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Air Awakens #4
Water's Wrath
Librarian turned sorcerer. Sorcerer turned hero. Hero turned puppet.
The Solaris Empire found victory in the North and, at the cost of her heart and her innocence, Vhalla Yarl has earned her freedom. But the true fight is only beginning as the secret forces that have been lurking in the shadows, tugging at the strings of Vhalla's fate, finally come to light. Nowhere is safe, and Vhalla must tread carefully or else she'll fall into the waiting arms of her greatest foe. Or former lover.
The Solaris Empire found victory in the North and, at the cost of her heart and her innocence, Vhalla Yarl has earned her freedom. But the true fight is only beginning as the secret forces that have been lurking in the shadows, tugging at the strings of Vhalla's fate, finally come to light. Nowhere is safe, and Vhalla must tread carefully or else she'll fall into the waiting arms of her greatest foe. Or former lover.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 27, 2016
About the author
Elise Kova
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ELISE KOVA is a USA Today bestselling author. She enjoys telling stories of fantasy worlds filled with magic and deep emotions. She lives in Florida and, when not writing, can be found playing video games, drawing, chatting with readers on social media, or daydreaming about her next story.
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ELISE KOVA is a USA Today bestselling author. She enjoys telling stories of fantasy worlds filled with magic and deep emotions. She lives in Florida and, when not writing, can be found playing video games, drawing, chatting with readers on social media, or daydreaming about her next story.
Say Hello!
INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | FACEBOOK | TWITTER
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 2,005 reviews
July 21, 2021
wow. this series just keeps throwing the punches, huh? i have an expectation for the way the story is going to go and then something else completely different happens. its giving me whiplash. lol.
this installment is very similar to the previous book - it has more of a ‘filler’ feel to it. although there is a little more plot scattered throughout, its mainly by way of character development. this book goes into greater detail about aldrick and why he is the way he is. which, as aldricks biggest fan, i absolutely loved this. but again, more action-based plot happens towards the end. and there is, once more, a cliffhanger.
i think fans who have bonded with the characters will enjoy this book, but i can totally understand why some readers may choose not to continue the series. but i thought it was fun, so bring on the finale!
↠ 4 stars
this installment is very similar to the previous book - it has more of a ‘filler’ feel to it. although there is a little more plot scattered throughout, its mainly by way of character development. this book goes into greater detail about aldrick and why he is the way he is. which, as aldricks biggest fan, i absolutely loved this. but again, more action-based plot happens towards the end. and there is, once more, a cliffhanger.
i think fans who have bonded with the characters will enjoy this book, but i can totally understand why some readers may choose not to continue the series. but i thought it was fun, so bring on the finale!
↠ 4 stars
April 27, 2016
"Believe in me!" Aldrick's voice rose by a fraction before softening.
"I have crawled out of deeper holes this past year. Believe I can do this, because if you will be by my side, I will let nothing stop me."
I can't believe I've just finished reading the fourth book in this series. I read the first book last year, and ever since I started its been a continuous roller coaster of emotions. Vhalla Yarl has matured so much throughout this entire series, from being the shy librarian to becoming the fiery Windwalker fit to be Queen. I honestly feel like I've been through everything with her.
And Prince Aldrik, I won't even try to make you believe that I could ever lose faith in him. I've been shouting from the sidelines I've always been on his side of the court even when he was acting like a fool. Gah! I just can't!
"How many times would she follow the prince into darkness, trusting his light to guide her?"
As an avid read and I'm sure any will agree with me on this, when you really get into a series there's always that nagging worry... will the next book surpassed or pale in comparison to the previous one. This series has systematically gotten better and better with every new book that was released. I pride myself on figuring out the twists in a series. But I haven't been able to figure this one out. You might think you know where the story is going but then all of a sudden plot twist! And I do mean plot twist!
The most important thing to me while reading this series has always been the survival of Vhalla and Aldrick's love, and let me say this: there is no getting bored with Vhalla and Aldrick. I hope I'm not being too vague but I feel like anything I say will be a spoiler right now. There were some incidents that really gutted me while reading Water's Wrath and I'm still trying to recover. There's so much loss in this book yet there's also a lot of survival and perseverance.
"Vhalla, you are the dawn at the end of a seemingly endless night, and I never showed you enough appreciation for the essential part of my life that you are."
Be prepared to have your heart ripped out and then stomped on, then stitched back together and stuck back into your chest. If you've read the previous books let me tell you that there is no amount of preparation that could ever prepare for what is about to happen. I'm just thinking about the next book now, I'm thinking there has to be a sixth book. Too much needs to happen before I can be satisfied!
"I wish I could hate you, you frustrating man," she breathed hopelessly.
"And I wish I could stop loving you, my frustrating woman, he laughed.
ARC kindly provided by author in return for an honest review
"I have crawled out of deeper holes this past year. Believe I can do this, because if you will be by my side, I will let nothing stop me."
I can't believe I've just finished reading the fourth book in this series. I read the first book last year, and ever since I started its been a continuous roller coaster of emotions. Vhalla Yarl has matured so much throughout this entire series, from being the shy librarian to becoming the fiery Windwalker fit to be Queen. I honestly feel like I've been through everything with her.
And Prince Aldrik, I won't even try to make you believe that I could ever lose faith in him. I've been shouting from the sidelines I've always been on his side of the court even when he was acting like a fool. Gah! I just can't!
"How many times would she follow the prince into darkness, trusting his light to guide her?"
As an avid read and I'm sure any will agree with me on this, when you really get into a series there's always that nagging worry... will the next book surpassed or pale in comparison to the previous one. This series has systematically gotten better and better with every new book that was released. I pride myself on figuring out the twists in a series. But I haven't been able to figure this one out. You might think you know where the story is going but then all of a sudden plot twist! And I do mean plot twist!
The most important thing to me while reading this series has always been the survival of Vhalla and Aldrick's love, and let me say this: there is no getting bored with Vhalla and Aldrick. I hope I'm not being too vague but I feel like anything I say will be a spoiler right now. There were some incidents that really gutted me while reading Water's Wrath and I'm still trying to recover. There's so much loss in this book yet there's also a lot of survival and perseverance.
"Vhalla, you are the dawn at the end of a seemingly endless night, and I never showed you enough appreciation for the essential part of my life that you are."
Be prepared to have your heart ripped out and then stomped on, then stitched back together and stuck back into your chest. If you've read the previous books let me tell you that there is no amount of preparation that could ever prepare for what is about to happen. I'm just thinking about the next book now, I'm thinking there has to be a sixth book. Too much needs to happen before I can be satisfied!
"I wish I could hate you, you frustrating man," she breathed hopelessly.
"And I wish I could stop loving you, my frustrating woman, he laughed.
ARC kindly provided by author in return for an honest review
December 30, 2020
3 out of 10
Ревью в моем блоге/This review on my blog
Living A Thousand Lives (please use Chrome/Yandex browser or Android/IOS to see the page; otherwise, spoiler-tags I use to make my post compact may not work)
Short-Soundtrack:
X Ambassadors – Unsteady
Digital Daggers – Surrender
Iggy Azalea – Heavy Crown (Instrumental)
Genre: high-fantasy, upper-YA
Stuff: elemental magic, sorcerers
Fail: predictability, romance as a plot-goal
POV: 3rd-person, female
Love-Geometry: none
Quote-Core:
“He was a reckless fool,and I was a girl pulled along by puppet strings.”
Buddy-read with my 'Jax' Nastassja.
SPOILER ALERT!
Earth's End was a great disappointment to me. Water's Wrath is indeed better, but... worse at the same time.
This glass wouldn't be whole again. I lost the feeling I had before... pure excitement mixed up with love. Sad, but now I can see clearer and what I see doesn't please me as a reader.
At first, I'd been blaming myself for disliking this book, but then I got that the fault wasn't totally mine, that the story turned out to be forced and stripped of intrigue. It didn't flow, it didn't sing. Everything was orchestrated. And on the stage only Aldrik and Vhalla were true persons, the rest of the characters had been playing decided roles and, please mind that important fact, not for the sake of their own development. They help to develop MCs. MCs I grew tired of.
When you aren't under the heroes' spell, you're trying to focus on the plot. I did so and what was there? Things I predicted a long time ago. Evil Victor was one of them. He'd been pretending to be a good guy the way a child with cream all over his face is pretending not to touch a cake. Vhalla was such an idiot to buy into his disguise. And I don't understand how he managed to fool the Emperor who had already proved himself as a clever man in the previous book. Oh wait, I do! 'Cause in Water's Wrath we see that he's actually silly. Egmun went against him and his Empire, he had open the caverns and used the Emperor's heir. How the merciless ruler did punish this bastard? Made him the Head of Senate! The book says he did it to silence the traitor. Really? I know a better way to silence a person. He had no problems with killing Vhalla, but he didn't kill Egmun! Dead people don't talk, man. And you don't have to bribe them. Such a stupid act for a man who was supposed to be smart.
What makes me angrier is how Vhalla and Aldrik, knowing that one of them has to go away and lay still while the other has to kill his stupid father, marry the Northern girl, and bring peace to the continent, do anything to be together instead. Isn't it selfish? Do you want to marry each other? Kill the Emperor, free the North, and live happily ever after. Aldrik can't do such a thing with his parent? Oookaaay, then let Vhalla go! Also, I was surprised to see how they met after the way they broke up in Earth's End. As if nothing had happened at all, and no one called the other 'whore'. But the main problem is that their romance became boring. We know they would be together, we know they would have a child, we know they are madly in love. We know everything. One can say that the process is what really matters. But this process is all about lame dialogues. Cliched scenes. Cheesy thoughts. And soup-opera-acts. That's not exciting, sorry.
Baldair. My favorite character and... a tool. I've read on FB the author's answer to the question about his death and she confirmed my deduction by saying that it was necessary for Aldrik's growth. Bah... She said as well that if he didn't die from a fever he'd be killed anyway during Victor's revolution, 'cause Aldrik had to remain the only Solaris heir. Bah again. It's like confessing that everything in this series goes only to make Aldrik this and that. People are coming when they are needed and go when they are already used up. That's why the story stopped to flaw and to sing. That's why it stopped to be entertaining.
