Reign the Earth by A.C. GaughenSeries: The Elementae #1
Published by: Bloomsbury USA Childrens on January 30, 2018
Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Romance
Pages: 448
Source: BookExpo America
Book Details
Rating: ★★★★★
Shalia is a proud daughter of the desert, but after years of devastating war with the adjoining kingdom, her people are desperate for peace. Willing to trade her freedom to ensure the safety of her family, Shalia becomes Queen of the Bonelands.
But she soon learns that her husband, Calix, is motivated only by his desire to exterminate the Elementae—mystical people who can control earth, wind, air, and fire. Even more unsettling are Shalia’s feelings for her husband’s brother, which unleash a power over the earth she never knew she possessed—a power that could get her killed. As rumors of a rebellion against Calix spread, Shalia must choose between the last chance for peace and her own future as an Elementae.
This intense, richly drawn high-fantasy by the author of Scarlet will hold readers spellbound.
To be honest, I don’t want to review Reign the Earth. For me it was one of those books that was so perfect that I don’t even want to sit and be objective about it. I don’t want to go over details and pick it apart. I just want to bask in its amazingness and all the beautiful feelings I have about the book.
But that being said, I also want to do this book justice. I want people to know how much I loved it so they don’t miss out. So how about I at least give you a few awesome bullet points:
- The main character is FIERCE, but in a very kind-hearted way. I loved seeing her struggle with trying to find the right thing to do amidst so many hard choices.
- Slow-burning, forbidden romance. Yes please.
- Elemental magic!
- The main character’s husband, Calix, and their relationship was hard to read, but also interesting to read about. The whole situation was pretty complicated. It was the kind of thing where one wrong move could destroy Shalia’s whole sacrifice. This just did more to highlight how amazing Shalia was.
- Beautiful setting, interesting cultures, strong family ties and traditions.. There was a lot to love. I found myself wanting to be part of Shalia’s world.
- And the whole thing built up into a very intense, exciting, devastating ending that I can’t stop thinking about!
- My reading experience consisted of periodically bookmarking my place and gazing longingly at the cover. I normally read ebooks but had a physical ARC from BookExpo. I’m really glad I had a physical copy because honestly it was fun to stare at the woman on the cover and imagine her as Shalia.
I read Reign the Earth in June and the one thing I regret is how long I have to wait for the next one.
I didn’t even have this one added to Goodreads! Yep, fixed that. I might have to make room for this novel up front, despite all the other books I’m trying to read this year (I only have expectations to read about 25 books this year, but maybe – just maybe – I can beat that). You make me excited to pick this one up!
I’m so glad you added it! I hope you love it as much as I did. 😀
I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! Reign the Earth is definitely at the top of my reading list and seeing people enjoying it makes me even more desperate to get my hands on it! The Scarlet Trilogy by A.C. Gaughen is actually one of my all time favorites so, I do have some high hopes for this one! Can’t wait! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review! Hope you have an amazing week!
I haven’t actually read The Scarlet Trilogy yet! Now I feel like I absolutely should. I think I’ve had the first book sitting on my Kindle for ages.
Ahhh this makes me really excited because I’m going to start reading this one soon!! I hadn’t seen any reviews yet either, so I’m super glad it’s a 5-star for you. (And I also totally hear you with those books that we don’t want to review because they’re just SO GOOD. ?)
I hope you like it!!