Elixir by Hilary Duff

Title: Elixir (Elixir #1)

Author: Hilary Duff

Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR
Release Date: October 12, 2010

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Seventeen-year-old Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. The daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent politician, she has become a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a world that allows her to travel to many exotic places. But after Clea's father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, Clea begins to notice eerie, shadowy images in her photos of a strange and beautiful young 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.

If there are any books I am wary of, it's those that are written by celebrities. So I stayed away from Elixir for a very long time. But when I was given the opportunity to review the sequel,  I decided I would give it a shot. As it turned out, Elixir was a great read and at times it was even a little addicting.

Clea Raymond is used to being in the spotlight, but what she likes even more is to be the one standing behind the camera. As a photojournalist, Clea gets to travel the world, so when she gets an assignment in Rio de Janeiro, Clea jumps on the opportunity, hoping to find some answers in the last place her father was seen alive. But there seems to be more going on there than just a regular disappearance. So when Clea starts seeing a mysterious man in the background of all her pictures, Clea doesn't know what is going on. And while in Brazil with Ben, her best friend, Clea sees this same person, just not in a picture this time. As events unravel, Clea discovers more than she ever bargained for, especially when she finds out she might be tied to Sage, the mysterious man from her pictures, in more than one way. And that's not including all the people who seem to want them dead.

Lately, there seems to be more and more celebrities trying their hand at writing young adult novels and I always have my doubts and reservations about reading those books. I had exactly those feelings when I started reading Elixir but the further into the book I got, my doubts started falling away. The story was captivating and I found myself being drawn in more and more with every page that I turned. Hilary Duff, with the help of Elise Allen, wrote a pretty fantastic story, one that I didn't see coming at all. And then there was the ending. It was heartbreaking and made me especially happy to have the sequel on hand to start reading right away.

Often, if there's something that's going to let me down in a book by a celebrity, it's the characters. But in this case, the characters surprised me. I highly enjoyed getting to know Clea and find out more about her. She had an interesting personality and what I especially liked was her stubbornness. She wouldn't back down if she felt what she was doing was right and it was something I admired about her. Ben, I really liked and I felt sorry for him that Clea didn't seem to realize how he felt about her. In general, I just really liked how much he cared about those he loved. But there were other times I had my doubts about him but I don't want to give it away. Sage I don't want to say too much about because I don't want to give away the whole story. But he was still pretty great, and I'm only scratching the surface. As for Rayna, she didn't play as important a role in the story, but whenever she came up she usually managed to make me smile.

Overall, Elixir was a great read, one that I enjoyed a lot more than I ever expected to. It was a fantastic book and I was more than happy to have the sequel on hand to start reading right away.