In short,
Air Awakens (Пробуждение воздуха):
— Air Awakens (Пробуждение воздуха) #1/5
— Fire Falling (Влечение огня) #2/5
— Earth's End (Край земли) #3/5
— Water's Wrath (Гнев воды) #4/5
— Crystal Crowned (Коронованная крист��ллами) #5/5
April 30, 2016
“He was a reckless fool,and I was a girl pulled along by puppet strings.The fire burned too hot,and we didn't notice until it consumed everything.”
I am not lost for words often.I tend to babble and gush over the things I like and love until my mouth dries and my voice falters.But talking about Water's Wrath,talking about the book that eradicated my ability to think or dream about anything besides it feels way too personal.Like exposing my bare soul.But I will do it.Because you,yes you who are reading these words and wonder how is it possible to love so fiercely people who exist only in the realms of fiction,need to understand this: Elise Kova created another work of art.
A tragically beautiful work of art.
“She'd been the library apprentice everyone expected-and hoped-would die.Now she was the Windwalker,a lady and a hero,and this was her home.”
Vhalla Yarl is not the person she used to be a year ago.She was awoken by air,forged by blood into a weapon,turned into blazing fire by her devastating love for a man struggling to find his way back to light,and then she was crashed.Now she tries to hold the fragile peace she achieved by sheding the blood of innocents and make sure that the world will not suffer from more massacres and power-craving rulers,that forbidden magic will stay out of reach and that what's left of her heart will not shatter once more.But there is always corruption,and death and suffering,and Vhalla stands in the eye of the storm that will change everything.
“What is most beautiful just before it dies?”
I have a confession to make.After Earth's End brutal cliffhanger,I was hesitant to read this one.I felt terrified and betrayed,I kept imagining things that would go wrong and I was blinded by countless prejudices and fears.And guess what,none of them happened.Yes I felt pain,but it was a different kind of pain from the one I expected but equally excruciating.I was standing in the middle of the night,hugging my e-reader and rocking back and forth in my seat,tasting my tears and trying to breathe.Elise is a master manipulator,the plot twists and the jaw-dropping moments were crafted with precision and there were subtle hints everywhere,but I could never predict them.And in the end I couldn't help but imagine her like this
or this
It's disturbing.
“No matter how far she ran or how many people she met,an invinsible hand pulled Vhalla back to the crown prince of the Solaris Empire.”
I was scared my love,their love had been tainted.But I couldn't be more wrong.In Water's Wrath,it was purified.It was a story of growing up and healing,of becoming the person you're meant to be.Vhalla finally found her way,she matured beyond imagination and despite some foolish decisions,this is the Vhalla I can love and support and root for.I am very proud of her.As for my prince?He is a shining star.Some times the clouds cover him,some times he emerges brighter than ever and always,always he makes my heart overflow with feelings that could inspire epic poems and ballads.
“We're hopeless,you and I.”
I want to thank you Elise.For trusting me with your Horcrux,for hurting me and putting my pieces together after cleansing them,for providing me with the air I breathe,the earth I stand,the water that keeps me to life and the fire that burns in my veins.And I forgive you for being a professional heartbreaker
*ARC generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*
June 3, 2016
Buddy-read with my partner in "rolling our eyes all the way through the book" Katerina
This series is like a balloon slowly loosing air and falling, falling, falling until there's no air left at all. From the very start I really liked this series, though it wasn't unique, at least it was entertaining and Aldrik and Vhalla's relationship, which always was the main theme of the series, was something I liked to observe. In Earth's End it was no longer an option, because the characters' behavior was beyond annoying. But at least I was angry at characters; in Water's Wrath I just felt nothing at all. This book was better in some way than the previous one, but when you loose faith in characters and your interest in the plot vanishes, there're only boredom and indifference left to reap.
THE FOLLOWING PART CONTAINS SPOILERS!
*
*
*
*
*
Now, lets look at my reaction regarding some "important" events that happened in this book.
- Jax's supposed death.
My reaction:
- Vhalla came back to the Capital and met Aldrik again:
My reaction: 
- Baldair's death.
My reaction:
Baldair was one one of the best characters in this theater of nonsense and now the author decided to kill him. And you know how she explained her actions? His death was for the sake of Aldrik's character development. Every character that dies in this series dies because Vhalla or Aldrik need to grow from their suffering. Well, if you can't make your characters grow without killing someone in the process, you have a problem. And if you do it more than one time, than you are a lousy author who can't think of a better way to develop their characters.
- The ending.
My reaction:
That was so predictable. Nothing new, nothing special. And I can tell you what will happen in the last book: Aldrik and Vhalla will free the Empire and rule together and have cute babies (baby talk already happened in this book) and in the process they won't stop repeating "My lady, my love" and "my lord" and I won't stop rolling my eyes because of it. I know, I know, if I feel so passive-aggressive toward this series why continue reading it? Good question. I should've stopped after book three disappointed me. But I didn't, because I still believed the spark wasn't blown out completely yet. Now I don't feel so optimistic, but dropping a series on the last book is not an option either. So it'll be my punishment to read the Crystal Crowned and endure.
August 6, 2024
✅ Gorgeous cover
✅ Characters
✅ Magic and some politics
✅ Romance and angst
✅ World-building
✅ Action
✅ Secrets and betrayals
✅ Pace
✅(🆗) Plot
❗️❗️Trigger warnings: death of loved ones
_______________________
Second read: That one death still broke me. Listening to this character’s final moments in the Audiobook was a whole new level of pain.
_______________________
4.5 stars
This series is a roller coaster of emotions.
This book picks up 4 months after the end of Earth’s End. The war is over, but of course, it would be too easy for Vhalla to just have her freedom and her happy and peaceful ever after. However, when she is kidnapped by the knights of Jadar, who are trying to get her to open the crystal caves, Vhalla has to escape them and return South, even if it means going back to the Capital and seeing Aldrik again. She has to alert him of this new threat, and she still needs to bring Achel to Victor.
This book started with a similar vibe to the previous ones, with Vhalla trying to find peace and a purpose, now that she is free, and a Lady of the court, but the last part was dark and heartbreaking. Some sorcerers are still trying to get the Crystal caves opened, and they will stop at nothing to get Vhalla to do it for them. They will lie, manipulate, and kill with no remorse, and this book ends with death and the promise of a dark future for the whole Empire.
The plot didn’t progress much in the first half of the book and then felt a little rushed in the last part, hence the 4.5-star rating. Overall, it didn’t prevent me from enjoying this book, but objectively, there would be some work to do there.
I was not sure where this book would lead us, I knew that it was only the fourth book so it meant that the adventure was not over and I knew that Vhalla had Achel so she would most probably work with it or try to work with the crystal powers, but the ending was still unexpected. Not a complete plot twist because you can still see part of it coming, especially in the second half of the book, but it was still great to have something unexpected happening.
Vhalla has changed and matured a lot since Air Awakens, but she is still a flawed character and I think that it's one of the reasons why I like the characters from this series. They are flawed and layered, all of them. Either because they are less powerful sorcerers or have no power at all and feel envious, or because they are selfish and a little crazy, or because they have a dark past full of mistakes that they are trying to atone for. It makes them more realistic and adds an emotional dimension to the characters.
I would have loved to see more of Vhalla’s mental and emotional recovery after the war though. This book starts 4 months after the end of the war, and Vhalla seems to be dealing with everything amazingly well. She doesn’t show any hint of PTSD, besides the rare nightmare, and when she is faced with Aldrik again, she seems pretty composed and can keep a good façade. I am glad that she managed to get there, but I think it would have been nice to see this healing journey a little bit.
Vhalla and Aldrik are both present in this book and we cannot get bored with them. Now that Aldrik is engaged to the North Princess, and Vhalla left now that she is free, things seem rather hopeless between Vhalla and him, but still, they both made me go through tons of emotions. There is grief and despair, angst and jealousy, but also yearning, hope, and love. Once again the author did not disappoint.
Fritz is more present in this book, and his friendship with Vhalla shines as they reconnect and also finally take the time to mourn Larel together. Daniel is still there as a reliable, true, and kind friend to Vhalla, with the hope that maybe it will become something more one day. I like how the author managed to create this deep bond between them that clearly shows that in another time, or another place, they could have lived a happy life together, but didn’t turn their friendship into a love triangle. I also appreciate the fact that Daniel made it clear that he wouldn’t be opposed to a romantic relationship with Vhalla, but never showed jealousy or bitterness when she told him that she loved someone else and couldn’t choose him. Their friendship is so pure and heartwarming.
This fourth book showed me again why I loved these characters so much, and it was a nice mix of heartbreaking moments, angsty romance, heartwarming friendships, magic, action, secrets, and betrayals.
1. Air Awakens ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Fire Falling ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2.5 Tales from the Front ⭐⭐⭐
3. Earth's End ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
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✅ Characters
✅ Magic and some politics
✅ Romance and angst
✅ World-building
✅ Action
✅ Secrets and betrayals
✅ Pace
✅(🆗) Plot
❗️❗️Trigger warnings: death of loved ones
_______________________
Second read: That one death still broke me. Listening to this character’s final moments in the Audiobook was a whole new level of pain.
_______________________
4.5 stars
This series is a roller coaster of emotions.
“We all know the story. We heard it not long after the Night of Fire and Wind. You were the low born library girl turned sorceress who rode with princes.”
This book picks up 4 months after the end of Earth’s End. The war is over, but of course, it would be too easy for Vhalla to just have her freedom and her happy and peaceful ever after. However, when she is kidnapped by the knights of Jadar, who are trying to get her to open the crystal caves, Vhalla has to escape them and return South, even if it means going back to the Capital and seeing Aldrik again. She has to alert him of this new threat, and she still needs to bring Achel to Victor.
This book started with a similar vibe to the previous ones, with Vhalla trying to find peace and a purpose, now that she is free, and a Lady of the court, but the last part was dark and heartbreaking. Some sorcerers are still trying to get the Crystal caves opened, and they will stop at nothing to get Vhalla to do it for them. They will lie, manipulate, and kill with no remorse, and this book ends with death and the promise of a dark future for the whole Empire.
The plot didn’t progress much in the first half of the book and then felt a little rushed in the last part, hence the 4.5-star rating. Overall, it didn’t prevent me from enjoying this book, but objectively, there would be some work to do there.
I was not sure where this book would lead us, I knew that it was only the fourth book so it meant that the adventure was not over and I knew that Vhalla had Achel so she would most probably work with it or try to work with the crystal powers, but the ending was still unexpected. Not a complete plot twist because you can still see part of it coming, especially in the second half of the book, but it was still great to have something unexpected happening.
