Book Review ~ Air Awakens (Air Awakens, #1) by Elise Kova

 

Title: Air Awakens (Air Awakens, #1)
Author: Elise Kova
Release Date: August 27th 2015
Page Amount: 377 pages, Paperback

GoodReads Blurb: 

A library apprentice, a sorcerer prince, and an unbreakable magic bond...

The Solaris Empire is one conquest away from uniting the continent, and the rare elemental magic sleeping in seventeen-year-old library apprentice Vhalla Yarl could shift the tides of war.

Vhalla has always been taught to fear the Tower of Sorcerers, a mysterious magic society, and has been happy in her quiet world of books. But after she unknowingly saves the life of one of the most powerful sorcerers of them all—the Crown Prince Aldrik—she finds herself enticed into his world. Now she must decide her future: Embrace her sorcery and leave the life she’s known, or eradicate her magic and remain as she’s always been. And with powerful forces lurking in the shadows, Vhalla’s indecision could cost her more than she ever imagined.

Review:

I came across Air Awakens and its author Elise Kova maybe four or so months ago. I read Michelle Madow's review and the fact that she said it was "Phantom of the Opera meets Cinderella" had me completely drawn in. Not so much for the Cinderella part but for the Phantom of the Opera part. I love Phantom of the Opera. So I just had to pick this one up and read it. 

There are many things that I like about this book. For one, it is high fantasy. Fantasy is one of my favorite genres ever and I've been wanting to read more fantasy. The world definitely has a lot to it. I can tell that there is still much to be revealed about this world. It is obviously very intricate and I liked the grandiose nature of the Solaris Empire. I'm not saying that I necessarily like the Solaris Empire but the fact that it seemed to be a very well thought out world. I'm waiting to learn much more about this empire and the war in the North. 

Vhalla was a good enough character. I was interested enough in her story that I kept reading. It is a little bit of an overdone thing that the plain girl finds out she is anything but and that she has enormous power.  But the fact that she didn't just jump on it seemed reasonable. To suddenly find out that everything you are right now might not be what you really are is rather overwhelming. Especially given most of the society's opinion of the Tower of Sorcerers. However, I would like more background on why so many people have such a hatred of the sorcerers. 

I feel like I would be lying in my review if I didn't bring up the grammatical errors in the text. I understand all too well that some errors slip through the editing process. But the grammatical errors that I'm referring to are misused throughout the whole text. It isn't an overwhelming amount but I did notice it every time that it came up. It wasn't enough to make me stop reading it, though. 

There were a couple of other things that I wasn't that keen on. To be honest, the first 100 pages or so moved very slowly for me. That was the chunk of the book that took me the longest to get through. I felt like there wasn't that much happening. Also, I'm pretty sure that Vhalla is described as having tan skin. The girl on the cover is white. Even if I'm wrong about her skin color, Vhalla has dark hair. The girl on the cover is blonde. Am I missing something? Is this not Vhalla on the cover? Don't get me wrong I love the cover. I love that it is an illustrated cover and the illustration is amazing but if it is Vhalla then I don't understand why the girl on the cover has blonde hair. 

Moving on, I'm not sure what to think about Prince Baldair. On the surface he seems like a good guy but there's this suspicion in me that just isn't so sure of it. I quite like Master Mohned and I did end up liking Minister Victor. Larel was a very likable character and I'm hoping to see more of her. 

Crown Prince Aldrik was definitely an interesting character. In the first bit of the book I wasn't sure how I felt about it. But I did end up liking Aldrik  lot. He may very well be my favorite character in the book. I also feel like there is so much more to know about him and I really want to find out. 

The next book seems like it is going to have a lot more action in it. And I'm taking a guess that there will be a lot more on Aldrik. Which may be what I'm most excited to see. The next book, Fir Falling is what I am reading right now. So expect a review of that soon. I know how hard it is to set up a series (I'm working on my first book in a trilogy right now.) That being said, there were some things that I didn't quite like, but it wasn't enough to keep me from book two. Overall, I would give this book 3.5 quills.