What I would really like to see somewhere, is a world where there is a group of people called "Elementals" who have powers linked to elements of the periodic table
I kind of wrote something like that back in middle school. It was as good as anything you could find in wattpad. And i really didn't get the periodic table right so not a good try.
I always appreciate it when you can see a story consciously going against the grain. "Girl saved from danger by mysterious love interest" is such a common trope in these books, it immediately grabs your attention when Becca saves Chris from being beaten up, and *doesn't* use her convenient self-defence skills to demonstrate that she's a Strong Independent Woman who can ass-kick a whole group of dudes.
wow her using her car to threaten those guys after ending a shitty self-defense class is really super clever, especially for the twilight-clone sect of ya books. always impressed by the number of interesting (positive or negative) books on this channel that I've never heard of
How the tv series did make the characters actually enjoyable video?! Like the series is a really fun sam reini series i think xena inspired. Its genuinly enjoyable campy fun. Or do the magicians!
i think the author has just treated this like a romance series, kinda like bridgerton or the brown sisters, where each book focuses on a different sibling? which honestly good on her for realising that the romance is probably what draws in the audience more than the plot
I would like to point out that even if you know your family/friends will be ok with it, it can still be terrifying. I had explicit examples from my parents and my oldest sibling, yet telling them is still nerve wracking, _and it's a 6 year old memory at this point._ Logically dumb, but an entirely relatable reaction.
You've entered the world of romance series' formula, where every next book pairs off the 'main group' members, one by one. Each book focuses on a previously secondary character and their own love story/plot line! (If you can get past the covers, the Ilona Andrews 'Hidden Legacy' series has some amazing combat magic that I think you'd enjoy) (It is urban fantasy with a romance veneer)
I twigged how this was going to go when I noticed a pattern of the cover models, who seemed to represent the male leads, standing around in a group and having a different guy step forward to be the focus on each cover.
"Isn't it strange how we all seem to be finding love, one after another, after hundreds of years of being more or less alone?" One of the Lords of the Underworld.
the characters arc finishing in each book kinda reminds me of a vn or otome game, like picking a different character route each time ti complete their arc or romance route, with singular focus on that character
Oh man I used to be obsessed with this series in high school. I’d never really seen it discussed anywhere before now 😂 I think the implied justification for the attempted gr scenes in Becca’s arc had to do with as Hunter explains the fact that being a fifth tends to draw the attention of others to them, both positively and negatively. Looking back though it does seem excessive, especially since this drawing of negative attention for Hunter just manifested as bullying. The attempted gr seems disproportionate in comparison
I could see how Silver is dealt with could be done well without changing too much; Basically, have the guy who kills him kill him for being too dangerous and extreme, but that guy still wants to start a serious crackdown on elementals in the area, since a large group DID want to blow up an entire school.
Hearing you rip terrible books apart is always a pleasure, no arguments here. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this positive review and found it strangely soothing! Thank you for your work!
Gave the first book a shot and it really was written in a nice style! So thanks for the recommendation. I think you mixed up Gabriel and the oldest brother when summarizing the plot of the first book - it was the oldest brother who threatened and chased Becca and it was pretty much in line with his other (high-strung) behavior. I liked how well the author used dialogue and witty oneliners to move the plot on and make seemingly bland teenie drama tropes (homecoming) endurable. I think a little more depth would have been nice. A little more self-reflection maybe about the impact of their actions? The protagonists were described in a realistic way, but they all stayed highschoolers in the end with little thought about anything other than their own life and feelings. And that's probably why there's a little emptiness when the story ends. It was nice, but not enough to stick with me after closing the book. But maybe that's just me?
Just finished "Letters to the Lost" by the same author (Brigid Kemmerer) and this one combines the entertaining, witty writing style with the deep, lasting messages I was missing in Elementals. Awesome book!
I totally missed that you read this book! This series is actually one of my comfort reads that I loved back when I was still in high school. It has its problems, but overall it's an easy and fun read. It always made me happy that the author eventually broke out into (somewhat?) mainstream success.
I read this! This was my childhood series!!!!!!! Between Elemental, Deltora Quest and Harry Potter these were the books that gave me the weird taste I have today. I just never thought anyone else ever read them!!!! My favourite book was Secret because Nick is the best.
So I read some of these books and I’ve never been insanely big on romance but I actually enjoy this one. It’s literally just romance. The over arching plot isn’t insanely important I found, the main focus is obviously the drama though I’ve only read three books and I know big things are happening so that’s probably gonna change. The action isn’t insane but the romance is pretty good and I like a lot of the characters. And also, yes, the covers are really goofy looking.
i have commented this before but i think a video the algorithm will like is a video about the Immortals series by Alyson Noel, cause many twilight readers read that series, it was always next to the twilight books in the library because of the genre and the author's last names, i swear the series has awesome twists and the lore is really deep!
