Reign the Earth (The Elementae, #1)

by A. C. Gaughen

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AC Gaughen is not Kasie West. She doesn’t want to be and this book doesn’t try to be anything like Kasie West. But when I picked up Reign the Earth, I was kind of in the mood for Kasie West so that probably colors my review some.

Reign the Earth is serious. And brutal without being graphic. 25% less brutal than Melina Marchetta and 50% less graphic. But, like Marchetta, Gaughen lets her characters deal with serious realities of life with a compelling dash of magic. And she says some really great things about dealing with those things and being a woman and that’s the virtue of this book.

I liked the magic and the overall mythology. And I really liked the friendships and family in this book. Those relationships are so much stronger than the romance and they propel the book forward. Especially I love that her brothers play such a prominent role in the story and how close she is to them.

And so I guess Reign the Earth isn’t a “fun” book to read. But it’s a good book to read. With good characters and a strong heroine who is interesting enough to carry the story.