His character made sense, especially when he finally revealed his history. I especially liked that there were dragons. Hopefully, future books in the series give us more of them.

The magic system was fascinating. While certain individuals were gifted with magic of various types, they had to feed their powers. Ice lysters gained power by eating ice, fire lysters by eating ashes, those with the power of flight by eating feathers, healers by drinking blood, etc. Some types of magic were definitely more repulsive and disturbing than others, but the system was consistent and it worked well for the story.

The beginning of each chapter also gave a hint at the history, as a former princess from the first generation after the change tells of conversations with her parents (who knew life before) as well as her own experiences.

I was given a free copy of the audiobook by the author and have reviewed it honestly.

Great story.

The Magic Eaters is a great story, well thought out storyline. The character are very interesting and are developed very well over the trilogy. I really dont find anything i dislike about the story. i would recommend this to all fantasy loving readers.

Great Story Line

These books were amazing! I had a hard time putting them down. The story is great! The characters were interesting.

Excellent Series!!!

I decided to listen to the prequel before the trilogy, but it can be listened to afterwords as well. The prequel is a full length story. I enjoyed every minute of it. The trilogy is unique and different the other magical series. What you eat fuels the type of magic you make.

Narration is well done and brings the story to life. I don’t usually like when authors narrate their own work but this author is an exception, she did a great job.

The world building is well done and complex. The characters are well developed and interesting. This series sucked me in from the beginning, and it was hard to put it down. It is a great story from beginning to conclusion. There are twists and turns I did not see coming.

I enjoyed having a complete series where each book picks up where the previous one has ended. This series is my first experience with this author, and I really enjoyed her writing style.

I’m looking forward to reading more of her books.

Surprisingly interesting

This audiobook trilogy + prequel did surprise me in a delightful way.
I started with the prequel and went from there. It dies seem to start slow but the flow does pick up speed.
The magic usage was so unique and interesting. For example, and I'm not naming names, one user needs to actually eat feathers to be able to fly. How cool, and kinda gross, is that?
The world is dystopian but not to the point of what I pictured in my mind. The main characters all interconnect and develop in a natural course through time. plus there are DRAGONS!!!! I do so love dragons.
The only two minor downsides are: 1. the length, you'll need lot's of time or days for this one. I listened 4 hours a day for 12 days. Very worth it but I had the time & days. 2. this is a downside but also real cool. The narrator is the author so that's the cool part. The downside is that her voice is so good and calming, I almost fell asleep. LOL Aside from those, I plan on listening to it several more times. It's wonderful.

Great bundle series!

This series was refreshing and so exciting! The author did an excellent job with the narration; she did excellent voices.
The magic system is quite believable, and the explanations are descriptions are thorough without being boring.
The trilogy (first three books) is very much fantasy. The prequel, however, adds a science fiction twist that was hinted at in the trilogy.
This was a fun and at times a heart-wrenching read/listen. Well worth every penny!

What a magical tale!

Prepare to lose yourself in this epic fantasy series. There’s magic, magical creatures, romance, drama, and an emotional battle. I loved seeing how Nora grew throughout.

Carol Beth Anderson really shows her talents with this fantastic series. Not only did she write it, but she also performed the narration!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Intriguing and unusual

I thoroughly enjoyed the series as a whole. I was so completely enthralled with the story that I didn’t want to put it down. It was intriguing and the world building was unusual. I didn’t exactly understand the purpose of the journal log entries for the first two books. They were just confusing and random to me. However, for the third book they pertained to Nora’s parents which made sense and brought some insight to the backstory. I highly recommend reading the prequel first to get a better understanding of the evolution of the world and how it came to be.

The author does an okay narration with the exception of her tone inflection for the characters. It all sounded the same so you really couldn’t differentiate between characters unless names were spoken. Only then did you know who was talking to whom. So while I didn’t love it, I also didn’t hate it.

FANTASTIC

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

if you are looking for a new and unique series I highly highly recommend the Magic Eaters!
This audiobook combines not only the trilogy but also a prequel story. I listened to the prequel story after I finished the trilogy and I felt like it really rounded out everything and recommend reading it in that order. I highly recommend this book for people who like The Lunar Chronicles, the Hunger Games, or Harry Potter

The Frost Eater:
This book is very interesting. It's a post-apocalyptic world that has gained magic from the source of the apocalypse. The magic users get their magic by eating things related to their magic, like people who have ice powers have to eat ice and people who can fly have to eat feathers. It's a little bizarre, but even in the world it is acknowledged that it's kind of weird. At the beginning of some chapters you are reading an account from the first generation after the apocalypse happened and they talk about how it's kind of weird that these kids are craving strange things and then suddenly have magical powers.
There is romance, but it's not the driving force of the story. There's a strong plot and very clear world building. I was uncertain whether or not I would like the lead female character (Nora) at the beginning of the book but by the end I felt like she was very three-dimensional and a character that I would root for. Kray, the lead male, is great. I love that even though he is strong and brave, he can get overly emotional and be really vulnerable. The characters are well rounded but they read as their age (upper teen). I appreciate that they are not 17-year-olds with the worldly experience of a 50-year-old, because who isn't tired of that.

The Vine Eater:
I love books that switch between multiple perspectives. I feel like you really can get a well rounded idea of what is going on and why characters make the decisions they do. And this is one of the few books I have read where I don't dread one the character perspectives, they are all interesting!
The first book had interspersed chapters from The First Generation diary, and this book had articles from a newspaper before "the day", and I really liked the shift. The author wrote the articles to line up with things happening in the actual story, but I really like how they gave a clearer picture of the pre day world. I felt like that was really missing in the first book and I was lost a little in the setting, but this addition in this book filled in those gaps for me.

The Stone Eater:
Going into the third book I had no idea how the author was going to tie up all of the loose ends by the end of it, but do not fear future reader she succeeds. I left this book feeling truly satisfied with the ending. Several moments had me on the edge of my seat and I often found myself saying "I swear if the author does this I'm gonna scream".

The Seers Sister:
I honestly felt so torn listening to this book because you know how it's going to end. I mean the whole setup for the series it's post-apocalyptic and this story happens before the apocalypse. So you as the reader know that this book will end with the world ending, but the characters are trying to stop it. I felt like this prequel was such a good conclusion to the overall story because it really circled back around to the beginning of the first book. I think Carol Beth Anderson deserves an award for the series.