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Element Preservers #5
Indestructible
Librarian's note: an alternate cover edition for ASIN B00HQSNOQG
Caught between life and death, Ria will do anything to return to the people she cares about. But if her enemies find her, she might discover that she is not as indestructible as she thinks she is, especially when she can no longer count on her elements to help her...
The fifth and final book in the Element Preservers series. (Followed by the spin-off series Tainted Elements)
Caught between life and death, Ria will do anything to return to the people she cares about. But if her enemies find her, she might discover that she is not as indestructible as she thinks she is, especially when she can no longer count on her elements to help her...
The fifth and final book in the Element Preservers series. (Followed by the spin-off series Tainted Elements)
Unknown Binding
First published January 7, 2014
11 people are currently reading
503 people want to read
About the author
Alycia Linwood
28 books420 followersI'm the author of the Element Preservers series, Human, the Tainted Elements series, the Deadly Destiny series, and the Elemental Earths series. I'm a big fan of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, dystopian and young adult fiction. Writing is my biggest passion, closely followed by reading and listening to music.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 14, 2014
I've read all the other books too, but only left a review with the first one. After reading the next books in quick succession (I blew threw them in one long day), I am now going to give one long review for the entire series. So if you don't want to be spoiled on anything, do not read!
The writing
It's not that great. While I believe that the right words are used, it is a self-edited book and there are quite a few spelling & grammar mistakes in the text. I studied literature & linguistics and if there's anything that freaks me out, it's mistakes like those. It really detracts from what you're reading and envisioning in your mind. I just think it's something that could have been prevented so easily? The only thing that's good, is the fact that the mistakes that were made, were made every time. So at least there's some consistency in that.
Other than those mistakes, I do believe the choice in words was quite alright, nothing really stands out as amazing, but it's just "okay".
The world building
The world building in this book is something that I, in the entire series, missed. I mentioned it in my review for book 1 (Dangerous) that I felt a little lost in my assumptions there and I was hoping for more of it in the next installments. There wasn't much more though. Suddenly they're talking about the main character, Ria, to be the president of the Element Preservers, but it's never actually explained what that organization does, how important it is, what weight it carries, how much power it has... And that stuff is important to me! When I dive into a fictitious world, I want every detail explained. I want to be able to imagine a full picture in my head, not one where I have to leave some parts blank. Yeah, the world building, that could've definitely been better.
Characterization
While I think the characters in the book were explained well enough, I want to say "well enough for the story". The story is actually not that complicated, so for the story, it was okay to have mostly characters that are very one-dimensional. Though Ria and Adrian - the series' main couple - have some underlying motives and emotions, those are revealed quickly and any character changes any of them go through... It happens fast and then nothing anymore. As for the other, more supporting characters, Michael and Paula etc. they are incredibly predictable. And if something major to them happens - Michael finding out about Ari's cheating, Paula getting raped - then their personalities just... Don't change. I mean, Michael just turns into someone who's "in it for the good of all" - maintaining his ridiculously altruistic nature. And Paula just... Doesn't shed a tear about being freaking raped?!?!?! I mean, sure, we have jumped 3 months further in the timeline, so we never really got a good look at what that rape did to Paula, but for goodness sake... A book that basically "glances over" something like that, urgh... Horrible. I feel like the author let Ria make some comments about how horrendous it was, a bit of "Paula looking sad" and then it was almost like aha, okay, the necessary "omg it's rape aaah!-comments are in there, I've done my duty. Seriously though? Wow. This is a Young Adult novel and while I appreciate an author not wanting to go into detail on something like that - young audience and all - you can't just "cruise through it". I'm serious when I say that while I was feeling quite entertained with the series as a whole, that particular feature made me straight-up furious.
As for any additional characters, again, same rules apply: every single character seems to go through no or only minor character changes, even though so much has happened. And for me, that's kind of sad.
The romance
As for the romance, I'm actually quite happy with how everything turned out. Sure, Adrian was - in the beginning - kind of a jerk. But slowly but surely, in the first book, his feelings for Ria change him. Those feelings get stronger with each installment in the series, in the end culminating into behavior that puts Ria, and only Ria, first. As for Ria, she's lost in a fictitious love story (that for her, luckily, is true): she's the girl who's able to actually change a guy. While I don't believe in something like that for real, this is fiction, so everything goes. That love also helps her stay motivated and fight for something that, in retrospect, she could've let others handle. Ria having magic disease is actually something that stays hidden from the public for a very long time, so the fact that she's nonetheless fighting tooth and nail for the carriers... Well, it's because Adrian is a famous carrier and he'd never be free otherwise. Sure, there's also a bunch of other carriers out there, but Adrian is the catalyst for her courage. And that's a pretty beautiful thing.
