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The Elemental Wars #1
Into the Fire
Magic.
The word is as foreign to Mieshka Renaud as space travel—and she's much too preoccupied to think about it. As a new refugee, she finds life in metropolitan Lyarne hard to take. The capitol's mage-powered shield may keep the city safe from the war, but Mieshka still flinches at loud noises, freezes during air raids, and runs at the sight of guns.
But magic isn't as foreign to her as she thinks, Lyarne has more secrets than she has ever dreamed, and, one by one, the city's mages are disappearing.
Time is running out. With the war threatening the shield, are Mieshka's powers enough to save the city, or is it too little, too late?
The word is as foreign to Mieshka Renaud as space travel—and she's much too preoccupied to think about it. As a new refugee, she finds life in metropolitan Lyarne hard to take. The capitol's mage-powered shield may keep the city safe from the war, but Mieshka still flinches at loud noises, freezes during air raids, and runs at the sight of guns.
But magic isn't as foreign to her as she thinks, Lyarne has more secrets than she has ever dreamed, and, one by one, the city's mages are disappearing.
Time is running out. With the war threatening the shield, are Mieshka's powers enough to save the city, or is it too little, too late?
241 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 23, 2013
217 people are currently reading
301 people want to read
About the author
K. Gorman
30 books76 followersK. Gorman is a Science Fiction and Fantasy author from Western Canada with a love for most things nerd. When she's not writing, she can be found devouring books, movies, television series, and attempting to keep her garden alive.
Want to stay in the loop? Kelly is active on Facebook, Threads, and Instagram, and semi-active on Tiktok. You can also get a free short story if you join the mailing list on her website!
Want to stay in the loop? Kelly is active on Facebook, Threads, and Instagram, and semi-active on Tiktok. You can also get a free short story if you join the mailing list on her website!
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
September 28, 2018
Overall I really enjoyed this book. It started off a bit slow, introducing readers to the world and the history of elemental magic. Things really started to pick up once Meese finds out she has magic too. There are a couple really intriguing characters that I would love to read more about in future books. The ending was amazing. Lots of action, determination, and fire. Lots and lots of fire! Just my type of book. I'm excited to read the next book in this series!
January 25, 2019
The beginning of a new series, Into the Fire is seen through the eyes of a sixteen year old, Meesha Renard.
The story is slow to begin with, but gradually builds up. The Author has created a complex, different, and intricate world that captures the reader's attention from the very beginning.
Well written, with a good plot and believable storyline, there is action, magic, war and interesting and vivid characters which the readers sees develop as the story unfolds.
An engaging book to read with an amazing ending... or should I say beginning....
I look forward to the next book in the series. Recommended!
The story is slow to begin with, but gradually builds up. The Author has created a complex, different, and intricate world that captures the reader's attention from the very beginning.
Well written, with a good plot and believable storyline, there is action, magic, war and interesting and vivid characters which the readers sees develop as the story unfolds.
An engaging book to read with an amazing ending... or should I say beginning....
I look forward to the next book in the series. Recommended!
September 28, 2018
Slow Start With Strong Finish
Kelly Gorman leads us through a lot of background and history that develops the character of Mieshka Renaud (Meesha)and a new life for her. This has an ending, but it is much more a beginning than a solid end. The story starts slowly but moves smoothly toward the climax. This definitely has me interested in reading about the next stage of Meesha's life.
Kelly Gorman leads us through a lot of background and history that develops the character of Mieshka Renaud (Meesha)and a new life for her. This has an ending, but it is much more a beginning than a solid end. The story starts slowly but moves smoothly toward the climax. This definitely has me interested in reading about the next stage of Meesha's life.
October 20, 2018
Not enough details
The book was free of any spelling or grammatical errors. However, the plot lacked a lot of background details that helped explain the world in the book. The current supporting information in the story would only be helpful if the reader had a common reference point which is never provided. Many of the characters lack a depth that make them interesting and the change in viewpoint doesn't indicate who it is until a paragraph into the change.
The book was free of any spelling or grammatical errors. However, the plot lacked a lot of background details that helped explain the world in the book. The current supporting information in the story would only be helpful if the reader had a common reference point which is never provided. Many of the characters lack a depth that make them interesting and the change in viewpoint doesn't indicate who it is until a paragraph into the change.
January 14, 2021
Interesting mix of past myths and a future dysfunctional world
I found the start to be a bit of a jumble with time and planet leaps.
