The Elementals

The Elementals #1

by L.M. Peralta

In the world of Mirmina, some people are born with special gifts. They can control the elements—Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, or Lightning. Endowed with these powers, Elementals must maintain the balance of nature or suffer the whirling hurricanes and great dust storms that ravage the land. When one Elemental becomes too powerful and seeks to unravel the balance, he inspires fear in the people of Mirmina. Hephaestus, a Fire Elemental, has built a kingdom in the mountains, and he has been killing Water Elementals. Now, he wants the spheres, the source of the Elementals' powers, and he will do whatever it takes to get them. When Sara discovers that she is the last surviving Water Elemental, she learns that she has two choices, to hide herself away forever or to face her enemy. She chooses to fight. Sara sets out on her journey with a group of brave companions. Together, they must battle Sphere Protectors, great beasts that guard the element spheres. Sara plans to stop Hephaestus before he gets the element spheres and uses them to force all other Elementals to their knees. But little does she know, there is a traitor in her midst who can undo everything. The Elementals is a young adult fantasy novel about magic, betrayal, and the misuse of power. What readers are saying “It is a treat to have a fantasy series that just keeps getting better and better leading to a fantastic conclusion that will leave you wanting more!" – Goodreads Review “One of the best fantasy beginnings I’ve ever read. The book overall was extremely entertaining. It goes into the can’t put it down category” –Tower Books Review The Elementals is the first book in The Elemental series. Book Two, The Council, is now available.

371 pages, Paperback

First published January 29, 2013

About the author

L. M. Peralta was a finalist in the Dante Rossetti Awards 2013 for Young Adult Fiction. She writes fantasy and science fiction books. Her lastest project is Book Three of The Elementals Trilogy.

Reviews

[Tobia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahhhh this book... I am torn.
So much potential in the story line, the characters, the whole setting. Easily 4 if not 5 stars.

But you can tell it is a debut.

Let's start with the good stuff:
No spelling/wording errors which is nice for a free (kindle) book!
Story line as already mentioned.

But the first half of the book feels so rushed. Important plot details are dropped in a half sentences, I often didn't really get a grip on the characters because I felt there where things left unsaid. I understand that you don't have to spell it out to paint a picture but something just didn't click. It got better towards the end.
At the same time it took me longer to finish this book as others with same content and length.

I do want to know how the story develops but I will probably not buy the following books right away as I would with other series.

[Joey Gagliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

After waiting to write a review until the series was complete, I can now evaluate how this book fits into the series as a whole. It fits perfectly as an intro the world and sets up the series fantastically, while still succeeding as a great stand alone novel. The characters are well developed, especially the main villain. The world is well thought out and you get to explore a lot of it in this book. As far as the rest of the series goes it really is a treat to have a fantasy series that just keeps getting better and better leading to a fantastic conclusion that will leave you wanting more!