Review: First Year (The Black Mage #1) by Rachel E. Carter

Title: First Year (The Black Mage #1)

Author: Rachel E. Carter

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic

Publisher: Astraea Press

Pages: 276

Before the age of seventeen the young men and women of Jerar are given a choice -follow tradition, or pursue a trial year in one of the realm's three war schools to study as a soldier, knight or mage...

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? (More from Goodreads)

[This is my first encounter with new authors. Although the author added me as a friend on Goodreads, my review is not influenced in any way by that fact. Well, maybe a little- I wouldn't have bought the book if I wasn't aware of the author, and if it wasn't on sale for 99 cents in digital format to promote the second book in the series, Apprentice- which was released on my birthday, which I took as a sign. Phew. I wouldn't be reviewing this book if things didn't happen in that order so there is that!]

First of all, and I really have to get this off my chest first because it's a huge deal to me, is that this book is not perfectly edited. Or at least, the version I got wasn't. There were quite a few spelling errors and weird sentences that made me flinch a little. These little things are my book kryptonite. So... There is that: This book is in need of further editing. Now that I have gotten that out of the way, let's go to all the other nice stuff!

The Story (To Me)

This story is a first-person narrative from the perspective of Ryiah, who starts off as a nobody from nowhere, on her journey to succeed in the most prestigious school for magic in the kingdom.

So you might be wondering, what is the major plot line in the story?

Well, Ryiah has to get a placement as one of the apprentices in her target magic faction in the Academy. There are three magic factions in total- Restoration, Alchemy and Combat- and each faction accepts only 5 apprentices each year for further training. To get into the extremely competitive apprenticeship, all the students who qualified for the First Year (a foundation year of sorts) have to be eliminated throughout the duration of the year, in increasingly difficult and gruesome challenges, until 5 remain for each faction. And there were over 200 students in the beginning, mostly from rich families , who have had some form of training to prepare themselves for the school's program, mostly vying for Combat.

The book is mainly centered around these challenges, especially how Ryiah attempts to succeed to get into her desired faction- Combat, of course- without the advantages most of the other students have.

Characters & Development

We have the main character: Ryiah. We then have her twin brother Alex, her best friend Ella, hunky hot-then-cold Prince Darren, and of course, the resident Witch-with-a-B, Priscilla. These are probably the characters that matter most. We get to see more characters- mostly students, some teachers, plus other guest stars as the story progresses.

Alex is aiming for Restoration; Ella, Darren and Priscilla are aiming for a place in Combat as well. Incidentally, Ella is also from a noble family, but is of the elusive non-entitled variant. Priscilla is of course high-born and totally in love with Darren, which is probably why she hates Ryiah with a vengeance.

And Alex is a womanizer. But he's totally nice and has the hots for Ella. Which doesn't really make sense, but bear with me here- I'm also hoping he gets out of the womanizer phase soon.

What is most endearing about Ryiah is the fact that she is like any other average person. She struggles, and the amount of struggling makes the reader struggle along with her, and she doubts herself so badly- to the point that it compelled me to think, 'What redeeming quality does she have right now that sets her above and apart from the other contenders?'. It is most unlike any other fantasy books I've read where you know the main character is a certified bad-ass in their respective fields of interest, and you know beyond the shadow of any doubt that they will excel in what they do. No, Ryiah doubts herself so much, and in turn makes you doubt her back. Luckily the story is in her point of view, and the title hints at her passing.

In fact, Ryiah can pass off as the average high school girl- complete with obvious non-interest (read: total magnetic attraction) toward the most popular guy in school. However, her school is competitive to the point of putting their students in mortal danger, the students are mostly rich snobs, and the most popular guy in school is a super powerful and haughty prince. 

There isn't a lot of romance or insta-love (plus point!). Well, there are the occasional moments with the hunky prince, but barely enough- I hear it will develop in later books!

Where this book excels is the building of Ryiah's character and her relationships with others, as well as the detailed explanation on the usage and complications of magic. The author details Ryiah's struggles so exquisitely- the way she grapples to master her control, strength and magic, and assert her place. These are very tangible, and I believe rather commendable. Ryiah is not a weak character, but she also is not immediately strong or powerful- not without effort. As such, we can see her growing potential and get motivated along with her.

Setting & Magic System

As mentioned, the magic system is not at all easy in this world. This is something I highly appreciate about the story. Where most other books describe the devastating and wondrous effects that magic systems use without much thought into the casting process, this book emphasizes on the heavy toll it takes- and the very fact that it is not, in any way, limitless. Paragraph upon paragraph is used to describe the correct practice of magic, several fighting strategies, and the consequences of its usage. It makes the magic system sound much more believable and, as a result, that much more engaging to the reader.

Since the book is set mainly in school the Academy, and there is not a lot to be described there apart from their living quarters, the hall, the library and the occasionally weird training area, I think I cannot say much about the setting. We do hear of many other regions with nice fantasy names, though. Perhaps we'll go more into that in the later books.

There are a lot of things about the world that has to be developed, from the politics to the map and the apparent wars that are going on. But the first book has so succinctly detailed Ryiah's struggles and relationships, and built upon her without making her too fantastical- and I cannot help but want to know what happens next!

~My Rating~

4 out of 5 Apprentices!

★★★★☆