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Taken from the author's website
Title: Earth’s
End (Air Awakens #3)
Author: Elise Kova
Format acquired: ebook
Source: Bought
Publication
date: February 11, 2016
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.
Review:
Who
says middle book in a book series always sucks? Because that’s not the case in
this one. Earth’s End was so good! It had me gasping, laughing and nervous the
whole time I was reading it. Remember that time when I hated the pace of the
romance between Vhalla and Aldrik? Well, it all made sense to me now why the
author did that. The romance between Vhalla and Aldrik was the pivotal point in
this book. It was the reason why Vhalla and Aldrik went through a character
development. And I absolutely loved it! You’ll sort it out near the end. The
last two chapters of Earth’s End were definitely my favorite parts in this
book. I know only few will agree with me but I think those last two chapters
were integral to both the main characters in this series.
There
were a whole lot of actions in this book. It was taxing especially to my heart
because it wouldn’t stop beating so fast the whole time I was reading the book.
The mysteries will keep you flipping the page despite telling yourself that you
need to sleep because it was 3 in the freaking morning. Well, that’s what
happened to me. I read Earth’s End until 3AM and to think that I only started
reading it at around 11PM. I sacrificed my sleep because I just can’t put this
book down. There’s something in this series that makes it addictive.
I wouldn’t make this
review too long because I still need to read the next book. If you haven’t read
Air Awakens yet, GO BUY IT AND THEN READ IT. If you haven’t read Earth’s End
yet, THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STILL READING THIS? READ IT NOW. That’s not a
request but an order. Hehe. Seriously speaking. You guys need to read all the
books in the Air Awakens series. Elise Kova is a genius for creating it.
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| Taken from the author's website |
Title: Fire
Falling (Air Awakens #2)
Author: Elise Kova
Format acquired: ebook
Author: Elise Kova
Format acquired: ebook
Source: Bought
Publication
date: November 19, 2015
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.
Review:
Fire
Falling lived up to my expectations for a sequel of a brilliantly written first
book—Air Awakens. Why 4 stars only? Because while it did lived up to my
expectation, there’s still some things that prevented me from giving it a
5-star rating.
I
disliked the fact that the author focused more on the romance between Vhalla
and Aldrik. Like I mentioned in my review for Air Awakens, one of the factors I
love in this book was the pace of the romance but that pace clearly changed in
the sequel. I honestly would prefer if the author focused on the growth of
Vhalla instead of the romance. Because of the romance in this book, I did have
moments wherein I hated Vhalla and Aldrik for their stupidity. Love made them
prone to danger. It made them a fool.
Also,
I have a new added asshole on my hate list—The Emperor. I think anyone who have
read Fire Falling will hate this poor excuse of an emperor. He and Egmun can go
rot in hell. I commend Elise Kova for making characters that would incite hate
from the readers, in a good way. The author knows how to create hateful
villains in a book. And that’s quite a feat since it’s not a walk in a park to
create villains in a book. I think it’s easier to create characters that
readers will love than to create villains that readers will hate.
Other
than the pace of the romance going too fast, I have no other complaints.
Overall, Fire Falling is an amazing sequel that will not disappoint you. I’m
beyond excited to read Earth’s End after writing this review.
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| Taken from the author's website |
Title: Air
Awakens (Air Awakens #1)
Author: Elise Kova
Format acquired: ebook
Author: Elise Kova
Format acquired: ebook
Source: Bought
Publication
date: August 27, 2015
Summary:
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:
WHERE
DO I BEGIN TO EXPLAIN MY LOVE FOR THIS BOOK?! OH MY GOD. THIS BOOK WAS SO
AMAZING!!! I CAN’T EVEN COMPREHEND MY NEW FOUND LOVE FOR ELISE KOVA AND HER
BRILIIANCE. *cough*
Please
excuse my momentarily fangirl-ness. I forgot for a moment that I have to review
this book. Air Awakens, where do I begin? Well, I’ll start from questioning and
face palming myself for my mere negligence of the existence of this book.