Hey you know what, _good_ YA supernatural romances (or whatever genre is popular to hate on at the moment) deserve a shout out when they show up. ...Not much more to say than that, I just appreciate that someone would put out a review that isn't either the 99% of THIS SUCKS WORSE THAN ANYTHING EVER or the 1% of the author's coattail riders kissing their ass in an attempt to get a shoutout of their own later
Doesnt that series follow more the its about a supernatural family an every brother/sibling/member tells its story genre?! Whih i think i common enough to count as genre
I have enjoyed listening to your long book reviews for a while now, and I was wondering if you could upload this type of content on podcast sites. I am not sure how viable it is, but I am able to keep up with podcast more consistently than videos, and my phone does not have to always be on in order to listen on which makes it more convenient. Just a consideration, keep up the great work.
I'll check this out. You should review The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna. The sequel, The Merciless Ones came out recently,but I haven't read it yet. Oh, and Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. Such an interesting twist on the Legend of Arthur lore. The sequel Bloodmarked comes out in a couple of days and I'm excited to read it.
@@torshavnnewell No it’s about a girl who’s mother recently died going to UNC, where she finds that a secret society of arthurian character’s descendants protect ppl from these like demons. It deals a lot with the misogyny and racism a blake woman faces in a such white spaces, but also how grief can be draining.
Good to see a series you w joy. Although I love you trashing on bad books; for your own sake I’m glad you read this rather than the rest of the 5th Sorcerers books-I enjoyed both those reviews but was sad to hear you say you weren’t going to do the other trilogy just because you were too bored & didn’t have anything to say about them.
Could you maybe review bloodlines by Richelle Mead. It is a spin off and I think it is better than the original series . I love it but it might be nostalgia .
So I’ve read three books. I know book four is about nick. And based off of the other books it’s also gonna be about his love interest. Up until that point his love interest has been beccas friend. And I just want to say how insufferable that chick is. She is insanely annoying. I hate her. And considering that most of the story so far nick has been a very background character the fourth book is easily the one I look forward to the least. I did like nick in the second book and I’m sure there’s more to it but I’d have to actually read the book to see that. I’ve only just gotten to the start of the “spark” portion of this video so idk how James touches this topic but that’s my view.
The algorithm seems to hate this one, be sure to like, share the video, and comment to boost it!
Please... I have to eat...
This is probably my first comment this year, love your videos :)
Helpful comment for the algorithm
My sacrifice to the algorithm
tis a comment
“Algorithm” is Arabic for “the gorithm”.
In a world of media where people make the dumbest decisions, the fact she got in her car to scare the thugs away is mind blowing.
Easily top 10% big-brain by fictional protagonist standards.
0.1% if you count horror movies.
What I would really like to see somewhere, is a world where there is a group of people called "Elementals" who have powers linked to elements of the periodic table
I kind of wrote something like that back in middle school. It was as good as anything you could find in wattpad. And i really didn't get the periodic table right so not a good try.
I always appreciate it when you can see a story consciously going against the grain. "Girl saved from danger by mysterious love interest" is such a common trope in these books, it immediately grabs your attention when Becca saves Chris from being beaten up, and *doesn't* use her convenient self-defence skills to demonstrate that she's a Strong Independent Woman who can ass-kick a whole group of dudes.
wow her using her car to threaten those guys after ending a shitty self-defense class is really super clever, especially for the twilight-clone sect of ya books. always impressed by the number of interesting (positive or negative) books on this channel that I've never heard of
I like how the covers make the brothers look like a boyband
I can't believe it. After years... the mythical "good Twilight clone"
James, you're a damn machine for getting this far. Well done.
As a community we should lobby for James to make a Sword of Truth video.
I agree, if the same community pay for his PTSD treatment, after doing the review.
ALL of it? Have mercy on this poor man!
Sir, attempted murder is a crime
Nah, I've already done The Fifth Sorcereress and that's just a worse version of Sword of Truth.
How the tv series did make the characters actually enjoyable video?!
Like the series is a really fun sam reini series i think xena inspired. Its genuinly enjoyable campy fun.
Or do the magicians!
i think the author has just treated this like a romance series, kinda like bridgerton or the brown sisters, where each book focuses on a different sibling? which honestly good on her for realising that the romance is probably what draws in the audience more than the plot
Wait, a Twilight clone that's actually...good????😲🧐🤨
"A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one."😄
Came before Twilight, but the visual novel Tsukihime has a surprisingly large amount in common with Twilight despite being well written.
*Gasp* actual world building.
I'm glad they have a reason for the secret world this time around.
