The Fiction Enthusiast: Review: Elemental Reality by Cesya MaRae Cuono (Blog Tour)

Title: Elemental Reality
Series: Elemental #1
Author: Cesya MaRae Cuono | Author’s Blog
Available: Now
Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: (Older) YA
Source: Publisher

Description from Goodreads:

When Callie Pierce was ten, her mother disappeared without a trace. On the eve of her disappearance twelve years later, the Earth seemingly comes alive. The elements speak to Callie, and that's only the beginning. Everything she has ever known was a twisted fabrication to protect her. Now the truth is set free. Callie and her sister are more powerful than any Faerie ever born. Now they have to use their powers to save their mother and family from the evil hands of fate that threaten to tear them apart. Welcome to her elemental reality.

My thoughts:

Elemental Reality is a series debut that stars faeries unlike any I’ve had the pleasure of encountering before. I was utterly captivated by Callie and Lola’s ability to bend the elements to their will. These chicks possessed some seriously bad ass skills. Most of Elemental Reality is told from Callie’s point of view. She is the older sister, and the first to realize she was becoming more and more in tune with the elements around her. I really enjoyed getting inside of her head. Her inner battles over what choice to make were laced with wit and had me actually laughing out loud at times. She is a character who wields the snark with well honed expertise.

Even though Callie is the character we get to know best, there is also an array of secondary characters who help to keep things interesting. We have the initial two boys vying for her attention, but thankfully the struggle of figuring out which is trustworthy doesn’t last long. I liked that the author didn’t drag out the love triangle in this one. I won’t elaborate on who is good and who isn’t. You’ll have to figure that out on your own ;) Callie also has two longtime BFFs who were so much fun. The banter with little sister, Lola, was also hilarious. I loved the sisterly interactions. I could immediately tell this author has to have a wicked sense of humor.

Elemental Reality had so many aspects that make a book enjoyable for me. Snark filled dialogue, well developed characters, and of course super cool magic. Oh yeah can’t forget the dreamy boys *sigh* One even has an accent *swoon* I did feel the plot felt rushed at times. I felt like I’d jumped from one place to the next too quickly and actually backtracked to make sure I didn’t skip a section. I still really enjoyed reading about Callie’s adventures and thought this was a pretty good series debut.

I was hoping for a big resolution at the end, but as the pages left became slimmer and slimmer I anticipated a possible cliff hanger. And that is just what the author gave me. I will say it was well executed. Coming from a cliff hanger hater this is a compliment. If the goal was to leave me salivating for more it worked. I will pick up the next in this series as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.

I’m giving this a 3 kitty rating, but it is leaning precariously toward 4 kitties. I really loved what the author did with her characters, the fascinating world she built for them, and that epilogue left me dying to know what happens next. This is a series with so much promise. I look forward to seeing where the author takes us next!

FYI: I believe Elemental Reality is considered Young Adult, but it does contain humor, dialogue, and situations I’d consider more suitable for older teens.

Cover thoughts: Isn’t this cover BEAUTIFUL! I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. I think it represents Callie and her powers perfectly.

My Rating: