It got 2 stars because there was no story. It was just some chapters. Some chapters that 38% into Book 1, haven't been referred to at all.

So?

It was just some chapters. ( )

This is really just a short story meant as a prequel to the series. It doesn't explain much, just that there are four brothers. Michael, the oldest, has already manifested strong earth powers which upset the other residents of the town who fear him. He makes friends with Emily, a girl in his class, and ends in a bit of a cliffhanger. Not much to it, but it's a good teaser. ( )

***After Reading***
It was aimed at 17/18 years and it did it's job to get me interested. Good set-up. But I really despise cliffhangers and I'm not interested in reading a series with teenagers in it.

***Before (re-)reading***
I have zero memory about this series. I was looking for a book written in past tense (I know nothing about English grammar) and found this.

Did I liked? Did I hated it? Apparently it was enough to read book 1 in the series. ( )

What started out as an exciting introduction to a new to me series ended with disappointment.

The Good Stuff: Having the power of an element is not a new concept but one I enjoy a lot. I liked that there were varying levels of power amongst the Elementals and the idea that the more powerful they are the more they are ostracized by their own kind. I liked that this short story explained enough of this but didn't waste too many of the precious pages over explaining it which would make it more info dump than part of a story. It was also a sweet boy meets girl story and a potential star crossed lovers story that was developing nicely.

The Bad Stuff: Not being a fan of novellas it's hard for me to be completely open to them without having preconceived notions that every novella will disappoint me by not being developed enough. I'd love to say this one proved me wrong but it didn't. It, unfortunately, reiterated that point loudly. While happily reading through an exciting scene where our boy and girl have become friends and find themselves running from a bad group of kids the story just stops. Literally. Stops. One minute the two are clasping hands and jumping into the water while the bad gang of kids are almost upon them and then.....nothing. The End. WHAT!?!? You can't end a story that way! Well, Brigid Kemmerer certainly did and I hated it. It was a cliffhanger.......on steroids.

In a Nutshell: Despite the abrupt ending I didn't throw my hands up and discard the notion of this series. Instead I had the need to move onto the first book in the series. I suppose this was the entire point of this novella. Mission: To suck unsuspecting readers in and brainwash them into continuing on no matter how pissed they are. Well played Kemmerer. Well played. ( )

I had no idea Michael had gone through all this stuff. No wonder he's so ruff with the boys. ( )