Review: Air Awakens by Elise Kova

Air Awakens
(Air Awakens #1)
Author: Elise Kova
Publisher: Silver Wing Press
Publication: August 27, 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal
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.

An overall stunner!

I went into this book barely knowing anything and without any specific expectations because I had a vague idea what it was about. Sorcerers? Library apprentices? Royal characters? It’s quite hard to imagine them all tangled up into one big knot. Luckily as I went through the pages, I didn’t experience difficulty in absorbing everything because it was so darn good!

The book mainly centers on the heroine Vhalla Yarl, a library apprentice who later on discovered that she was entirely something else… something more than just a library girl. And then there’s this swoony, smart, a totally mysterious crown prince and sorcerer Aldrik who later on became her mentor in discovering more magical things. Things became more interesting from there and more discoveries were unraveled about Vhalla and everything in the palace.

This book is an incredibly written debut novel. Elise Kova sure knows how to manipulate everything in her plot– from the characters’ development and of course, the series of events. The world was also beautifully constructed and it sucked me right in. It actually has the Grisha feels and a bit of Red Queen feels. I just wish there’s a map at the beginning though, to have my imagination be more stimulated about its beautiful world.

And as for the characters– I adore them with all my heart. Vhalla is total sweetheart. Smart, feminine, and a very strong character. And of course, my lovey dovey Prince Aldrik who is now added to my list of book boyfriends. *swoons!

Prince Aldrik is what I’m looking for in a YA fantasy book. He’s cocky and a bit sarcastic, but there’s gentleness in him that will have you falling in love. He’s also protective over Vhalla. You see, this is why I love royal characters! I basically swooned over Dorian from Throne of Glass and Prince Cal of Red Queen so there’s no reason to dislike this newly found fictional boyfriend! Okay, Pearl, just stop blabbering! Anyway, Vhalla and Aldrik’s relationship was also admirable here. There was no insta-love. Everything progressed at just the right and perfect timing.

What was slightly missing, in my opinion, was the twist. I kept wanting to know how things would pan out all throughout the book. Plus, there was a slow plot progression at first. Somehow, the book picked up and things started to become interesting after a few chapters and there were already some actions that made the book magnificent in the end.

The ending was surreal! The author left the final pages in a place where I can anticipate that there’s so much more to come. Overall, it’s a stunning, brilliant, and a promising start to a great series. I will definitely read the next book, Fire Falling. 🙂

(Thank you to Elise Kova for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. :))

Rating:

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