I am always looking for the next great fantasy book. After all it’s one of my favourite genres. The Elementalists pulled me in with its mix of mythology, an interesting plot and magical system, and the action! It literally contains my favourite themes.

What I loved about this book:
º the plot
º how dragons are brought into the plot without being the main focus
º the research into dragons and specifically Chinese dragons and tradition - I love when an author actually takes the time to do the research into a historical topic.
º i loved that Chloe was kick-a**. I am always a big fan if strong female characters.

What I didn’t love about the book:
º The multiple love interests - how many boys can one 15 year old girl have. One theme I always dislike is love triangles. Granted I have to take into consideration this book was written in a year that love triangles were all the rage. Still wasn’t a fan of it in 2014 either.
º Chloe’s constant complaining. Love you aren’t an outcast when everyone loves you and you have half the football team moon eyeing you! I hate characters that complain and she is definitely one of the worst.
º The lack of dragons. I guess my whole thing is if you are going to put dragons on the cover you should have the in the story more.
º All the love interests are very stereotyped. The Jock with a soft side, a bad boy with a sad past…a druggie…don’t know what to say about that guy. He has a good smile.
º if I could put the plot into short words I would say this book is “complaining with lightening in the background and high school drama.”

I enjoyed reading this one, but not as much as I thought I would. I liked the main character through a lot. The world building was pretty good as well. All in all, it's a pretty good book. I would give it a 3 1/2 star rating but you can't do half stars on Netgalley.

This novel wasn't really my cup of tea.

I should have known that the premise wasn't really in line with my interests. The elemental portion is played out and then adding dragons just wasn't for me.

The writing style seemed slightly juvenile, like the book was more suitable for Middle Grade readers than Young Adult readers. That being said, it was entertaining and the pacing was good. I wasn't very impressed with the characters either however, as they felt like cardboard cutouts. Chloe was full of stereotypes of what it is like to be a teenage girl, and I didn't feel connections to any of the characters.

An endearing read with very likeable teenage characters, but too long by half. The Small Town High School elements, which are the book's strength even if not particularly original, aren't always structurally well integrated with the fantastical elements (or the "evil corporation" bits).

I grew fond of Chloe, Ezra, and all the rest, but am unlikely to follow them into a sequel which -- after this one's ending -- promises to be far less about their human lives, hopes and dreams, and far more about the Epic Environmental/Dragon Apocalypse!, portents of which were in fact the least interesting part of this book.

Sorry, requested but did not find the time to review.