She no longer longed to be anyone more or less than who she was.
Vhalla has changed and matured a lot since Air Awakens, but she is still a flawed character and I think that it's one of the reasons why I like the characters from this series. They are flawed and layered, all of them. Either because they are less powerful sorcerers or have no power at all and feel envious, or because they are selfish and a little crazy, or because they have a dark past full of mistakes that they are trying to atone for. It makes them more realistic and adds an emotional dimension to the characters.
I would have loved to see more of Vhalla’s mental and emotional recovery after the war though. This book starts 4 months after the end of the war, and Vhalla seems to be dealing with everything amazingly well. She doesn’t show any hint of PTSD, besides the rare nightmare, and when she is faced with Aldrik again, she seems pretty composed and can keep a good façade. I am glad that she managed to get there, but I think it would have been nice to see this healing journey a little bit.
“We're hopeless, you and I," Vhalla whispered.
"If I am going to be hopeless for anyone, let it be for you, Vhalla Yarl.”
Vhalla and Aldrik are both present in this book and we cannot get bored with them. Now that Aldrik is engaged to the North Princess, and Vhalla left now that she is free, things seem rather hopeless between Vhalla and him, but still, they both made me go through tons of emotions. There is grief and despair, angst and jealousy, but also yearning, hope, and love. Once again the author did not disappoint.
Fritz is more present in this book, and his friendship with Vhalla shines as they reconnect and also finally take the time to mourn Larel together. Daniel is still there as a reliable, true, and kind friend to Vhalla, with the hope that maybe it will become something more one day. I like how the author managed to create this deep bond between them that clearly shows that in another time, or another place, they could have lived a happy life together, but didn’t turn their friendship into a love triangle. I also appreciate the fact that Daniel made it clear that he wouldn’t be opposed to a romantic relationship with Vhalla, but never showed jealousy or bitterness when she told him that she loved someone else and couldn’t choose him. Their friendship is so pure and heartwarming.
This fourth book showed me again why I loved these characters so much, and it was a nice mix of heartbreaking moments, angsty romance, heartwarming friendships, magic, action, secrets, and betrayals.
1. Air Awakens ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Fire Falling ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2.5 Tales from the Front ⭐⭐⭐
3. Earth's End ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
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January 10, 2017
I read this one in one sitting as well, literally have read three of these books in two days. I can not get enough.,
I cried in this one, a lot of crying. I can not believe all the things that happened.
I am so nervous about reading and finishing the last one, Elise is killing me
I am trash for this
I cried in this one, a lot of crying. I can not believe all the things that happened.
I am so nervous about reading and finishing the last one, Elise is killing me
I am trash for this
January 4, 2022
2021: this book was better the second time around!
-----
WHY, ELISE KOVA, WHY YOU HAD TO BREAK MY HEART LIKE THIS!??
I need to all the characters that are still alive, remain alive.Can you do that Elise? PLEASE.
This book's ending was the FREAKING WORST. Everything is wrong. everything. I feel like the story went to a place I didn't expect, and reaaally disagree with, and I really don't know if I like this or hate this.
UGH.
why,
WHY.
WHY.
-----
WHY, ELISE KOVA, WHY YOU HAD TO BREAK MY HEART LIKE THIS!??
I need to all the characters that are still alive, remain alive.
This book's ending was the FREAKING WORST. Everything is wrong. everything. I feel like the story went to a place I didn't expect, and reaaally disagree with, and I really don't know if I like this or hate this.
UGH.
why,
WHY.
WHY.
May 19, 2017
I AM DEAD BYE
SO MUCH HAPPENED
ELISE IS EVIL
I HONESTLY CANT
NO FULL REVIEW EVER
JUST READ THIS SERIES
SO MUCH HAPPENED
ELISE IS EVIL
I HONESTLY CANT
NO FULL REVIEW EVER
JUST READ THIS SERIES
June 5, 2017
Y'all ready for this?
4.5 maybe? 5 at parts... and I can't even.. at other parts. Thank you EMMA for being my best bud during this series.
AJF:SLDKJF OKAY. Let me try to explain.
So I've been a conglomerate of mixed emotions in this series thus far. This is partly due to:
1. Aldrik and his craziness;
2. Vhalla and her character arc just making her the bomb diggity;
3. But most of all... the side characters in this series are the ABSOLUTE best. I'm talkin to you... Fritz, Jax, Elecia, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Baldair, Baldair, Baldair, Baldair, Baldair, Baldair, Baldair............
*cough*
ANYWAY....
This book dives right back into the drama following the ending of the third book. And you know what? I'm glad the third book ended the way it did- because Vhalla desperately needed time to figure her shit out. I was heartbroken... but this book proved the necessity of that happening.
RANT TIME.
STOP GIVING ALDRIK A HARD TIME DAMMIT. He wasn't as bad as this book makes him out to be. Gosh you guys- this book just broke my heart for him. He made mistakes and said some not-so-sexy things.. but the guy only ever cared for Vhalla. Sheesh.
/end rant
So the plotline for the most part was an emotional wreck. It was devastating, beautiful, and honest.
AND THEN ELISE KOVA, YOU DID A VERY BAD THING.
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID.
I have yet to forgive you. You hurt me deep.
But then the end. Wasn't that just a clusterfuck of craziness? But hats off, Elise, very clever with the cover that made everyone freak out while we were waiting for this book to be released.
Also... that ending scene... AMIRIGHT?! That was powerful.
I have high expectations for the 5th and final book. And Elise, can I just say- I won't judge you for reversing what you did.. like... its fine... even if it doesn't make sense. We'd forgive you... just....please.......
But seriously, this series has been fun.
My Blog ~ Instagram ~ Twitter ~ Etsy
4.5 maybe? 5 at parts... and I can't even.. at other parts. Thank you EMMA for being my best bud during this series.
AJF:SLDKJF OKAY. Let me try to explain.
So I've been a conglomerate of mixed emotions in this series thus far. This is partly due to:
1. Aldrik and his craziness;
2. Vhalla and her character arc just making her the bomb diggity;
3. But most of all... the side characters in this series are the ABSOLUTE best. I'm talkin to you... Fritz, Jax, Elecia, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Baldair, Baldair, Baldair, Baldair, Baldair, Baldair, Baldair............
*cough*
ANYWAY....
This book dives right back into the drama following the ending of the third book. And you know what? I'm glad the third book ended the way it did- because Vhalla desperately needed time to figure her shit out. I was heartbroken... but this book proved the necessity of that happening.
RANT TIME.
STOP GIVING ALDRIK A HARD TIME DAMMIT. He wasn't as bad as this book makes him out to be. Gosh you guys- this book just broke my heart for him. He made mistakes and said some not-so-sexy things.. but the guy only ever cared for Vhalla. Sheesh.
/end rant
So the plotline for the most part was an emotional wreck. It was devastating, beautiful, and honest.
AND THEN ELISE KOVA, YOU DID A VERY BAD THING.
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID.
I have yet to forgive you. You hurt me deep.
But then the end. Wasn't that just a clusterfuck of craziness? But hats off, Elise, very clever with the cover that made everyone freak out while we were waiting for this book to be released.
Also... that ending scene... AMIRIGHT?! That was powerful.
I have high expectations for the 5th and final book. And Elise, can I just say- I won't judge you for reversing what you did.. like... its fine... even if it doesn't make sense. We'd forgive you... just....please.......
But seriously, this series has been fun.
My Blog ~ Instagram ~ Twitter ~ Etsy
March 31, 2018
*Reread March 2018*
“We can make our own way; we always have.” Aldrik cupped her cheek boldly, and Vhalla didn’t stop him. “What have we to lose?��
“Everything?”
“Is that all?”
I FEEL PERSONALLY VICTIMIZED BY THIS BOOK: THE SEQUEL TO THE SEQUEL XD
Trust me, it gets worse with each time💀😂 I CAN’T EVEN WITH THIS BOOKS ANYMORE *keeps rereading them anyways*
-----------------------------------------------------
*Reread January 2017*
“Love is far better to know, even if it slips from your grasp or doesn’t bear fruit like you’d hoped. People who say they regret love, true love, are just bitter liars.”
I FEEL PERSONALLY VICTIMIZED BY THIS BOOK: THE SEQUEL *cries once again*
-----------------------------------------------------
*Reread June 2016*
“Love was a simple emotion, Vhalla had learned. Once one experienced it, a person understood it, and there was no doubt when one felt it. If there was no doubt, then nothing would ever serve as a substitute. Vhalla knew she understood love. Love was throwing herself into a sandstorm. Love was braving her darkest fears and battling her demons. Love was a blind dash through a Northern jungle. Love was hopeful words shared across a pillow in the darkness. Love was bravery and—perhaps most importantly—forgiveness.”
I FEEL PERSONALLY VICTIMIZED BY THIS BOOK *cries*
-----------------------------------------------------
*First read April 2016*
*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review*
“So what are you afraid of?” Vhalla touched her watch thoughtfully. “It’s worth it, the chance is worth it. Love is always worth taking the challenge.”
Things you need to know before reading this book:
•You'll cry, A LOT
•Angst, angst everywhere
•You'll fall even more in love with this characters (is that even possible?!? Seriously I LOVE MY BABIES SO MUCH)
•You'll have LOTS of FEELS (and probably cry some more)
Okay, where do I even start with this review? I know I always say the same but believe when I say that this series just keeps getting better and better with every book, and Waters Wrath was no exception, because it was freaking FANTASTIC to say the least!!
Right from the beginning, one of the biggest differences between this book and the last one was the pace. While Earths End was super action packed and an absolute crazy ride, Waters Wrath has a slightly lower pace and it's definitely more darker and character driven, which it's something I really enjoyed about it!
For me it was really interesting to see how much this characters and their relationships have changed over the course of the series, and how far everyone has come! Vhalla's character development it's SO good (I think Elise has some kind of magical writing abilities going on there) and we see how she's finally come into her own and how strong she's become, even though she's still facing a lot of problems, dealing with the end of the war and its consequences. Even Aldrik is finally pulling himself together, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with his character. In this book we get to know more about his past and why he's the way he is, and let me tell you, there are many unexpected things and reasons, so you may be really surprised! Vhalla and Aldrik's relationship may be one of my absolute favorite things ever, because they give me all this EPIC FEELS!! I can't say much without spoilers, but OH BOY SO MANY THINGS HAPPENED WITH THIS TWO!!
