REVIEW: The Prophecy of Shadows (Elementals, #1) by Michelle Madow

Title: The Prophecy of Shadows
Author: Michelle Madow
Publisher: Barclay Publishing
Publication Date: January 26th 2016
Part of A Series?: Yes! Elementals Trilogy, #1
I Got A Copy Through: NetGalley

Blurb Description: Filled with magic, thrilling adventure, and sweet romance, Elementals is the first in a new series that fans of Percy Jackson and The Secret Circle will love! 

When Nicole Cassidy moves from sunny Georgia to gloomy New England, the last thing she expects is to learn that her homeroom is a cover for a secret coven of witches. Even more surprisingly … she’s apparently a witch herself. Despite doubts about her newfound abilities, Nicole is welcomed into this ancient circle of witches and is bedazzled by their powers—and, to her dismay, by Blake—the school’s notorious bad-boy.

Girls who get close to Blake wind up hurt. His girlfriend Danielle will do anything to keep them away, even if she must resort to using dark magic. But the chemistry between Blake and Nicole is undeniable, and despite wanting to protect Nicole from Danielle’s wrath, he finds it impossible to keep his distance.

When the Olympian Comet shoots through the sky for the first time in three thousand years, Nicole, Blake, Danielle, and two others in their homeroom are gifted with mysterious powers. But the comet has another effect—it opens the portal to the prison world that has contained the Titans for centuries. After an ancient monster escapes and attacks Nicole and Blake, it’s up to them and the others to follow the clues from a cryptic prophecy so that they can save their town … and possibly the world. 

**MY REVIEW**

Here’s the thing with name dropping* - don’t do it. I understand publicity techniques, but if the synopsis is catching enough I don’t need hints of it being like all these other books to convince me to read it. If I really really liked a series, and you name drop it on another book, I’m quite literally sitting there, expecting the same level from the new book!

*Name Dropping is what is done on the blurbs of books, to get readers to relate it to other books in their heads. For example, "Perfect for fans of Sarah J Maas and Leigh Bardugo,"

And for The Prophecy Of Shadows, compared to the Percy Jackson series, it didn’t work out too well. When I was in middle school, I got hooked onto the Percy Jackson series. After I finished all five novels, I proceeded onto the Heroes of Olympus series, which I religiously waited on for five years of my life, only to get an ending that was thoroughly unbelievable as equally disappointing. It was here I promised myself that I would go no more…

And then The Prophecy of Shadows came out. Practically in love with Michelle’s Secret Diamond Sisters’ Series, I decided that her new book would definitely be worth a try! And I can quite honestly say that if it hadn’t been compared to Percy Jackson, I would have liked this book a whole lot more than I did.

Starting off with a not so nice Harry Potter reference didn’t help too much, but at the beginning of the book, I could definitely see that I would get into this. All the energy channelling and colours and secrecy was something like my favourite Wicca novel, and everything was right in the world. The characters were introduced well, their motivations hazy, just like I like them and the protagonist denying that she could be so special, and going ahead and saving the day – all elements that I love.

And then came the forbidden bad boy, and the chemistry that not only could I not feel, but I later realized couldn’t feel because it simply WASN’T there altogether. Then the characters weren’t complicated at all, but just plain vanilla and boring. Their GRAND prophecy was printed out on a piece of paper, and then entire book seemed like one big treasure hunt rather than an actual quest. 

Everything was in one city, down one road, and the Five in the Prophecy got their part of it all too easily!

I don’t know what to say really, except that I was expecting something like Percy Jackson, and it didn’t really deliver!