It all began with a ruined elixir and a bolt of lightning.
Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's been told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the most powerful tyrant and mage the world has ever known. This would be a suicide task for anyone, let alone a reluctant sixteen-year-old girl with no training.
Guided by his mother's visions and committed to avenging his family, Prince Titus has sworn to protect Iolanthe even as he prepares her for their battle with the Bane. But he makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the tyrant closing in, Titus must choose between his mission—and her life.
MY THOUGHTS
So, I’m a bit disappointed. I first read this book back in 2013 and now, seven years later, I decided to reread it to refresh my memory and finally read books two and three. First Read: I adored this book! It got 5 glorious stars! Second Read: well, it’s a whole different story.
Iolanthe is an incredibly powerful mage, one who can control most of the elements, but she has had no formal training. She also doesn't realize how powerful she really is. When she has to go on the run because of a prophecy she is apparently a part of, she is helped by Prince Titus. Even though Titus is royalty, and should be in charge, his kingdom is falling out of his control. His mother saw him helping Iolanthe in her visions, so Titus has lived to carry out these visions. Now, they are hiding in Industrial London, planning a way to save their Realm.
This book does have an extraordinary world and a fascinating magic system. There is a unique way of teleporting. People can control the elements. There’s a book of fairytales you can jump into. There was some really fascinating stuff. I honestly think the author created an interesting world and thought hard about the magic system. My book even had little footnotes to give more information (but that required turning to the back of the book, so I never really bothered to use them). Yet, I felt like we rarely got to see the actual magical world. We didn’t spend much time there, most of the book was spent in industrial London. And worldbuilding requires more than just how the magic works, there needs to be an understanding of the culture and the politics, and I didn’t get a good grasp of that. So much of the book was even focused on the politics of the world, but I was still confused. I never fully understood the characters' goals either, beyond saving the day.
As for romance, it was incredibly lackluster. One of the few things I remember loving the first time was the romance. I remember there being so much tension and shipping it so hard. So I was surprised to find that the romance was really flat. Maybe that comes from the characters feeling flat to me, but there was so little tension as well. Sure, there were some scenes that felt like it was trying to add tension between them, but it mostly felt like the book was just forcing the two protagonists into a relationship because one is a boy and one is a girl.
By the end of the book, I honestly just started to skim reading because I needed to finish this book. I just felt like I was forcing myself to finish. Overall, I did end up disappointed. I think this book has so many interesting concepts, and it did have some interesting scenes, but most of the book fell flat for me. I was honestly just so disinterested while reading.
Iolanthe is an incredibly powerful mage, one who can control most of the elements, but she has had no formal training. She also doesn't realize how powerful she really is. When she has to go on the run because of a prophecy she is apparently a part of, she is helped by Prince Titus. Even though Titus is royalty, and should be in charge, his kingdom is falling out of his control. His mother saw him helping Iolanthe in her visions, so Titus has lived to carry out these visions. Now, they are hiding in Industrial London, planning a way to save their Realm.
This book does have an extraordinary world and a fascinating magic system. There is a unique way of teleporting. People can control the elements. There’s a book of fairytales you can jump into. There was some really fascinating stuff. I honestly think the author created an interesting world and thought hard about the magic system. My book even had little footnotes to give more information (but that required turning to the back of the book, so I never really bothered to use them). Yet, I felt like we rarely got to see the actual magical world. We didn’t spend much time there, most of the book was spent in industrial London. And worldbuilding requires more than just how the magic works, there needs to be an understanding of the culture and the politics, and I didn’t get a good grasp of that. So much of the book was even focused on the politics of the world, but I was still confused. I never fully understood the characters' goals either, beyond saving the day.
As for romance, it was incredibly lackluster. One of the few things I remember loving the first time was the romance. I remember there being so much tension and shipping it so hard. So I was surprised to find that the romance was really flat. Maybe that comes from the characters feeling flat to me, but there was so little tension as well. Sure, there were some scenes that felt like it was trying to add tension between them, but it mostly felt like the book was just forcing the two protagonists into a relationship because one is a boy and one is a girl.
By the end of the book, I honestly just started to skim reading because I needed to finish this book. I just felt like I was forcing myself to finish. Overall, I did end up disappointed. I think this book has so many interesting concepts, and it did have some interesting scenes, but most of the book fell flat for me. I was honestly just so disinterested while reading.
IN CONCLUSION
So, my second read I felt like this was more of a two-star read, but because I loved it so much the first time, I bumped it up to a middle rating. But I really didn’t enjoy reading this book the second go-round. I wish this was a raving review instead of, well, this. I also wish I remembered why I loved this book the first time. This just goes to show that tastes change.
And, I will not be continuing the series. I know I reread this book for the purpose of continuing the series, but I felt like I had to force myself to finish this book. I’m not forcing myself to read two other books.
I hereby give this book
3 Stars
Meaning: I liked it
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