Talking of characters, I really loved how Fritz was more involved in this book! He's definitely changed and more mature, but his friendship with Vhalla it's still really strong and so adorable! I also really enjoyed Jax's character (which I'm seriously in love with) and I can't wait to know more about him on the next book!
Since I can't really talk about the plot without spoiling, all I will say is that there are a lot of CRAZY things that will happen (and let's not talk about those two particular scenes that had me literally bawling my eyes out and which I'm still not over it!)
Overall Waters Wrath was an incredible book (I LOVED IT SO SO MUCH I CANT EVEN), and now I'm super pumped to see how Elise it's going to wrap up the series on the last book (even though I don't think I'm emotionally ready to say goodbye to this characters!)
As a little extra, I've made a Waters Wrath playlist! You can find it on Spotify (the playlist it's called Waters Wrath, and my username it's ann-006) Enjoy!
Can't wait for you guys to read this one and a big thanks to Elise for sending me an ARC!!❤️❤️❤️
5/5★★★★★
“We can make our own way; we always have.” Aldrik cupped her cheek boldly, and Vhalla didn’t stop him. “What have we to lose?��
“Everything?”
“Is that all?”
I FEEL PERSONALLY VICTIMIZED BY THIS BOOK: THE SEQUEL TO THE SEQUEL XD
Trust me, it gets worse with each time💀😂 I CAN’T EVEN WITH THIS BOOKS ANYMORE *keeps rereading them anyways*
-----------------------------------------------------
*Reread January 2017*
“Love is far better to know, even if it slips from your grasp or doesn’t bear fruit like you’d hoped. People who say they regret love, true love, are just bitter liars.”
I FEEL PERSONALLY VICTIMIZED BY THIS BOOK: THE SEQUEL *cries once again*
-----------------------------------------------------
*Reread June 2016*
“Love was a simple emotion, Vhalla had learned. Once one experienced it, a person understood it, and there was no doubt when one felt it. If there was no doubt, then nothing would ever serve as a substitute. Vhalla knew she understood love. Love was throwing herself into a sandstorm. Love was braving her darkest fears and battling her demons. Love was a blind dash through a Northern jungle. Love was hopeful words shared across a pillow in the darkness. Love was bravery and—perhaps most importantly—forgiveness.”
I FEEL PERSONALLY VICTIMIZED BY THIS BOOK *cries*
-----------------------------------------------------
*First read April 2016*
*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review*
“So what are you afraid of?” Vhalla touched her watch thoughtfully. “It’s worth it, the chance is worth it. Love is always worth taking the challenge.”
Things you need to know before reading this book:
•You'll cry, A LOT
•Angst, angst everywhere
•You'll fall even more in love with this characters (is that even possible?!? Seriously I LOVE MY BABIES SO MUCH)
•You'll have LOTS of FEELS (and probably cry some more)
Okay, where do I even start with this review? I know I always say the same but believe when I say that this series just keeps getting better and better with every book, and Waters Wrath was no exception, because it was freaking FANTASTIC to say the least!!
Right from the beginning, one of the biggest differences between this book and the last one was the pace. While Earths End was super action packed and an absolute crazy ride, Waters Wrath has a slightly lower pace and it's definitely more darker and character driven, which it's something I really enjoyed about it!
For me it was really interesting to see how much this characters and their relationships have changed over the course of the series, and how far everyone has come! Vhalla's character development it's SO good (I think Elise has some kind of magical writing abilities going on there) and we see how she's finally come into her own and how strong she's become, even though she's still facing a lot of problems, dealing with the end of the war and its consequences. Even Aldrik is finally pulling himself together, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with his character. In this book we get to know more about his past and why he's the way he is, and let me tell you, there are many unexpected things and reasons, so you may be really surprised! Vhalla and Aldrik's relationship may be one of my absolute favorite things ever, because they give me all this EPIC FEELS!! I can't say much without spoilers, but OH BOY SO MANY THINGS HAPPENED WITH THIS TWO!!
Talking of characters, I really loved how Fritz was more involved in this book! He's definitely changed and more mature, but his friendship with Vhalla it's still really strong and so adorable! I also really enjoyed Jax's character (which I'm seriously in love with) and I can't wait to know more about him on the next book!
Since I can't really talk about the plot without spoiling, all I will say is that there are a lot of CRAZY things that will happen (and let's not talk about those two particular scenes that had me literally bawling my eyes out and which I'm still not over it!)
Overall Waters Wrath was an incredible book (I LOVED IT SO SO MUCH I CANT EVEN), and now I'm super pumped to see how Elise it's going to wrap up the series on the last book (even though I don't think I'm emotionally ready to say goodbye to this characters!)
As a little extra, I've made a Waters Wrath playlist! You can find it on Spotify (the playlist it's called Waters Wrath, and my username it's ann-006) Enjoy!
Can't wait for you guys to read this one and a big thanks to Elise for sending me an ARC!!❤️❤️❤️
5/5★★★★★
April 26, 2016
I made a goodreads account literally for the purpose of writing this review. I see a lot of people rating this book 5 stars. I'm going to explain to you why these ratings are wrong.
I love the Air Awakens series. I have considered the series to be my favorite. I loved the characters, I loved the story, and of course I loved the romance.
I have just finished this book and it is safe to say that I am horribly disappointed. I don't think I ever have yelled "This is stupid" at a book so many times in my life.
****MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD****
First we have Vhalla, who is not surrounded by her usual companions and is quite alone for a good chunk of the book. This is when I realized that Vhalla as a character is boring. She is a plain girl, and I honestly thing that is the best way to describe her: plain. She is unimpressive, uninteresting, and is pretty average in every single way. It took me to seeing her alone without the amazing characters she calls her friends around to realize this. She is also surprisingly stupid for a girl that is supposed to be smart. She does things several time in the book that just make you stop and think Why?
Another point, that I will cross back into the flaws of Vhalla Yarl, is that the author seems to be writing words without fully understand their meaning. WHERE IS MY CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT?! The book talks incredibly often about how Vhalla has lost her innocence during the war in the North. However, she does absolutely nothing to show that her innocence has been lost. She has no PTSD. She trusts everyone instantly. She opens up about pretty much anything when it is asked. Worst of all, she retains the innocent ideology of peace and seflessness. Seriously, the book talks about her losing her innocence insanely often, but Vhalla does not at any point during the book show any of that.
In fact, Vhalla has reverted to her Book 1 self. No longer the badass independent woman of book 2 or 3, she spends the whole time pining after Aldrik. Instead of trying to become her own woman, she drowns herself in her longing for her. Numerous times in this book she is the damsel, the little librarian girl under the thumb of the Fire Lord once more. I'm sorry but too many YA books take strong woman and put them back into their damsel in distress forms. This book was no different. Vhalla was, in my opinion, almost weaker than ever.
This made me realize that Vhalla has hardly changed at all since book 1. The character as a whole is lacking development of any sort. What you can say about her was forced on her. She has learned to hate, ok well, she was tortured and her freedom was taken away, that's not really development that's just logic. Honestly, Vhalla is such a 2D character. Her dullness is only not noticed due to the other bright stars of this book.
On to them, I found some of them to be taking several steps back as well. Elecia reverted to how she was when Vhalla first met her. Everything that has been happening with Daniel was barely talked about and they decided to be friends like it was nothing. Uh, what? Laurel had a special scene that truly had no purpose in the long run. Really, a couple things in this book involving the characters was just unnecessary. I feel like a lot of the chapters were more fillers than anything.
Where are my feels? Obviously, they were there during the death of a certain character, but this was immediately forgotten as THE OTHER CHARACTERS BARELY SEEMED TO CARE ABOUT IT. Seriously, it was practically forgotten almost immediately. It did not need to happen either. There was no purpose to it, and it was completely random. It hardly makes sense how it happened, and I'm still trying to desperately figure out why. Why kill that person? It changed nothing. It motivated nothing. The characters did not change because of it. No story progression came because of it except for the horribly patched up ending.
Can we talk about that ending? How stupid can one girl be? Seriously. Vhalla Yarl had proved herself to be possibly the most idiotic girl in any book. I'm sorry, but it was just horrible. The very end, after it all, saved the book a little, but not enough for me to give it anymore stars.
Overall, I realized the plainness of the main character during her isolation in the beginning. The book has no character development, unless you consider characters taking steps back to be that. Vhalla Yarl was a damsel to be saved from her stupidity. For a girl who lost her innocence, she sure did trust someone so easily who from the first book was always sketchy. I found myself reading similar paragraphs throughout the book, just worded slightly different. I felt the book lacked real conviction. Real emotion. Things were done for hardly a reason, or if there was one it hopefully will play out in the next book.
I was bored in the beginning. It turned good around the 50% mark. Then it turned into me repeating "how is she this stupid".
I think the author's small amount of time working on the book shows, and I hope there is more character development in the future. As well plots that are more thought out and overall just handled better. Characters, afterall, are supposed to be people. There are millions of things you could know about them and hardly know them. This book just felt like a filler, with random things happening along the way. Like it was just made up as it went and not even read through again. I mean even at one point Vhalla says how she didn't tell Sareem she was a sorcerer, but she did. She showed him that she could float a feather. Sareem knew she was a sorcerer, thats why he went to the Tower for her that day when she passed out when she projected to Aldrik and she lashed out with his magic. Which, now that I mention it, even Aldrik and Vhalla scenes were just utterly lack luster most of the time. A little too Edward and Bella obsessed. The book talks about how these characters grew without eachother, but again, refuses to show that actually happening on Vhalla's part. Aldrik, however did have the only character development in the book, and it was truly wonderful to see him come into his own. I'm happy Baldair got to see it too.
Still, I suggest the book should be read. The series overall has some of the best books I've ever read in it. This is just the sad outlier. Hopefully things won't be so far stretched in the next, and final, one.
I love the Air Awakens series. I have considered the series to be my favorite. I loved the characters, I loved the story, and of course I loved the romance.
I have just finished this book and it is safe to say that I am horribly disappointed. I don't think I ever have yelled "This is stupid" at a book so many times in my life.
****MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD****
First we have Vhalla, who is not surrounded by her usual companions and is quite alone for a good chunk of the book. This is when I realized that Vhalla as a character is boring. She is a plain girl, and I honestly thing that is the best way to describe her: plain. She is unimpressive, uninteresting, and is pretty average in every single way. It took me to seeing her alone without the amazing characters she calls her friends around to realize this. She is also surprisingly stupid for a girl that is supposed to be smart. She does things several time in the book that just make you stop and think Why?
