Reign the Earth by A. C. Gaughen
Series: The Elementae #1
Rating: 4 stars
Published: January 30th 2018
Goodreads Synopsis:
Shalia is a proud daughter of the desert, but after years of devastating war with the adjoining kingdom, her people are desperate for peace. Willing to trade her freedom to ensure the safety of her family, Shalia becomes Queen of the Bonelands.
But she soon learns that her husband, Calix, is motivated only by his desire to exterminate the Elementae—mystical people who can control earth, wind, air, and fire. Even more unsettling are Shalia’s feelings for her husband’s brother, which unleash a power over the earth she never knew she possessed—a power that could get her killed. As rumors of a rebellion against Calix spread, Shalia must choose between the last chance for peace and her own future as an Elementae.
TW: Domestic and verbal abuse
To protect her family and the people of the desert, Shalia marries Calix, who is said to be the head of their religion of the Three-Faced God. Calix will stop at nothing to rid his world of the Elementae, a people who have power over the elements (earth, wind, fire, water). But once she uncovers her powers over the earth, Shalia must find her inner strength in order to stop Calix from continuing his genocide, and to save herself.
This was hard subject material to tackle and read, and I absolutely hated Calix. But Gaughen did a great job of crafting a character who could see in himself no wrongs. The pattern of abuse, of repetitive, meaningless apologies and repeated occurrences, that Calix wrought on Shalia is something that is so visceral to people who have been abused themselves. Again, this was super hard to read so if this is something that you can't stomach, I wouldn't suggest reading it.
"And there are moments when he's kind to me, or thoughtful, and I feel something like hope - but I hate those moments more than any other, because they mean that I am beginning to mistake the absence of cruelty for love." - p. 300
THIS. This is the cycle of abuse and why it's so hard to leave.
It pained me so hard to see Shalia, whose love and compassion for others made her strong, be beaten down by Calix. But watching her grow and stand up for herself was the emotional journey that was so needed in this novel.
I am a bit iffy on the last part of the novel. Yes, from the beginning we were given a love triangle and it was obvious that Shalia would end up with Galen, Calix's brother. But having that love come to its completion so quickly after Shalia found her inner strength made it pull more towards the romance as opposed to Shalia's own growth. Is a romance necessary for her to be her own character? She literally lost almost everyone in her family. Especially Kairos! What was that cliffhanger? Everyone gets a happy-ish ending except the one cool brother.
That's the part that frustrated me. I hope we get to see some definitive ending in a sequel.
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