Helpful Score: 4
I was very pleased with Ms Duff's writing style. She is truly talented (and no im not a Lizzie Maguire fan) I just feel that she has accomplished in this book, her first book i may add then many authors dont accomplish within their tenth novel! and some never get it at all.
Dont let it fool you, it being by hilary duff should not sway you one way or another. Get it because it is a great book!
I just picked it up at wal-mart on sale and I read it in 2 evenings. Very touching and exciting story. Duff is really good at characterizations and interactions with the people in her story.
It is well worth the 15 bucks i paid!!
check it out
Dont let it fool you, it being by hilary duff should not sway you one way or another. Get it because it is a great book!
I just picked it up at wal-mart on sale and I read it in 2 evenings. Very touching and exciting story. Duff is really good at characterizations and interactions with the people in her story.
It is well worth the 15 bucks i paid!!
check it out
Helpful Score: 2
I was pleasntly suprised by this book as to be honest the fact that it was written by an actress was not a big selling point for me. I liked the basic premise of the story, but be aware this is a story written for young adults and to me did not engage me as much as it could have.I am also not a fan of books that do not entirely finish the story as this one does, you are left at the end with many questions which of course means there is a second book to follow...
Helpful Score: 2
***MILD SPOILER***
As a Hilary Duff fan, I was cautiously optimistic about this novel. After reading and enjoying the excerpt in iBooks, I decided to buy it. I really did enjoy the first half, which was a Barbara Michaels-esque gothic story with fantasy elements, but I found the entire reincarnation track unbelievable and off-putting. The ending was also completely unsatisfying, and the characters started out appealing (Clea and Ben did, at least) but by the end seemed whiny and gloppily sentimental. I actually hated the book so much that I returned it to the bookstore (which they kindly let me do, since I hadn't damaged the spine), something I've never done before.
I may or may not get the next book in the series, but if I do, I'll just check it out from the library, rather than buying it. If you want a really good teen fantasy/suspense novel, take a look at Madeleine L'Engle's brilliant The Young Unicorns, or And Both Were Young for romantic suspense. OR just read a Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters novel (those are mostly appropriate for young adults -- just as appropriate as Elixir, anyway, since it has multiple S-words and a sex scene). At any rate, avoid this book, which really is nearly as bad as the haters claimed it would be.
As a Hilary Duff fan, I was cautiously optimistic about this novel. After reading and enjoying the excerpt in iBooks, I decided to buy it. I really did enjoy the first half, which was a Barbara Michaels-esque gothic story with fantasy elements, but I found the entire reincarnation track unbelievable and off-putting. The ending was also completely unsatisfying, and the characters started out appealing (Clea and Ben did, at least) but by the end seemed whiny and gloppily sentimental. I actually hated the book so much that I returned it to the bookstore (which they kindly let me do, since I hadn't damaged the spine), something I've never done before.
I may or may not get the next book in the series, but if I do, I'll just check it out from the library, rather than buying it. If you want a really good teen fantasy/suspense novel, take a look at Madeleine L'Engle's brilliant The Young Unicorns, or And Both Were Young for romantic suspense. OR just read a Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters novel (those are mostly appropriate for young adults -- just as appropriate as Elixir, anyway, since it has multiple S-words and a sex scene). At any rate, avoid this book, which really is nearly as bad as the haters claimed it would be.
Helpful Score: 2
I checked this book out of the library, curious about what sort of book Hilary Duff would write. I thought the first chapter was pretty bad, and questioned whether I actually wanted to continue with the book. But I kept going, and got sucked in to the various mysteries, and finished the book in two days.
The book is very plot-driven - I didn't relate to or really care that much about any of the characters - but the plot is interesting and compelling enough to keep you reading. I completely hated the ending, mostly because it did not resolve anything, but I hear that is because there will be a sequel. I enjoyed the book enough that I would check out the next one from the library, but not enough to buy it. But all in all, the book was definitely better than I was expecting.
The book is very plot-driven - I didn't relate to or really care that much about any of the characters - but the plot is interesting and compelling enough to keep you reading. I completely hated the ending, mostly because it did not resolve anything, but I hear that is because there will be a sequel. I enjoyed the book enough that I would check out the next one from the library, but not enough to buy it. But all in all, the book was definitely better than I was expecting.
Helpful Score: 2
If you pry open this book thinking it will be a mushy come-together-break-apart-and-come-together-again love story with clichéd twists and turns long used up by the imagination-exhausted film industry, think again. Sure, theres some romance, smooching, and passenger-seat action, but that is far from the main story. Surprisingly, former Lizzie McGuire actress Hilary Duff delivers an interesting, though borderline cheesy story based around a young girl in the spotlight (hmm) named Clea whose photos since birth contain a handsome, seemingly ageless man who has begun to haunt - or rather enhance - her dreams. Chasing this ghost, who may possibly be linked to her assumed-dead father, Clea and her best friend/potential love interest Ben venture down to Rio, where she comes face to face with the man of her dreams. At this point, this couldve turned into a very interesting ghost-beyond-the-grave time-shifting sort of tale that wouldve kept the reader breathless and guessing until the very end. However, Duff decided on giving it a turn with fables, immortality and a centuries-old dust magnet hanging out in a mall. If the story stuck with history-based haunts and paranormal-tinged mystery, it wouldve been all-out riveting; however, its still a pretty good afternoon beach read.
- T.C. Robson
BookNom - booknom.blogspot.com
- T.C. Robson
BookNom - booknom.blogspot.com
Elixir was just a complete rip off of Alyson Noel's Immortal series. There were so many similarites that I thought I was rereading the first one in her series. However, Elixir was not well written and the characters were lacking in development. I've always liked Hilary Duff but this was not good. I can't even credit her by saying that it was an original idea that just didn't work because it wasn't an original idea. It's pretty much exactly like the Immortal series just with different character names.
I have a lot of admiration for Hilary Duff's accomplishments- however, not for this one. I was disappointed in the book especially after the plot summary really grabbed my attention. The characters needed a lot more development and needed to be more realistic. I did not develop any feelings for any of the characters and by the end of the book when it left the reader hanging, I didn't care. I have no desire to find out what happened to any of them and will definitely not waste my time on the second book.
