Release Date: 10/12/10 (Hardcover)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Age Group: Young Adult (14+)
Source: Public Library (Local)
Go Buy It: Amazon★Barnes&Noble
★BookDepository
Overall Feelings: Good, filling read!★BookDepository
(Summary) Elixir has a really great, well-thought-out beginning and middle. Right off, I got sucked into the big, suspicious mystery of Clea's daddy's disappearance. (Clea is the heroine.) Going by the first few pages alone, I could really see how close Clea was to her father, how much she loved him, and what his being gone has done to her.
With Clea, I think Hilary really outdid herself there. Clea, an extremely talented photojournalist, is a strong heroine with a mind of her own. I really got to know Clea. And watching her document all the life surrounding her had been fascinating. On the other hand, I was a little disappointed with her best friends, Rayna and Ben. While they are both comical, I felt like I just scratched the surface with them. I didn't really get to know them: how they think, how they feel.
Then, to add to the deliciousness of Elixir, Clea has these strange dreams depicting four women, right around the same time this shadowy figure of a man begins appearing in her photographs. All of them, actually. It had been funny to watch Clea, who's very much a non-believer in the paranormal, piece together this intriguing puzzle.
Cue in Sage. For me, the novel went awry when Sage showed up. While I liked his role in the huge mystery and "centuries old truth," I couldn't get into the romance between him and Clea. I felt like because they have this colossal connection and this love that has always been there, jumping right into the physical is justified. I need at least a little bit of that 'getting to know you' aspect in a romance. And Sage's and Clea's relationship didn't have that. So, that had been a little disappointing. Plus, if I can't get into a romance, that tends to ruin a novel for me. There is a love triangle in this novel, and with Ben, the romance with Clea seemed a tad more realistic and substantial. I actually knew Ben a little bit better too. With Sage, it didn't seem like I got to know him at all, leaving me no room to actually like him, because, well, I didn't know him.
I liked that by the end, the big mystery starts to come together, BUT I didn't like all that drama between Sage and Clea towards the end. I felt that if he wanted to stop the cycle so to speak, he should have just done it, instead of dragging Clea along for the ride. The ending had been too melodramatic for me. Since Elixir sets itself up for a sequel, I assume there will be one. I think I'll pick book two up just to find out what happens next, not so much because I'm a big fan of the first.
But, just about everything else in this novel I liked. As I said, it's got a nice plot behind it, a vigorous heroine, a pretty cover, so I encourage you literary lovers out there to pick up a copy of Elixir when you can.
Thanks for reading!
Loved the book trailer, so I thought I'd share...
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