Another point, that I will cross back into the flaws of Vhalla Yarl, is that the author seems to be writing words without fully understand their meaning. WHERE IS MY CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT?! The book talks incredibly often about how Vhalla has lost her innocence during the war in the North. However, she does absolutely nothing to show that her innocence has been lost. She has no PTSD. She trusts everyone instantly. She opens up about pretty much anything when it is asked. Worst of all, she retains the innocent ideology of peace and seflessness. Seriously, the book talks about her losing her innocence insanely often, but Vhalla does not at any point during the book show any of that.
In fact, Vhalla has reverted to her Book 1 self. No longer the badass independent woman of book 2 or 3, she spends the whole time pining after Aldrik. Instead of trying to become her own woman, she drowns herself in her longing for her. Numerous times in this book she is the damsel, the little librarian girl under the thumb of the Fire Lord once more. I'm sorry but too many YA books take strong woman and put them back into their damsel in distress forms. This book was no different. Vhalla was, in my opinion, almost weaker than ever.
This made me realize that Vhalla has hardly changed at all since book 1. The character as a whole is lacking development of any sort. What you can say about her was forced on her. She has learned to hate, ok well, she was tortured and her freedom was taken away, that's not really development that's just logic. Honestly, Vhalla is such a 2D character. Her dullness is only not noticed due to the other bright stars of this book.
On to them, I found some of them to be taking several steps back as well. Elecia reverted to how she was when Vhalla first met her. Everything that has been happening with Daniel was barely talked about and they decided to be friends like it was nothing. Uh, what? Laurel had a special scene that truly had no purpose in the long run. Really, a couple things in this book involving the characters was just unnecessary. I feel like a lot of the chapters were more fillers than anything.
Where are my feels? Obviously, they were there during the death of a certain character, but this was immediately forgotten as THE OTHER CHARACTERS BARELY SEEMED TO CARE ABOUT IT. Seriously, it was practically forgotten almost immediately. It did not need to happen either. There was no purpose to it, and it was completely random. It hardly makes sense how it happened, and I'm still trying to desperately figure out why. Why kill that person? It changed nothing. It motivated nothing. The characters did not change because of it. No story progression came because of it except for the horribly patched up ending.
Can we talk about that ending? How stupid can one girl be? Seriously. Vhalla Yarl had proved herself to be possibly the most idiotic girl in any book. I'm sorry, but it was just horrible. The very end, after it all, saved the book a little, but not enough for me to give it anymore stars.
Overall, I realized the plainness of the main character during her isolation in the beginning. The book has no character development, unless you consider characters taking steps back to be that. Vhalla Yarl was a damsel to be saved from her stupidity. For a girl who lost her innocence, she sure did trust someone so easily who from the first book was always sketchy. I found myself reading similar paragraphs throughout the book, just worded slightly different. I felt the book lacked real conviction. Real emotion. Things were done for hardly a reason, or if there was one it hopefully will play out in the next book.
I was bored in the beginning. It turned good around the 50% mark. Then it turned into me repeating "how is she this stupid".
I think the author's small amount of time working on the book shows, and I hope there is more character development in the future. As well plots that are more thought out and overall just handled better. Characters, afterall, are supposed to be people. There are millions of things you could know about them and hardly know them. This book just felt like a filler, with random things happening along the way. Like it was just made up as it went and not even read through again. I mean even at one point Vhalla says how she didn't tell Sareem she was a sorcerer, but she did. She showed him that she could float a feather. Sareem knew she was a sorcerer, thats why he went to the Tower for her that day when she passed out when she projected to Aldrik and she lashed out with his magic. Which, now that I mention it, even Aldrik and Vhalla scenes were just utterly lack luster most of the time. A little too Edward and Bella obsessed. The book talks about how these characters grew without eachother, but again, refuses to show that actually happening on Vhalla's part. Aldrik, however did have the only character development in the book, and it was truly wonderful to see him come into his own. I'm happy Baldair got to see it too.
Still, I suggest the book should be read. The series overall has some of the best books I've ever read in it. This is just the sad outlier. Hopefully things won't be so far stretched in the next, and final, one.
October 5, 2019
“you can’t buy peace with war.”
definitely the best book in the series so far, ohhhh my god! the amount of action and character development in this one was honestly just to die for. elise kova’s writing just get better with every book she puts out, and she somehow knows how to keep the readers engaged and i’m absolutely here for it.
the friendships and relationships all become more fleshed out, like the friendship between vhalla and jax (whom i would die for, in all honesty). we also see a few other people get closer and it’s so!! cute!! what i’m unsure about is the sudden change in aldrik and his behavior, though? you can’t really recognize him anymore while he always used to be the voice of reason throughout the series, which is partially what made me love him so much. that already kind of started in book three, but guess i’ll have to read the final book in the series to see how that one will turn out. lowkey skeptical about it though ehhh.
BUT that one plot twist, if you can call it that, really genuinely broke my heart and I HATE IT. was really necessary???? it was cruel and i don’t really see any deeper meaning behind it, at least so far? the author probably knows how she’s gonna handle it but my precious little baby oof.
→ 4 stars
definitely the best book in the series so far, ohhhh my god! the amount of action and character development in this one was honestly just to die for. elise kova’s writing just get better with every book she puts out, and she somehow knows how to keep the readers engaged and i’m absolutely here for it.
the friendships and relationships all become more fleshed out, like the friendship between vhalla and jax (whom i would die for, in all honesty). we also see a few other people get closer and it’s so!! cute!! what i’m unsure about is the sudden change in aldrik and his behavior, though? you can’t really recognize him anymore while he always used to be the voice of reason throughout the series, which is partially what made me love him so much. that already kind of started in book three, but guess i’ll have to read the final book in the series to see how that one will turn out. lowkey skeptical about it though ehhh.
BUT that one plot twist, if you can call it that, really genuinely broke my heart and I HATE IT. was really necessary???? it was cruel and i don’t really see any deeper meaning behind it, at least so far? the author probably knows how she’s gonna handle it but my precious little baby oof.
→ 4 stars
Read
August 10, 2024Der Romance-Part ist es einfach absolut nicht. Nur hin und her. Die Fantasyaspekte sind gut aber kommen einfach vieeeeeel zu kurz. Naja. Ende war gut. Trotzdem keine Empfehlung diese Reihe ..
Want to read
February 26, 2016Update 2/26/16
I have an unhealthy obsession with these covers, I can't even choose a favorite at this point. Prayers for my ship, I have faith. Maybe.
...
Wait. Back up. Those last three words.
"Her former lover."
former.
former.
FORMER.
Did I just read that line wrong? This better not be who I think it is. If it is, then Earth's End is going to shatter my heart into ugly fat pieces. No thank you please.
I have an unhealthy obsession with these covers, I can't even choose a favorite at this point. Prayers for my ship, I have faith. Maybe.
...
Wait. Back up. Those last three words.
"Her former lover."
former.
former.
FORMER.
Did I just read that line wrong? This better not be who I think it is. If it is, then Earth's End is going to shatter my heart into ugly fat pieces. No thank you please.
January 15, 2023
4.5 Crystal Stars ⭐
I have to officially admit that I love this series! It was a slow-burn love that developed lovingly as I turned each and every page and blossomed into something magical as I became more and more invested in the world and characters.
I am not going to lie and say I wasn't terrified to pick up this book. I was an emotional wreck at the end of Earth's End - the cliffhanger shot my heart with an arrow, ripped it out, and then stomped on it numerous times. And whilst there were a fair few moments where great moments happened in Water's Wrath (where it carefully picked up the pieces of my broken heart and mended it); there was almost a scale-tipping unbalancement of sadness. The previous emotional aspects in books 1-3 were nothing but a painful hangnail compared to the utter brutality of what this book did to me emotionally! I have no heart left, it has been burnt to a crisp and nothing remains but ash, soot and cinder.
Water's Wrath truly lives up to the "Water" in its name as I was snot and tears "ugly crying" for a full 30 minutes in my bathtub while reading - which caused serious concern from my husband coming to check up on what the wailing sounds were and offering the unsolicited advice of "if books are going to make you cry then STOP READING BOOKS" Seriously!!!! 😤🙄
SPOILER WARNING, I cannot comment on aspects of this book without mentioning spoilers from Air Awakens, Fire Forged and Earth's End. If you do not like spoilers I would hate to spoil the experience of the book for you so please stop reading - JUST KNOW I RECOMMEND THIS SERIES SO GO READ THOSE FIRST....
For the first time, I can say this book does NOT pick up directly where the previous book ended. This time we catch up with Vhalla four months after she has fled her Prince and friends. She is working in a bookshop at the Crossroads. However just because the War is over does not mean all the battles are complete and soon after being forced to kill a few Knights of Jadar, Vhalla needs to face her demons and return South.
What stands out the most with not only this book but the series is I feel like every time I have a gripe or irritation in the previous book, that aspect is addressed, explained, cleared up or resolved in the next book. It makes me think that Elise Kova is actually this evil genius mastermind, planting those elemental seeds to spark a reaction or conversation so that it can be handled in the future. Most of what I felt was wrong with Earth's End was turned on its head!!!!
1. Fritz - I had missed the friendship with Fritz and OH BOY did that get delivered in this book. He never had a chance to mourn with Vhalla over Larel's death and we had a beautiful moment shared between the two of them. (Cue first time I cried)
2. Daniel - The following quote says it way way better than I ever could
Vhalla continues to grow beyond limits and it's amazing to see how far she has come from where she was a year ago. The one problem I have with the Character Development of Vhalla though is as much as the ending of Earth's End hurt, and I am glad Vhalla got a bit of distance from it all and dealt with her reeling mind, I am sad that we as a reader never got to see most of this. I wanted to see how she emotionally recovered from the War and the initial stages of dealing with the Prince's Engagement. She should have had some sort of PTSD from everyone she killed and everything we saw. However, when we meet her again she is almost desensitised to death and cold towards her feelings for Aldrik, and I felt cheated we weren't shown how she got there.
From the Romance part, it was painfully beautiful how Vhalla and the Prince are constantly drawn to each other. The yearning in this book is what love poems are written about and I am glad that we were shown aspects of Aldrik where he too has grown and worked through his shit - cause I was really really angry with him and his behaviour; but at least now I can almost understand him more and the anger I felt towards him has dissipated.
