Air Awakens by Elise Kova Series: Air Awakens #1
Published by Silver Wing Press on 8/27/15
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 377
Source: The Author
My content rating: YA (Nothing more than kissing)
My rating:
A library apprentice, a sorcerer prince, and an unbreakable magic bond...
The Solaris Empire is one conquest away from uniting the continent, and the rare elemental magic sleeping in seventeen-year-old library apprentice Vhalla Yarl could shift the tides of war.
Vhalla has always been taught to fear the Tower of Sorcerers, a mysterious magic society, and has been happy in her quiet world of books. But after she unknowingly saves the life of one of the most powerful sorcerers of them all—the Crown Prince Aldrik—she finds herself enticed into his world. Now she must decide her future: Embrace her sorcery and leave the life she’s known, or eradicate her magic and remain as she’s always been. And with powerful forces lurking in the shadows, Vhalla’s indecision could cost her more than she ever imagined.
This is one of those fantasies that has a ton going for it – an interesting magical system, flawed characters who don’t always do the right thing (or even always know what the right thing is), secondary characters who you sometimes love and sometimes make you crazy, realistic inner turmoil … the list goes on.
I’m not going to go into detail about the plot (you’re all perfectly capable of reading the blurb). Instead, I’ll jump right into my review.
What Fed My Addiction:
- Flawed characters. This is one of those books where the main characters make mistakes – sometimes big ones – but you can still relate to them because you understand where they’re coming from. For instance, right from the start, you can see that Vhalla is trying to deny who she is based on prejudices that were formed out of ignorance. And I have to admit that it took her a lot longer than I would have liked to come to terms with her powers, especially considering how important they were. Still, it wasn’t hard to see how confused and frightened Vhalla was, and you really couldn’t blame her for her prejudices since they’d been drilled into her head by years of misinformation. Then there were Vhalla’s friends – they were equally judgmental and I kind of wanted to hate them, but when push came to shove, Vhalla chose them anyway – and I really wanted to applaud her for it. Loyalty isn’t based on one or two days’ worth of actions – it’s born out of those years’ of friendship that they had already shared!
- The romance. I was a big fan of the romance in this book. First off, I loved that it was slow to develop, which just made me want it to happen all the more. There were a lot of obstacles to the relationship, but the fact that they overcame them bonded them further.
- The ending. Of course, I can’t say much about what actually happened at the end of the book, but I will just tell you that it was HUGE and terrifically exciting!! Things went berserk and then got crazier still!!! I was captivated!
What Left Me Wanting More:
- Pacing. I felt like the first half of the book was just a little bit slow sometimes. It picked WAY up in the end, though!
- Same old? In some ways, I felt like this was pretty similar to a lot of other YA fantasies out there (which probably also contributed to my feeling that the beginning was slow). Things definitely got interesting, but it took me a little while to get hooked.
So, it took me a little while, but Kova eventually got me hooked on her characters. I can’t wait to see what she has in store in the next book, and luckily it’s already out, so I don’t have to wait long! Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the author via YA Bound Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
About Elise Kova
Elise Kova has always had a passion for storytelling. She wrote her first novella, a high-fantasy, in sixth grade. Over the years she’s honed her love of literature with everything from fantasy to romance, science fiction to mystery, and whatever else catches her eye.
Elise lives in Saint Petersburg, Florida, where she’s currently working on the next installment in her debut YA fantasy series: Air Awakens. She enjoys video games, anime, table-top role playing games, and many other forms of “geekdom.”
Related Posts
5 responses to “Air Awakens by Elise Kova – Review”
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Yayy I am glad you liked it! I actually agree with you about the first part of the book- I deducted a half star for a slow start. But then things just get SO GOOD- and never, ever let up. I am so excited to see what you think of the next books- because they literally had me like, holding my breath and having ALL the feels. SO epic. You must let me know as soon as you read Fire Falling!!
I absolutely love this series and it makes me so happy to see other people discovering and enjoying it. I do agree with your issues of pacing and same old with Air Awakens but keep going because that quickly changes with Fire Falling. The characters certainly make all the difference!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this book, Nicole! I’ve never even heard of it before. So thanks for bringing it to my attention because I adore flawed characters!
I keep hearing about this book which is why I picked this book up. I really hope I wind up enjoying it even though you hint at it being not all that original.
This novel sounds really cool! And I am LOVING that epic cover!!