The only thing I didn't like about the romance is how "standard cookie-cutter predictable" it was. I mean: girl meets boy; boy is bad boy; those crazy kids fall in love; bad boy becomes goodie boy; happily ever after ensues. After years of Adrian not really caring for people, because everyone knows he's a carrier, therefore "a monster", suddenly he's the sweetest guy in the world? I mean, for someone who couldn't even say "I love you" for years, this dude is one sappy lovesick puppy. Maybe not always in so many words, but his actions often speak louder than words. And yeah, I don't know, it just sounded a little too "and now I'mma be the perfect boyfriend ever!". It's like Pretty Little Liars all over again: the guys on that show are waaaay too nice!
The plot
As for the plot then... I liked it. Out of everything that enfolds in the entire series, that's what I liked the most. The plot was good: in every single book, something new happened and upped the stakes again. Especially the ending, which - as it turns out - was not the "perfect" ending I thought was coming all along: I though everyone would be happily living together, a tolerance for all!-type of deal. But that's not what happened, which is a far more realistic ending truth be told. So I liked it.
The only thing I didn't like, but that goes more for this last installment than the other books in the series, was how there were sometimes words lacking. This last book, Indestructible, was like "okay, we had the grand blow-up of powers, but now I gotta find an ending, so let's just put this together with that and put in some of that and sure, that's an ending." It was a bunch of plot twists, riddled together into something that didn't feel like a well-thought out structured plot. I mean, in some of the final pages, it's like the author suddenly realized "ohmygosh, there's still an assassin on the loose!", so she puts her in and has her killed. "Ah, okay, whoops, sorry about that you guys! But move along now, nothing to see here." I was... flabbergasted honestly. All of a sudden some ridiculous action sequences on the final pages? It was just... Weird. And very silly. Which I thought was a shame, because I don't recall thinking that earlier in the series.
Recommendation?
Do not be fooled: there's lots of things wrong with this series. The world building is lax, there's little to no in-depth characterization, the romance can feel a bit predictable and the plot turns a bit silly near the end. But... It's summer. And you know what you're supposed to do during summer? Chill out. Relax. And read silly books where your mind doesn't have to think as much and your heart isn't involved as much. So welcome to the Element Preservers, who'll definitely go easy on you :-)
The writing
It's not that great. While I believe that the right words are used, it is a self-edited book and there are quite a few spelling & grammar mistakes in the text. I studied literature & linguistics and if there's anything that freaks me out, it's mistakes like those. It really detracts from what you're reading and envisioning in your mind. I just think it's something that could have been prevented so easily? The only thing that's good, is the fact that the mistakes that were made, were made every time. So at least there's some consistency in that.
Other than those mistakes, I do believe the choice in words was quite alright, nothing really stands out as amazing, but it's just "okay".
The world building
The world building in this book is something that I, in the entire series, missed. I mentioned it in my review for book 1 (Dangerous) that I felt a little lost in my assumptions there and I was hoping for more of it in the next installments. There wasn't much more though. Suddenly they're talking about the main character, Ria, to be the president of the Element Preservers, but it's never actually explained what that organization does, how important it is, what weight it carries, how much power it has... And that stuff is important to me! When I dive into a fictitious world, I want every detail explained. I want to be able to imagine a full picture in my head, not one where I have to leave some parts blank. Yeah, the world building, that could've definitely been better.
Characterization
While I think the characters in the book were explained well enough, I want to say "well enough for the story". The story is actually not that complicated, so for the story, it was okay to have mostly characters that are very one-dimensional. Though Ria and Adrian - the series' main couple - have some underlying motives and emotions, those are revealed quickly and any character changes any of them go through... It happens fast and then nothing anymore. As for the other, more supporting characters, Michael and Paula etc. they are incredibly predictable. And if something major to them happens - Michael finding out about Ari's cheating, Paula getting raped - then their personalities just... Don't change. I mean, Michael just turns into someone who's "in it for the good of all" - maintaining his ridiculously altruistic nature. And Paula just... Doesn't shed a tear about being freaking raped?!?!?! I mean, sure, we have jumped 3 months further in the timeline, so we never really got a good look at what that rape did to Paula, but for goodness sake... A book that basically "glances over" something like that, urgh... Horrible. I feel like the author let Ria make some comments about how horrendous it was, a bit of "Paula looking sad" and then it was almost like aha, okay, the necessary "omg it's rape aaah!-comments are in there, I've done my duty. Seriously though? Wow. This is a Young Adult novel and while I appreciate an author not wanting to go into detail on something like that - young audience and all - you can't just "cruise through it". I'm serious when I say that while I was feeling quite entertained with the series as a whole, that particular feature made me straight-up furious.
