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lisashelves's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Death of parent
aseel_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really liked how this book series ended, I thought it was done in a pretty consistent way of the whole world
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
koistyfishy's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
No one is sadder than me, that I am not rating this higher! Crystal Crowned is the final book in the series and as such is the epic conclusion of the AMAZING journey I have been on with the Air Awakens Series but overall I am pretty disappointed. I am not sure if I was emotionally broken after the events of Water's Wrath, but I battled to finish this book and find the drive to push through to that final neat "bow" conclusion I knew was waiting for me at the end.
There are numerous things that I didn't like in this instalment - which LARGELY attributed to the great aversion I had to complete this book... I had contemplated to DNF this (or even soft DNF), but I like a sense of completion so I finally grit my teeth and accepted my agony.
I did not like that there was no clear villain in this book, whilst we did have Victor as the main antagonist, he isn't really physically present until the final battle and is more of a presence that felt while the heroes battle his lackeys. Victor is also just a pale comparison to the vile sadistic villain of the previous Emperor.
Vhalla ANNOYED THE CRAP OUT OF ME!!! She quickly became too stupid to love/live and made annoying decisions. On top of this, her mood swings due to *certain events* felt repetitive and overall, even though she should have grown in the last "2 years", she felt more and more like a child.
There was hardly ANY romance in this book, it was miscommunication after miscommunication and then just an utter lack of communication on things. Aldrik and Vhalla felt like they were constantly fighting with each other, instead of for each other and after dealing with 4 books to get them to this point, I felt annoyed.
A lot of what happens in this book is not very clearly explained, I am still not sure how Crystal Magic works or how Crystal corruption worked. There was a vague prophecy in this book that isn't explained or elaborated on and many loose ends are just left dangling, and since this is the last book - we won't ever have this resolved.
There was a little too much just "talking politics and war" that I was bored, feeling like I was in school again in a history class. I love some political intrigue, but this felt draggy, unnecessary, and a little too much.
This leads me to the last thing I didn't like and it's more a comment on this series, I think towards the end it felt a little too dragged out for no reason. I was surprised initially that book 4 occurred when the "first war" was over in book 3, BUT the story continued and I am not sure if Elise Kova had a 5 book deal so HAD to write 5 Books, but halfway through this I just lost interest.
DISLIKES ASIDE... I am glad that I did finish this!!!! I have a special place in my heart for the side characters too... I love Jax and his story and understand him a little more; Fritz is too precious for this world! Elecia with her hard stone exterior but soft inside is the friend we all wish we had...and poor poor Daniel - he deserved better.
In the end and looking back at the series as a whole, the Air Awakens series will always be memorable and I did enjoy my adventures with Vhalla and her found family. It was easy to read with romance, action, epic fight scenes, and fantastic characters and had an interesting magic system muddled in with thrilling fantasy elements. The series was one of the few that made me ugly-cry in a bathtub for 30 minutes, so I will NEVER FORGET the great emotional connection I have to these characters and the ordeals they went through.
I do not think this series is for everyone, as it heavily revolves around the romance - but for me...for me it was just what I needed.
I will miss my time spent in the Solaris Empire.
Long Live Solaris
There are numerous things that I didn't like in this instalment - which LARGELY attributed to the great aversion I had to complete this book... I had contemplated to DNF this (or even soft DNF), but I like a sense of completion so I finally grit my teeth and accepted my agony.
I did not like that there was no clear villain in this book, whilst we did have Victor as the main antagonist, he isn't really physically present until the final battle and is more of a presence that felt while the heroes battle his lackeys. Victor is also just a pale comparison to the vile sadistic villain of the previous Emperor.
Vhalla ANNOYED THE CRAP OUT OF ME!!! She quickly became too stupid to love/live and made annoying decisions. On top of this, her mood swings due to *certain events* felt repetitive and overall, even though she should have grown in the last "2 years", she felt more and more like a child.
There was hardly ANY romance in this book, it was miscommunication after miscommunication and then just an utter lack of communication on things. Aldrik and Vhalla felt like they were constantly fighting with each other, instead of for each other and after dealing with 4 books to get them to this point, I felt annoyed.
A lot of what happens in this book is not very clearly explained, I am still not sure how Crystal Magic works or how Crystal corruption worked. There was a vague prophecy in this book that isn't explained or elaborated on and many loose ends are just left dangling, and since this is the last book - we won't ever have this resolved.
There was a little too much just "talking politics and war" that I was bored, feeling like I was in school again in a history class. I love some political intrigue, but this felt draggy, unnecessary, and a little too much.
This leads me to the last thing I didn't like and it's more a comment on this series, I think towards the end it felt a little too dragged out for no reason. I was surprised initially that book 4 occurred when the "first war" was over in book 3, BUT the story continued and I am not sure if Elise Kova had a 5 book deal so HAD to write 5 Books, but halfway through this I just lost interest.
DISLIKES ASIDE... I am glad that I did finish this!!!! I have a special place in my heart for the side characters too... I love Jax and his story and understand him a little more; Fritz is too precious for this world! Elecia with her hard stone exterior but soft inside is the friend we all wish we had...and poor poor Daniel - he deserved better.
In the end and looking back at the series as a whole, the Air Awakens series will always be memorable and I did enjoy my adventures with Vhalla and her found family. It was easy to read with romance, action, epic fight scenes, and fantastic characters and had an interesting magic system muddled in with thrilling fantasy elements. The series was one of the few that made me ugly-cry in a bathtub for 30 minutes, so I will NEVER FORGET the great emotional connection I have to these characters and the ordeals they went through.
I do not think this series is for everyone, as it heavily revolves around the romance - but for me...for me it was just what I needed.
I will miss my time spent in the Solaris Empire.
Long Live Solaris
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism
psydneigh's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this ending. I liked seeing Vhalla and Sehra form a good relationship. I enjoyed the ending, I felt like it did a pretty good job wrapping up everyones stories. Can’t wait to continue with Vortex Visions!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War