Book Review: The Elementalist (Flame and Blade - Book 4)
The Elementalist (Flame and Blade – Book 4) by Meredith Hart
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: I read an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of the ebook and is my voluntary and unbiased review of it.
Summary: Lyria and Vethe are now traveling with bastard Prince Kyalam to the Kingdom of Ocrus Sheu for answers, which the prince is convinced can be found in the royal library. While Vethe’s sister, Anette, and Lyria’s brother, Gaul, are on their own mission to find them, taking them to the encampment of rebel mages, also under the command of another prince of Mayhaven, where they get word that Mayhaven has been invaded by demons.
Comments: The final book in this series and it does wrap up all the loose ends nicely with a grand showdown between the rebel mages and the Citadel. Though I think I was a bit let down when it mainly just amounted to taking out one single master of the Citadel. I loved the danger of entering Ocrus Sheu, which reminded me more than a little of Slavers’ Bay in Game of Thrones (where white-haired Daenerys gained the title of “Breaker of Chains”), though I didn’t really see why they went there other than Kyalam wanting to go there and they felt they owed him. Which led to one of the more boring sections of the book, just hunting for days through the books in the library, with Lyria hunting through the shipping manifests for no reason that I saw (except to uncover certain information for us the readers). As usual though, I do love seeing Lyria and Vethe together, and this section had the added benefit of them not denying their feelings for each other. Though Vethe did become rather over-powered, which made problems ultimately easy to just power their way through situations. The book alternated chapters between focusing on Lyria and Vethe, to focusing on Gaul and Anette with the journeys of both of the duos feeling very separate and not really connected. And I loved the sections of Gaul and Anette. Anette is a relatable character who didn’t feel like a highborn lady at all with being raised in near poverty. I loved whenever she got frustrated with Gaul who was still on the idea of denying himself for whatever reason, because she was a lady, because he thought he’d eventually have to kill her brother for being a wild mage, etc. I loved that she was perfectly willing to suffer in silence so long as it meant not talking to him when she was mad at him. But Anette was problematic in that she could wield several elements and seemed powerful in certain scenes, but for the most part (especially in the second half of the book once she returned to Mayhaven), she didn’t wield her magic at all except to light a flame, like when they were near the citadel, but she really didn’t defend herself or Gaul at all. I kept wondering why she didn’t do this or that or she could so easily have flipped the tables on the citadel master. There were some interesting revelations about the demons, though it made the end confrontation with them on the tedious side, though it at least tied things up. The story of Vethe and Lyria and the story of Anette and Gaul were mostly separate until the very end. And because it felt mostly like I was flipping between two separate books, it made the overall book feel twice as long with the pacing feeling like it dragged in quite a few places. Overall, I’m glad to see this series come to a conclusion and not hang out there forever not concluded. I’m glad to see a happy ending for everyone.
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: I read an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of the ebook and is my voluntary and unbiased review of it.
Summary: Lyria and Vethe are now traveling with bastard Prince Kyalam to the Kingdom of Ocrus Sheu for answers, which the prince is convinced can be found in the royal library. While Vethe’s sister, Anette, and Lyria’s brother, Gaul, are on their own mission to find them, taking them to the encampment of rebel mages, also under the command of another prince of Mayhaven, where they get word that Mayhaven has been invaded by demons.
Comments: The final book in this series and it does wrap up all the loose ends nicely with a grand showdown between the rebel mages and the Citadel. Though I think I was a bit let down when it mainly just amounted to taking out one single master of the Citadel. I loved the danger of entering Ocrus Sheu, which reminded me more than a little of Slavers’ Bay in Game of Thrones (where white-haired Daenerys gained the title of “Breaker of Chains”), though I didn’t really see why they went there other than Kyalam wanting to go there and they felt they owed him. Which led to one of the more boring sections of the book, just hunting for days through the books in the library, with Lyria hunting through the shipping manifests for no reason that I saw (except to uncover certain information for us the readers). As usual though, I do love seeing Lyria and Vethe together, and this section had the added benefit of them not denying their feelings for each other. Though Vethe did become rather over-powered, which made problems ultimately easy to just power their way through situations. The book alternated chapters between focusing on Lyria and Vethe, to focusing on Gaul and Anette with the journeys of both of the duos feeling very separate and not really connected. And I loved the sections of Gaul and Anette. Anette is a relatable character who didn’t feel like a highborn lady at all with being raised in near poverty. I loved whenever she got frustrated with Gaul who was still on the idea of denying himself for whatever reason, because she was a lady, because he thought he’d eventually have to kill her brother for being a wild mage, etc. I loved that she was perfectly willing to suffer in silence so long as it meant not talking to him when she was mad at him. But Anette was problematic in that she could wield several elements and seemed powerful in certain scenes, but for the most part (especially in the second half of the book once she returned to Mayhaven), she didn’t wield her magic at all except to light a flame, like when they were near the citadel, but she really didn’t defend herself or Gaul at all. I kept wondering why she didn’t do this or that or she could so easily have flipped the tables on the citadel master. There were some interesting revelations about the demons, though it made the end confrontation with them on the tedious side, though it at least tied things up. The story of Vethe and Lyria and the story of Anette and Gaul were mostly separate until the very end. And because it felt mostly like I was flipping between two separate books, it made the overall book feel twice as long with the pacing feeling like it dragged in quite a few places. Overall, I’m glad to see this series come to a conclusion and not hang out there forever not concluded. I’m glad to see a happy ending for everyone.
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