Recurve

The Elemental Series, Book 1

By: Shannon Mayer

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

"My name is Larkspur, and I am an Elemental."

My people use the power of the earth to sustain life and defy our enemies. I should be at my father's side as a royal princess. But as a half-breed, bastard child, that isn't going to happen.

I've been accused of attacking the queen, my wicked stepmother, and my life is suddenly on the line. I have only two options left to me: banishment, or training to become one of the King's Elite Guards, an Ender.

Option one will kill me.

Option two is meant to break me, but is the only way to survive.

Did I mention I have no power like the rest of the elementals, and my connection to the earth is worth next to nothing?

Could things get any worse? Of course they can. Welcome to being an Elemental.

©2014 Hijinks Ink Publishing (P)2017 Hijinks Ink Publishing

Avatar on Steroids

This was a great listen with different twist and turns. Its like a spinoff of Avatar on Steroids, but for Adults. It could use some more details on the sexy "times". It has an evil stepmother and a choosen child. Well worth the credit, ready for the next book!

Pretty good story here!

I was given this story for an honest review. Also, I listened to the audiobook version of this story. Needless to say, this was a good listen. It was unique and left me wondering what was going to happen next.

The story kept me entertained and the narrator did a great job narrating.

Questions/Comments:

The Queen made Lark forget everything, yet, weren’t there people she lived near that knew her and her family? Knew that there was no disease (forgot what it’s called with the borrowers) going around? Wondered what happened to her and her family? I wonder about Cactus as well. Did he have no other friends besides Lark, parents, or other family members? And why was it that they remembered who each other were when they met later on in the story?

One thing I can't stand? Those that do anything and everything to get a parents approval. In this case, Lark and wanting her father to love her. Once I got to the end, it's mentioned her father was so distance and cruel to her because he didn't want the queen messing with her. Yet, he continued this behavior even after the queen left. And if he was so worried about the queen doing something, why in the world did he stay married to her? Additionally, her father ends up telling her near the end that he did trust her? Huh? He trusted her, yet still believed she had no powers and was under the queen's control? Yup, that sounds like trust to me.

Speaking of powers...Why couldn't/didn't she show her powers to her father? That part made no sense to me.

Either way, this was a really interesting story. I've love to read book 2 and would recommend this one to others.

A great first book in amazing series

Wonderful narration and a captivating and engrossing story. you will become invested fast. Emotional and engaging.

Wonderful!

Fantastic story & Lauren is amazing! this is a strong start to this series, and I will definitely be reading more from this author, and I have already picked out more performances by Lauren :-)

powerful

liked this book a lot. great characters. love books with lots of special powers and mystic people. can't wait to read next one.

Legacy

Good first story start. Nice to read about Larkspur's beginning, a character introduced in the Rylee Adamson stories. Death, destruction, battle, lies, treachory, and a beginning abound in this story. I'm looking forward to book 2.

Good story, terrible writing

Overall, the story is interesting, but it is overshadowed by bad and lazy writing. the overuse of simile and tell rather than show marks this as a book and series that needed a good editor's pen.

loved it

Rather interesting world of elementals living in the red wood forest and surrounding area. i recommend it.

Good versus evil: Mayer Style

While this book is the same world as Rylee Adamson’s, it’s set years before Rylee and therefore not a continuous storyline.
This book is also not like Rylee in that with Larkspur we get to watch her grow from a seeder (low on the list of powers, and lower on the amount of power she has as a seeder) to a princess, albeit a halfbreed and shunned.
The plot follows Lark as she follows her disjointed memories and learns to break through her magical barrier. She works basically as secret service for the same royals who show her no love and are looking to finish her. The flashbacks provide much needed insight to Lark’s past and help the reader understand that because she doesn’t have one of the four typical elemental powers but a fifth much rarer type of power she’s either sought after to control or to kill.
As is typical with Mayer many of the relationships we watch build in this book turn us on our backsides, you never know who to trust or who will turn on Lark which keeps you pining for more. Despite all of this Lark pushes on, stays true to herself and to her family, even when they don’t stay true to her. She’s a powerful force that will not be oppressed

After the series is finished..... Leave so much...

