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First Year
- The Black Mage, Book 1
- Narrated by: Melissa Moran
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
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Publisher's summary
For 15-year-old Ryiah the choice has always been easy. Become a warrior and leave the boring confines of her lowborn life behind. Set to enroll in the School of Knighthood on the eve of her next birthday, plans suddenly shift when her twin brother discovers powers. Hoping that hers will soon follow, she enrolls with Alex at the Academy instead - the realm's most notorious war school for those with magic.
Yet when she arrives, Ry finds herself competing against friend and foe for one of the exalted apprenticeships. Every "first-year" is given a trial year to prove their worth - and no amount of hard work and drive will guarantee them a spot. It seems like everyone is rooting for her to fail - and first and foremost among them Prince Darren, the school prodigy who has done nothing but make life miserable since she arrived.
When an accidental encounter leads Ryiah and Darren to an unlikely friendship, she is convinced nothing good will come of it. But the lines become blurred when she begins to improve - and soon she is a key competitor for the faction of Combat. Still, nothing is ever as it seems - and when the world comes crashing down around her, Ry is forced to place faith in the one thing she can believe in - herself. Will it be enough?
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I think I would have loved this when I was 13
- By C2 on 10-29-20
By: Erin M. Evans
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The Traitor's Kiss
- Traitor's Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Erin Beaty
- Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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With a sharp tongue and an unruly temper, Sage Fowler is not what they'd call a lady, which is perfectly fine with her. Deemed unfit for marriage, Sage is apprenticed to a matchmaker and tasked with wrangling other young ladies to be married off for political alliances. She spies on the girls - and on the soldiers escorting them. As the girls' military escort senses a political uprising, Sage is recruited by a handsome soldier to infiltrate the enemy ranks.
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It was ok, but i didn't even finish it
- By Guy A on 10-14-17
By: Erin Beaty
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Defy (Defy Trilogy, Book 1)
- By: Sara B. Larson
- Narrated by: Rebecca Mozo
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alexa uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alexa can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory. The longer Alexa is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets.
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Could have been a great story
- By Rebecca on 04-29-14
By: Sara B. Larson
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Of Beast and Beauty
- Daughters of Eville, Book 1
- By: Chanda Hahn
- Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Everyone dreams of marrying a prince - except for me. I am nothing more than a pawn in my adoptive mother's diabolical plot against the seven kingdoms. I was the chosen tool, her sharpened blade that would cut the deepest into the heart of the kingdom of Baist. But like all deadly weapons, my wedding is two-edged sword that could cost me my soul. For I am Rosalie, one of the adopted daughters of Lady Eville, and it is my duty to enter into a loveless and hate-filled marriage with the narcissistic Crown Prince of Baist.
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OF BEAST AND BEAUTY
- By 🐺 SCARLET PIMPERNEL 🐺 on 11-08-19
By: Chanda Hahn
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Fatemarked
- The Fatemarked Epic, Book 1
- By: David Estes
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 19 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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They are the fatemarked. Misunderstood. Worshipped. Hated. Murdered at birth. Their time to step into the light has come. An ancient prophecy foretold their coming, the chosen few who will bring peace to a land embroiled in a century of mistrust and war. When kings start dying, that hope and belief swiftly turns to fear. Roan Loren is one of the fatemarked, but has hidden his mark of power his entire life, fearing the damage it might cause to those around him. A great evil is coming. He can't hide anymore.
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Written to fit an ideology, not the story it tells
- By znidarsic.blaz on 04-30-18
By: David Estes
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Touch of Power
- By: Maria V. Snyder
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan absorbs their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Fifteen Realms, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.
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Not worth it if you've read Poison Study
- By Jaime on 09-10-12
By: Maria V. Snyder
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The Storm Siren Trilogy
- Storm Siren, Siren's Fury, Siren's Song
- By: Mary Weber
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman, Christine Stevens
- Length: 30 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Storm Sire: As a slave in the war-weary kingdom of Faelen, seventeen-year-old Nym isn’t merely devoid of rights, her Elemental kind are only born male and always killed at birth—meaning, she shouldn’t even exist. Siren's Fury: Nym risked her life to save Faelen, her homeland, from a losing war, only to discover that the shapeshifter Draewulf has stolen everything she holds dear. Siren's Song: Nym and Draewulf prepare to face off in a battle destined to destroy more lives than it saves.
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The destination is not worth the journey
- By Amazon Customer on 01-25-24
By: Mary Weber
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The Fate's Forsaken Omnibus
- Books 1-2 and Prequel Novella
- By: Shae Ford
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 37 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Books 1, 2, and the prequel novella of the Fate's Forsaken series. The series follows the adventures of Kael: a young man who is thrust from his home in the Unforgivable Mountains and onto a hero's path. The journey is long, the battles are fierce - nearly all of his companions are outlaws. And Kael's rotten bad luck seems to make everything worse. This is his story.
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Fantasy with light romance
- By Skipper on 09-23-15
By: Shae Ford
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Royal Bastards
- By: Andrew Shvarts
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Being a bastard blows. Tilla would know. Her father, Lord Kent of the Western Province, loved her as a child but cast her aside as soon as he had trueborn children. At 16 Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax's floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla secretly longs to sit by her father's side, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family.
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Reading is not the same as the physical copy
- By Annelle Powell on 07-09-18
By: Andrew Shvarts
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The Novice
- By: Taran Matharu
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Fletcher is working as a blacksmith's apprentice when he discovers he has the rare ability to summon demons from another world. Chased from his village for a crime he did not commit, Fletcher must travel with his demon, Ignatius, to an academy for adepts, where the gifted are taught the art of summoning. Along with nobles and commoners, Fletcher endures grueling lessons that will prepare him to serve as a Battlemage in the Empire's war against the savage Orcs.
