Elixir by Hilary Duff

Elixir by Hilary Duff
with Elise Allen

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 

Release: July 7th 2011 (Paperback edition)
Genre: YA Paranormal 

Source: Bought   

Goodreads Summary:

As the daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington D.C. politician, Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. And though she dreads the paparazzi who track her every move, she herself is 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, eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful young man begin to appear in Clea’s photos—a man she has never seen in her life.

When Clea suddenly encounters this man in person she is stunned—and feels an immediate and powerful connection. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance and discover the centuries-old truth behind their intense bond.

Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fate, together they race against time to unravel their past in order to save their future—and their lives.

My review:
This was a really quick and fun read for me. I know a lot of people have been skeptical about reading this book because they see Hilary Duff is the author and they don't trust celebrity books. Well let me tell you guys - she did a good job. Hilary Duff and her collaborator/writing partner for this book (Elise Allen) have created a beautifully, well crafted story. Elixir is full of mystery, suspense, romance, and action.

The writing in Elixir is very short and to the point. There is a good mix of description and dialogue and everything flows pretty nicely.

Clea, the main character, is a likable character. She's smart, has well defined goals, and has a good heart. She is a good friend and daughter.

There is a love triangle in this book and boy is it complicated. Well at the beginning you think it's simple. It's like oh okay, shes stuck between new mysterious hot guy and her guy friend who is crushing on her but she doesn't realize it, type of love triangle which makes you go: "Oh, i've seen this before." Well,  not so much. When you realize along the development of the story that there is reincarnation and immortality involved in the this book, the love triangle gets much more complicated and I loved reading about it.

What I really liked about this book was that there was a lot of traveling in the story. While Clea is working as a photojournalist and trying to figure out about the mysterious disappearance of her dad, and a guy who keeps up on showing on her pictures - she gets to travel practically around the globe. And this is where Hilary's background as an actress and singer probably shows because she's traveled around the world through her music and acting career and the descriptions of the places that Clea ends up in, really felt real.

The secondary characters in this book are very well developed. I loved Clea's mom, her best friend Rayna, her best guy friend Ben and Sage who is her main love interest. The villains in this book are not quite who you expect and I really liked that. It was interesting to read.

The paranormal elements in this book were of course, my favorite part of the book, I have to say. You have a mix of reincarnation, dreams, immortality and magic. How it all ties into Clea's life and her dad's disappearance and the guy who keeps up showing in her pics is really intriguing. But with that - a lot of things were still not clarified by the ending. Hilary ended the book with a huge cliffhanger and a very confused MC (main character) which is why I'm super excited for the sequel to Elixir which comes out in October of this year and is called Devoted.


Rating: 4/5