Friday, August 26, 2011

Elemental Reality - Cesya MaRae Cuono

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.
Synopsis taken from goodreads

Title: Elemental Reality
Genre: Adult Fiction, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Revolution Publishing
Publication Date: August 21, 2011
Format: E-book
Source: Received from publicist. Many thanks goes to Jennifer from Revolution Publishing for sending me a copy of this book for review. I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
Look for it: Amazon Kindle
My rating: 3/5 

Callie has mourned the loss of her mother for twelve years. On the cusp of her birthday, and the date of her mother's disappearance, Callie begins to feel things. She can identify with the loam under her feet, the air whistling through the trees, the electricity humming through the power lines. What she doesn't realize is that her true identity has been kept from her, and is now intent on revealing itself. When she finds out just what she is, and the control she has over the elements, she will stop at nothing to right the wrongs of her past. When all of the secrets have been revealed, it will be up to Callie to bring her family back together. 
Elemental Reality brings all of the elements together and thrusts them on Callie, and her sister, Lola. With their powers coming to light and their identities revealed, they need to come to terms with who they are. As their confidence grows, so does their control over the elements. I enjoyed how the elements were woven together and tied to both Callie and Lola and I loved their foolhardy approach to figuring things out. They were true sisters and their bond was strong. When we see the darkness trying to intercept them and pull them apart, we get to see them struggle for control against said darkness. 
There were quite a few characters in Elemental Reality, and I really enjoyed reading about Ady, Emery, and Oli. They were loyal to Callie, and their interactions were at times hilarious. However, I found that everything came too easily to the girls. For someone who has just learned that they are a Fairy and as such, have control over the elements; I would have thought that they would have had trouble at first with actually controlling said elements. The reasoning behind the story was sound and it does have good bones, however I felt that it needed a little more back-story, and a little more depth to make it really come to life. I had a hard time believing that things were as they were because we didn't get enough information about certain elements as they unfolded. 
All in all, a unique and fast-paced read. Though there is a cliffhanger ending, one will be left wondering just what will happen in the next book, especially with how things are left. I'm intrigued to see just where Cuono is going with Callie's story and will most likely pick up the second book to see what happens next. Callie's friends make this story, as do the elements themselves. 

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