Review: Unexpected
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 15, 2012
Elemental was a perfect beginning for this series because it really got me motivated to continue reading. There were no slow points. It just rolled right through the story while developing the characters wonderfully. I typically hate novellas because they are so concise in descriptions and development, but with this prequel it was easy to understand what was happening, everything moved at a great pace, and I learned just enough about the characters that I found them fascinating without getting bored, which I believe is a major achievement for a 50 paged novella.Emily was difficult to understand at first but through her actions and what she said to Michael about her wants in life, I discovered that she was a unique character. There was no time wasted on things like insecurity (a too common trait among YA heroines) or her exact looks or her whole background. The reader gets just a big enough peak into her life to realize she has problems and she's ordinary, but she works her way through both. She had great chemistry with Michael, and I don't exactly mean romantically, although there was a little of that. But I could almost feel the tension and nervousness between the two at first, and I really enjoyed reading that instead of the instant falling head over heels stuff I've read too much of.Michael was even harder to differentiate. I ended up feeling a lot of things for his character, and in the beginning, frustration was one of them. This sort of related me to Emily, who probably didn't know how to take him either. In that case, I think the fact that it was hard to understand both of their characters represents how they had a hard time understanding each other. Or maybe I read too much into it.Overall, it was a great teaser that made me nuts for what is coming next. My only problem is the ending. Elemental is a novella, I know, but the ending was completely cut off. It seemed mid-action in the story, I flip the page in my Kindle, and it just ends. I know there needs to be anticipation for the next thing, but the ending was just severed. I need something more next time.