Seriously self, why did you only read this book now? WHY? Oh right. It’s
because I’ve been constantly burned by my high expectation of books before. You
see, the reason why I kept on pushing reading Air Awakens before was because I
have so much expectations from this book. I heard a lot of good things about
it, I’m even part of Elise Kova’s Street Team for this series but I kept on
pushing it aside for other books because I don’t want to be disappointed but I
am deeply regretting that now because HOLY FREAKING MOTHER OF SUN, THIS BOOK
WAS SO GOOD!!! It’s my first fantasy book for this year and I honestly want to
keep it that way because I don’t think another fantasy book can make me get
over the feels that this book gave me. As I am writing this review, my hands
are itching to end this review with a simple “THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME! READ IT!”
and be done with it. I want to read Fire Falling so bad but I have to type down
this review first or I might just end up binge reading the whole series right
at this moment but I must show my support to the author by writing a review of
her book. I am rambling. Where was I again? Hahaha.
The
world in Air Awakens was so magnificent that it made me want to be a part of it
the whole time I was reading the book. It was so fascinating. Since I was a child,
I’ve always been fond of the 4 elements—earth, water, fire and air—so to see a
world wherein these elements where incorporated, of course I would instantly
fall in love with it. I must admit that it did confuse me at first. The kept on
mixing up the names. I have to blame that with the names since they’re really
not common and I always have a hard time remembering hard-to-pronounce names.
I
also fell in love with all the characters in this book. I guess I understand
now the feeling of falling in love at first sight. That’s what happened to me
while I was reading this. The only difference was that it didn’t happen only
once. Whenever a new character appears, I always get that instant connection
with them. Save for Egmun because that asshole could go rot in hell for all I
care. So when a certain character died in this book, no matter how
insignificant his role was, a part of my heart shattered into pieces.
Another
reason why I love this book was the romance in it. I love how the author kept
it at minimum. She focused on establishing the story first before delving into
the other aspect of the story. I love the pace of the romance in this one, it
made it believable. I like that they didn’t end up together in the first book
because most books I’ve read, the couple always end up together in the first
book of the series or they end up kissing. I’m glad that’s not the case in Air
Awakens.
I
love how the author ended this book. That last line made me pump my fist in the
air and shouted “HELL YEAH!” Now I shall end my review because I’ve been
containing my excitement to read Fire Falling for quite awhile now and it’s
ready to burst.
All
I can say is that YOU GUYS NEED TO READ THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT’S ONE OF THE BEST
FANTASY BOOKS OUT THERE. JOIN ME IN THIS MADNESS MY FANGIRLING BANDWAGON
AND WE SHALL MAKE THE WHOLE WORLD BEND ON THEIR KNEES AND PREACH ELISE KOVA AND
HER AWESOME BOOKS.
P.S. I’d like to have a
Prince Aldrik in my life. Where can I order one?
4 stars
A book shrouded with mystery and sprinkled a bit of romance ~The Hometown Hazard by Dawn Lanuza
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| Photo taken from Ms. Dawn's website |
Title: The
Hometown Hazard
Author: Dawn Lanuza
Format acquired: ebook
Format acquired: ebook
Source: Gifted
Publication
date: January 29, 2016
Goodreads / Amazon / Kobo / iBooks / Smashwords
Summary:
Jules Coronado has been away from her hometown
for almost a decade but when an intruder breaks in to her childhood home, she
finds herself coming back. Changes evidently took place in her small town,
including her childhood best friend’s younger brother, Kip – now tall, slightly
scruffed, all grown up and caught climbing into their garden wall.
Kip Villamor has a mission and despite Jules’
doubts, they team up: going on fieldtrips, tackling unsuspecting men, and
trespassing offices to dig up dirt. But Jules has secrets of her own, one that
might be exposed – unless she keeps her walls up. But climbing walls are Kip’s
forte, remember?
Will her secrets keep her on his side, or will it
force her to disappear again?
Review:
The
Hometown Hazard is a book shrouded with mystery and sprinkled with a bit of
romance. It has character development, mystery that will keep you flipping the
pages and an easy going pace. I love that the author went out of her comfort
zone to write this book. It’s completely different compared to her previous
work.
