Title: Fire (Elements of Powers #1)
Author: Heather James
Genre/s: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Synopsis
Is control over the elements a gift, or a curse?
Roxy thinks that she is in control of everything: with flames flaring at her fingertips and an equally fiery attitude, what more could she need? But then she meets Brae, a prince from a rival Realm, who turns her assumptions of superiority upside down.
Jasmine has none of Roxy’s confidence or intensity. But she does have a secret - and Brae - and she’s not going to give either up willingly.
My Thoughts:
Fire by Heather James is a fantasy novel full of awesome special effects, mystery, evil plans and budding romance. A YA novel with an Avatar-the-Last-Airbender-esque feel to it.
Fire was told in dual POV of Jasmine and Roxanne, two different girl from different realms. Roxanne or Roxy was the princess and granddaughter of the Helian King Nero and she just graduated from her training to become a Protector, a person with an elemental affinity. Her affinity is as fiery as her attitude. She's a fighter and doesn't back down on a challenge.
On the other hand, Jasmine was from the Arcan realm but unlike most Arcan who has an affinity for air and has pale complexion, her eyes and physical appearance clearly hinted that she wasn't originally from there. She has a secret that she never told anyone even to her best friend, Prince Brae.
Soon, Jasmine and Roxy's lives collided as the Helians planned to control each realm and Jasmine will find out what she really is as she tries to stop her nightmare from coming true.
This was an okay read for me. I like the plot, the world-building, the elemental abilities and how they use it but I find the characters a bit lacking of appeal. For starters, I often feel disconnected to both narrators. I mean, I tried but I can't seem to relate to them and that is a big problem especially when half of the story was character-driven.
The world-building, on the other hand, was really good! Each realm was unique and they have their own principle with regards to their way of life. It made me wonder about myself and where I will likely belong if I live in this kind of fantasy world. Will I be a religious Arcan that loves air, a hotheaded Helian that can torch you to ashes, a hipster Sephan that can control the earth or will I be a wise Brizan that can drown you with their water ability?
The romance was okay. It was a different take on the love triangle story because we both see the two girls thoughts and personality. As I continue to know them it became hard for me to decide which one is better for the Brae. Both of the girls has their own strength and flaws and I feel like I needed Brae's opinion on this.
The plot was a bit predictable to me. Jasmine's ability didn't surprise me one bit. I can already tell within the first 100 pages who she is, who her parents are and when she was conceived. All I will say about it is that, she was a love child of two royalty from two different realm and she was conceived in the time of the Brizan Occupation.
There a lot of room for improvement for this book but overall, Fire was okay and I still enjoyed it especially the fight scenes.
My Rating