This book also does feel weaker in terms of the plot. You can very easily sum up the plot into a few sentences and the last 25% was extremely rushed! Almost to the point where it felt messy and out of the blue. This is the main reason why it's not a full 5-star as I am left a little confused by the direction the story is going and I don't quite understand the new magic system.
FINAL POINT -
Overall I am excited to see where Crystal Crowned takes our heroine and what she has in store for her next...
Air Awakens - ★★★☆☆ my review
Fire Falling - ★★★.5☆☆ my review
Earth's End - ★★★★☆ my review
↜⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒↝
“Long live Solaris.”
😭😭😭😭
Rtc
I have to officially admit that I love this series! It was a slow-burn love that developed lovingly as I turned each and every page and blossomed into something magical as I became more and more invested in the world and characters.
I am not going to lie and say I wasn't terrified to pick up this book. I was an emotional wreck at the end of Earth's End - the cliffhanger shot my heart with an arrow, ripped it out, and then stomped on it numerous times. And whilst there were a fair few moments where great moments happened in Water's Wrath (where it carefully picked up the pieces of my broken heart and mended it); there was almost a scale-tipping unbalancement of sadness. The previous emotional aspects in books 1-3 were nothing but a painful hangnail compared to the utter brutality of what this book did to me emotionally! I have no heart left, it has been burnt to a crisp and nothing remains but ash, soot and cinder.
Water's Wrath truly lives up to the "Water" in its name as I was snot and tears "ugly crying" for a full 30 minutes in my bathtub while reading - which caused serious concern from my husband coming to check up on what the wailing sounds were and offering the unsolicited advice of "if books are going to make you cry then STOP READING BOOKS" Seriously!!!! 😤🙄
SPOILER WARNING, I cannot comment on aspects of this book without mentioning spoilers from Air Awakens, Fire Forged and Earth's End. If you do not like spoilers I would hate to spoil the experience of the book for you so please stop reading - JUST KNOW I RECOMMEND THIS SERIES SO GO READ THOSE FIRST....
For the first time, I can say this book does NOT pick up directly where the previous book ended. This time we catch up with Vhalla four months after she has fled her Prince and friends. She is working in a bookshop at the Crossroads. However just because the War is over does not mean all the battles are complete and soon after being forced to kill a few Knights of Jadar, Vhalla needs to face her demons and return South.
What stands out the most with not only this book but the series is I feel like every time I have a gripe or irritation in the previous book, that aspect is addressed, explained, cleared up or resolved in the next book. It makes me think that Elise Kova is actually this evil genius mastermind, planting those elemental seeds to spark a reaction or conversation so that it can be handled in the future. Most of what I felt was wrong with Earth's End was turned on its head!!!!
1. Fritz - I had missed the friendship with Fritz and OH BOY did that get delivered in this book. He never had a chance to mourn with Vhalla over Larel's death and we had a beautiful moment shared between the two of them. (Cue first time I cried)
2. Daniel - The following quote says it way way better than I ever could
Vhalla remembered when Daniel had cut off his shirt to help her hide it. Distance had helped her sort a little through her heart, and Vhalla didn’t like the woman she saw when she replayed her interactions with the swordsman. She didn’t like her reliance on him or how she had abused the fact that he would be there for her without question.3. Gummy Throat - THERE WAS NOT 1 MENTION OF GUMMY THROATS!!!!!!!!!
Vhalla continues to grow beyond limits and it's amazing to see how far she has come from where she was a year ago. The one problem I have with the Character Development of Vhalla though is as much as the ending of Earth's End hurt, and I am glad Vhalla got a bit of distance from it all and dealt with her reeling mind, I am sad that we as a reader never got to see most of this. I wanted to see how she emotionally recovered from the War and the initial stages of dealing with the Prince's Engagement. She should have had some sort of PTSD from everyone she killed and everything we saw. However, when we meet her again she is almost desensitised to death and cold towards her feelings for Aldrik, and I felt cheated we weren't shown how she got there.
From the Romance part, it was painfully beautiful how Vhalla and the Prince are constantly drawn to each other. The yearning in this book is what love poems are written about and I am glad that we were shown aspects of Aldrik where he too has grown and worked through his shit - cause I was really really angry with him and his behaviour; but at least now I can almost understand him more and the anger I felt towards him has dissipated.
This book also does feel weaker in terms of the plot. You can very easily sum up the plot into a few sentences and the last 25% was extremely rushed! Almost to the point where it felt messy and out of the blue. This is the main reason why it's not a full 5-star as I am left a little confused by the direction the story is going and I don't quite understand the new magic system.
FINAL POINT -
Overall I am excited to see where Crystal Crowned takes our heroine and what she has in store for her next...
Air Awakens - ★★★☆☆ my review
Fire Falling - ★★★.5☆☆ my review
Earth's End - ★★★★☆ my review
↜⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒⭒↝
“Long live Solaris.”
😭😭😭😭
Rtc
March 12, 2020
"Librarian turned sorcerer. Sorcerer turned hero. Hero turned puppet."
Okay, okay, deep breaths here. I just need to calm down. Calm down. Calm Down.
Why does Elise keep doing this to me? Tearing my heart into billions of pieces book after book. It's been so long since I'd ever felt so much for characters in any series. AND I just remembered how horrible it feels when they're taken away from you. I fear I will never ever recover from this.
After the events of Earth's End, I was excited yet a little fearful of reading the 4th book. At first nothing bad really happened but then around Chapter 4 is when a bomb literally explodes in my face. I even start babbling to my younger sister (who probably thought something was wrong with me) about what happened. Then like many chapters later I find out that I was fooled. Elise totally got me there and I literally just wanted to rip out my hair for that
After that fiasco, nothing horrible really happens and everything is 'okay' by my standards. But NO, of course, Elise had to throw something else when I'm almost done the book. And this time there was no trick or anything. It was REAL.💔
My heart still hurts thinking about it...😭
And the thing is, I read this scene at school during class, and I really felt like crying but I couldn't just all of a sudden start crying during class.😅 So I had to hold in all that heartbreak to avoid any weird looks at me.
Note to self: NEVER read any of Elise Kova's books during class.
I really think this will leave a scar on me. I don't know how I'll be able to read the next book. What if something worse happens.😓
All in all, I still LOVED the book immensely!😍 (minus the heartbreak)
"If I am going to be hopeless for anyone, let it be for you, Vhalla Yarl."
That was so sweet!!! Gotta love Aldrik.🥰
Aldrik and Vhalla truly deserve to be together and finally have peace after all that they've endured. 💖💖Hopefully the next book gives the Happily Ever After they deserve💖💖
"Long live Solaris."
Okay, okay, deep breaths here. I just need to calm down. Calm down. Calm Down.
Why does Elise keep doing this to me? Tearing my heart into billions of pieces book after book. It's been so long since I'd ever felt so much for characters in any series. AND I just remembered how horrible it feels when they're taken away from you. I fear I will never ever recover from this.
After the events of Earth's End, I was excited yet a little fearful of reading the 4th book. At first nothing bad really happened but then around Chapter 4 is when a bomb literally explodes in my face. I even start babbling to my younger sister (who probably thought something was wrong with me) about what happened. Then like many chapters later I find out that I was fooled. Elise totally got me there and I literally just wanted to rip out my hair for that
After that fiasco, nothing horrible really happens and everything is 'okay' by my standards. But NO, of course, Elise had to throw something else when I'm almost done the book. And this time there was no trick or anything. It was REAL.💔
My heart still hurts thinking about it...😭
And the thing is, I read this scene at school during class, and I really felt like crying but I couldn't just all of a sudden start crying during class.😅 So I had to hold in all that heartbreak to avoid any weird looks at me.
Note to self: NEVER read any of Elise Kova's books during class.
I really think this will leave a scar on me. I don't know how I'll be able to read the next book. What if something worse happens.😓
All in all, I still LOVED the book immensely!😍 (minus the heartbreak)
"If I am going to be hopeless for anyone, let it be for you, Vhalla Yarl."
That was so sweet!!! Gotta love Aldrik.🥰
Aldrik and Vhalla truly deserve to be together and finally have peace after all that they've endured. 💖💖Hopefully the next book gives the Happily Ever After they deserve💖💖
"Long live Solaris."
June 12, 2023
#1.) Air Awakens: ★★★★★
#2.) Fire Falling: ★★★★
#3.) Earth's End: ★★
#4.) Water's Wrath: ★★★
#5.) Crystal Crowned: ★★★
2.5 stars. I keep hoping that Elise Kova is going to pull a Sarah J. Maas and razzle dazzle us. I keep assuring myself that these breadcrumbs that Elisa Kova keeps dropping are going to lead to something mind-blowing and we're going to go, "Ooooh, of course, I should have seen that coming!" Sarah J. Maas excels at that. Elise Kova does not.
As I read Water's Wrath, I mentally bookmarked a few places where I was positive that it was going to play a crucial role later on, that it would pay off big time and be proof that Elise Kova is brilliantly adept at story and character mapping. Not only did this not happen in this book but none of my mental bookmarks for the past three books have met payback yet and at this rate, they probably never will.
WASTED POTENTIAL: ELECIA
I keep waiting for Elecia to be something and to this book, it still hasn't happened. When we first meet her in Fire Falling, it was with the hint that she was going to be an interesting character: she's a rare healer of magic, she has a long history with Aldrik, she's nobility, she has a strange but unexplained history with Jax (are we ever going to explain that?!), she's an excellent fighter, and she has a prickly and fiery disposition. Yet...she doesn't have a clearly defined purpose. Ms. Kova, please do something with this character.
WASTED POTENTIAL: DANIEL
Both Vhalla and Elise Kova keep stringing Daniel along and teasing us with his importance. We keep getting pitiable reminders of his past history with his ex-fiance; he reconciles with Vhalla and brings her to his Eastern-style house; he makes it clear that he's interested in her for more than just filling the hole in his heart. He has enough space dedicated to him that we assume he's important somehow...but then we never hear from him again. *splutters* What is this character's purpose if we're going to keep being reminded of him? He can't be the male BFF because that's Fritz's role but he also can't be the third wheel in the lurve triangle because his emotional/romantic connection with Vhalla is never explored. Ms. Kova, please do something with this character. Either get him out of our face or glue him to Vhalla's face.
