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koistyfishy's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is like eating a cold slice of pizza at 3 AM after a hard night of drinking. So satisfying in the moment but in the end, you are still waking up from a wicked hangover. Also if SOMEONE could please explain what a gummy throat feels like, I would greatly appreciate it đź’•
I have never seen a book squander SO MUCH potential until now! It's all there! It basically oozes off the page begging, pleading, and screaming at the sky to be used - but it's flatly ignored to give us boring inconsistent one-dimensional characters, teenage angst, and unnecessary drama llama all wrapped up in mediocre writing.
This book follows Vhalla, a shy boring nobody commoner who works in a library as an apprentice. One day, low and behold, after saving the broody and mysterious crown prince's life with magic, our boring chosen one is thrust into the world of magic she has been taught to fear.
I had a few problems with this book, so let me try work through them as best I can...
1. The book has a premise that instantly hooks you in and I wanted to love it as it fell into my niche of fantasy romance perfectly but I went in apprehensive based on the vastly juxtaposing reviews out there ranging from 2 - 5 Stars, all from people and friends who's reviews I NORMALLY trust as gospel! As said I absolutely LOVE fantasy romance; however, those that think this is a "Fantasy Romance" are deluded as this is actually a "Romance Fantasy". Let me explain... "Fantasy Romance" is a book where the fantasy is the main plot and the romance is the subplot. These are set in fantastical, magical worlds with an overarching FANTASY plot. This book, romance is the main plot with a slight sprinkling of fantasy. It is almost like the fantasy elements are just used to put our main characters into situations that would cause drama and angst for the ROMANCE. So if you do not like your fantasy books filled with MOSTLY romance, this is not for you.
2. I appreciate a good book just like fine dining and a good bottle of wine, they have class and an air of sophistication. This book is NOT that! This is basically trash TV on the CW or Netflix. The type of show you'll binge-watch for an entire weekend until your brain turns to mush and your eyeballs are rectangles; but still, you can't turn away from the screen because of the teenage angst and drama. It's not only that the book feels like a TV show, but the writing style mirrors this. Its inconsistent plot feels like jump cuts and scene changes. There are a lot of scenes that happen with no clear transision of how the character got there. It's just meant to be accepted that this happened. A LOT of the dialog is quite far-fetched and seems unnatural as it's very witty, quips, and often feels like it skips natural progression in a conversation.
3. Vhalla as a character is shit! She is difficult to describe because I've just read a whole book about her and I STILL DON'T KNOW WHO THE FUCK SHE IS... One second she is innocent as a rose and timid, and shy and scared of you "the prince" and things beyond her ken... (if you got the reference to this I LOVE YOU). She spends almost the whole book feeling sorry for herself, sulking, soapy, crying, and starving herself whilst living the most boring life on the planet...THEN the NEXT second she changes her mind 16 times a minute over the whole "should she/shouldn't she" become a sorcerer. It's frankly EXHAUSTING!!!
4. The writing in general gave me a headache. It was so choppy. It would be 5-word sentences. Every one of them just stops. It was so unnatural. There were pauses when we didn't need them. Breaks that could have been avoided. It was like Elise Kova was so badly scarred from being reprimanded for run-on sentences and comma splicing that she completely avoided making sentences longer than 2 lines and so made it very difficult to get into the writing itself.
An example of this: “You are fine. See how quickly you are healing now? You will be better than fine soon. I will even teach you myself.” He outright smiled, as though he was bestowing some great honor upon her. But Vhalla did not smile. She took another step away and swayed as the world was suddenly unstable. She had been on her feet for too long. Prince Aldrik was there in a moment, his hands on her upper arms for support. “Stop this foolishness,” he said, his deep voice gentle. “You know you should not be standing. Let me help you back to bed.” His sudden kindness made her want to scream.
I have never seen a book squander SO MUCH potential until now! It's all there! It basically oozes off the page begging, pleading, and screaming at the sky to be used - but it's flatly ignored to give us boring inconsistent one-dimensional characters, teenage angst, and unnecessary drama llama all wrapped up in mediocre writing.
This book follows Vhalla, a shy boring nobody commoner who works in a library as an apprentice. One day, low and behold, after saving the broody and mysterious crown prince's life with magic, our boring chosen one is thrust into the world of magic she has been taught to fear.