But once into Meese's story I enjoyed the mixture of myths and end of the world fighting. Phoenix and modern weapons.
I would like to see more of Meese's human and elemental friends in the next books.
A good start and an excellent extra character introduction at the end with the elemental Kitty.
I found the start to be a bit of a jumble with time and planet leaps.
But once into Meese's story I enjoyed the mixture of myths and end of the world fighting. Phoenix and modern weapons.
I would like to see more of Meese's human and elemental friends in the next books.
A good start and an excellent extra character introduction at the end with the elemental Kitty.
November 9, 2018
Captivating
It took a bit to get into this book, then I couldn’t put it down. It pulled elements of Sci-Fi and magic and blended them. I think the author has an amazing imagination. I look forward to reading more.
It took a bit to get into this book, then I couldn’t put it down. It pulled elements of Sci-Fi and magic and blended them. I think the author has an amazing imagination. I look forward to reading more.
October 7, 2018
Excellent World Building
The story started off slow but then built up into an excellent new world, that has good characters, magic and some action. I will definitely read the next book in this series.
The story started off slow but then built up into an excellent new world, that has good characters, magic and some action. I will definitely read the next book in this series.
September 24, 2017
Great Book!
This book was very enjoyable. With all the heartwarming adventure Mieshka learned how to stay on top of her game. Very good reading.
This book was very enjoyable. With all the heartwarming adventure Mieshka learned how to stay on top of her game. Very good reading.
September 5, 2018
Nice book i read this in a half day i get this with arc thanks and it is a must for all readers
September 9, 2018
An Excellent action packed thrilling adventure from start to finish. it is and outstandingly great fantasy genre book. I loved it!!!
September 15, 2018
Outstanding dystopian story that keeps you intrigued. Mieshka is having a difficult time with all the noise. I couldn’t stop reading and was lost in the story. Don’t miss out once it’s released.
September 27, 2018
This is an outstanding dystopian story. The characters are well developed and there is plenty of believable action. A great read!
March 20, 2019
This is a wonderful short story!
2 amazing young women meet and dispatch a demon. Meese gets her Firebird back and the future looks bright again.
2 amazing young women meet and dispatch a demon. Meese gets her Firebird back and the future looks bright again.
November 6, 2020
Awsome saga. One of the better stories. Characters developed and real.
December 16, 2021
Excellent read, you can't help but relate to the heroine, here's hoping the rest of the books are just as good
February 25, 2022
Fun to read
Lots of running around for sure! But how the shield gets fixed? Surprised that it worked! Awesome!! Looking forward to the next book!!
Lots of running around for sure! But how the shield gets fixed? Surprised that it worked! Awesome!! Looking forward to the next book!!
July 12, 2013
This was an enjoyable dystopian with a few interesting twists. The cities of the 'new' world are protected from the enemy armies with magical shields, which are slowly dying. Despite this touch of magic, the setting remains a fairly normal, large, and terribly over-populated city, where magic is by no means the only power in play.
I really enjoyed the world building in this story. Although it's about future cultures being built on today's destroyed ones, there's still many aspects that make if feel familiar, e.g., subways, pizza boxes or school cafeterias. It was a bit difficult to get into the story during the first chapters, but that had nothing to do with this world, rather with the characters. The story starts from a supporting character's point of view (not the main character), which made it a bit difficult to figure out who to concentrate on at first. Plus, I felt the characters were a bit empty during the first chapters. I would have really liked to have gotten to know them better earlier on.
Unlike many dystopians for young adults, this one has basically no romance. No this isn't bad. Really. I was expecting some (just because there always seems to be a romantic interest involved), but it was refreshing to see the characters concentrate on the more pressing matters than on each other. It's not to see that a story can survive without the girl/boy difficulties.
Once the story got going, this was a fun read. The story had a good pace and moved along from one adventure into the next. After the first couple of chapters, I was excited to see what would happen next and definitely cheered Mieshka on. There were enough unexpected twists and turns to keep me guessing until the end. After getting past those first chapters, this is definitely an enjoyable book.
I really enjoyed the world building in this story. Although it's about future cultures being built on today's destroyed ones, there's still many aspects that make if feel familiar, e.g., subways, pizza boxes or school cafeterias. It was a bit difficult to get into the story during the first chapters, but that had nothing to do with this world, rather with the characters. The story starts from a supporting character's point of view (not the main character), which made it a bit difficult to figure out who to concentrate on at first. Plus, I felt the characters were a bit empty during the first chapters. I would have really liked to have gotten to know them better earlier on.
