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A review by eesh25
Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger
4.0
4.5 Stars
What first drew me to this novel was the role reversal. Usually, in Urban YA fantasy, we have a girl who thinks she ordinary but then this mysterious guy comes into her life and tells that about the supernatural world. Now I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. Just that it's a norm.
In this novel, there's a guy who thinks he's a normal human being. His name is Vane Weston, he survived the tornado that killed his parents when he was just seven, and doesn't remember life before that event. He thinks he's perfectly normal. Then Audra, the girl who's been haunting his dreams for as long as he can remember, shows up and tells him that he's a sylph, an air elemental, someone who can communicate and command the wind. She also tells him that he's a specific kind of sylph, a Westerly, and because he's the last Westerly, an evil, power-hungry guy is hunting him down and will go to any length to get to him.
They only have a few days in which she must train him enough to survive. But that's not the point. The point is that she's the mysterious stranger who knows everything. And I love that. Gender swaps are so much fun.
Back to the plot. Bad guys are coming to get Vane, they have no backup because Audra's bitch of a mother is a bitch who suggested that if all went wrong, Audra could just sacrifice herself to win the fight. Yeah, she suggested that her own daughter kill herself. Have I mentioned that Audra's mother is a bitch? Her father was great but he died protecting Vane, and Audra's taken it upon herself to protect him too, at all cost. The only way that cost won't be her life is if Vane can learn something he doesn't know.
You see, there are four kinds of sylphs for four kinds of winds. Each kind have their own language to control their wind. Anyone who knows all four will have a lot of power. The other three languages are known, but not Westerly. And only Vane, being a Westerly, can learn it and becoming very powerful. Or they're screwed.
Great concept, isn't it? I really liked it. And I loved how the world building was done because while it was just Audra explaining things to Vane, his reaction to everything was so authentic! And also quite sarcastic. It was almost like the author sat someone down and tried explaining the world to them, noting down what made the most sense to them. She did a really good job with the dialogue and the world and the characters. Especially Vane.
Imagine being told you're not human and that you have powers. The way the author wrote about him finding everything out, it felt real. Also, Vane is awesome. I really like this guy. He's snarky, stubborn, caring, resilient and very relatable.
That's not to say that Audra isn't awesome. She's just kind of broken as well. She blames herself for what happened to her father and Vane's parents. She's gotten no love from anyone since that storm and she's spent years in isolation, caring about nothing but her duty. It's not a good life and she's so strong in dealing with it, but a person can only take so much. Vane and Audra are quite different but they're both really good people and care about each other a lot. I loved them together. Their relationship hit all the right notes with me.
Overall, this is a great novel. It's fascinating, fast paced, has great characters and a really sweet romance. I highly recommend checking it out.
What first drew me to this novel was the role reversal. Usually, in Urban YA fantasy, we have a girl who thinks she ordinary but then this mysterious guy comes into her life and tells that about the supernatural world. Now I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. Just that it's a norm.
In this novel, there's a guy who thinks he's a normal human being. His name is Vane Weston, he survived the tornado that killed his parents when he was just seven, and doesn't remember life before that event. He thinks he's perfectly normal. Then Audra, the girl who's been haunting his dreams for as long as he can remember, shows up and tells him that he's a sylph, an air elemental, someone who can communicate and command the wind. She also tells him that he's a specific kind of sylph, a Westerly, and because he's the last Westerly, an evil, power-hungry guy is hunting him down and will go to any length to get to him.
They only have a few days in which she must train him enough to survive. But that's not the point. The point is that she's the mysterious stranger who knows everything. And I love that. Gender swaps are so much fun.
Back to the plot. Bad guys are coming to get Vane, they have no backup because Audra's bitch of a mother is a bitch who suggested that if all went wrong, Audra could just sacrifice herself to win the fight. Yeah, she suggested that her own daughter kill herself. Have I mentioned that Audra's mother is a bitch? Her father was great but he died protecting Vane, and Audra's taken it upon herself to protect him too, at all cost. The only way that cost won't be her life is if Vane can learn something he doesn't know.
You see, there are four kinds of sylphs for four kinds of winds. Each kind have their own language to control their wind. Anyone who knows all four will have a lot of power. The other three languages are known, but not Westerly. And only Vane, being a Westerly, can learn it and becoming very powerful. Or they're screwed.
Great concept, isn't it? I really liked it. And I loved how the world building was done because while it was just Audra explaining things to Vane, his reaction to everything was so authentic! And also quite sarcastic. It was almost like the author sat someone down and tried explaining the world to them, noting down what made the most sense to them. She did a really good job with the dialogue and the world and the characters. Especially Vane.
Imagine being told you're not human and that you have powers. The way the author wrote about him finding everything out, it felt real. Also, Vane is awesome. I really like this guy. He's snarky, stubborn, caring, resilient and very relatable.
That's not to say that Audra isn't awesome. She's just kind of broken as well. She blames herself for what happened to her father and Vane's parents. She's gotten no love from anyone since that storm and she's spent years in isolation, caring about nothing but her duty. It's not a good life and she's so strong in dealing with it, but a person can only take so much. Vane and Audra are quite different but they're both really good people and care about each other a lot. I loved them together. Their relationship hit all the right notes with me.
Overall, this is a great novel. It's fascinating, fast paced, has great characters and a really sweet romance. I highly recommend checking it out.