Cesya MaRae Cuono

Elemental Reality is a series debut that stars faeries unlike any I’ve had the pleasure of encountering before. I was utterly captivated by Callie and Lola’s ability to bend the elements to their will. These chicks possessed some seriously bad ass skills. Most of Elemental Reality is told from Callie’s point of view. She is the older sister, and the first to realize she was becoming more and more in tune with the elements around her. I really enjoyed getting inside of her head. Her inner battles over what choice to make were laced with wit and had me actually laughing out loud at times. She is a character who wields the snark with well honed expertise.

Even though Callie is the character we get to know best, there is also an array of secondary characters who help to keep things interesting. We have the initial two boys vying for her attention, but thankfully the struggle of figuring out which is trustworthy doesn’t last long. I liked that the author didn’t drag out the love triangle in this one. I won’t elaborate on who is good and who isn’t. You’ll have to figure that out on your own ;) Callie also has two longtime BFFs who were so much fun. The banter with little sister, Lola, was also hilarious. I loved the sisterly interactions. I could immediately tell this author has to have a wicked sense of humor.

Elemental Reality had so many aspects that make a book enjoyable for me. Snark filled dialogue, well developed characters, and of course super cool magic. Oh yeah can’t forget the dreamy boys *sigh* One even has an accent *swoon* I did feel the plot felt rushed at times. I felt like I’d jumped from one place to the next too quickly and actually backtracked to make sure I didn’t skip a section. I still really enjoyed reading about Callie’s adventures and thought this was a pretty good series debut.

I was hoping for a big resolution at the end, but as the pages left became slimmer and slimmer I anticipated a possible cliff hanger. And that is just what the author gave me. I will say it was well executed. Coming from a cliff hanger hater this is a compliment. If the goal was to leave me salivating for more it worked. I will pick up the next in this series as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.

I’m giving this a 3 kitty rating, but it is leaning precariously toward 4 kitties. I really loved what the author did with her characters, the fascinating world she built for them, and that epilogue left me dying to know what happens next. This is a series with so much promise. I look forward to seeing where the author takes us next!

FYI: I believe Elemental Reality is considered Young Adult, but it does contain humor, dialogue, and situations I’d consider more suitable for older teens.

Cover thoughts: Isn’t this cover BEAUTIFUL! I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. I think it represents Callie and her powers perfectly.… (more)

To be honest this is one of my favorite covers of the year, but the story fell a little short of my expectations.I had read a handful of reviews of the book loving it and the action it contained. I wanted so badly to love this book, I was lucky enough to get to interview the author on the blog tour and she is really nice and had great answers.So when I got the copy for review I jumped in with high hopes.
I am a bit of a picky person when it comes to romance in books. But when the main character exhibits love at first site and finding her soulmate within the matter of days and chapters I get a bit cynical. It was way too fast and cheesy for me. What I mean by cheesy here is that the boys are referred to as "man meat" more than once and the love interest calls Callie "kitten" whenever talking to her and sometimes she is referred to as kitten as many as 3 times on the same page and repeatedly for the rest of the book. Along with the pet names it seemed as though the main character and her sister never really took their situation seriously, more of a "hey this is cool we get to fly and have powers" lets have fun! Throughout most of the book they are tossing each other joke after joke. I appreciated it in some scenes and it did help lighten the heavy scenes but I think the humorous banter was overused and just a couple comments here and there would have had the effect it needed.

What I did love about this story is that we see a pair of sisters learning together about their past and who they are. In most novels today it's just one person having to grow and discover on their own. I wanted to see a couple more introduction chapters of their everyday lives and who they were before they find out the secret. Maybe a little more mystery to who Oliver is and what, besides being a soul mate and man meat he represents to her. I do believe in love at first site, and having a soulmate, but I also think that it's on a deeper level than Callie and Oliver represent.

It is a very fast read and there is a lot of action. I liked the story and the plot is interesting and different than anything I have read recently. The author was able to find a different twist to what is an overwhelming amount of fairy stories out there today. Even though the characters are in danger and on a quest to save their mother's life, it's told in a very light hearted And comedic tone that is carried through the whole book.

The interesting involvement of both good and evil and who and how the battle has to be fought was a very great twist. I enjoyed the training sessions and the powers that they were able to develop.
At the time of this review the book is $5, I would purchase this for that price, it is worth it.… (more)