Heather James (3)

**I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review**
This story was extremely well written. I really liked it, it was slow paced, but it was an exciting and action packed adventure story of young adults who learn the right and wrongs of the elements that they can control.
Fire is about a world with four realms and each realm controls a different element. The Helians that control fire, Arcans control air, Brizan's control water, and the Sephans control the land. This book focuses mainly on two of these, but does have all four.
The story was told in the two main character’s Roxy and Jasmine’s POVs.
Roxy is a Helian Princess, she controls fire, and is trained to be a protector. The realm, she lives in is selfish and only wants to gain power. I liked her character in the beginning of the novel but as the story progressed, as I learned more about her, I started to dislike her. She’s spoiled, has a bad attitude, she thinks she’s better than the other people in the other realms, and refers to them as stupid quite often. Ughhh!
Jasmine or rather Jazz, was raised in the Arcan realm, a rival realm. She has lived her life not knowing her parents. She is the only character in the story who doesn’t know which realm she’s from, she has a little bit of each realm in her. I liked her personality; she was always very kind and devoted to her friends and family.
Brae, the prince of Arcans and Jazz’s best friend.

Overall this was a fun read filled with magic and good vs. evil. I loved all the characters. I highly recommend it!
I can’t wait for the next book in the series!!!!

Happy Reading!

~Ana @SoManyBooksSoLittleTime~


This review is also posted on my blog

I also posted this on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com

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Review also posted at http://books-and-insomnia.blogspot.com/2013/04/blog-tour-review-giveaway-fire-by.... There's also a giveaway for one e-copy of Fire on the blog. Ends April 12, 2013.

** I received a review e-copy for this tour. **

I am a big fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender anime so when I read the blurb of this book, I immediately contacted the author and expressed my interest to host a review post for her book tour. I really like this kind of fantasy story wherein the characters have the powers to control the elements.

Fire is set in a fantasy world divided into four realms based on what element they have an affinity for: Arcan (air), Helian (fire), Brizan (water) and Sephan (earth). Each realm has their Protectors, warriors that have control over the element of their realm. While the Arcan, Brizan and Sephan realms maintain a harmonious relationship, the Helian Realm is being outcasted because of their violent past. This attitude toward them leads the Helian king to request a summit with the leaders of the other realms under the pretense that they want to prove to everyone that they've changed. What everyone doesn't know is that the Helians are planning something else than 'being friends.'

The story has two narrators: Roxy (Roxanne) and Jazz (Jasmine). Roxy is a Helian princess while Jazz is an orphan who doesn't know her parentage and lives in the Arcan Realm. These two characters are on the opposite sides of a pole. Roxy is conceited, aggressive, and confident. Jazz, on the other hand, is gentle and caring.

What I liked the most about Fire is that the author wrote the story from two different perspectives. It did not only show the side of the 'good' but it also let me see the story from the view of someone living in the villain realm. I think it's very crucial to the story because a lot of things wouldn't have been explained if it's only Jazz telling the story. Like what the Helians are really plotting, their secret power, what it's like living in Helian Realm, etc. Those information that can only be supplied by an insider. And that's where Roxy comes in. It created balance and consistency in the story.

Now let's talk about the characters. Roxy has a very strong personality. She's a princess so she's used to getting what she wants. She's dominating, proud, frank and (somewhat) cruel. She doesn't care about other people and only thinks of what makes her happy or at least entertained. But despite all these traits, I found it hard to hate her. I even kinda sympathized with her, especially whenever her mother is mentioned. I also liked the fact that there was a major change on Roxy towards the end and all because of LOVE. Who would have thought that high and mighty Roxy would fall in love? And because of that, I liked her character more.

Jazz, for me, is a bit frustrating. Sometimes she is so slow in realizing things. When it's mentioned that her hair is turning into purple, I already have a good idea what she is. Purple is a combination of two colors, right? It doesn't take a genius to realize that Jazz is a child of this and that realms. And when her powers first showed, she had no idea that it was her doing. She even suspected Roxy of trying to harm her. It was funny reading that scene, though. I also think her having visions is cool, even though what it shows her aren't good. But Jazz's shining moment came when they needed her help the most. She was able to control one of her powers and saved her friend Brae. It was brave of her, considering she's not the fighter type. She's not even a Protector yet she found the courage to act like one. Sadly, I docked points again from her because of her cowardice to tell Brae the truth about Roxy. I understand why but it doesn't change the fact that it's wrong.

Prince Brae of the Arcan Realm is a little bit dull to me. Sure, he's kind. He's the only one who trusted Roxy when he has a lot of reasons not to. He is also a good friend to Jazz and trusted her dreams even though they sound crazy. But I am not smitten by him. It seems like he's too good to be true. I also didn't see much character on him. I wish Brae's character was explored more. I'd really like to know him better, though I wasn't really impressed by him in this book.

I wouldn't say Fire is exceptional, but it's really commendable. It's a very good and enjoyable read. I was a bit surprised to like it because I didn't have high expectations from this book when I dived into it. Heather James created a world that's unique and compelling. The plot is not overly complicated and it's smartly written. The bit about the Helian Realm having two suns? Very creative. I especially liked that the Protectors' hairs change colors when their powers first manifest. Each realm is also different - from the physical attributes of the lands to their political aspects, everything is really thought of. I admire Ms. James' imagination and world-building. The pace, though, is a little slow but the story itself keeps the reader's interest. The ending is also perfect. It's not a cliffhanger but it still makes you crave for the next book. I sure can't wait for Book 2. And more importantly, we have a new author to watch out for.

If you're looking for an interesting fantasy novel, I recommend Fire to you. With just the right amount of magic and a good deal of awesome powers, this book will totally heat you up. (Pun not intended! ^_^)… (altro)

Book Info: Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adult
Recommended for: Fans of YA fantasy
Trigger Warnings: mind control, violence, fighting, attempted murder

My Thoughts: This was quite a good book, very engrossing. I found the idea of a world with all these different Realms to be a fascinating one, and would love to learn how it is the whole place developed. I found the character development to be fairly decent—we learn a bit about each person's personality through their actions and dialogue, although some of the more minor characters sort of blurred together. Hopefully more of them will be developed in subsequent books.

Jasmine made me crazy. I mean, her hair is turning purple, she has no idea what is going on, and she is constantly freaking out and assuming the worst. Monster. Bloodsucker. Everyone is going to recoil in revulsion. I mean, come on, insecure much? I had friends like this in high school—people who always expected the absolute worst in any situation—and have never found it to be a useful attitude. There were also some editing issues, mostly “your” and “you're” being mixed up. I will point out that the spelling and grammar in this is British English, so those not familiar with the patterns might find the wording peculiar in places.

Fans of young adult fantasy should enjoy this book. I know I'll be taking a look into picking up the second book and watching for subsequent volumes in the series as they come out.

Series Information: Elements of Power series
Book 1: Fire
Book 2: Water

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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.… (altro)

I got to 30% of this one before I had to call it quits. Pages of info dumps about the history between Realms was the first thing that annoyed me. Despite these info dumps, I still felt that I had no real impression of the world. There are four realms based on the four elements and they all hate each other, but everyone dresses in contemporary clothing. There was much more attention paid to what the girls were wearing than what this fantasy world looked like. By 30% of the book, no real action had happened. There was a party, there is a hint of a meeting of the realms and some mystery surrounding one of the main characters, but I just felt no tension, no motivation to find out what would happen. I am happy to report that the writing was decently edited, so perhaps other people will enjoy Fire more than I did.… (altro)