I had a few problems with this book, so let me try work through them as best I can...
1. The book has a premise that instantly hooks you in and I wanted to love it as it fell into my niche of fantasy romance perfectly but I went in apprehensive based on the vastly juxtaposing reviews out there ranging from 2 - 5 Stars, all from people and friends who's reviews I NORMALLY trust as gospel! As said I absolutely LOVE fantasy romance; however, those that think this is a "Fantasy Romance" are deluded as this is actually a "Romance Fantasy". Let me explain... "Fantasy Romance" is a book where the fantasy is the main plot and the romance is the subplot. These are set in fantastical, magical worlds with an overarching FANTASY plot. This book, romance is the main plot with a slight sprinkling of fantasy. It is almost like the fantasy elements are just used to put our main characters into situations that would cause drama and angst for the ROMANCE. So if you do not like your fantasy books filled with MOSTLY romance, this is not for you.
2. I appreciate a good book just like fine dining and a good bottle of wine, they have class and an air of sophistication. This book is NOT that! This is basically trash TV on the CW or Netflix. The type of show you'll binge-watch for an entire weekend until your brain turns to mush and your eyeballs are rectangles; but still, you can't turn away from the screen because of the teenage angst and drama. It's not only that the book feels like a TV show, but the writing style mirrors this. Its inconsistent plot feels like jump cuts and scene changes. There are a lot of scenes that happen with no clear transision of how the character got there. It's just meant to be accepted that this happened. A LOT of the dialog is quite far-fetched and seems unnatural as it's very witty, quips, and often feels like it skips natural progression in a conversation.
3. Vhalla as a character is shit! She is difficult to describe because I've just read a whole book about her and I STILL DON'T KNOW WHO THE FUCK SHE IS... One second she is innocent as a rose and timid, and shy and scared of you "the prince" and things beyond her ken... (if you got the reference to this I LOVE YOU). She spends almost the whole book feeling sorry for herself, sulking, soapy, crying, and starving herself whilst living the most boring life on the planet...THEN the NEXT second she changes her mind 16 times a minute over the whole "should she/shouldn't she" become a sorcerer. It's frankly EXHAUSTING!!!
4. The writing in general gave me a headache. It was so choppy. It would be 5-word sentences. Every one of them just stops. It was so unnatural. There were pauses when we didn't need them. Breaks that could have been avoided. It was like Elise Kova was so badly scarred from being reprimanded for run-on sentences and comma splicing that she completely avoided making sentences longer than 2 lines and so made it very difficult to get into the writing itself.
An example of this: “You are fine. See how quickly you are healing now? You will be better than fine soon. I will even teach you myself.” He outright smiled, as though he was bestowing some great honor upon her. But Vhalla did not smile. She took another step away and swayed as the world was suddenly unstable. She had been on her feet for too long. Prince Aldrik was there in a moment, his hands on her upper arms for support. “Stop this foolishness,” he said, his deep voice gentle. “You know you should not be standing. Let me help you back to bed.” His sudden kindness made her want to scream.
I did like the cocky bastard prince, even if he pushed her off a building. He has smirks for days, gushed sex appeal, and created a whole lot of sexual tension you could cut with a knife.
Overall if you take this book too seriously, you are going to have a bad time. It's trashy, over-the-top, extravagant, cheesy and extremely unrealistic. But I had an OK time reading it because it got reactions out of me... Some might have been eye rolls and huffs of anger, but I did appreciate the drama. If you like teenage drama and shows like Reign, Riverdale, and Charmed appeal to you, you might actually like this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
georgiaisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death of parent and Kidnapping
Minor: War
maralaene's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I picked up this book and I couldn’t put it down.
I have been meaning to read this book for a while now and it was recommended by a friend. But in all honesty I picked it up over lots of other books on my TBR for a May reading challenge! But I am so glad I did.
This was an easy, YA fantasy read that I thoroughly enjoyed. The story itself gave me ATLA vibes with the magic system, being the last wind mage in history and all. Although she’s supported by fire rather than water mages.
As a first book I flew through it and wholeheartedly can’t wait to read the rest. And I think that is a success. It’s a story about growing into yourself, and learning not to judge a book by its cover. And when your choices are taken from you, learning to step up and work to make it your own. I loved Vhalla as a character (though I did have to look through interviews to figure out how to say it). She was loveable but far from perfect, and probably a bit naive and too easily trusting, but in some ways that is what makes her endearing.
