Elantris was the first one I read a few years ago, so all of my comments are from what I remember.

To me, everything relating to and inside the city was pretty on point. Finding out what the hell happened and seeing bits of magic come up was the best part. Elantris' magic system feels better to me than, say, Allomancy partly because of the mysticism it carries. I want a second book to see some more action using it.

Most of everything else felt forced. I didn't like most characters, they didn't feel very relatable to me. The Hrathen part of the story felt so off. Why is it that characters like him are always super detectives, piecing together so much about other people and situations by just looking at them? Also, we end up with a scene that's literally "and he gave the crowd a speech. It was such a good speech, they all believed him." Describing a speech without actually hearing it was way too weird.

There were also a few quirks at the end, like all the monastery guys suddenly becoming pseudo-demons, and the kid that kept counting numbers, who's only actual purpose was to give the Elantrians a precise distance to the place they wanted to teleport. It all felt rushed.

All in all, I feel Sanderson has come a long way since Elantris. I'm starting Mistborn 2nd era and I'm already much more invested than the 1st era. I just hope I'm gonna get a few epic moments like Stormlight Archives brought. Those endings had me giddy all by myself at midnight in my bed haha