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After years of experiencing devastating war with her kingdom’s neighbor, desert-born Shalia is desperate for peace. She’d do anything to protect her family, even if it means trading in her freedom and agreeing to an arranged marriage with the king of the Bonelands.
Shalia hopes for a loving marriage with her new husband, Calix, but she soon realizes a happy marriage is not to be. Calix is a hard man motivated only by his desire to exterminate the Elementae — the people who can control earth, wind, air, and fire. Calix can never learn Shalia is one of them too. In fact, she didn’t even realize she possessed Elementae powers until she was on the road to the Bonelands and her new home.
Calix would kill her if he ever found out her secret, but keeping her power contained is becoming harder, especially when she starts having feelings for her husband’s brother — feelings that seem to trigger the power within her.
As rumors of a rebellion against Calix spread, Shalia must choose between the fragile chance for peace and her own future as an Elementae.
Reign the Earth is a book filled with surprisingly heavy themes. It’s not an easy read by any means, yet it’s a surprisingly excellent portrayal of a young woman who gradually gains the power to free herself from her abusive husband.
Shalia is a rare heroine in the young adult genre. She isn’t a kick-butt warrior, but she is still both strong and feminine, naive and wise, brave and vulnerable. While she suffers for being so gentle and loving, she ultimately becomes stronger for it and remains a beautiful role model who genuinely cares for her husband’s people enough to try to bring change and peace.
Worth pointing out is the author’s note. At the beginning of the book, A.C. Gaughen shares a personal story of the physical and emotional struggles she faced while writing Reign the Earth. The effects of those struggles really are visible in the writing and make Shalia’s story even more poignant. Knowing how much of a triumph this book was and what it means to her makes it even more special for the reader.
Rated: Moderate, though bordering on high, for harsh topics. Trigger warnings include rape, physical and emotional abuse, torture, and miscarriage. There is talk of the importance of lust in a marriage. Upon the protagonist’s wedding night, the marriage is consummated. The reader is aware that the couple is naked in bed together and that she experiences pain, but there is no real detail. The heroine’s husband forces himself on her in bed and regularly puts her down in front of others, demanding obedience, and, in some instances, he treats her like a slave or a mere adornment. Characters kiss passionately (sometimes with tongue); there is a partial undressing in one scene, with the main character being with a man who is not her husband. Another similar scene with the main character and that man leads to sex (again described more emotionally than portraying the act). Violence is also high, yet not to the point of being gory. People are tortured and experiemented on. There are riots, bloody fights, uprisings, murders, and massacres. There are around 14 uses of mild language and one use of moderate language.
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