I have been meaning to read this book for a while now and it was recommended by a friend. But in all honesty I picked it up over lots of other books on my TBR for a May reading challenge! But I am so glad I did.
This was an easy, YA fantasy read that I thoroughly enjoyed. The story itself gave me ATLA vibes with the magic system, being the last wind mage in history and all. Although she’s supported by fire rather than water mages.
As a first book I flew through it and wholeheartedly can’t wait to read the rest. And I think that is a success. It’s a story about growing into yourself, and learning not to judge a book by its cover. And when your choices are taken from you, learning to step up and work to make it your own. I loved Vhalla as a character (though I did have to look through interviews to figure out how to say it). She was loveable but far from perfect, and probably a bit naive and too easily trusting, but in some ways that is what makes her endearing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Physical abuse
shadereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death
Minor: Genocide and War
sarahsbookss's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Death
camiclarkbooks's review against another edition
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.
“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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
pagebypaigereviews's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
5.0
This book quickly found a way into my heart!
"The girl in her who had never amounted to anything other than an avid reader, now had something that kings killed for."
--Air Awakens
Vhalla Yarl was living her ideal life: apprenticing at the library, surrounded by her beloved books. Those employed at the library are charged with researching potential cures for a poisoned prince. Vhalla works longer and harder than anyone else, and her efforts help spare the prince from certain death. Only, she didn't save the flirtatious, charming prince she imagined she was helping, rather, it was his dark, brooding brother. And now he knows something dangerous about her that she could never be prepared to hear.
Air Awakens is the first book I've read by Elise Kova, and I must say that I am thoroughly hooked! This book kept me up reading late into the night on several occasions. The writing is so easy to read, and whenever I wasn't reading, I was longing to go back into the magic of Vhalla's world. I found Vhalla to be a highly relatable character, and I adored her dynamic with prince Aldric. There are so many lovable (and loathe-able) characters!
The only thing that bothered me was that there were several times that I found the wording a little awkward, but I was so enthralled by the story that it wasn't a huge concern for me. If this book is any indication, Kova is quickly joining my list of favorite authors! I can't wait to read the rest of the series! The best part? They are all free on Kindle Unlimited!
"The girl in her who had never amounted to anything other than an avid reader, now had something that kings killed for."
--Air Awakens
Vhalla Yarl was living her ideal life: apprenticing at the library, surrounded by her beloved books. Those employed at the library are charged with researching potential cures for a poisoned prince. Vhalla works longer and harder than anyone else, and her efforts help spare the prince from certain death. Only, she didn't save the flirtatious, charming prince she imagined she was helping, rather, it was his dark, brooding brother. And now he knows something dangerous about her that she could never be prepared to hear.
Air Awakens is the first book I've read by Elise Kova, and I must say that I am thoroughly hooked! This book kept me up reading late into the night on several occasions. The writing is so easy to read, and whenever I wasn't reading, I was longing to go back into the magic of Vhalla's world. I found Vhalla to be a highly relatable character, and I adored her dynamic with prince Aldric. There are so many lovable (and loathe-able) characters!
The only thing that bothered me was that there were several times that I found the wording a little awkward, but I was so enthralled by the story that it wasn't a huge concern for me. If this book is any indication, Kova is quickly joining my list of favorite authors! I can't wait to read the rest of the series! The best part? They are all free on Kindle Unlimited!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: War, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
Minor: Vomit and Death of parent
bailey1196's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Kidnapping and Murder
yodareads12's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
4.0
So, first off, this book did take me a bit to get into. However, once I did I couldn't put it down!
A lot of it reminds me of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it has such differences of both storyline and characters that it's not at all a copycat story.
I loved the different types of magic, but also the reality of the distrust of things unknown. I see that so much in our world that it was refreshing to see it in a book. I also loved the action, adventure, comedy, and romance that were in the book.
Definitely a read I'd recommend to any Fantasy lovers! Also, if you like stories involving princes, sorcerors, and library attendants this book is for you! It was also very clean however, warning, there is a scene where someone is abused.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse
mortonsspoon's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship