fire falling – GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy + romance
Length: 350 pages
Author: Elise Kova
Publisher: Silver Wing Press
Release Date: February 11th, 2016
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A woman awoken in air, a soldier forged by fire, a weapon risen from blood.

Vhalla Yarl has made it to the warfront in the North. Forged by blood and fire, she has steeled her heart for the final battle of the Solaris Empire’s conquest. The choices before Vhalla are no longer servitude or freedom, they are servitude or death. The stakes have never been higher as the Emperor maintains his iron grip on her fate, holding everything Vhalla still has left to lose in the balance.

BEST BOOK YET.

You know when you love a book SO MUCH that you can’t even form a coherent sentence let alone a whole review? This is what’s happening to my mind trying to put this together. Let me leave at least this one sentence here: I love this series with a crazy bookish passion and it has been the best series I’ve picked up in 2019 thus far (And I’m not even through with it yet).

I swear this series is out to destroy me. Though this much heart ache hopefully leads to the amazing reunion, happy ending I MUST HAVE. Sucker for happy endings. Give them allllll to me.

First and foremost, I am completely obsessed with Aldrik. He is a tortured soul with such deep pains and is struggling so much, and somehow still gives his heart to Vhalla. Every time they spoke I couldn’t handle how sweet his words were to her. HE LOVES HER SO MUCH.

Vhalla is a stellar character in her own right. I gave the first book (Air Awakens) 4 stars because I wasn’t convinced that I liked Vhalla, but figured there would be a major character arc brewing. And so far, so good! I love how passionate, stubborn, and full of strength she is. We also got to see her break to a very low point. This was raw and important for further moving her along in the story. It was a moment for her to dive deep and find her own way.

I do feel it pertinent to mention that this is a fantasy series with a heavy focus on the relationship between Vhalla and Aldrik. I love books like this, but I know others prefer a lot more components. And while this does have a lot of politics, battles and tense moments, it’s heavy on the focus for my OTP.

I love the friendships! Vhalla has her own little crew and all of the relationships have blossomed and flourished in their own ways. She has a support team and everyone actually enjoys each other’s company. Nobody annoys me. They all have a purpose and I know enough of their background that I’m going to be devastated if someone else dies (knock on wood).

This book kept me on my toes. I was never sure what was going to happen next. Would get a nice moment? Would someone else die? *Bonus: Kova is not afraid to kill off characters* Would all be okay?! ALL IS DEFINITELY NOT OKAY.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy + romance
Language: a little
Romance: kisses/make-outs, a few love scenes that are a little detailed, but mostly fades out; nothing explicit
Violence: swords, poison, battle scenes, loss of loved ones, elemental magic
Trigger warnings: alcoholism – used specifically to suppress feelings/emotions

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Book Review

Book Review: Fire Falling (Air Awakens #2) by Elise Kova

August 15, 2019July 25, 2019 GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy + Romance
Length: 359 pages
Author: Elise Kova
Publisher: Silver Wing Press
Release Date: November 19th, 2015
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

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?

Fire Falling is the second book in the Air Awakens Series.

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT KIND OF CLIFFHANGER?!

THAT WAS THE BIGGEST CLIFFHANGER I HAVE EVER READ. At least I think so, it’s the most recent one in my memory that had me literally buy the next book (YAY KINDLE) at that moment and read the first chapter to make sure I had a handle on what happened.

I’M NOT OKAY.

This book drew me in, loved me, THEN BROKE ME. I am so hooked by this series now.

The focus here is the love story. And I know that not everyone loves stories like that and I understand, but for me? ALL DAYYYYYY. I love love. Anywho, Aldrik and Vhalla just broke into my top five OTPs. I absolutely can’t get enough of their interactions and I was pretty sure this slow burn was going to be the end of me. It was slowww and so well built. By the time I actually got a kiss scene I squealed. That’s all I wanted y’all. Some declarations and some kissing. YES.

“My Vhalla, my lady, my love.”

There’s a lot more going on than this relationship (but am I honestly paying that much attention? Okay, not as much as I should). I am loving the politics of finding out more about the Emperor. His character is a bit of an enigma still. I want to know all the reasons he’s really trying to conquer the lands around him.

All of these side characters are amazing. I am devastated by some choices Kova made for them, but I will prevail. It’s too great of writing for me to be that upset. Everyone is easy to love (or hate) and I feel connected to the story through all of them. I love the roles everyone is playing and can’t wait to see those continue.

This book surprisingly takes place over a couple of weeks on the way to the battle. I didn’t even realize this because I was so focused on everyone else. I was entranced by this book and I’m pretty confident that Elise Kova is going to be an auto-buy author by the end of this.

HERE FOR IT ALL Y’ALL.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy (focus on romance)
Language: none (or maybe one word, but so little I didn’t notice)
Romance: some kisses/make-outs, sleeping in the same bed but actually sleeping, no sex scenes
Violence: knives, swords, a bit bloody, elemental magic, murder, loss of loved ones, poison

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Monthly Wrap-Up

Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2019!

August 3, 2019August 2, 2019 GoodeyReads

Whoa, things got crazy this month. I read 21 books! I can’t even believe it myself. It’s the dead of summer and I have been able to pick up a lot of reads and had a great month. I am happy I got through so many because August is a big month for new releases on my radar.

The Beholder (The Beholder #1) by Anna Bright
The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness #1) by Tamora Pierce
Wicked Fox (Gumiho #1) by Kat Cho
Recursion by Blake Crouch
When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young [ARC] – (RTC – ☆☆☆)
The Traitor’s Kingdom (The Traitor’s Circle #3) by Erin Beaty – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆☆)
The Winner’s Curse (The Winner’s Trilogy #1) [REREAD] – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆☆)
The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3) by Rick Riordan – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆)
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆)
In the Hand of the Goddess (Song of the Lioness #2) by Tamora Pierce – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆)
Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby #3) by William Ritter – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆)
Fire Falling (Air Awakens #2) by Elise Kova – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆☆)
Age of War (The Legends of the First Empire #3) by Michael J. Sullivan – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆☆)
The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #4) by Rick Riordan – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆)
All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆☆)
The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett – (RTC – ☆☆☆ 1/2)
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (Song of the Lioness #3) by Tamora Pierce – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆)
Save the Date by Morgan Matson – (RTC – ☆☆)
The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5) by Rick Riordan – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆☆)