Windburn (Elemental, #4)

by Shannon Mayer

Pure fantasy at its finest. I would say this is less urban fantasy though than the Rylee Adamson series. Even though it's set in the same world, the Elementals keep to themselves making this a lot more removed from the "normal" world. I think for some readers it will be hard to move between the series - for me personally, I'm a massive "classic" fantasy fan before all else so reading this was like coming home and gave me the same warm fuzzy feelings.

The series isn't really anything new in the genre, the same old fantasy tropes (The Chosen One, quest through different lands, evil foe who has spread through the land and must be defeated, etc) appear throughout - but Mayer hits all the right notes with her portrayal.

Windburn is one hell of a ride. I feel like with all Mayer's series - it starts off slowly rolling down the mountain until you're full steam ahead and things just keep breaking off. It's an insane ride. The first few books were action packed but this kept on picking up speed. So much so, I don't even know where to start.

The Sylph's (Air Elementals) feature in this one - Lark makes a trip to their home the Eyrie to rescue her father. But the Sylph's a way more a side note in this book because Lark has her own problems. Her father's missing and she's tracking him. This book is a real treat for fans of Mayer's Rylee Adamson series because many of the characters make cameo appearances in this book.

So to track her father she needs to find a Reader to find a Tracker to find her father. Griffin recommends a young Reader just coming into her powers and guess who that is? Hi, Giselle. I loved seeing the early glimpse into Giselle's life. She was very much like Milly more than Rylee I'd say. So they need Giselle to find a Tracker. Jack makes a brief appearance and then we get to meet Rylee's mother, Elena - because guess what - she's the Tracker they need! It was really fun to see all the backstory coming together and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love Ash. I kinda hate Cactus though - he annoyed me often. I liked Samara until I didn't. And I adore Peta. I will say though this story is seriously twisted. Some of the reveals I saw, other's blindsided me. I can't wait to get started on the next one.