#the elementae

The novel does have some darker themes - that I would normally shy away from - and that I found hard to handle (one is physical/emotional abuse and manipulation embedded in the story and another is to do with pregnancy) but that could be a personal sensitivity I have to those issues. It is so well written and the emotions I felt as I read were akin to the main characters feelings herself.   I have to admit that I did want to stop reading about a third of the way through because of this. It was very hard going to push past these themes and read more. I had to stop twice and talk myself into continuing to read because of the emotionally dark themes and I was unsure there would be a redemption. So I will say to be careful reading this if stories with abuse are too hard to read. When I had an hour left in the book (i'm a kindle reader) I really thought I was going to be left unsatisfied with the ending, but I wasn't. It all managed to wrap up nicely and set up the story in future books.

A fantastic read and I am so excited for the next book in the series... however I hope it has more fantasy than this book did because I live for that and it felt lacking. It read almost like a historical novel with an arranged marriage and overbearing husband, with a girl who was beyond her time and wanted to do things she shouldn't. I'm lucky I like these types of books too, so it did not ruin my reading experience. I just wish there was more of a fantasy element or a quest element for the main character - but I suppose that is possibly where this story is heading in the future.

Also you know a villain is written well when you want to see him dead every time they enter a room.