Unlike many dystopians for young adults, this one has basically no romance. No this isn't bad. Really. I was expecting some (just because there always seems to be a romantic interest involved), but it was refreshing to see the characters concentrate on the more pressing matters than on each other. It's not to see that a story can survive without the girl/boy difficulties.
Once the story got going, this was a fun read. The story had a good pace and moved along from one adventure into the next. After the first couple of chapters, I was excited to see what would happen next and definitely cheered Mieshka on. There were enough unexpected twists and turns to keep me guessing until the end. After getting past those first chapters, this is definitely an enjoyable book.
December 21, 2013
Disclaimer: I got this book free and was asked to review it in return.
I will say first of all that when I first began reading this book I thought the word choice was almost clumsy in places - however you very quickly get used to this authors style of writing and this very quickly becomes a gripping tale. I would also quite happily have not had the mini-story at the end, it works and I can see why it was included but I felt that it lessened the impact of the ending.
I liked that Robin, who is the first person we are introduced to in the story, isn't the lead - I think that the introduction of Meese was done well and differently from a lot of other books. My favourite character though has got to be Roger - I never entirely trusted him and I like that in a character.
I also like that this isn't obviously part of a series (if you ignore the mini story) - it is very nicely self contained whilst leaving the ending open ended enough for a continuation.
The mini-story is interesting, I wasn't struck with the thoughts of the cat creature, it threw me out of the narrative a bit. Kitty was interesting but... I didn't really care much about her - I get the feeling she will be in some future novel, which is fine but I hope she is fleshed out more.
Overall, this is a very solid read.
I will say first of all that when I first began reading this book I thought the word choice was almost clumsy in places - however you very quickly get used to this authors style of writing and this very quickly becomes a gripping tale. I would also quite happily have not had the mini-story at the end, it works and I can see why it was included but I felt that it lessened the impact of the ending.
I liked that Robin, who is the first person we are introduced to in the story, isn't the lead - I think that the introduction of Meese was done well and differently from a lot of other books. My favourite character though has got to be Roger - I never entirely trusted him and I like that in a character.
I also like that this isn't obviously part of a series (if you ignore the mini story) - it is very nicely self contained whilst leaving the ending open ended enough for a continuation.
The mini-story is interesting, I wasn't struck with the thoughts of the cat creature, it threw me out of the narrative a bit. Kitty was interesting but... I didn't really care much about her - I get the feeling she will be in some future novel, which is fine but I hope she is fleshed out more.
Overall, this is a very solid read.
December 25, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. Full of adventure and magic, war and hardships, a dull moment was a rare find. I love the idea of magic in this world. I love that the world is so similar to ours that this could potentially be us in the far future, just maybe without magic. Or with it, setting as the mashed are technically aliens from another world. It went by fast, which is kind of sad because I'd love to know more, but this is a series so that's promising. I also enjoyed the short story at the end explaining how Meese rediscovered her magic. I can only assume this is leading in to the next book. I'd like to know a little more about Robin. Why did she suddenly decide to join the war? What is get purpose? And what about Roger? I don't know whether to trust him or not. Sometimes he seems like he's on the opposing side, then we learn that's an illusion, but it's not, then it is...the illusionist confused me simply because it was hard to tell what was really going on and who was dead and who we can and cannot trust. On one hand, that's great, we're experiencing the plot as the characters would, on the other, it's confusing for a reader to have to keep going back and re-reading things to figure everything out.
All and all a fun and whimsical story that I'm glad to have read.
All and all a fun and whimsical story that I'm glad to have read.
January 4, 2014
Mieshka (Meese) is a refugee that has moved to Lyarne just two months ago following her mother's death. Meese wants nothing to do with recruiting or guns. Meese's best friend Robin takes her to Fire Temple to cheer her up only to find out it's memorial. The Fire Mage is named Aiden's working to repair The Shield that protects Lyarne from bombing and in need of an apprentice. Meese returns to Fire Temple and is discovered by Buck and Jo who work for The Fire Mage. Meese is taken to Aiden because she has potential to work with magic. Meese is unclear why The Fire Mage wants her but is willing to try something new. Someone is removing The Mages that protect The Shield. Is Meese really magic? Can missing Mages be found? Who is behind the missing Mages? Your answers await you in Into the Fire.
