Monday 11 November 2019

Book Review: The Elementalist - Rise of Hara by T. M. White (Fantasy)

Title: The Elementalist - Rise of Hara
Author: T. M. White
Publisher:
Chandra City Publishing

Publication Date: 19 November 2019
Pages:
609
Format:
eBook - EPUB
Genre:
Fantasy
Source:
ARC via NetGalley

 


A disgraced pilot saved by elemental magic. A jaded spy haunted by his past. An occult mystery threatening to ruin them both.

All Voi wants is to fly her plane and live a decent life, but something stands in her way: emelesia, a rare condition likely to land her in a mental asylum. Forever. Then comes Mr. Callahan, the mysterious agent who coerces Voi into spying for a cure. The catch? She has untapped elemental powers, and the enemy is psychic.

Desperate for a remedy, the aviatrix trains for a dangerous mission, wary of Mr. Callahan and their new colleagues. A surprise encounter with an adversary heightens Voi's suspicions. Someone isn't telling her the whole story.

Can the budding elementalist trust her handler and their allies, or will paranormal politics work in favor of their foes? 


The Elementalist was a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I liked the premise--the spies/fantasy blend had great potential--but the pacing badly let it down. This book was way longer than it needed to be. I kept wanting to put on my editor hat and make cuts, as there were times when the action slowed so much I started skimming. Then something interesting would happen and I would perk up, but then we'd plod again. Careful cutting to remove about a third of the word count and tighten the prose and I think this would have worked better. In conclusion, a great story idea but too much going on and issues with pacing caused problems.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

No comments:

Post a Comment