Lost Causes
Author: Mia Marshall
Series: Elements 4
Publisher: Match Books, September 22, 2015
Format: Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 354 pages
List Price: $12.99 (print); $3.99 (Kindle eBook)
ISBN: 9780996628419 (print)
Review Copy: Provided by the Author
Author: Mia Marshall
Series: Elements 4
Publisher: Match Books, September 22, 2015
Format: Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 354 pages
List Price: $12.99 (print); $3.99 (Kindle eBook)
ISBN: 9780996628419 (print)
Review Copy: Provided by the Author
Aidan Brook has spent months living with the horror of what happened when she lost control of her magic. Now she’s searching for a way to manage her immense power, but she only hits one dead end after another.
On the run from a council intent on her death, Aidan, the bear shifter Mac, and the rest of her friends find themselves on a desperate chase across deserts and oceans in search of answers. Along the way, they encounter a living myth and a dual magic with secrets of his own—and they learn that the cure may be more deadly than the disease.
To save her own life, Aidan will need to confront the most dangerous foe she’s ever faced…herself.
Melanie's Thoughts
Lost Causes picks up almost immediately after the shocking events at the end of Turning Tides where Aiden loses control of her dual magics and kills someone.....a bad someone but she kills nonetheless. Along with her friends she is now on the run from the council in search of another dual who can help her learn to control her growing powers and stop her from going crazy.
I struggle to adequately describe how Marshall has structured the plot of Lost Causes. It starts out fairly linear with Aiden's race across the country to find another dual magic user all while being chased by the council. When she actually finds another dual she learns that the cure to stopping her magics from ripping her mind apart could actually kill her. At this point the story veers off into a slightly different direction. It is at this juncture where we learn about the 'first power' the beings that created the elementals and the shifters. This plotline continues for several more chapters when the switch gets flipped again and the plot returns to the council's pursuit of Aiden. Marshall does keep a frenetic pace to the story but not at the expense of character development, well the development of Aiden and Sera. There is an interesting plot twist in store for Sera that I didn't really see coming and therefore, enjoyed all the more. I thought that Marshall could have spent a bit more time with some of the other characters but she has developed them as a cohesive group of supporting characters that help to advance the plot. I think that Marshall also takes pity on us and resolves the 'will they/won't they' between Aiden and her bear shifter boyfriend Mac.
Lost Causes is a very enjoyable read. I slipped right back into the story as if I had just finished book 3 minutes before. It is also a very quick read despite all the action and adventure that takes place. Marshall does seem to wrap the plot arc up with a bow at the end, but there is one more book in the series to go. I am interested to see what Marshall has in store for these characters in the fifth and final novel in the Elements series.
Lost Causes picks up almost immediately after the shocking events at the end of Turning Tides where Aiden loses control of her dual magics and kills someone.....a bad someone but she kills nonetheless. Along with her friends she is now on the run from the council in search of another dual who can help her learn to control her growing powers and stop her from going crazy.
I struggle to adequately describe how Marshall has structured the plot of Lost Causes. It starts out fairly linear with Aiden's race across the country to find another dual magic user all while being chased by the council. When she actually finds another dual she learns that the cure to stopping her magics from ripping her mind apart could actually kill her. At this point the story veers off into a slightly different direction. It is at this juncture where we learn about the 'first power' the beings that created the elementals and the shifters. This plotline continues for several more chapters when the switch gets flipped again and the plot returns to the council's pursuit of Aiden. Marshall does keep a frenetic pace to the story but not at the expense of character development, well the development of Aiden and Sera. There is an interesting plot twist in store for Sera that I didn't really see coming and therefore, enjoyed all the more. I thought that Marshall could have spent a bit more time with some of the other characters but she has developed them as a cohesive group of supporting characters that help to advance the plot. I think that Marshall also takes pity on us and resolves the 'will they/won't they' between Aiden and her bear shifter boyfriend Mac.
Lost Causes is a very enjoyable read. I slipped right back into the story as if I had just finished book 3 minutes before. It is also a very quick read despite all the action and adventure that takes place. Marshall does seem to wrap the plot arc up with a bow at the end, but there is one more book in the series to go. I am interested to see what Marshall has in store for these characters in the fifth and final novel in the Elements series.
Previously
Broken Elements
Elements 1
Match Books, February 26, 2013
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 338 pages
Elements 1
Match Books, February 26, 2013
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 338 pages
Magic, murder, and mayhem on the shores of Lake Tahoe.
For Aidan Brook, manipulating the power of water is as easy as breathing—until the awful night her magic fails, with deadly consequences.
Though Aidan tries to outrun her past, the grisly murder of an old friend draws her back to the scene of her crimes. In Lake Tahoe, she only finds more trouble. An estranged best friend, a dangerously attractive landlord, and a couple of FBI agents are determined to complicate her life…and for the first time in years, she doesn’t mind a few complications.
As the killer grows increasingly fixated on Aidan, her past and present begin to collide. To defeat the killer, she must learn to control her power—before her broken magic fails her for the final time.
BROKEN ELEMENTS is the first book in the award-winning Elements urban fantasy series.
Shifting Selves
Elements 2
Match Books, April 15, 2013
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 351 pages
Elements 2
Match Books, April 15, 2013
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 351 pages
Aidan Brook’s world was shattered when she uncovered long-buried secrets about her past. Secrets that could cost her sanity—or even her life.
Now, she craves peace and quiet, but that’s not an option when local children start vanishing. Soon, Aidan is drawn deep into the shifter world…a place where elementals like herself are decidedly unwelcome. To track the missing children, these longtime enemies must work together without too many claw marks or too much fur flying. Throw in a stalled romance with an enigmatic shifter, and Aidan’s life is anything but peaceful.
As Aidan and her friends zero in on the kidnapper, they discover Aidan isn’t the only one with secrets—or the only one who will stop at nothing to keep those secrets hidden…
SHIFTING SELVES won the RT Award for best indie urban fantasy!
Turning Tides
Elements 3
Match Books, May 6, 2014
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 344 pages
Elements 3
Match Books, May 6, 2014
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 344 pages
Aidan Brook committed one too many magical crimes. Now, the water council insists she answer for them. Before they can deliver a verdict that will change her life, one of theirs is gruesomely murdered—and Aidan’s best friend is accused of the crime.
Before the body cools, Aidan is racing against the clock to prove Sera’s innocence. To make matters worse, her favorite bear shifter is struggling with the dangerous bond they now share. Aidan will do whatever it takes to save her friends…but the cost may be higher than she can pay.
A little murder, a little magic, and family and friends to help her through it all. On the outside, it looks like a typical Aidan Brook day, but she’s about to discover, when the tides start to turn, even a water elemental can’t control what happens next.
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