I would like to point out that even if you know your family/friends will be ok with it, it can still be terrifying.
I had explicit examples from my parents and my oldest sibling, yet telling them is still nerve wracking, _and it's a 6 year old memory at this point._
Logically dumb, but an entirely relatable reaction.
yep. I was nervous telling my parents that im a lesbian.
I have two moms. they are also lesbians.
Yup, I still haven’t come out yet to family 😭😭
Nice that in the opening she threatened them with her car as it makes sense with the information the reader has at that time
You've entered the world of romance series' formula, where every next book pairs off the 'main group' members, one by one. Each book focuses on a previously secondary character and their own love story/plot line! (If you can get past the covers, the Ilona Andrews 'Hidden Legacy' series has some amazing combat magic that I think you'd enjoy) (It is urban fantasy with a romance veneer)
I twigged how this was going to go when I noticed a pattern of the cover models, who seemed to represent the male leads, standing around in a group and having a different guy step forward to be the focus on each cover.
The Bridgerton series is an example of this.
The Shifter Chronicles by Crissy Smith is a more spicy example of this.
The 'Lords of the Underworld' series by Gena Showalter is an example of this.
"Isn't it strange how we all seem to be finding love, one after another, after hundreds of years of being more or less alone?" One of the Lords of the Underworld.
At some point I started hearing "guy" and now I'm stuck in a perpetual loop of confusion and realisation every time you mention them.
Imagine my surprise when I heard Kate was a guy.
the characters arc finishing in each book kinda reminds me of a vn or otome game, like picking a different character route each time ti complete their arc or romance route, with singular focus on that character
Oh man I used to be obsessed with this series in high school. I’d never really seen it discussed anywhere before now 😂
I think the implied justification for the attempted gr scenes in Becca’s arc had to do with as Hunter explains the fact that being a fifth tends to draw the attention of others to them, both positively and negatively. Looking back though it does seem excessive, especially since this drawing of negative attention for Hunter just manifested as bullying. The attempted gr seems disproportionate in comparison
I could see how Silver is dealt with could be done well without changing too much; Basically, have the guy who kills him kill him for being too dangerous and extreme, but that guy still wants to start a serious crackdown on elementals in the area, since a large group DID want to blow up an entire school.
I loved your reflection at the end - pick up things, you might enjoy it - to be surprised is the best feeling in the world
the main character threatening to hit guys with a car is fantastic lmfao i love that. becca is a chad
James-“this video is going to have as much detail”
*proceeds to make it 1hr long*
Hearing you rip terrible books apart is always a pleasure, no arguments here. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this positive review and found it strangely soothing! Thank you for your work!
Gave the first book a shot and it really was written in a nice style! So thanks for the recommendation. I think you mixed up Gabriel and the oldest brother when summarizing the plot of the first book - it was the oldest brother who threatened and chased Becca and it was pretty much in line with his other (high-strung) behavior. I liked how well the author used dialogue and witty oneliners to move the plot on and make seemingly bland teenie drama tropes (homecoming) endurable. I think a little more depth would have been nice. A little more self-reflection maybe about the impact of their actions? The protagonists were described in a realistic way, but they all stayed highschoolers in the end with little thought about anything other than their own life and feelings. And that's probably why there's a little emptiness when the story ends. It was nice, but not enough to stick with me after closing the book. But maybe that's just me?
Just finished "Letters to the Lost" by the same author (Brigid Kemmerer) and this one combines the entertaining, witty writing style with the deep, lasting messages I was missing in Elementals. Awesome book!
I totally missed that you read this book! This series is actually one of my comfort reads that I loved back when I was still in high school. It has its problems, but overall it's an easy and fun read. It always made me happy that the author eventually broke out into (somewhat?) mainstream success.
I read this! This was my childhood series!!!!!!! Between Elemental, Deltora Quest and Harry Potter these were the books that gave me the weird taste I have today. I just never thought anyone else ever read them!!!! My favourite book was Secret because Nick is the best.
Fuck yeah deltora quest
@@shangc2781 omg right? I loved original series and the dragon series, but the pipeone wasn't the best
I like listening to your videos because they’re nice and calm but the bleeping out of the bad words gave me a jumpscare every time 😅
31:14 Thanks for giving my home state a shoutout! lol
If this series takes place in Maryland, I assume all the characters are constantly eating Old Bay seasoning.
Food for the algorithm nom nom nom. Great vid by the way. Probably don’t read the actual novels but enjoyed the breakdown.
