The Elements of the Crown by Kay L. Moody
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Talise is only a child living in the empire of Kamdaria, but she is also one of the lowest caste of people who live there, she lives in the third ring known as Storm, it is a brutal place where the only people who survive there are criminals and there is no way out, once you are sent there, every generation which follows remains. Talise however, has something which the others around her don’t and because of this, the only other member of her family takes her to the middle ring of the empire, known as the Gate, it has taken years to get her there, but now they have arrived, they will not take no for an answer to their demands.

The reason Talise has come to the Gate region is so that she can be tested to see whether she can earn a place at the Academy where those with a talent for shaping the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water are tutored and taught all they need to become Shapers. Nobody from Storm has ever been a Shaper and so when they turn up at the end of the day, they are automatically dismissed as vermin and treated like scum, however, when her family is about to be assaulted, Talise shows exactly what she can do and earns herself a place in the Academy.

After she says goodbye and promises to become a Master Shaper, Talise spends the next ten years preparing to do just that, she is determined and works harder than anyone else there and surpassing them at every stage, that is until a young man in the same year proves that he is a worthy adversary. As the day of the final testing and competition arrives, Talise is struggling to concentrate and makes a decision which has consequences she never dreamed of and because of this, she has to share the title of Master Shaper with the one person she couldn’t stand and now thanks to a daring scheme, they have to work together, however, hating each other is harder than expected. As they face numerous trials, an unexpected attraction builds between them, however fate is not on their side as dark secrets emerge all around them, but will they be able to work together in order to survive, or will the future be as bleak as if they were still in the Storm?

This is a fast paced rollercoaster of action, magic, secrets and emotional turmoil as decisions are made and consequences are rendered in this world where elements are used to the advantage of some and disadvantage of others, all the while asking the hard questions of how war and prejudice can affect the society around it.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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