As for any additional characters, again, same rules apply: every single character seems to go through no or only minor character changes, even though so much has happened. And for me, that's kind of sad.
The romance
As for the romance, I'm actually quite happy with how everything turned out. Sure, Adrian was - in the beginning - kind of a jerk. But slowly but surely, in the first book, his feelings for Ria change him. Those feelings get stronger with each installment in the series, in the end culminating into behavior that puts Ria, and only Ria, first. As for Ria, she's lost in a fictitious love story (that for her, luckily, is true): she's the girl who's able to actually change a guy. While I don't believe in something like that for real, this is fiction, so everything goes. That love also helps her stay motivated and fight for something that, in retrospect, she could've let others handle. Ria having magic disease is actually something that stays hidden from the public for a very long time, so the fact that she's nonetheless fighting tooth and nail for the carriers... Well, it's because Adrian is a famous carrier and he'd never be free otherwise. Sure, there's also a bunch of other carriers out there, but Adrian is the catalyst for her courage. And that's a pretty beautiful thing.
The only thing I didn't like about the romance is how "standard cookie-cutter predictable" it was. I mean: girl meets boy; boy is bad boy; those crazy kids fall in love; bad boy becomes goodie boy; happily ever after ensues. After years of Adrian not really caring for people, because everyone knows he's a carrier, therefore "a monster", suddenly he's the sweetest guy in the world? I mean, for someone who couldn't even say "I love you" for years, this dude is one sappy lovesick puppy. Maybe not always in so many words, but his actions often speak louder than words. And yeah, I don't know, it just sounded a little too "and now I'mma be the perfect boyfriend ever!". It's like Pretty Little Liars all over again: the guys on that show are waaaay too nice!
The plot
As for the plot then... I liked it. Out of everything that enfolds in the entire series, that's what I liked the most. The plot was good: in every single book, something new happened and upped the stakes again. Especially the ending, which - as it turns out - was not the "perfect" ending I thought was coming all along: I though everyone would be happily living together, a tolerance for all!-type of deal. But that's not what happened, which is a far more realistic ending truth be told. So I liked it.
The only thing I didn't like, but that goes more for this last installment than the other books in the series, was how there were sometimes words lacking. This last book, Indestructible, was like "okay, we had the grand blow-up of powers, but now I gotta find an ending, so let's just put this together with that and put in some of that and sure, that's an ending." It was a bunch of plot twists, riddled together into something that didn't feel like a well-thought out structured plot. I mean, in some of the final pages, it's like the author suddenly realized "ohmygosh, there's still an assassin on the loose!", so she puts her in and has her killed. "Ah, okay, whoops, sorry about that you guys! But move along now, nothing to see here." I was... flabbergasted honestly. All of a sudden some ridiculous action sequences on the final pages? It was just... Weird. And very silly. Which I thought was a shame, because I don't recall thinking that earlier in the series.
Recommendation?
Do not be fooled: there's lots of things wrong with this series. The world building is lax, there's little to no in-depth characterization, the romance can feel a bit predictable and the plot turns a bit silly near the end. But... It's summer. And you know what you're supposed to do during summer? Chill out. Relax. And read silly books where your mind doesn't have to think as much and your heart isn't involved as much. So welcome to the Element Preservers, who'll definitely go easy on you :-)
December 23, 2015
I finally finished this series. I started reading this series a month after the fourth book came out and was excited to read the last book, but by the time the last book came out I completely forgot about this series. It is not because the books are bad it's just that they are mediocre, average writing alright characters nothing special about it. I had to reread the first four books twice because I couldn't remember the story line (which never happens to me) and then skim it before reading this book. This book is probably the worst one. Ria, the main character gets in dangerous situations all the time and nothing bad really happens to her. Also nothing is explained properly things just happen randomly. I don't think I am going to read the spin-off, but I might change my mind.
October 31, 2015
Amazing
Amazing. Every single one of her books have exceeded my imagination. I love that the theme is something so different than anything I've read yet so intriguing. I only wish she would write more.
Amazing. Every single one of her books have exceeded my imagination. I love that the theme is something so different than anything I've read yet so intriguing. I only wish she would write more.
December 14, 2016
I really wished deep inside that she would, in the end, get back her elements, that she would be someone powerful but then she became too weak. Not the ending I wanted to see but it was a sweet bitter truth
December 30, 2014
what a wonderfull ending ! i really loved this serie so mutch
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews