Review: Fire (Elements of Power #1) - Heather James
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 22, 2013
*I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*I had a hard time paying attention to this book. "You're" and "your" were constantly mixed up. Every single time. I'm a stickler for good grammar - it's very hard for me to just overlook something like that. Now, it wouldn't have bothered me as much if it were just once, or maybe twice. But it was seriously every single time. "You're", the contraction for "you are" was constantly used as the possessive "your". And the one time the word "you're" *should* have been used, it was written as "your", instead! It almost felt like it was done on purpose.But, to the book itself.Jasmine was, by far, my favorite character, although I knew from the very first mention of the "strange" things going on with her what was happening, and why. It felt like her parentage was supposed to be a huge surprise, built up over the book until you have enough clues at the end to put everything together...but just knowing about the hair colors explains everything within the first few chapters. It's surprising that, given that she knows that information, Jasmine doesn't put together what's going on herself. Especially near the end of the book, when it becomes painfully obvious without revealing anything.I also liked Brae - he was a very mature character, and rounded out a lot of the others. He was the straight-man of the story. Roxy also grew on me over the course of the book. She was so obnoxious and unlikable at first that I was sure I'd hate her, but by the end of the book I found myself rooting for her.The plot was interesting. I liked the idea of the Protectors, and the various realms being able to command certain elements. The scenery was fun, especially in Helia. I did have to wonder about the other realms agreeing to the "peace summit" with the Helians, though.For as long as these civilizations have existed, the Helians have tried to take over all of the other realms, and murder them. Given their history, why did any of the leaders agree to go? Were they really expecting anything different? One of the rulers even points out that the same king who called the gathering was the same one who, just ten years ago, launched an Occupation to take over the entire world. Couldn't anyone have argued about the location of the gathering, or offered to send delegates in their stead?Overall, the book was okay - the story kept me interested throughout the entire book. It would have been even better if most of my attention wasn't focused on the misuse of "you're". But, that's me. If it were cleaned up, or if you don't care about that sort of thing, it's a perfectly fine read.(Follow my book reviews at: [...]