(Air Awakens #2)
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Soldier… Sorcerer… Savior… Who is Vhalla Yarl?
Vhalla Yarl marches to war as property of the Solaris Empire. The Emperor counts on her to bring victory, the Senate counts on her death, and the only thing Vhalla can count on is the fight of her life. As she grapples with the ghosts of her past, new challenges in the present threaten to shatter the remnants of her fragile sanity. Will she maintain her humanity? Or will she truly become the Empire’s monster?
Check out my review for book 1: Air Awakens.
Did you think they were going to war in this book? Think again! They have to get there first. Most of this book is the journey to the Northern front, which normally I might find really boring. But I was not bored for a second in this book! There is so much emotion! How does she do that? She so easily shows us into the mind of a young girl broken by the world, confused by her feelings, figuring out her place in the world, and getting to know her own power.
I think technically this is a young adult book, but it so does not read like one, compared to a lot of the more popular YA books that I’ve read recently. Maybe it’s the setting, or maybe it’s just that the writing is sooooo good. On reflection I can see how people might get annoyed with Vhalla being unsure, and perhaps insecure (potentially whiney), but I didn’t think that at all, because it is just so real, the emotions so raw. Every feeling she has or decision she makes is because of what she’s been through and of course she feels like that, and Vhalla is just so real to me in that way. The writing is just that good.
If you like books full of non-stop action, this isn’t that, but it is so full of emotion, and magic, and relationships, that I was hooked the whole way through. There is action too, but it’s not the main focus. Until that dam cliffhanger ending of course. Gah!
I love the way Vhalla’s magic develops further in this book, as well as her learning to fight, but I’m sure there is still much more to discover, and I can’t wait. So what if it's basically The Last Airbender? I love that too!
I love the magical bond that Aldrik and Vhalla share - I will never get sick of that trope - but this one is done really well I think. It’s subtle to begin with, but we see it strengthen, and their emotions develop alongside it, not because of it. There are risks involved in this too, which I think is somewhat more unusual. I really like that having this magical bond doesn’t make them automatically love each other, and there’s no insta-love. Their relationship is actually quite complex, as are the characters themselves.
I can’t wait to read the next installment to this series!
Happy reading!
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