WASTED POTENTIAL: JAX
Wasn't Jax described in Earth's End as somewhat dark? Like he had dark knowledge of the Solaris family -- particularly of Aldrik -- but never revealed them? And didn't he have a curious relationship with Elecia that Vhalla couldn't figure out? And isn't he almost played out in Water's Wrath as the snarky comic-relief character? Wasn't he the first member of the Golden Guard and Ms. Kova, please do something with this character.
WASTED POTENTIAL: SENATOR EGMUM AND EMPEROR SOLARIS
I was truly looking forward to some Big Bads this book. Nasty ol' fellas with cruel agendas and even crueler methods, ya know? Big Bads that give our heroines reasons to even become heroes. A story's only as good as its villains...and these guys were laughable.
WASTED POTENTIAL: BALDAIR
Oh, Baldair. You were our Nikolai from Shadow and Bone. I still giggle when I remember that scene in Air Awakens that made me decide I was 100% for an Aldrik/Vhalla/Baldair love triangle:
Man, I was so eager for this character. He was a womanizer, but it was also hinted that he hadn't yet met the right woman. He had both a bitter rivalry with his brother but a bittersweet fondness for him as well. He had the freakin' Golden Guard and the adoration of his people. He was reluctant to be in line for the throne. He and Aldrik even exchange moments throughout the series of, "If I die...tell Aldrik/Baldiar to look under my mattress for a super secret stash of secrecy..."
There are so many ways we could grow this character just from those tidbits alone.
WASTED POTENTIAL: EVERYONE ELSE
Should we even question at this point why we have scenes for minor characters like Roan, Raylynn, Tim, Master Mohnet, Grahm, Erion, Fritz's entire family, and the two Northern girls whose names I don't even remember? Ms. Kova, please don't bother doing anything with these characters and instead grow the primary and secondary ones you already have.
THE VERDICT
The one redeeming factor to this book is we only got two or three lines of "my lady, my love."
One more thing.
#2.) Fire Falling: ★★★★
#3.) Earth's End: ★★
#4.) Water's Wrath: ★★★
#5.) Crystal Crowned: ★★★
2.5 stars. I keep hoping that Elise Kova is going to pull a Sarah J. Maas and razzle dazzle us. I keep assuring myself that these breadcrumbs that Elisa Kova keeps dropping are going to lead to something mind-blowing and we're going to go, "Ooooh, of course, I should have seen that coming!" Sarah J. Maas excels at that. Elise Kova does not.
As I read Water's Wrath, I mentally bookmarked a few places where I was positive that it was going to play a crucial role later on, that it would pay off big time and be proof that Elise Kova is brilliantly adept at story and character mapping. Not only did this not happen in this book but none of my mental bookmarks for the past three books have met payback yet and at this rate, they probably never will.
WASTED POTENTIAL: ELECIA
I keep waiting for Elecia to be something and to this book, it still hasn't happened. When we first meet her in Fire Falling, it was with the hint that she was going to be an interesting character: she's a rare healer of magic, she has a long history with Aldrik, she's nobility, she has a strange but unexplained history with Jax (are we ever going to explain that?!), she's an excellent fighter, and she has a prickly and fiery disposition. Yet...she doesn't have a clearly defined purpose. Ms. Kova, please do something with this character.
WASTED POTENTIAL: DANIEL
Both Vhalla and Elise Kova keep stringing Daniel along and teasing us with his importance. We keep getting pitiable reminders of his past history with his ex-fiance; he reconciles with Vhalla and brings her to his Eastern-style house; he makes it clear that he's interested in her for more than just filling the hole in his heart. He has enough space dedicated to him that we assume he's important somehow...but then we never hear from him again. *splutters* What is this character's purpose if we're going to keep being reminded of him? He can't be the male BFF because that's Fritz's role but he also can't be the third wheel in the lurve triangle because his emotional/romantic connection with Vhalla is never explored. Ms. Kova, please do something with this character. Either get him out of our face or glue him to Vhalla's face.
WASTED POTENTIAL: JAX
Wasn't Jax described in Earth's End as somewhat dark? Like he had dark knowledge of the Solaris family -- particularly of Aldrik -- but never revealed them? And didn't he have a curious relationship with Elecia that Vhalla couldn't figure out? And isn't he almost played out in Water's Wrath as the snarky comic-relief character? Wasn't he the first member of the Golden Guard and Ms. Kova, please do something with this character.
WASTED POTENTIAL: SENATOR EGMUM AND EMPEROR SOLARIS
I was truly looking forward to some Big Bads this book. Nasty ol' fellas with cruel agendas and even crueler methods, ya know? Big Bads that give our heroines reasons to even become heroes. A story's only as good as its villains...and these guys were laughable.
WASTED POTENTIAL: BALDAIR
Oh, Baldair. You were our Nikolai from Shadow and Bone. I still giggle when I remember that scene in Air Awakens that made me decide I was 100% for an Aldrik/Vhalla/Baldair love triangle:
“You’re not the first low-born I have invited to lunch.” [Baldair] leaned back in his chair, food forgotten. “They come in, swoon over my chambers, prattle about the food endlessly, try everything they can to make eyes at me. By the end of it all, they’re belly up and bare on the bed.”
Man, I was so eager for this character. He was a womanizer, but it was also hinted that he hadn't yet met the right woman. He had both a bitter rivalry with his brother but a bittersweet fondness for him as well. He had the freakin' Golden Guard and the adoration of his people. He was reluctant to be in line for the throne. He and Aldrik even exchange moments throughout the series of, "If I die...tell Aldrik/Baldiar to look under my mattress for a super secret stash of secrecy..."
There are so many ways we could grow this character just from those tidbits alone.
WASTED POTENTIAL: EVERYONE ELSE
Should we even question at this point why we have scenes for minor characters like Roan, Raylynn, Tim, Master Mohnet, Grahm, Erion, Fritz's entire family, and the two Northern girls whose names I don't even remember? Ms. Kova, please don't bother doing anything with these characters and instead grow the primary and secondary ones you already have.
THE VERDICT
The one redeeming factor to this book is we only got two or three lines of "my lady, my love."
One more thing.
January 21, 2021
Tek bir olay dışında kitap boştu en sevdiğim karakter ölünce okuyasim gelmedi 🤧
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2016
I SWEAR ELISE KOVA'S BOOKS GET BETTER EVERY TIME!!
How i felt through this book:
This book, as all others in this series, was incredible! I'm still having heart palpitations. I might read it again this weekend. Seriously. Awesome.
Summary:
As we left Earth's End: Aldrik is engaged to the princess of the north, Vhalla has run to the far reaches of the earth - her heart in pieces, and some of the secrets of the black sheep prince have come to light. We pick up with Vhalla in the west, working in a book store, inevitably drawn back to Aldrick both through the bond and the rumors of the land. After being forced to kill a few Knights of Jadar in self defense - Vhalla must return to the south, and to Aldrick, to face not only the prince but heer own demons.
For the first half of the book I was a bit bored honestly, I missed Aldrick. It wasn't that the writing was bad, or the characters weren't great (because they were) I was just still as depressed as Vhalla.
Second half of the book - amazing. Incredible. Astounding literary work. Compelling.
I could go on. There are no words for how much I love this series. Its now in my top two. With Harry Potter. Yeah. Its that good.
If you read the last 3 books - hold on to your hat as you dive into this one. I couldn't put it down.
Book type: YA Fantasy
Book rating: 4.9/5
Read time: 4 hours
For more reviews check out my blog: www.booksandchai.com
With love, parchment, and freshly mowed grass,
Kendall
How i felt through this book:
This book, as all others in this series, was incredible! I'm still having heart palpitations. I might read it again this weekend. Seriously. Awesome.
Summary:
As we left Earth's End: Aldrik is engaged to the princess of the north, Vhalla has run to the far reaches of the earth - her heart in pieces, and some of the secrets of the black sheep prince have come to light. We pick up with Vhalla in the west, working in a book store, inevitably drawn back to Aldrick both through the bond and the rumors of the land. After being forced to kill a few Knights of Jadar in self defense - Vhalla must return to the south, and to Aldrick, to face not only the prince but heer own demons.
For the first half of the book I was a bit bored honestly, I missed Aldrick. It wasn't that the writing was bad, or the characters weren't great (because they were) I was just still as depressed as Vhalla.
Second half of the book - amazing. Incredible. Astounding literary work. Compelling.
I could go on. There are no words for how much I love this series. Its now in my top two. With Harry Potter. Yeah. Its that good.
If you read the last 3 books - hold on to your hat as you dive into this one. I couldn't put it down.
Book type: YA Fantasy
Book rating: 4.9/5
Read time: 4 hours
For more reviews check out my blog: www.booksandchai.com
With love, parchment, and freshly mowed grass,
Kendall
July 13, 2017
"Neither good, nor evil, it's the heart of men that turn a weapon into the tool of a knight or a butcher."
Water's wrath, a summary:
- Incredible character development (Andrik's was A+, PERFECTION),
- Healthy relationship development (!!!!!!),
- Amazing friendships,
- Tears and sadness and rage and despair because Elise Kova is a monster and keeps killing the most precious characters of the series
*goes back to her cave to cry and read Crystal crowned*
Water's wrath, a summary:
- Incredible character development (Andrik's was A+, PERFECTION),
- Healthy relationship development (!!!!!!),
- Amazing friendships,
- Tears and sadness and rage and despair because Elise Kova is a monster and keeps killing the most precious characters of the series
*goes back to her cave to cry and read Crystal crowned*
Read
May 25, 2016Update (may)
Ehhhhhhhhhh I'll pick this back up some other time. I have too many books I actually WANT to read.
The cover <33
But who the fuck is that?
I'm done with Aldrik, so anyone else will be welcomed with opened arms.
Ehhhhhhhhhh I'll pick this back up some other time. I have too many books I actually WANT to read.
The cover <33
But who the fuck is that?
I'm done with Aldrik, so anyone else will be welcomed with opened arms.
December 8, 2022
12/01/2022: Reread on audiobook!
01/17/2020: Reread.
01/27/2019: Reread.
Be warned that this review may contain spoilers.
**REREAD REVIEW 01/27/2019**
This series still gives me that unmistakable heavy feeling in my chest that comes with loving something so very much. After finishing the last word I was just as emotional as the first time that I read this book. This book showcases a lot of changes in the story and characters. I love how unpredictable the story is. Things happen that the reader does not expect and some of them are pretty shocking. I am still quite enamored with this series.
