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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
rgrayhawk's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
glassandroses's review against another edition
This was a free audiobook on Apple Books, and I saw the Indigenous and disability representation and figured why not. I went in with low expectations, but I still find myself unsurprisingly disappointed. Because I don’t feel like writing out an essay today, I’m just going to bullet-point through the things I liked, didn’t like, and what was in between…
The Negatives
- Sophia was a very average immature teenage girl Mary Sue Chosen One main character. She had almost no personality and I found myself wanting to skip to Liam’s point-of-view chapters at times just to not have to hear about her inner monologue.
- Liam was a very typical angsty boy love interest, but given his situation I found it a little bit excusable. He was the more enjoyable of the two main characters.
- The magic system was unoriginal. Earth, air, water, and fire is a story I’ve read too many times before.
- The writing was very immature for a book aimed at new adults, I feel like this could’ve worked better as a young adult novel.
The In-Between
- This was one of those books where you can tell the writers are 100% millennials. Take that as you will.
- While the side characters weren’t the most fleshed out, they weren’t completely forgettable either.
The Positives
- Both of the audiobook narrators did a great job. In all honesty, their reading was the only truly enjoyable thing about this.
- The Indigenous and disability representation, which had been my main reason for reading this book, was actually very heavily present in this as far as I read in the story. Almost all of the characters are Indigenous and the love interest has a chronic disability that is present and spoken about within his point-of-view chapters.
TL;DR: Not completely awful but I didn’t find any worth in continuing on with this.
The Negatives
- Liam was a very typical angsty boy love interest, but given his situation I found it a little bit excusable. He was the more enjoyable of the two main characters.
- The magic system was unoriginal. Earth, air, water, and fire is a story I’ve read too many times before.
- The writing was very immature for a book aimed at new adults, I feel like this could’ve worked better as a young adult novel.
The In-Between
- This was one of those books where you can tell the writers are 100% millennials. Take that as you will.
- While the side characters weren’t the most fleshed out, they weren’t completely forgettable either.
The Positives
- Both of the audiobook narrators did a great job. In all honesty, their reading was the only truly enjoyable thing about this.
TL;DR: Not completely awful but I didn’t find any worth in continuing on with this.
tameeka's review
The book lost me at Liam's possessive behavior. Appreciate the diversity and disability representation.
johannaplatt's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Clunky dialogue and writing, internalised misogyny and an arsehole main character. It's a shame this wasn't written better as the premise was promising.
jniemeier's review against another edition
3.0
Harry Potter style houses + magic+ Native American imagery + hunger games. And then throw in a last page twist to set a sequel.
angodar15's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? Complicated
4.25
justalilbitbookish's review against another edition
3.0
3*
Love the world, love the characters, love the story however the FMC makes me want to tear my head out. Continued reading the while series for everything else aside from the FMC.
Love the world, love the characters, love the story however the FMC makes me want to tear my head out. Continued reading the while series for everything else aside from the FMC.
emiliadashfire's review against another edition
5.0
First thoughts…
An epic battle of elements like Zodiac Academy with hints of His Dark Materials.
Good thoughts…
I read this after I finished Zodiac Academy 9. I was missing that series so much until I started this. It’s very different in tone (upper YA) and history of the magical humans, but it had all the best aspects of ZA. Fun elemental magic, great characters, found family, forbidden love, magical bonds with mythical creatures and high expectations of an MC who thought she was human.
The romance build up was so good.
Not good thoughts…
I’m not sure how to feel about this being YA since it had a lot of sex talk. I felt it was NA that slipped into YA maturity sometimes. So that’s something to consider going into this book.
Random thoughts…
I want whatever Essa is. He sounds super cute and reminds me of Carbuncle from Final Fantasy.
Final thoughts...
If you love elemental magic, divides tribes, and one who could control or unite them all, then this is the book for you.
An epic battle of elements like Zodiac Academy with hints of His Dark Materials.
Good thoughts…
I read this after I finished Zodiac Academy 9. I was missing that series so much until I started this. It’s very different in tone (upper YA) and history of the magical humans, but it had all the best aspects of ZA. Fun elemental magic, great characters, found family, forbidden love, magical bonds with mythical creatures and high expectations of an MC who thought she was human.
The romance build up was so good.
Not good thoughts…
I’m not sure how to feel about this being YA since it had a lot of sex talk. I felt it was NA that slipped into YA maturity sometimes. So that’s something to consider going into this book.
Random thoughts…
I want whatever Essa is. He sounds super cute and reminds me of Carbuncle from Final Fantasy.
Final thoughts...
If you love elemental magic, divides tribes, and one who could control or unite them all, then this is the book for you.
frenchlits's review against another edition
2.0
This book really fell flat for me.
It seemed overly familiar: a secret magical school with 4 different houses, a dangerous tournament - you know the one. There were other stereotypical characters like the quirky girl and gay best friends, the pretty mean girl and her minions,... And the forbidden love has been done so many times it's getting kinda boring.
The language was quite juvenile yet there was a lot of pointless vulgarity that made it seem like the authors were trying too hard.
The relationships did not feel genuine. The immediate hatred between the 2 main characters just felt forced.
The book mostly felt like a vulgar retelling of other typical fantasy books.
It seemed overly familiar: a secret magical school with 4 different houses, a dangerous tournament - you know the one. There were other stereotypical characters like the quirky girl and gay best friends, the pretty mean girl and her minions,... And the forbidden love has been done so many times it's getting kinda boring.
The language was quite juvenile yet there was a lot of pointless vulgarity that made it seem like the authors were trying too hard.
The relationships did not feel genuine. The immediate hatred between the 2 main characters just felt forced.
The book mostly felt like a vulgar retelling of other typical fantasy books.