Today, I'm sharing my review of ELEMENTALS: THE PROPHECY OF SHADOWS by Michelle Madow on the second-to-last stop of this blog tour! Read my review below, and don't forget to check out the other blogs in this tour for exclusive giveaways, interviews, and more!
Publisher: Barclay Publishing
Page Count: 308
Release Date: January 26, 2016
Rating:3/5 stars
Page Count: 308
Release Date: January 26, 2016
Rating:3/5 stars
Filled with magic, thrilling adventure, and sweet romance, Elementals: The Prophecy of Shadows is the first in a new series that fans of Percy Jackson and The Secret Circle will love!
When Nicole Cassidy moves from sunny Georgia to gloomy New England, the last thing she expects is to learn that her homeroom is a cover for a secret coven of witches. Even more surprisingly … she’s apparently a witch herself. Despite doubts about her newfound abilities, Nicole is welcomed into this ancient circle of witches and is bedazzled by their powers—and, to her dismay, by Blake—the school’s notorious bad-boy.
Girls who get close to Blake wind up hurt. His girlfriend Danielle will do anything to keep them away, even if she must resort to using dark magic. But the chemistry between Blake and Nicole is undeniable, and despite wanting to protect Nicole from Danielle’s wrath, he finds it impossible to keep his distance.
When the Olympian Comet shoots through the sky for the first time in three thousand years, Nicole, Blake, Danielle, and two others in their homeroom are gifted with mysterious powers. But the comet has another effect—it opens the portal to the prison world that has contained the Titans for centuries. After an ancient monster escapes and attacks Nicole and Blake, it’s up to them and the others to follow the clues from a cryptic prophecy so that they can save their town … and possibly the world.
I'm not going to lie, I had very high expectations for ELEMENTALS.
I guess it was in part due to the overwhelming hype surrounding the book. The promotion was insane, the early-reader buzz was generally very positive, and it was even being comped with books such as PERCY JACKSON. All of these factors, plus the fact that it is a fantasy novel, drew me to this novel. Unfortunately, however, I just wasn't impressed.
It was too rushed and too unoriginal for my liking. I almost feel as if the comp to PERCY JACKSON actually hurt this book in the long run, because it just felt so much like it. I couldn't deny the blatant similarities between the two that, at times were a bit distracting from the actual plot. I feel as if I spent more time finding similarities between the two books than actually becoming engaged in the plot. Comps are usually either helpful or harmful to a book, and I really hate to say that for this particular one, it was detrimental.
We're given he plot twists much too soon, and in a manner that doesn't really make the reader connect to the novel. We don't even get to really know Nicole before we're suddenly presented the information that she's a witch, and this just left me puzzled. I wanted to know more about her life as a supposed "human" before she was given this. I wanted a chance to know her personally, and not just for her power. I wanted a chance to fall in love with her spirit and find sanctuary in her mind before I was thrust into this world of supernatural.
However, this supernatural world was just as confusing to figure out for me as it was for Nicole. There was no real world-building that took place, but rather, a brief description of the world as well as he events we see from Nicole's eyes. It didn't set the scene for me, and I had a hard time envisioning what was going on.
I hate to compare an author's books together, but ELEMENTALS reminded me so much of Michelle's other series, THE SECRET DIAMOND SISTERS, and for all the wrong reasons. The characters were weak, basic characters that lacked meat or depth to them, and the plot was sub-par. In both books, I was waiting for this one moment to bring me over the edge- to capture me into the embrace of the story and make me not want to put it down. But that moment never came. I never felt the urge to want to continue either book. I already talked in a previous post about how I DNF TSDS, and had if I'm being completely honest, I don't think I would have minded stopping ELEMENTALS halfway through.
Despite the fact that I did not particularly enjoy this novel, I want to stress again that this is in no way my reflection of my feelings for Michelle. I absolutely ADORE her, and consider her a friend of mine. She is absolutely, wonderfully sweet and lovely, and my thoughts on this book (or any of her books) are completely separate from my thoughts about her as a person. I feel the need to state this to explain that yes, this is an honest review, and I would not give 5/5 stars to a book that I didn't feel deserved it, just because the author is a friend of mine.
To end this review: there are plenty of other people who have loved this novel, but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. I will not be picking up book two when it is released in April, however, I wish Michelle the best of luck with it.
Thank you to Barclay publishing for sending me an E-ARC of this book to review via Netgalley!
Thank you to Barclay publishing for sending me an E-ARC of this book to review via Netgalley!
About the Author:
Michelle Madow grew up in Baltimore, graduated Rollins College in Orlando, and now lives in Boca Raton, Florida. She wrote her first book in her junior year of college, and has been writing novels since. Some of her favorite things are: reading, pizza, traveling, shopping, time travel, Broadway musicals, and spending time with friends and family. Michelle has toured across America to promote her books and to
encourage high school students to embrace reading and writing. Someday, she hopes to travel the world for a year on a cruise ship.
Michelle Madow grew up in Baltimore, graduated Rollins College in Orlando, and now lives in Boca Raton, Florida. She wrote her first book in her junior year of college, and has been writing novels since. Some of her favorite things are: reading, pizza, traveling, shopping, time travel, Broadway musicals, and spending time with friends and family. Michelle has toured across America to promote her books and to
encourage high school students to embrace reading and writing. Someday, she hopes to travel the world for a year on a cruise ship.
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