Lost Causes

Elements #4

by Mia Marshall

Aidan Brook has spent months living with the horror of what happened when she lost control of her magic. Now she's searching for a way to manage her immense power, but she only hits one dead end after another.

On the run from a council intent on her death, Aidan, the bear shifter Mac, and the rest of her friends find themselves on a desperate chase across deserts and oceans in search of answers. Along the way, they encounter a living myth and a dual magic with secrets of his own—and they learn that the cure may be more deadly than the disease.

To save her own life, Aidan will need to confront the most dangerous foe she’s ever faced…herself.

LOST CAUSES is the fourth book in the award-winning Elements urban fantasy series.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Magic, Fantasy

354 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 2015

About the author

Mia Marshall is the award-winning author of the Elements urban fantasy series. Before she started writing about imaginary worlds, she worked as a high school teacher, script supervisor, story editor, legal secretary, and day care worker. She has lived all along the US west coast and throughout the UK, where she collected an unnecessary number of degrees in literature, education, and film.

These days, she lives in a small house in the Sierra Nevadas, where she is surrounded by a small but deadly feline army.

Reviews

[Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

At A Glance
A damn good urban fantasy.
The Good
Once Lost Causes got started it was action-packed and exciting until the very end! The best part was it was long. Don't you just love when you are really into a book and it seems to go on forever? I do!

Aidan is screwed, like six ways to Sunday screwed. Her dual elemental magic of fire and water is making her go insane. Like homicidal maniac insane. Like let's burn the world down, especially the puppies and children kind of wackadoodle. She has to find a cure before the council kills her because of her powers. But the cure is crazier than the sickness.

This story is intense! It all felt so hopeless, but Aidan's friends were their for her no matter how impossible the hurdles seemed. Aidan is one strong chick but what the magical madness has made her do is costing her deeply. She doesn't even know if she deserves a cure. My heart went out to Aidan. But despite her fears or uncertainties, she is always there to protect her friends.

I loved the camaraderie with this group. Sera and Mac were the rocks in this rag-tag team. They held everyone together. Sera with her no-nonsense attitude and Mac with his deep love for Aidan. I loved the addition of Luke too.

So the council members are assholes, like always. They are still trying to punish everyone for things they can't control just to maintain power. But it was the Firsts that freaked me out. Those crazy beings should not exist. The things these creatures would do to live forever is just wrong. And the island part of the story creeped me out in a cult sort of way. Then the ending. Wow. One twist after another. My heart was pounding long after the pages ended.
The Bad
It's been almost a year and a half since the last book came out so it took me some time to get into the story again; remembering who's who and what's what. The beginning of the story was a little slow as well.
The Snuggly
We finally get sex! This is one of those teasing series where the main couple takes 4 books to finally get together! Well, they were dating but they never got to get "really close" until recently. It was so exciting and...and...sexy! Well worth the wait.
Final Thoughts
I would highly, highly recommend this series to urban fantasy lovers. It has everything you want in an UF story. The only thing that's annoying is that the fifth book isn't already out! I am dying to know what's next. Highly recommended.This review was originally posted on Bad Bird Reads

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just when I thought this series couldn’t get any more exciting or engaging, this book comes along and causes the entire series to take a very dramatic (and very awesome) turn. I could go on about how much I adore the characters, the relationships, etc. But I think I’ve already talked loads about those in my reviews for the other books, so let me summarise my love for the characters: They’re all awesome, complex, interesting, and no one really ever has purely good or evil motivations for what they do.

SO, let’s move on to the meat of this review. The world-building, or rather how Marshal builds on the lore of the urban fantasy world she’s created. It feels like the world-building has been on a very deliberate progression since the first book, where we mostly read about Aidan and Sera, and what they know about their elemental nature. The second book tended to focus on the shifters, while the third opens up the lore more to show how it affects Aidan, the bigger picture. Then THIS book basically showcases the very big picture, beyond the actions of our little group of main characters.

And I loved it. I absolutely loved it because it totally surprised me and was a perfect progression: from the (relatively) small picture of Aidan and her life, to the big thing that could have repercussions on things outside her life and beyond. I was delighted to read all these new things, absorb all this new knowledge, and get taken on a crazy exciting journey.

But that’s not all, because the journey ended on the precipice of something very exciting. No, it didn’t really end on a cliffhanger because cliffhanger endings make me angry but this book’s ending had me SO VERY excited for the next one! THE HYPE IS REAL FOR ME, FOLKS. Again, going back to that progression of Marshall’s world-building. I feel like she has been building up to this, slowly putting together this world and its characters, getting us ready for a big crazy thing happening in the next book.

I AM SO HYPED! JUST AAAAAAAAAAAAA DO I LOVE THIS SERIES VERY MUCH YES I DO.

Overall: This series continues to surprise and captivate me, and this book just drew me in from the beginning. I’ve been in a reading slump lately because I can’t seem to just sit down and read for long periods of time, but I devoured this book in one sitting. This series is one of my absolute favourites, for its complex characters and relationships, and for its world-building.

This review was originally posted on Read Me Away.

[Calypsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read my review sometimes, you already realised that I like YA, if sometimes only to laugh at how cliché it can be. Some other times, I find a series really worth reading, and I am very pleased. Happens that the Elements Series have been just that.

I won't go over my head and say it isn't cliché, it is. But the clichés are kept at bay for most of the story, in my eyes, and the heroin, while being way too powerful in comparison to, well, almost anything, still have a real struggle to get this power in check. I try not to spoil anything, but for a review to get you in the series, go read what I wrote about the first book, I could make some itsy-bitsy accidental spoilers here.

So yes, some little clichés, coated in good style, with some references I liked. Add to the mix a love story that is important without being the main focus of the entire series and i am already in. Then the characters are great, most are well fleshed and not just flat two dimension cookie cut. I have to give my love to Sera for being a badass, and an amazing friend through the four books.

Some could argue that it can get repetitive, and I've seen it. However, it didn't stop me from reading and liking it. The biggest reason is that the narration is in first person, and while it is a great way to create an attachment between the reader and the character, it is also a binding that limit the reader's view, and the author, to one point of view only, which leads to some repetitions.

Other than that, I'd say that each book has it's own charm, first being the Tahoe setting and getting to know the main cast, second to add in a bit more depth here and there, and some more steam between the two magical races of the setting, third let the readers meet Aidan's family and complexify the elementals way of life, and last give even more to the reader and finalize what the first book gave as a hook for the series. So over all, I couldn't pick one as my favorite, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the characters in a sequel series. Quite curious to read the companion book too.

And my end word goes to the ending which I really liked, even though it's kinda open, because a happy ever after would have turned me off after all that happened before.

[Michelle Leah Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic installment to a series that has become one of my favorites.
*Full review to come...

[Katarina Živković · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well there's the twist... kinda feel sad for the main caracter... but she makes it up to her in the end :P won't tell you more. Can't wait for the 5th part!!!