Dragons, Elves, and Magic. What more could you want from a fantasy trilogy?Maia, Elf princess of Elveron, has studied for almost a century to become a Prime Elemental but, when she finally completes her final test, which she had to take on Earth, something unexpected happens, and she brings with her the very thing she tried to leave behind.Now she is faced with responsibilities she thinks she is … she brings with her the very thing she tried to leave behind.
Now she is faced with responsibilities she thinks she is not ready for, a love she does not reciprocate, and a threat to her people that might kill them all. Young, inexperienced, and unsure of her powers, she only has her desire to save her people that drives her into battle.
But she is not alone. She has her mentor, Silas, and her dragon, Midnight, who stand by her side as she embarks on an adventure to save not just herself, but the rest of the nation of Grildor as well
Maia, Elf princess of Elveron, has studied for almost a century to become a Prime Elemental but, when she finally completes her final test, which she had to take on Earth, something unexpected happens, and she brings with her the very thing she tried to leave behind.
Now she is faced with responsibilities she thinks she is not ready for, a love she does not reciprocate, and a threat to her people that might kill them all. Young, inexperienced, and unsure of her powers, she only has her desire to save her people that drives her into battle.
But she is not alone. She has her mentor, Silas, and her dragon, Midnight, who stand by her side as she embarks on an adventure to save not just herself, but the rest of the nation of Grildor as well.
“Cox has created characters; a world; a story that is Tolkien worthy. She has developed something unique and rich in imagination.” Sian B. Claven (Author of The Butcher books)
“Maia is an incredible character to follow. Toni Cox has managed to bring something new, exciting, and seriously addictive to the fore.” Robyn Victoria Castles (TBB)
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Upon her return from her final test on Earth, Maia makes a monumental mistake that puts her in a coma and almost claims her life. But when she wakes, she realizes that the worst is not over yet; she has brought back with her the very thing she tried to leave behind. Faced with responsibilities she thinks she is not ready for, a love she does not reciprocate, and a threat to her people that might kill them all, she is suddenly forced to become what she is supposed to be-a Prime. But she is not ready, and she struggles to save not just herself and the people she loves but the rest of the nation of Grildor as well.
This is one of the harder genres for me to review unbiased – not because I dish out favourable reviews for fantasy books but because I don’t. Fantasy has always been one of my favourite genres so my expectations for a fantasy based book is always higher. This being said let’s take a look at Elemental Rising by Toni Cox.
Firstly the cover – It was a hard one for me. This is Cox’s first book and I had an earlier copy. I know the first book a writer posts is generally the one where they find their feet and I have seen the updated cover jacket for the book and I have to say it is pretty great. It hasn’t got a great deal of detail in terms of relation to the book – because trust me looking at the cover and then reading the book I was more like WOAH where did that come from! But isn’t that a cover is for? To draw you in and then let the book take you by surprise?
For me the story didn’t really start in the beginning of the book – where the story is based on Earth although I would like to mention here that Cox had an interesting look at the state of the Earth for her book because it is certainly an Earth I can imagine us heading into if something doesn’t change soon – it almost had a Terra Nova Earth feel to it – but with better explanations as to how it actually works; a more realistic look at Earth than Terra Nova had.
The story for me really starts when we land on Maia’s home planet. The interesting thing about this to me; and it is so hard for me to do this because I don’t want to spoil ANYTHING; is that Cox did not lump all the creatures that would be considered mythical into one realm or planet in her story but rather divided them across…. well different places. For me this was interesting because generally a lot of fantasy books tend to be like LOOK! HUMAN! Goes to magical place! LOOK! Magical place has all magical creatures – in some form or another – that human didn’t believe me!
Instead of doing the shock factor way of introducing the fantasy portion of her story by just dumping a whole bunch of creatures in a human’s world; Cox brings it about in such a natural way that for a long time I had to check if my ears were pointy or not because I so desperately wanted them to be. I am disappointed they are not.
The other things about Cox’s writing which is something I rarely experience is that there were no mix ups of the worlds; city names; leaders name etc. When delving into a fantasy story of this calibre it is REALLY hard because there is so much detail involved but Cox clearly loves her characters and her lands and has got into a lot of effort to work on the first book in this series and I can’t wait for the second!
That being said; my thoughts on the book are probably already conveyed. But if I can make it clearer; the greatest fantasy story in my opinion is Tolkien’s works (every single one of them) and I have extremely high standards. Closely behind that would be the likes of Anne Rice; Stephen King (fantasy and horror – two bonuses). Cox has created characters; a world; a story that is Tolkien worthy in my opinion. This book is absolutely amazing. The attention to details is phenomenal. The names of the places and people are easy to remember but still magical sounding and Cox clearly knows how to develop a story extremely well without complicating everything or missing important steps for all her characters development. Specifically Maia’s character development surprised me but at the same time really sealed my opinion of Cox’s writing. She does not deliver an a-typical fantasy book that one can come across most shelves of book stores – she has developed something unique and rich in imagination.
The only thing that might turn me away from this book is the blurb as I feel it could have been done more justice!
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Fantasy.Toni Cox
She has trained all her life to be the elemental of her people but she has brought something with her and she fails the final test. What is she going to do? Can she over come the problem and be what she must be? See what will happen
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a fantasy book that has it all: great characters, incredible world-building, and above all, a fantastic story. I can’t wait to start book 2!
This is a wonderful fantasy book, first in an exciting new series. I loved the characters, especially the spirited Maia, the world-building, and the adventure. I am definitely looking to explore more of this great series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Elemental Rising
The Elemental Trilogy Book 1
Toni Cox
This was a great story. I loved the imagination that was put into it. The character descriptions, and world building seemed so on point they really took you into the other world and brought you into Maia’s life. I loved the adventure, and challenges she faced. It was great. It really pulled you into the story. I can’t wait to start book two.
I was completely drawn into this world the author has crafted. The scenery is easy to envision, and you quickly become lost to the ‘normal’ world. The characters are well developed and the storyline flows really well with some twists and a little action, the book will completely hold your attention. Cannot wait for the 2nd book.