First Published: August 2015
Publisher: Silver Wing Press
Series: Air Awakens #1
392 pages (ebook)
I'm totally guilty of picking up books based on their cover art, and this book has a gorgeous cover. I fell in love immediately! Plus, it was only like, $5 on my Kobo e-reader app, so I decided to read it. Luckily, I felt the story lived up to my expectations. Overall I had a wonderful time reading this novel and I'm so excited to read book two, FIRE FALLING (also $5 only!)
AIR AWAKENS takes place in a high fantasy setting, where the Solaris Empire is at war with some of its neighbors and is pretty much winning, conquering everyone. To be honest I don't really remember the names of the various kingdoms and cities, but that's not really that important. Anyway, our main character is Vhalla, a 17-almost-18 year old library apprentice who works in the palace. What does a library apprentice do in the Imperial library? They read, they organize books, they catalog new books that the Empire takes from the conquered nations, they re-bind and fix up old books, etc. It's a rather scholarly profession to be in. Vhalla loves books and reading and is very happy to be a library apprentice.
One day, Prince Aldrik returns from the warfront gravely injured. Vhalla, mistakenly thinking that it was Prince Baldair that was injured (she secretly crushes on him), frantically searches through the library for the books that lead to the clerics being able to cure the poison in his body. Unknowingly, Vhalla saves Aldrik's life, which is the beginning of her troubles ...
Saving Aldrik's life leads to the Tower of Sorcerers becoming very interested in Vhalla. The notes she took from the books to find the cure for the poison have little elements of magic clinging to them, which is how the sorcerers find Vhalla. Aldrik, a sorcerer himself, becomes interested in Vhalla and reveals to her that she is a sorcerer. Because she is a sorcerer and saved his life, they are now Bonded. However, she is no ordinary sorcerer -- she is a Windwalker, a sorcerer that specializes in manipulating the wind and air. And there hasn't been one in nearly 150 years.
Vhalla is conflicted because sorcery is something most common people fear. She doesn't want to be a sorcerer. She just wants to be an ordinary girl, work in the library, maybe marry a nice guy some day ... However, she is also curious about her magical side. The arrogant and "jerk" Prince Aldrik reluctantly finds himself mentoring Vhalla on her newfound abilities. Unexpectedly for the both of them, the two find themselves growing closer, though due to their vast difference in status, they are both very conscious of becoming too friendly with one another.
Vhalla must decide if she wants to pursue magical learning or not, or have herself Eradicated -- that is, to have all her magical inclinations removed and be a normal human being. At the same time, she cannot have anyone else find out that she is such a rare sorcerer, as Windwalkers are greatly feared for their power and the Empire may want to use her for their own purpose ...
If you watch anime or read manga, then you'll probably enjoy this book a lot. The story, the characters and the scenes in this book are all very reminiscent of anime/manga. Not that that's a bad thing -- I'm just saying, it's clearly influenced. For example, Vhalla seems like a very typical shoujo manga heroine (naive and cute) and Prince Aldrik the handsome, misunderstood jerk who secretly is really nice. Some of the scenes are very dramatic in typical anime/manga fashion. I personally rather enjoy anime and manga from time to time so I really enjoyed this novel. So, I guess, no this isn't a particularly deep story but it's definitely fun to read.
The characters aren't particularly complex, but I do love Vhalla and Aldrik's relationship. Okay, let's face it -- they're totally going to end up a couple. And that's okay. What I love about their relationship is that it's not like a lot of YA relationships where there's instant love and they can't live without one another and they're glued at the hip. By the end of the novel, Vhalla and Aldrik still haven't admitted to one another that they clearly like one another. They haven't kissed at all. They kind of hugged, which is probably the most intimacy they have in the whole novel. They feel like their relationship is up in the air. And I love this ambiguity the characters feel about their relationship because a lot of YA novels tend to rush the romance which cheapens it. This relationship between Vhalla and Aldrik progresses at a more natural pace and therefore, feels more genuine. As the reader, I feel more emotionally invested in their characters and their relationship because of it.
The story is pretty good. It's not a story that's particularly unique or anything, but it's fun and I'm left eager to read the second book, so that's something. The thing with the story is that the pacing isn't the greatest. The beginning is pretty sluggish. Then there's some really fun scenes, followed by some more slow plot-moving. Then some fun scenes again. Anyway, it alternates. I mean, overall, I enjoyed the story, but I think it could have been improved a little. For example, there's a short paragraph near the end of the book where it's just describing how Vhalla is brushing her hair -- I mean, seriously? Do I care how she's brushing her hair? Or the paragraphs describing clothing and room decorations in great detail. Maybe some people like that stuff, but I just need a general idea to be satisfied with descriptions; I really don't need to know how Aldrik's outfit looks like exactly, down to each button or whatever.
My overall impression is that this is a solid fantasy novel. I've already got book two downloaded onto my e-reader app and I'm pretty excited to find out what happens next. If you like YA fantasy, YA romance, anime or manga, then I think you will find AIR AWAKENS to be a great read.
My Rating:
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