2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Flash Point (Elemental Trials, #2) by Ronelle Antoinette is a Fantasy novel with elements of the supernatural and magic. This book is full of demons, mages and scheming royals.
This is the second novel in the Elemental Trials series, where readers are reconnected to the main protagonists from the first, Enari and Jex. Enari, in training to become a mage, has successfully completed her Accession and is given the title as Adept. Readers are taken on a journey from the mages’ keep at the Tower into the heart of Rowan where the royal family resides. We follow Enari and Jex’s adventure at the palace complete with demons, love, babies and heartbreak. We watch as Enari struggles to unravel the mysteries of old deaths, new demons and those that are calling upon the Maelstrom. Jex struggles in the attempt to call peace between themselves and the sovereign kingdom, the Atromorese. All-the-while, the author guides readers through the mysteries of Enari’s birth and magical abilities. The plot may be slow rolling at times, but it is full of unexpected turns.
The beginning of the book started out really well. The author uses amazing description to really make you feel like you’re present in the novel. Antoinette also uses wonderful vocabulary with many words that are large and obscure, but the author uses them correctly to enhance the story verses to show off that she knows how to use a thesaurus. This being said, I feel as though at times the book progressed slowly, and there wasn’t a lot of action scenes. I felt that the author’s writing helped mitigate how boring the novel would be otherwise.
The characters are all nicely developed. We have two main protagonists, but we are introduced to several other minor characters throughout the novel. From what I gathered, most of them were also in the first book. The author creates a strong connection between the characters and the readers. Although I didn’t find the fight scenes to be epic, I certainly cried when there was heartbreak amongst the characters.
I started to dislike the book towards the end. This is, again, not because of the style of writing, which remained impeccable, but because I didn’t like the direction the author was taking. I felt at this point, she was trying to write something more out of Game of Thrones. I was disappointed in the conclusion of the novel. I felt pretty lost as to what was happening, and things weren’t wrapped up nicely, nor were readers left with a thrilling cliffhanger. I also felt lost throughout times of the novel due to this being the second in the series. The author also is fairly creative in her world; she has various cultures that speak different languages. However, this was confusing at times, too. Generally, I was able to figure it out, but even after referencing the glossary provided, I was still confused about some concepts.
This is a book that contains sexual scenes. They aren’t overly graphic, but they are present throughout the novel. There are also parts that borderline on gory, but again, not overly graphic. These are all things to consider when choosing to read this novel.
Overall, the novel was really well written, but based on my confusion at times and my overall dislike for the direction the novel was going, I rate this a 2 out of 4 stars. I may read the first novel just to fill in a few blanks, but I’m not sure that I will continue the series. If you enjoy reading about magic, demons, romance and political relations with sovereign nations, you may want to consider reading this series.
******
Flash Point (Elemental Trials, Book 2)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Afuglsan's review? Post a comment saying so!
