Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Air Awakens by Elise Kova

5 reviews

areebarehman's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

My first read of January and it didn't disappoint! The story follows Vhalla Yarl who works as an apprentice in the Imperial library. 
With the help of the silver-tongued heir to the throne, Vhalla soon discovers her magical abilities. Throw in a golden prince, rebellion, conspiracies and a bloody war and you've got an adventurous story!
The book is a seamless blend of magical characters and a compelling storyline. I won't give it  five stars because I wanted to see more of aldrik's powers. He's called the strongest sorcerer of his time but I didn't see much of that. His character seemed a little flat at times and the same goes for Vhalla. I guess we'll see more character growth in the next book. Still, a lovely read.

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spellboundreader's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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quietlyfierce's review against another edition

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3.75


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donatio's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This book makes me aggressive. It had so much potential but didn't fulfill it.
I read the German translation and I'm still not quite sure if the translation was shitty or the English original or just both. 
I couldn't bond with the prota, Vhalla, because... I don't know, she wouldn't be someone I wanted to be friends with and seemed very indecisive and unaware of her surroundings,
self-centered as she called Aldrik

There were literally three men telling her she was beautiful???! (not counting Fitz) I don't understand how she could blame her indecisiveness on the fact that it was never the right moment.

I feel like many aspects that would have given the book depth were cast aside or placed in scenes where they didn't belong. I would have liked to see more of Vhalla's relationship with her friends and would have liked to learn more about the magic and see what it can do. 
The plot wasn't always predictable but had a lot of smaller inconsistencies which added up. One moment he's angry and then he's not? 
But I believe a better choice of words could have compensated at least some of these things. What did Stephen King say? The road to hell is paved with adverbs? There has never been a book in which I felt this more. I cringed really hard at some points in the book. 
Also, Craig and Daniel? Were there no other names to name to guards?

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camiclarkbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

High fantasy isn’t usually a genre I read, but the promise of a library apprentice and a sorcerer prince was something I couldn’t pass up. 

“Air Awakens” had a lot of great ideas and a great magic system. The characters felt a little bland and the book was very slow, but there was a lot of groundwork that needed to be established for the other books in the series. 

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