Hi Cara,
Today review is regarding The Elementalist: Rise of Hara by T.M White. This is T.M White first book as well as being the first book in the elemental spies series.
A disgraced pilot saved by elemental magic. A jaded spy haunted by his past. Occult forces threatening to ruin them both.
All Voi wants is to fly her plane and live a decent life, but something stands in her way: emelesia, a rare condition likely to land her in a mental asylum. Forever. Then comes Mr. Callahan, the mysterious agent who convinces Voi to spy for a cure. The catch? She has untapped elemental powers, and the enemy is psychic.
Desperate for a remedy, the aviatrix trains for a dangerous mission, wary of the person she’s being moulded into. The threat of coercion hovers constantly: become an elemental agent, or face the asylum. Meanwhile, Voi struggles with unusual side effects—from overwhelming urges to unintentional manifestations of her powers, due to unchecked emotions.
Between learning how to control her abilities, Mr. Callahan’s growing reluctance towards her potential, and dealing with psychic revolutionaries… becoming an Elementalist seems less and less appealing. Can Voi and her handler learn to trust one another, or will the machinations of paranormal politics lead to their undoing?
(Synopsis from Goodreads.com)
The Elementalist: Rise of Hara mixes fantasy with a spy thriller plot.
In the book Vol is our leading lady, she is a disgraced pilot with a condition called emelesia. This condition is treated as a mental illness with most people ending up in an Asluym by their 25th birthday. But emelesia is a side effect of not using their Elementalist gift. But the government keep the fact it magically abilities secret unless the person becomes of use to them.
I liked Vol as a character, her world is turned upside down and she is trying to keep to her own moral code. When she has people are telling her to do something that goes against it.
The whole government aka the League and its treatment of emelesia make me question who is the good guys, As the book progress this questioning ho is in the right gets more confusing. This felt very true to life where everyone is the hero of their own story.
T.M, White has created an immense world in The Elementalist: Rise of Hara. Although interesting to read it did for me slow the pace of the book. As the story has to lay down the groundwork to get to the action, and then wraps everything up and leads it to the next books.
Another character that piqued my interest was Ron Callahan. He is Voi handler ho has psychic ability. He reminds me of the spy/ journalist you would see in old Hollywood films. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he said, “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.”
The ending of the book has left me intrigued to see what trouble Voi and Ron will get up to next.
My rating for The Elementalist: Rise of Hara is 3.6 out of 5.
Thank you to Chandra City Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC e-book of The Elementalist: Rise of Hara for a fair and honest review.
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Thanks for reading,
