I'm going to preface this review by admitting that I don't read many prequel type novellas. I've read the occasional mid-series novella while waiting for the next full-length novel to come out, but this was my first experience reading a novella before beginning a series. And I kind of wish I hadn't. Don't get me wrong, the story line was alright, albeit brief and choppy feeling. I think the real shortfall in Elemental was trying to use the novella to introduce a complicated relationship set-up between dueling families rather than use the space to build a world for the forthcoming series.
Kemmerer completely skips over the entire Elemental thing and jumps headfirst into what is meant to be a very engrossing romance. But it's so difficult to get to know characters, introduce conflict, and somehow resolve that conflict all while introducing a first time reader to the novel's world all in just 50 pages.
We're told that everyone wants Michael dead - but not why. Cause he's really powerful. Well, okay? But what makes him so powerful? What level of power do others have? What happened that made him special? Is he the only one that has ever been that powerful? I found myself with lots of unanswered questions.
I'm most definitely going to continue on with the full length novels in this series, I feel like Kemmerer did a good job at baiting me to want to know what happens next. I suppose I just would have rather experienced a bit more history and explanation about the world and situation that I was walking into, rather than skipping that and trying to dive into the relational drama right away.
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