Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. The blurb interested me but I had trouble getting into the story.

This book felt very similar to a lot of other YA novels that involve young women with superpowers. The characters were very static and predictable, and the story dragged quite a bit, as most of the character development and world-building took place in a single room. I was not very impressed with it.
I would say this book is more suited to younger readers based on the style and lack of depth to the story, but to make that so, I would remove some of the intimate interactions between two of the characters. If you removed those and improved the storytelling, this could be a worthwhile novel for junior high or early high school-aged people.

4 people are kidnapped and held with no reason given. They each discover they hold elemental "magic". An ancient ritual, startling information of their chances to get free, the deja vu feeling 2 of the people feel for each other. An excellent premise, with dragging dialog. The character interaction was lengthy and long winded. I felt it detracted from the story.

Uggh. I expected more of Caloric. What I got was drivel. There is minimal substance. A group of teens are imprisoned, two boys and two girls. They discover they are going to be killed for their elemental powers. The leader of an ancient cult wants all of the powers for himself. The four have to train their powers so they can make an escape. Phoenyx instantly falls in love with SebastIan - they have dreamt about each other after all. It's pretty boring. I got 70% through - no real action, no sign yet of baddie, and no change of scenery apart from a hallucinatory beach sequence intended to further the romance. If you are looking for an urban fantasy this isn't much of one. It's not even a decent romance. There are plenty of good urban fantasies and many paranormal romances that would be far better choices.

2 / 5

I received a copy of Caloric from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

Tricia Barr has put out a novel that hits all the high notes to draw readers in with her talented writing and imagination. The super hero / gifted powers plot device worked well within the context of this story and was a welcome break after being inundated with Marvel and DCs monopoly on the themes.

The suspense filled action, romance and a whiff of humor combine to create a well thought out plot in this first book of the series.

The characters are fleshed out very well so you get a good sense of who they are and can easily believe in their interactions and motivations. As you move deeper through the story you can’t help but cheer on the characters you’ve become invested in and hope that all their sacrifices will pay off. The main female character is strong and a great example of what women are capable of particularly in adverse situations.

Though the idea of using groups of teens has been done many times over in movies and books Barr somehow took a long used idea and made it fresh. The value of friendship is a beautiful theme woven along the pages in this mystically unique novel.

Good elemental YA read, you’ll want to stick with the series to see what happens next.