If
you have read Ms. Dawn’s debut novel then you’ll be familiar with the protagonist
in this book. Jules is the no-nonsense friend of Regina. She’s very serious and
she’s the type of woman who always has plan B up to Z prepared if plan A
failed. But in this book, we get to see a different side of her. I love how
Jules went through a character development in this book. She went out of her shell
and I guess we have to thank Crispin (his name never fails to amuse me. LOL)
for that development. Kip is the main guy in the story. He’s the younger
brother of Jules’ best friend and he’s also her childhood friend. Kip’s outgoing,
impulsive and a daredevil. His personality reminds me of Leslie. It’s like I’m
seeing a male version of Leslie with a mysterious aura around him. Kip is the
polar opposite of Jules. It’s like they’re sun and moon. But as the famous
adage goes, “opposites attract each other.” And that’s what happened in this
book. I honestly didn’t like Kip in the first half of the book. There’s something
about him that irked me when I was reading the first half of the book. I can’t
pinpoint what it was since I myself can’t understand the reason why I didn’t
like him. My best guess was that I hated how he acted in the first half of the
book. I’m that one lone girl among the sea of fangirls who didn’t swoon over
his character.
What
I love in Dawn Lanuza’s books is that it always has a believable love story in
it. That kind of love story that you would really see in real life and maybe
experience it yourself. The pace of the romance in this book was okay. Okay in
a sense that it’s not too fast nor too slow. It’s the kind of pacing that I
want to see in a contemporary book
The
highlight of this book is the mystery that surrounds the plot. I like the
feeling of unraveling the answers in the book. This book made me feel like I’m
Sherlock Holmes. The reason why I like the mystery in this book was that it
made me feel like I’m part of the Kip-Jules tag team. It made reading interactive
in a way that I’m also solving the mystery with the characters.
The
Hometown Hazard is a must read for those people that loves to expose secrets
and unravel mysteries. It’s a book that has a realistic love story, characters
that went through character development and intriguing plot.
2 stars
A fast paced historical novel with bland characters ~ Behind the Wooden Door by Emily Godwin
Title: Behind the Wooden Door
Author: Emily Godwin
Format acquired: ebook
Format acquired: ebook
Source: Free on Kindle
Publication
date: June
2, 2014
Summary
When an army of soldiers marches through her
castle doors, Princess Lanie is plagued with thoughts of blood, death, and
sorrow. War is something she never fathomed happening in her lifetime. Falling
in love with the army's commander, Tristan, wasn't part of the plan either.
He's smart-mouthed, arrogant, and everything her tyrant father would disapprove
of. After all, Tristan's place is on the battlefield, not a throne.
After the kingdom's fortune teller predicts a deadly outcome, Lanie knows her secret romance is an execution waiting to happen. She has to do something - fast - because the war path has redirected toward her.
After the kingdom's fortune teller predicts a deadly outcome, Lanie knows her secret romance is an execution waiting to happen. She has to do something - fast - because the war path has redirected toward her.
Review:
First
things first, is this supposed to be a standalone or the first book in a
series? I did my research and the author didn’t mention any sequel in the works
so I will assume that Behind the Wooden Door is a standalone novel. I just have
to make that clear to everyone.
Behind
the Wooden Door is a historical novel. It’s really short for a historical novel
and it’s fast paced. The main characters of this book are Lanie and Tristan. While
I have no complaints against these two as a character, I also felt disconnected
with them throughout the book. The best word to describe is boring. Cormac’s more interesting to read. Hell, I
even had more fun reading the scenes with Madame Cornelia in it.
Don’t
even get me started with the romance in this book. Insta-love. Ugh. It seems
that all the books I’ve been reading lately have insta-love in them. Will I
ever escape from this insta-love paradise hellhole?! I honestly have no problem
if the book I’m reading has insta-love, I even loved some few books that has
that in them. But it depends on how the author executed it. In this book, it
was just so sudden. It just came out of nowhere. I didn’t even knew that Lanie
has any feelings towards Tristan. You would think that with war looming on
them, they’d be worried. But no, that’s not what happened. Princess Lanie’s
more interested in kissing and sneaking out with Tristan. Wtf.
There’s
a lot of loopholes in this book. I think if the author didn’t just focus on the
romance part of this book, I’d enjoy it more. This book left me with a lot of
questions. Like why did Artair looked at Lanie with pity on his eyes? What’s
really the reason the war started? Was it really because Artair wanted
Rattonim? What was the meaning of Lanie’s dream about the wooden door? This
book really had a lot of potential in it.
If
you’re looking for a short and fast paced historical novel then Behind the
Wooden Door might be for you.
