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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

NICOLE'S REVIEW: Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger

Title: Let the Sky Fall
Author: Shannon Messenger
Format Acquired: Hardcover
Publication Date: March 5 2013
Publishing House: Simon Pulse
ISBN: 9781442450417
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked

Summary:

Vane Weston should have died in the category-five tornado that killed his parents. Instead he woke up in a pile of rubble with no memories of his past - except one: a beautiful dark-haired girl standing in the winds. She's swept through his dreams ever since, and he clings to the hope that she's real.

Audra is real, but she isn't human. She's a sylph, an air elemental who can walk on the wind and translate its alluring songs, even twist it into a weapon. She's also a guardian - Vane's guardian - and has sworn an oath to protect him at all costs.

When a hasty mistake reveals their location to the enemy who murdered both their families, Audra has just days to help Vane unlock his memories. And as the storm winds gather, Audra and Vane start to realize that the greatest danger might not be the warriors coming to destroy them, but the forbidden romance growing between them.


(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review:

I've always been a fan of paranormal books and mythical creatures so when I heard Let the Sky Fall would be about sylphs, I just knew I had to pick this one up. I was curious to see the lore that Messenger would weave into this one and I wasn't disappointed. It's easy to grasp and coupled with engaging and endearing characters. I pretty much fell in love with this book.

As a young boy Vane survived a wicked tornado and has been dubbed as a Miracle Child ever since. He doesn't feel like a miracle though because that tornado took away his family, his home, but the most painful of all were the memories. Every single thing that happened before the tornado just disappeared from his mind except one. An image of a girl with dark hair and dark eyes and that image has haunted him into the present and he clings to that memory, a connection to his past. Vane often wonders if he's going crazy until one night he meets Audra - the girl from his dreams - and life as he knows it will never be the same again. 

Let the Sky Fall is told in the alternating voices of Vane and Audra. Vane, I can say, is such a guy. He's an interesting character what with his humor and quirks, he likes girls obviously but has never kissed one before thanks to strange things always happening on his dates. Which is a good thing for him since he's always comparing girls to the dark haired and dark eyed beauty from his dreams. Things get interesting when he meets Audra and their initial interactions were quite funny. Can I also add that Vane has fantasies about Audra? I mean, it's not exactly surprising as he is a healthy male specimen and Audra is a gorgeous girl.

Audra's voice on the other hand is different from Vane's, where Vane is humorous and playful, Audra's is serious and practical - at first. Audra's been haunted by her past and focuses on nothing more but her duty - to protect Vane at all costs - and pushes whatever feelings she may harbor to the deepest recesses of her heart. Not exactly easy when Vane looks at her with those eyes of his and is the first person to actually care about her in a long, long time. Audra is a complex character, she's broken and hurt and carries with her the stigma of her past but at the same time she has a certain air of innocence around her and she's loyal to a fault. It's hard to not fall in love with her, especially when the real Audra starts to come out of hiding.

Let the Sky Fall's plot is quite simple, there's a guy who has to protected because he's basically all important and has his future all planned out for him. What made it interesting were the plot twists and the way the author managed to connect them in such a seamless way that nothing came out forced. 

I enjoyed the mythology and lore in Let the Sky Fall, how air elementals or sylphs are part earth part air and how the different winds have different personalities. It was interesting reading the action scenes and how they harnessed the wind into weapons and the whole process of creating them was intriguing. It kind of reminded me of air bending. 

In Let the Sky Fall Messenger has managed to bring to life the winds and you can bet I'll keep my ears clear to see if I can catch their songs. If you're quite tired of vampires, werewolves and fae I suggest that you pick this book up. Messenger's sylphs are powerful and volatile creatures and I'm definitely picking up the next book.


Rating:
                         

2 comments:

  1. Wow, you really did enjoy this one! Vane sounds just like my type of guy, I mean character. Hee. Thank you so much for the review! :D Gotta read it real soon then.

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    1. I did! I really enjoyed this. Hope you love it as much as I do! :D

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