I'll be honest I wasn't expecting this futuristic world yet pleasantly surprised that I liked it very much. The Mages work together but separately only two have apprentices. Lyarne could be our world in the future which makes this book exciting on many levels. Meese is such a likeable character down to earth and very shy. I hope the author really explores this world thoroughly. I look forward to Meese's next adventure.
I'll be honest I wasn't expecting this futuristic world yet pleasantly surprised that I liked it very much. The Mages work together but separately only two have apprentices. Lyarne could be our world in the future which makes this book exciting on many levels. Meese is such a likeable character down to earth and very shy. I hope the author really explores this world thoroughly. I look forward to Meese's next adventure.
December 30, 2013
Read It & Reap Giveaway
**** Free copy given in exchange for a review ***
2 Stars
The description on Goodreads makes it seem as thought the plot of Into the Fire will be more dystopian. I was really intrigued by this intro, but was disappointed by the actual novel. It felt like bait in switch. I couldn’t figure out if the author was writing an alternate/urban fantasy or futuristic novel. Some YA can be read compelling reads, but this one seems rather silly. Not to mention just who was fighting anyway? And why? The war that was going on was never explained. With the war being a central plot line, I felt that this was lazy writing. The editing was also not great but the writing style was decent. The story was good enough to keep my interest. Maybe with a bit more world building and fleshing out of characters this could become a better read.
January 11, 2015
interesting...hard to get into at first but it gets much better.
This was an entertaining book. It did start out a bit slow for my liking but it ended with a bang. I don't really know what I could possibly say about this book to make you want to read it. If you like magic, aliens, war, action and yes even a little romance was thrown in, then this is the book for you. It was well written and left you wanting to know what happens to the characters next. For me it was missing humor but where it lacked in humor it made up for in action.
I would definitely recommend this to any YA readers who love sci-fi and action books. It was a well thought out book and I really can't wait to read the next book.
This was an entertaining book. It did start out a bit slow for my liking but it ended with a bang. I don't really know what I could possibly say about this book to make you want to read it. If you like magic, aliens, war, action and yes even a little romance was thrown in, then this is the book for you. It was well written and left you wanting to know what happens to the characters next. For me it was missing humor but where it lacked in humor it made up for in action.
I would definitely recommend this to any YA readers who love sci-fi and action books. It was a well thought out book and I really can't wait to read the next book.
December 29, 2013
* Disclaimer I was given a copy of Into The Fire in return of an honest review *
For me the story was too sluggish and failed to gain my attention throughout the book. The authors word choices were at times repetitive and difficult to bring me into the story. Around the middle of the book the action did pick up a bit however, by that time I was really having a difficult time making myself finish the story. I feel the basis of the story was great however with a bit more work could have been much better.
For me the story was too sluggish and failed to gain my attention throughout the book. The authors word choices were at times repetitive and difficult to bring me into the story. Around the middle of the book the action did pick up a bit however, by that time I was really having a difficult time making myself finish the story. I feel the basis of the story was great however with a bit more work could have been much better.
October 5, 2015
Great
This is a great book. It has action, friendships, and magic. The characters are great and it has a strong story line. So if you like this kind of YA book grab it and enjoy reading.
This is a great book. It has action, friendships, and magic. The characters are great and it has a strong story line. So if you like this kind of YA book grab it and enjoy reading.
January 18, 2016
It's a good one!
I'd recommend it to a friend. It's a good book. Will read it again and find other books by the same author
I'd recommend it to a friend. It's a good book. Will read it again and find other books by the same author
August 4, 2016
Yup, this book ensnared me. The story is quick paced and you have to find out where the tale leads!
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September 28, 2018OUTSTANDING READ!!! Highly reccomend.
I am an ARC reviewer. This is an outstanding book! Draws you in from the beginning and keeps you engrossed to the end! Makes you want to read the next one!
Rick Dahlin
I am an ARC reviewer. This is an outstanding book! Draws you in from the beginning and keeps you engrossed to the end! Makes you want to read the next one!
Rick Dahlin
May 2, 2019
Meese
Loved it! So different and exciting and nerve wracking! Meese had no c!he what she would be getting herself into when she made her hasty exit from school and decided to skip. Loved the mystery and suspense and mythology!
Loved it! So different and exciting and nerve wracking! Meese had no c!he what she would be getting herself into when she made her hasty exit from school and decided to skip. Loved the mystery and suspense and mythology!
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews