Book Review: Elixir

Title: Elixir

Author: Hilary Duff, Elise Allen 
Publisher: Simon & Schuster 
Release Date: October 12th, 2010
Format: Paperback
Source: Library

Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. The daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington DC politician, she has grown to be a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world. But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, Clea’s photos begin to feature eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful man—a man she has never seen before.

When fate brings Clea and this man together, she is stunned by the immediate and powerful connection she feels with him. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance, and they discover the centuries old truth behind their intense bond. Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fates, together they race against time to unravel their pasts in order to save their lives—and their futures.

My Thoughts:

Hilary Duff’s debut? Trust me, I never would have picked this up under normal circumstances, but my copy of Devoted was looking very lonely and dusty on my shelf, so I decided to give Elixir a try. Frankly, I really enjoyed Elixir; I wasn’t mind-blowing or anything, but it was certainly captivating enough for me to want to read the next book.

The plot was very complex; on one hand, we have Clea trying to unravel the mystery behind her father’s disappearance. We also have Clea meeting her soul mate, Sage and discovering that she has been in love with him in her past lives only to die horribly each time. Then we have The Elixir of life and I liked how everything seemed to link back to the Elixir of Life.  But I felt Hilary Duff had a difficult time striking a balance between all these intricately linked plots, since all of them seemed significant and focusing too much on one, meant neglecting another.

The romance between Sage and Clea reminded me of Luce & Daniel’s relationship in Fallen; the girl gets reincarnated every few decades or so while the guy stays eternal and in every lifetime, he falls in love with each reincarnation of the girl. The only problem is, here, there didn’t seem to be a proper lead-up to their romance in the present day except for those bizarrely realistic dreams or ‘memories’ Clea’s been having. I swear, the two hardly had a decent conversation before Clea demanded to know whether Sage loved her or the other versions of her. Put it bluntly, it seemed too fake 

Romance aside, I loved reading about the mystery surrounding the ‘mysterious guy’ who’s constantly popping up in her photos. I don’t think it was meant to be scary, but I totally creeped out a little! I mean, how creepy is to find the same man in almost all of your photos even though you’d never set eyes on him, and then also to see his shadow in a photo of your closet?

Hilary Duff sure will delight fans with her surprisingly well-written YA debut. A complex and fascinating plot complete with likable characters, romance and action, Elixir was certainly a fast and interesting read! Every moment was filled with something that was essential to the plot; there wasn't one boring moment!Give this one a try; I’m sure many of you will enjoy it!

“Who are you?" I asked. 
"You know who I am," he replied. "I'm yours."