Air Awakens (Air Awakens #1) by Elise Kova

GoodReads Summery:

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.

 About The Author

Elise Kova has always had a passion for storytelling. She wrote her first novella, a high-fantasy, in sixth grade. Over the years she's honed her love of literature with everything from fantasy to romance, science fiction to mystery, and whatever else catches her eye.

Elise lives in Saint Petersburg, Florida, where she's currently working on the next installment in her debut YA fantasy series: Air Awakens. She enjoys video games, anime, table-top role playing games, and many other forms of "geekdom." She loves talking with fans on Twitter (@EliseKova) and Facebook (/AuthorEliseKova). Visit her website, EliseKova.com/, for news and extras about her books!

 My Review

This epic is about the Royal family of the Solaris Empire, the common folks and elemental sorcerers. The emperor, which came from the western part of the empire, already had under his rule the eastern and the southern parts of the continent. Now he try to conquer also the northern part of the continent. Each part of the continent (North, South, East, and West) has a specific style and ethnicity. Place of origins are easily pointed out based on skin tone, hair color, eye color or speech patterns. Each part also, has it's own sorcerers with their unique elemental magic- The western - fire, the south - water, the north has earth and the east had air (but all their sorcerers had been persecuted, and no one left).

The story of the east wasn't look strange when you take in your account the fear, the suspiciousness and the hate of the people that hadn't have the magic in them. It all started of course with the abusing of these powers.But even this days there are always people who born with a magical ability (regardless of their social status) and they are feared by most. The epire has its use for this people and as long as they live in a separate tower, far away from the public it was sufficient. More then this the eldest son of the emperor - Eldric - the crown prince was a very powerful and very feared fire sorcerer himself, as his mother came from the west.

In this tower the people that their magical ability awakened taken to be trained to be much better and in control sorcerers. The tower exist in a physical closeness to the palace in the capital and its has a representative in the congress. The representative always took care to keep a low profile.

In the beginning of the book we meet Vhalla Yarl , a library apprentice that just wanted to do her job, and to do it well. She and her father came from the east after the death of her mother in an epidemic illness. Her father serve as a guard of the palace and since young age put Vahlla to apprenticeship in the Library. Even she was working very hard Vahalla manages to read the many of the books there. As a poor common, the best that Vhalla will ever be able to hope for is perhaps ascending to be the Library Minister.

All her world collapsed when, she learned she is a sorcerer and that has to learn how to control her powers. In a world that distrusted magic so much and especially Air magic that extinct long time ago as they considered too dangerous to exit. The turning point happened when she saves the crown prince only by sheer instinct and under the impression that he is his younger much more a charmer brother, Baldair,(the same golden prince that she had a crash on him since that day day that that he caught her when she fell from a high ladder in the library). So it's no wonder that like any normal person, she chooses denial. The problem is that her life is not her own anymore and everything start to change. Especially if Eldrik has any saying in this matter. Apparently she’s the first person in a century that has possessed the ability to use wind magic or the Last Windwalker.

Generally I struggle a little with her character - she was a whiny, childish, and inconsistent. It was actually hard to believe she supposed to be 18. She thought herself very smart but rarely has a thought that isn't fed to her. She also tend to bursts into tears every couple chapters and didn't like to try at anything new. another thing that bother me was her body language - she speak while she's looking down at the ground, or whisper, or mumble while wringing her hands or pulling at her shirt(an annoying childish ticks).

All that being said, I will note that the last couple of chapters have me hope for a more colorful Vhaala in the next book. And Aldrick's more complex personality is interesting so I will cautiously read book 2 and hope to be surprised.

Crown Prince Aldrik, - he's complex, anti-social, dark, handsome, brooding, snarky and clever, heir to the throne sorcerer. He is not an open book. He claims he is not a good guy.

Prince Baldair, is the golden boy. As the second son by a different mother (After the death of Eldrik mother, his father the emperor took a second wife this time from the south) and secure in his statues as a none magical person and as the prince who isn't indirect line to the crown, Baldair invest most his time as ladies man, and as the charming prince. He take care to lives up to his reputation and leave behind him many broken hearts . It's look like that he is quite the opposite of his brother. But Baldair easy way can be misleading.As he know his advantages,he does not hesitate to use it to manipulates things around him. I think that sometimes his character has more depths and dimensions then his brother and sometimes it is very hard to know what to think about him.

The relationships between the brothers are complicate and they swing between love and hate, But both of them will always stand for each other, one way or another.

Overall, I enjoyed this book it was very engaging fantasy novel and I am looking forward to the rest of the series