Published: CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Format: Ebook (.mobi)
REVIEW REQUESTED
Epeolatry London's Rating
***
Her's Rating
***
World-builder
Lacked romantic tension
Fast-paced
Elemental Claim is the first book of a series that was offered to me in return for an honest review. With 4.5 stars on Amazon (can you say high expectations now!) I wandered why I had yet to come across it during my midnight perusals of Amazon's book shelves.
Epeolatry London's Review
From the get-go I was given action written by someone who knows how, the proactive and descriptive writing style kept the reader in the present mind of the character. With a clear understanding of the rise, peak, and after-effects of any action kept me right there with characters in their journey; unless it was with the romance. This is where Elemental Claim lacked tension tension the most and this was due to a lack of attention on the build-up, and the highs and lows of their relationship. The moments of high emotion (wink wink) were awkward and if this was Miranda's aim, then bravo, you made me cringe.
An area which let the work down (in some places) is what I call the 'filler' area; the areas in between action. It seemed to ramble along and have nothing to give to the plot. This is quite surprising given how vibrant and unique the characters are. There is a solid foundation to creating interesting dialogue, seductive subtext and tense build-up within the characters created by Miranda Grant. The characters are the main attraction, and they are a key element in expanding what will be a thrilling world; with a practical and steadfast female lead and a male lead with the personality of an anti-hero. This brings a quirkiness that is refreshing amongst other supernatural/romance novels freshness.
Overall, there are areas for improvement but the talent and skill is as clear as day; and this is a work that gives me high hopes for the future of Miranda Grant and the War of Myths series.
Her's Opinion
First impressions before reading this work was that it would be an exceptional read, given the high reviews on Amazon, and could possibly be the start of a new love affair. And it was ... for the personalities and characteristics of these new characters in my life. However, I struggled to forge a bond with the love story of the two main characters, as it seem to lack the rise and fall of the 'chase'. There was a little, I must admit, but there was no tension between them and it made it seem shallow. I stayed for the main plot but not for the romance! This was particularly clear, to me, with the missed opportunities such as the female leads naivety to sex. This could have been used as a possible barrier within their journey as she becomes anxious and frustrated with her physical response to the male lead. This would have gone along well with his goals and aims with regards to her and her sister! More depth needs to be added because I actually fell in love with the main female lead during my read as she reminded me a little of Sam from the Fallen Crest High series; which is a favourite of mine.
However, what stood out the most to me was the prospect of an author who has a level of creativity for world-building that could have the same magnetic pull as other paranormal/ supernatural writers like Suzanne Wright. At this moment, as a very immersive reader, I was not transported way to another world, so unfortunately I did not fallen in love with it; but I did enjoy the book.
Improvements
1. A pet peeve of mine, and this author is not alone in doing it, is the lack of visual cues that there is a change of p.o.v as I am a very immersive reader and it can be jarring to the trance-like state some readers go into when reading.
2. Adding a prologue can help better in setting up the context, or environment, of the action and for the main characters of the story when it immediately goes into action as it is difficult to introduce these aspects during quick-pace action. The way in which they work began is more suited to the novels that follow the first.
3. More depth need to be added to the relationship between the two main characters; think of adding banter and heightening the sexual tension and feelings which creates conflict within the characters.