My thoughts: I stumbled upon this book totally by chance, and I’m so happy I did. I’d like to think I’d find it sooner or later anyway, but you never know, and to think I could’ve missed this!
I love Vhalla. The main character, Vhalla, is great. She is an apprentice in the library at the palace, and she loves reading. She has great respect for books, and she likes to read while she’s pretending to work. When she finds out she’s a sorcerer, she immediately turns to books to find out more. I really liked that, as that’s exactly what I’d do. Whenever something happens, doesn’t matter what it is, I turn to books. It was fun to read about another booklover like me.
Vhalla is a relatable character, and not just because of her love for books. Her reactions, her actions, it all feels very realistic and relatable. I loved reading about her. She’s smart and rarely makes hasty decisions. Instead, she tries to learn more about it in order to make sure she makes the right decision. She’s nice and selfless, and the last thing she wants is to hurt someone, physically or otherwise. She’s just a great character, and I’m looking forward to reading more about her.
Enough about Vhalla. As much as I love her, I must say, I love prince Aldrik more. He is really good-looking, with high cheekbones and blue eyes, and that’s enough to make me a happy fangirl. But that’s not all. Believe it or not, I’m not that shallow. He’s sarcastic and can be cold at times, but there were some moments (few, but they were there) when he showed a different side to Vhalla, a sweeter, protective side, that just made me fall for him even more. He’s mysterious, definitely, but there are enough nice moments to keep me interested in learning more.
Kova balances perfectly between fantasy and reality. In High Fantasy, it’s important that the reader gets introduced to the new world in a good way. Elise Kova did it perfectly. She added glimpses of the world every now and then, but she didn’t write a full history of the world in the first part of the book before getting into the plot. No, she added small facts in conversation between the characters, or by Vhalla learning something new. That way, there was more focus on the plot, and less focus about learning everything about this new world in the first fourth of the book. Nothing ever felt over-explained, which was great. This made the book more enjoyable, and balanced perfectly between fantasy and reality.
I’m not sure what to say about the ending, other than it was awful, and that I’m scared to start Fire Falling after that ending. But there is great potential for the next book, so at the same time, I’m really excited to start reading and see what happens with Vhalla and Aldrik. So if you don’t mind, I’ll just finish this review and start reading Fire Falling now.
To sum it up, this book was way better than I could’ve hoped for. With great, relatable characters that will be impossible not to love, amazing fantasy, and an ending that will make you want to read the next book immediately, this book was exactly what I want from a Fantasy book. This book, and the entire series, has gained a special place in my heart.
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Popular Highlights in this book
“Would you, Lady Vhalla Yarl, like to someday be the Empress Vhalla Solaris?”Highlighted by 701 Kindle readers- Love, war, life was a series of battlefields strung together with the courage to march forward.Highlighted by 530 Kindle readers
- “Even something very small can cast a large shadow when it is close to the sun.”Highlighted by 444 Kindle readers
From the Publisher
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| Air Awakens | Fire Falling | Earth's End | Water's Wrath | Crystal Crowned | |
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| Customer Reviews |
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| Price | $3.99 | $4.99 | $5.99 | $5.99 | $5.99 |
| Complete the entire Air Awakens Series | Book One | Book Two | Book Three | Book Four | Book Five |
| Slow Burn Romance | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Brooding Love Interest | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Elemental Magic | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fantasy War | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Deep Friendships | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Heroine Who Grows | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Older Young Adult | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
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Reviews with images
A lovely story
I finished the series in about two weekends. It's a great read and I enjoyed the slow burn romance that develops between Vhalla and Aldrik. The first book went quickly, and since I had to know how their story would evolve, I started the second right away. By the third book, I was crying like an idiot. In all honesty, the series could've ended with book three and I would have been happy. I got the feeling that books four and five were stretching the story and as a reader, taking me away from the magic that ended book three. With book five, I was scanning through text to get to the parts that mattered to me.I gave the series a four-star review, because of books four and five. The character development, the intensity of the relationship, the pacing that I had enjoyed in books 1, 2, and 3 wasn't present in books 4 and 5. I didn't enjoy the arcs (and that includes killing characters I had come to love), and at times I wondered why the author had done this. It came out of left field and did nothing to advance the story.At times, I wanted to throw the eBook out the proverbial window, because Vhalla's tendency to martyrdom was a bit too much for my taste, and this was more pronounced in books four and five. In fact, overdone. Still, I enjoyed the series, and the end of the series, although from Elecia's POV, was satisfying.
Top reviews from other countries
Nicole
Afbeelding klopt niet. Geen losse boeken
Reviewed in the Netherlands on July 16, 2021