I waited to finish the series to write a review. If you don't mind inconsistencies from one book to the next, if you don't mind the writer completely changing the personality of a character because she didn't plan ahead... and needs a plot twist.. this may be the series for you. This books series wants to pretend that all the bad characters were actually good characters.... and the reader is just stupid. Turns out the books sold better than expected and you need to forget the first few books because we need to write a few more and it can't be done within the story line explained so tar... Nonsense... Ms Writer changes ALL the characters so that she can continue this series....The core points of this series are nothing because Ms Writer needs more money from this book series... and I was stupid enough to provide her with that.... If you have money to waste... this is the series for you...

Love this Series! Great Narrator too!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely. Great Characters, Plot and likeable Lead coupled with Great Narration. A unique storyline and world and believable explination as in how it could co-exist in present day.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Larkspur. She's vulnerable yet strong. Cactus because he is fun and Ash because you can tell he has hidden depth.

Which character – as performed by Lauren Fortgang – was your favourite?

I cant just pick one but Larkspur. Ash and Cactus close seconds.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes but cant just say I laughed or cried, you feel a myriad of emotions some subtle some strong. Don't want to give any spoilers.

Any additional comments?

So glad these books are being done in Audio now. Lauren Fortgang does a great job and has a great voice. Hope they hurry with the next ones to catch up to the written Series.

Good start to the series

An interesting tale of Larkspur, and Elemental who just wants to be of use to her people. The plot is smoothly written and performed, with likeable characters and good world building.

I Love this book 😊😊😊😊

I love Shannon Mayers books they never fail sto keep me wanting more and recurve was no different, from start to finish (listened to this in one day) I did not want to put this down. I'm now about to go and start on book 2 of the elementals series 😁 lark spur is a strong woman coming into her own, can't wait to see what lies ahead and who knows maybe a thing with Ash 🤔😊

Wow

I really loved this audiobook.
Shannon Mayer has delivered a great story as always, and I honestly can’t wait to listen to the next instalment
The narrator did a great job too. Pleasant to listen to and fit the tone of the book well.

Brilliant coming of power Paranormal/fantasy debut

The story plot intrigued me as I like a story where there's an underdog who fights for life. This story doesn't disappoint and not for the faint hearted due to some of the things that occur in the book. I love it when you can't see something that will happen so I'm very impressed. highly recommend.

The narrator was lovely to listen too and brought the story to life. Good job!

Another fantastic world that Shannon has built.

I read the books when they first came out and absorbed them so quickly. Well... What can I say? It's just as addictive when lisening to Lauren bring the world and characters to life. As with any world built by Shannon there are so many complex twists and turns that will leave emotionally dazed, so be warned. Thoroughly enjoyed... Ready for the next one

enjoyable

I really loved the performance of the reader and the story it's quite interesting even if a bit obvious in some parts. I will continue this series because the world in which it takes place is really nice and I like the idea of using elemental power.

Fantastic

I definitely recommend listening to this book - Lauren’s performance captures the essences of the characters and it’s very easy to know who is ‘speaking’, even before she mentions them. The book itself is really well written and a great opener to the Elemental world. You’ll be hooked!

Great start to this series

Shannon Mayer has done it again. Recurve is fast paced and keeps you turning the page to find out what happens next. Lark is prickly but uncertain and boy is she stubborn. It has a few twists and turns which make it interesting trying to figure out who’s trustworthy and who's a traitor. I definitely recommend this audio book and I am looking forward to the next one.

Fantastic start to the series

Meet Larkspur, told she was weak and a nothing. She’s a badass woman with a heart of gold and resilience of steel.

I loved this book so much I listened twice before reviewing and found extra things to gasp at (Granite) laugh at (plate of worms and red dirt) and cheer about (the whole book). I can’t wait for book two!