So I read some of these books and I’ve never been insanely big on romance but I actually enjoy this one. It’s literally just romance. The over arching plot isn’t insanely important I found, the main focus is obviously the drama though I’ve only read three books and I know big things are happening so that’s probably gonna change. The action isn’t insane but the romance is pretty good and I like a lot of the characters. And also, yes, the covers are really goofy looking.
same. romance is something I hardly ever read/watch, but I do enjoy this series (so far) for the plot and characters
i have commented this before but i think a video the algorithm will like is a video about the Immortals series by Alyson Noel, cause many twilight readers read that series, it was always next to the twilight books in the library because of the genre and the author's last names, i swear the series has awesome twists and the lore is really deep!
It's always a good day when James Tullos posts a video
Nice to hear you've had time for good books every now and then! This actually sounds pretty fun for paranormal ya.
Hey you know what, _good_ YA supernatural romances (or whatever genre is popular to hate on at the moment) deserve a shout out when they show up.
...Not much more to say than that, I just appreciate that someone would put out a review that isn't either the 99% of THIS SUCKS WORSE THAN ANYTHING EVER or the 1% of the author's coattail riders kissing their ass in an attempt to get a shoutout of their own later
I completely forgot that hunter just isn’t allowed to be happy lol.
Thanks for the video James, a great companion for a day of cleaning :)
dude youve changed so much since ur videos on halo, hush hush, and that other one i forgot (in a positive sense) :D
Doesnt that series follow more the its about a supernatural family an every brother/sibling/member tells its story genre?! Whih i think i common enough to count as genre
I watched you ages ago and have been looking for this channel again. So glad I found it and to see it's still active! Awesome review
I’ve only read three books but Gabriel is my favorite and his book has been my favorite so far.
Great video!
So the characters are Avatars. 😁😁😁
🙌🙌 bless this oh mighty algorithm 🙌🙌
I have enjoyed listening to your long book reviews for a while now, and I was wondering if you could upload this type of content on podcast sites. I am not sure how viable it is, but I am able to keep up with podcast more consistently than videos, and my phone does not have to always be on in order to listen on which makes it more convenient. Just a consideration, keep up the great work.
the thumbnail made me think this is about the mario movie...which is a twilight clone, somehow... which sounds amazing
Soooo, it's Avatar: the Last Airbender and Twilight crossover?
i wish your positive videos got more attention like they always but me in a good mood
Perfected and Beta are two books that are just extremely weird. Bad, but it’s the weirdness that kills me with both of them
I'll check this out.
You should review The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna. The sequel, The Merciless Ones came out recently,but I haven't read it yet.
Oh, and Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. Such an interesting twist on the Legend of Arthur lore. The sequel Bloodmarked comes out in a couple of days and I'm excited to read it.
Is that the one where Arthur doesn't exist and is just some random guy?
@@torshavnnewell No.
@@torshavnnewell No it’s about a girl who’s mother recently died going to UNC, where she finds that a secret society of arthurian character’s descendants protect ppl from these like demons. It deals a lot with the misogyny and racism a blake woman faces in a such white spaces, but also how grief can be draining.
Love it
Thanks for all the good content! Algorithm check lets go!
Comment for the algorithm
Good to see a series you w joy. Although I love you trashing on bad books; for your own sake I’m glad you read this rather than the rest of the 5th Sorcerers books-I enjoyed both those reviews but was sad to hear you say you weren’t going to do the other trilogy just because you were too bored & didn’t have anything to say about them.
Another fun video
Could you maybe review bloodlines by Richelle Mead. It is a spin off and I think it is better than the original series . I love it but it might be nostalgia .
Wait, the Guides are hunting down Elementals. But all the Guides so far in the series (at the time of Spirit) are Fifths?
Giving you some social engagement because I know negative reviews get more views than positive ones and I want to change that a bit
Is the 5th element love?
Quite probably!
Or it's soul(bending).
i assume it's a reference to quintessence
Heart, of course!
hi i like this vid
The problem is, now I don't want to watch the video I want to read it 😅
That seems like an interesting story to read. Silver is a very stupid name.
Was looking for some light reading, might just pick this one up.
👍🏿
So I’ve read three books. I know book four is about nick. And based off of the other books it’s also gonna be about his love interest. Up until that point his love interest has been beccas friend. And I just want to say how insufferable that chick is. She is insanely annoying. I hate her. And considering that most of the story so far nick has been a very background character the fourth book is easily the one I look forward to the least. I did like nick in the second book and I’m sure there’s more to it but I’d have to actually read the book to see that. I’ve only just gotten to the start of the “spark” portion of this video so idk how James touches this topic but that’s my view.
You should read the "Wake" series by Lisa McMann. I read the first book, and it SUCKS!
For the Algorithm
lol ya avatar
See now I want to read it but I've watched a video that is literally just spoilers. Oops.
10th comment (am counting his comment's first reply)
HELLO KIND SIR! TIS A COMMENT YOU SEE
Beep Boop
Have a great day!
2nd
1st