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Entertaining but not art
- By richard on 05-31-17
By: Taran Matharu
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Web of Eyes
- By: Rhett C. Bruno, Jaime Castle
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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When a piece of the crown prince's soul is stolen by a traitorous warlock, disgraced knight Torsten Unger makes it his sworn duty to get it back and save the last hope for the kingdom. But he can't do it alone. Self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Thief" Whitney Fierstown sits in the castle dungeon, destined for the gallows until Torsten offers this choice: rot and die in a dank cell or join him on a dangerous expedition to put his skills to good use and earn his freedom.
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A Fantasy Version of 48 Hours
- By John Kang on 12-24-18
By: Rhett C. Bruno, and others
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The Demon King
- A Seven Realms Novel
- By: Cinda Williams Chima
- Narrated by: Carol Monda
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The first of a new young adult trilogy, The Demon King features a former thief, Han, who’s trying to provide for his mother and sister. One day Han, who sports mysterious (and certainly magical) silver cuffs on his wrists, confronts wizards setting fire to a sacred mountain. Now possessing one ofthe wizards’ amulets, Han faces more trouble than he ever could have imagined.
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Sooooooo Good!!!!!
- By Sharon on 06-15-13
What listeners say about First Year
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anne
- 03-16-17
awesome!!!
I cannot wait to hear the sequels!! thank you audible books! I would recommend this
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2 people found this helpful
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- Ben
- 12-02-16
Appealing but unfulfilling YA
My first impression of this book wasn't great. The narrator seemed to over-enunciate every word, the action was spurred by outlandishly implausible events (who jams their entire grasping hand into a thorny berry bush at night on purpose?). However, the complexity of this book lies in its peaks and troughs. It is well-written, but not outstandingly so. The narrators grew on me after an hour or so and I found her to be well-suited to the role by the end. The plot, however, moves from extremely exciting scenes and sequences that pulled me forward, to awkward and unappealing portions that made me contemplate not finishing.
My primary issue was that I found the main character to be somewhat uninteresting, and to not be worthy of the positive treatment and expectations she occasionally received. Honestly, she's desperate to become a battle mage but seems to have little to no natural aptitude for fighting when compared to other students. Fortunately, many of the secondary characters were quite fun. My other problem was that there is somewhere between little and no world building. We don't really learn ANYTHING about how magic works or interacts with the world. If you try to picture the world this takes place in, it's effectively just one or two vague buildings and a hazy palace off in the mists.
Clearly, the book is focused on the characters, and to a lesser extent on romance. The author does a good enough job with this that I'm considering picking up the second book. The characters are somewhat stereotypical, but these stereotypes exist because the characters that fit them are intriguing to follow. A love triangle is looming on the horizon in the second book. And I'm crossing my fingers, hoping we'll find out SOMETHING magic and the kingdom and what all these crazily trained mages are FOR in a realm without a war in 60 years. I may have been hoping for too much from YA fantasy/romance, but I've read a few truly excellent ones that set my expectations high. This one is eminently readable, and often enjoyable, but fails to reach greatness.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-04-17
A decent start
I enjoyed this book more than not, but did feel there was a bit too much struggle for the main character. After all her hard work, she deserved a pay off, but it never came, which was frustrating, her wins come through luck or 'potential' not her hard work. I hope that gets cleared up in the upcoming volumes and she van succeed for her work, not just plot reasons.
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- Kim
- 10-24-19
Narrator really brought the story down a peg
This narrator just wasn’t the right fit. The aristocracy had exaggerated Brooklyn accents (wrong for “high-borns” and just generally wrong for the world Carter creates). The prince ended up sounded like a dumb bro. Moreover, the narrator didn’t use contractions even when they were built into the writing, so it constantly sounded like someone was reading from some formal treatise — really unnatural. I enjoy Carter’s writing in ebook format, but wouldn’t purchase other audiobooks in the series if they have the same narrator.
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- Holly
- 01-22-21
Fun escapism, interesting magic system
Fun escapism, easy to follow and be caught in the world. Strong magic system. School is like a boot camp. I would have enjoyed more mundane day to day life, but the library elements were very absorbing. Not exactly my cup of tea, but enjoyable. I do wish the "mean girl" aspect of fantasy was not so one dimensional--just appallingly mean, as in so many YA fantasies. The voicing of the main male was not to my liking, even though I prefer female narrators to cover all voices, if I must pick.
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-16-17
amazing!!!
i loved this book ive read it 3 times already because i was waiting for the money to buy the next one i finally have apprentice and i cant wait to listen to it .
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-30-23
Compelling
Compelling story of grit & determination. Classic bullies vs underdogs. Vision and tenacity … who will survive?
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- Koolaid53
- 12-07-16
Growing Pains
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.
Harry Potter a little bit, just starting older.
Magic. Just getting started.
Romance. Wait and see.
Underdog. Yes.
Add them all together and you have a great book. Would recommend this to everyone.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 08-15-17
Not good
Is there anything you would change about this book?
It was very predictable and the characters did not seem real or well rounded. The highlight of the book was the end…but then again we all knew that it was coming.
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- T. Lynn Moellendorf
- 12-20-16
I love the story and the writer but...
What made the experience of listening to First Year the most enjoyable?
I just started listening to audiobooks recently and have fallen in love. I don't always have to read the hard copy story, so listening to them is easier.
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
The only thing that I felt detracted from the story was that at times the narrator sounded more robotic then human. When speaking for the characters, she had personality. But as narrator, she sounded more like the automatic narrator on my kindle then a real person.
Any additional comments?
Overall, this book was enjoyable, but could have been better. I look forward to the second and final book to come out.
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2 people found this helpful