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Elemental: The First (Primord, #1)

Alexandra May

Why we're reading this: My favourite book of the year - check out my blog for review
[close] My favourite book of the year - check out my blog for review

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Jul 14, 2011 Charlotte Black rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

My book of the year for 2011.

This is original and different and for all intents starts as a good book about a gifted girl. But nothing is as it seems!

Rose is taught from an early age not to trust anyone and also not draw any attention to her mysterious gift. With the help of her family she goes through childhood believing she's ordinary but with something extra. Her father has a dangerous job so secrecy is paramount. They often have to move home quickly, to new locations, because bad people ar My book of the year for 2011.

This is original and different and for all intents starts as a good book about a gifted girl. But nothing is as it seems!

Rose is taught from an early age not to trust anyone and also not draw any attention to her mysterious gift. With the help of her family she goes through childhood believing she's ordinary but with something extra. Her father has a dangerous job so secrecy is paramount. They often have to move home quickly, to new locations, because bad people are after him. This time her parents are moving abroad but Rose must live in the safety of her grandmothers home. A home she knows well from childhood holidays.

When Rose moves back to Warminster she meets up with two old friends and starts to fit into a new normal life. They accept her as she is and quickly she's pulled into helping out another friend who's father has gone missing. Rose starts to have feelings for Morgan, and he's perfect and clearly likes her in return but someone else occipies her thoughts. She's drawn to Aiden in a different way, almost like her gift wants to reach out to him. He's mysterious, dangerous and gorgeous but she knows that something isn't right about him. If anything he's more like her than anyone she's ever met.

But Rose must focus on the main issue and that is finding her friends father but little does she know that the mystery surrounding the missing townspeople has more to do with her, her past and the strange woman that occupies her dreams.

As the threads start to pull together there are twists and turns at every moment. Just when you think you have an idea about who is the culprit, another clue crops in and sends you into another direction.

This book is a mystery, suspense, romance with an alternative take on the conspiracies and myths surrounding Wiltshire, England. The suspense is nicely paced and the ending is a show stopper. This is the kind of book I like. For one thing while it might annoy some people, it's isn't fast and pacey to get through lots of pointless filler. In fact, the story doesn't stop from the beginning to the end. The other characters are great including Daisy (Rose's grandmother). The beautiful descriptions shouldn't be missed as you realise that clues are given to you from the beginning, you find your sense of being in the book and by the end you know your way around and don't want to leave. The area of Wiltshire sounds fascinating and May does a great job of including local myths and folklore.

I loved the romance part of it! It kicks in half way through and you are torn between Morgan and Aiden (Team Aiden). This isn't a love triangle as I originally thought. Something much deeper is going on with these two and when you find out the truth it stuns you.

This is an absolutely unique and original story and I recommend EVERYONE of all ages to read it!!

For a first novel the author's done a fantastic job. Looking forward to the second one now. ...more

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