**REREAD REVIEW 01/27/2019**
I would describe this book in the series as the book of major plot twists. Seriously, so many shocking things happen that it almost gives you whiplash. This is one of the great things about reading Elise Kova's books though. You never know what to expect.
Vhalla's confidence in this book is immeasurable. She puts her best foot forward and dashes on fighting the stakes that are against her and keeping her broken heart close. She has so much courage. You can see how much she has grown from the library girl in the first book. It's very inspiring.
This book has a huge heap of betrayal and uncertainty. Vhalla navigates through her emotions over Aldrik, her new status as a Lady of the Court, and spending her time helping Victor with the axe. I really loved that this book was a major turning point in the story.
I appeal to everyone that loves young adult fantasy to read this series! It has one of the absolute best romances that I've read, an intriguing magic system, and characters that will win your heart.
**ORIGINAL REVIEW**
If there is one word to describe the fourth book in the Air Awakens series, it would simply be emotional. This book is a roller-coaster ride of emotions. This book had me aching, hopeful, weeping, and clutching my hand to my heart while reading.
Vhalla's personal journey in this book is remarkable. She has been through so much and she gracefully accepts the fates that have been thrust upon her. At first, she is trying to escape from her heartache, but she returns to the capital to live her life, even if she isn't sure what that life will hold for her.
One of my most beloved characters in the series does not see it through, and it really devastated me. I did not foresee it. The shock and heartache from reading it were heavy on my heart.
I think that my favorite character in this series is Aldrik. He is seriously my book boyfriend. He has overcome so much in his short life and he fights for what he wants, no matter how hard the fight.
A major plot-twist happens in the book when Vhalla is betrayed by someone she thought she could trust. Things are set in motion and there are severe consequences from the misplaced trust.
This book has many surprises. The story really ramps up at the end of the book. Things start taking shape and realizations are met. Things start falling into place and expectations are set for the final book in the series.
If you want to read a series that surprises you in all of the best ways and fills your heart, then you NEED this series in your life! This series is fiercely addictive, and gets better with each book!
More reviews on my blog: The Alchemy of Ink
May 7, 2016
IT'S THE SECOND PAINFUL BOOK I'VE READ IN THIS TWO DAYS my heart HURTS
I'm SO MAD. I'm SO FUCKING MAD at this book. No, it wasn't bad. Though, it wasn't better than first two books, it was WAY better then the third book (even though I don't even know if I consider Vhaldrik my OTP now, because they are a n n o y i n g). But that's not the reason why I'm mad. I will put everything under spoiler tag and it will be heavily spoiled, so don't read it, if you haven't read the book yet.
Overall, I can't tell that I am satisfied with this book, but I'm not really disappointed either. Plot is okay, not far-fetched, not really messy, even though I doubted some turns of events. Plot twist is okay even though I saw it coming. Vhalla stopped being special snowflake she was in the Earth's End. Aldrik...well, to be honest, I miss old Air Awakens!Aldrik (you know, when in Vhaldrik Vhalla is the voice of reason, it might be an alarming sign). This Aldrik is like second Adrian of Bloodlines (who was RUINED). I'll still hope for the best, but for now I was annoyed.
In the ending there is a cliffhanger (as always) and I can't wait for the final book (even though I can't find that thing that made me love everything in first two books), I'd like to know how everything will be resolved. I give this book 6.5 out of 10. I've expected a very different book with very different turn of events, but it was pretty okay.
And now the spoiler part:
I'm SO MAD. I'm SO FUCKING MAD at this book. No, it wasn't bad. Though, it wasn't better than first two books, it was WAY better then the third book (even though I don't even know if I consider Vhaldrik my OTP now, because they are a n n o y i n g). But that's not the reason why I'm mad. I will put everything under spoiler tag and it will be heavily spoiled, so don't read it, if you haven't read the book yet.
Overall, I can't tell that I am satisfied with this book, but I'm not really disappointed either. Plot is okay, not far-fetched, not really messy, even though I doubted some turns of events. Plot twist is okay even though I saw it coming. Vhalla stopped being special snowflake she was in the Earth's End. Aldrik...well, to be honest, I miss old Air Awakens!Aldrik (you know, when in Vhaldrik Vhalla is the voice of reason, it might be an alarming sign). This Aldrik is like second Adrian of Bloodlines (who was RUINED). I'll still hope for the best, but for now I was annoyed.
In the ending there is a cliffhanger (as always) and I can't wait for the final book (even though I can't find that thing that made me love everything in first two books), I'd like to know how everything will be resolved. I give this book 6.5 out of 10. I've expected a very different book with very different turn of events, but it was pretty okay.
And now the spoiler part:
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2020
Keşke seriyi 3. kitap 300. sayfada bitirseydim. Artık bir yerden sonra süprüüüüz bombaları çok zorlama oluyor?!🙄😒
June 29, 2016
(Spoilers for the series in this review). I don't even know what happened with this series. It felt as if everything went downhill after Fire Falling, and even though I was slowly starting to hate the books, I still read on in the hopes that it will get better. But it didn't. It got worse and now I regret buying all the books in this series in one go.
I'm usually a sucker for fantasy/romance. It doesn't take much to please the romantic in me, but god, the romance in this series was one of the things that started to ruin it. I loved Vhalla and Aldrik's relationship in Air Awakens and Fire Falling. The development there was so satisfying to read. They were adorable, the tension between them was nicely balanced, and the plot still continued despite their growing relationship. However, as soon as these two became an established couple, the romance felt like overkill. Literally most of Earth Awakens is just Vhalla and Aldrik kissing and saying the most cheesy speeches about their love. There are countless chapters of Vhalla and Aldrik making out and proclaiming their undying love for each other whilst minor characters are killed off in the most random ways--but it doesn't matter because the two main characters are in love and it seems that's the only thing the author really cares about in this series.
The character development, or lack thereof, is also very disappointing. There is so much praise for Vhalla's development, with many characters stating that she has "grown" and is no longer the innocent library girl from the first book but... it all felt forced to me. For most of the series, it felt like Vhalla's development was mainly stated and declared. I didn't feel proud of her. I didn't care. I kept reading because I hoped she would live up to what was expected of her but... no. She continued to disappoint me. It's all well and good that Vhalla keeps telling the readers that she's this "new person" and that war has changed her, but when? Did I miss it? Am I being too harsh? Did I expect too much? Where is this character development you speak of?
Water's Wrath was almost painful to read because a majority of it is spent with Vhalla by herself. No Aldrik. No friends. Just herself. Whilst this may have been a perfect opportunity for her character to shine, it did the opposite for me. I found it boring and, in all honesty, I was tempted to skip the chapters so that I wouldn't have to endure being alone with Vhalla.
The worst thing is that several characters throughout the series actually die just for the sake of Vhalla's development. The side characters in this series don't matter at all. They literally only exist to either be Vhalla's friends or enemies. They aren't given depth; they are there for the hopeless attempt in giving Vhalla depth. What mostly angered me is that even when these side characters are given importance or hope in actually being more than just a minor character, they're later killed off. And why? Because it gives Vhalla pain. It gives her a reason to move forward and be this amazing new person that the author is constantly forcing her to be, when in reality, it's not working. It never works. Vhalla is as bland and empty as ever and these side characters that were actually interesting are dropping like flies.
I tried. I really, really tried to love this series and its protagonist. There were some promising things in these books. I loved that Kova included LGBT characters and I enjoyed the first two books. They were charming and, whilst not perfect, impressed me enough to buy the entire series. Somewhere along the way, the plot went downhill and the romance between Vhalla and Aldrik that I had prior loved started to irritate me instead.
I thought Water's Wrath would rekindle my love for this series; I hoped Vhalla would impress me now that she wasn't with Aldrik any more and I hoped that the distance between them would make me love this couple again. But nope. Most of Water's Wrath was Vhalla yearning for Aldrik whilst still denying him because, hey, it adds angst and drama to the plot. And then you have the completely random deaths that, lo and behold, bring Aldrik and Vhalla back together again. All is well.
I don't know if I'll even buy the last book. I can see where the ending is going and, quite frankly, I'm not sure if I care enough for the characters to read another book for this series.
I'm usually a sucker for fantasy/romance. It doesn't take much to please the romantic in me, but god, the romance in this series was one of the things that started to ruin it. I loved Vhalla and Aldrik's relationship in Air Awakens and Fire Falling. The development there was so satisfying to read. They were adorable, the tension between them was nicely balanced, and the plot still continued despite their growing relationship. However, as soon as these two became an established couple, the romance felt like overkill. Literally most of Earth Awakens is just Vhalla and Aldrik kissing and saying the most cheesy speeches about their love. There are countless chapters of Vhalla and Aldrik making out and proclaiming their undying love for each other whilst minor characters are killed off in the most random ways--but it doesn't matter because the two main characters are in love and it seems that's the only thing the author really cares about in this series.
The character development, or lack thereof, is also very disappointing. There is so much praise for Vhalla's development, with many characters stating that she has "grown" and is no longer the innocent library girl from the first book but... it all felt forced to me. For most of the series, it felt like Vhalla's development was mainly stated and declared. I didn't feel proud of her. I didn't care. I kept reading because I hoped she would live up to what was expected of her but... no. She continued to disappoint me. It's all well and good that Vhalla keeps telling the readers that she's this "new person" and that war has changed her, but when? Did I miss it? Am I being too harsh? Did I expect too much? Where is this character development you speak of?
Water's Wrath was almost painful to read because a majority of it is spent with Vhalla by herself. No Aldrik. No friends. Just herself. Whilst this may have been a perfect opportunity for her character to shine, it did the opposite for me. I found it boring and, in all honesty, I was tempted to skip the chapters so that I wouldn't have to endure being alone with Vhalla.
The worst thing is that several characters throughout the series actually die just for the sake of Vhalla's development. The side characters in this series don't matter at all. They literally only exist to either be Vhalla's friends or enemies. They aren't given depth; they are there for the hopeless attempt in giving Vhalla depth. What mostly angered me is that even when these side characters are given importance or hope in actually being more than just a minor character, they're later killed off. And why? Because it gives Vhalla pain. It gives her a reason to move forward and be this amazing new person that the author is constantly forcing her to be, when in reality, it's not working. It never works. Vhalla is as bland and empty as ever and these side characters that were actually interesting are dropping like flies.
I tried. I really, really tried to love this series and its protagonist. There were some promising things in these books. I loved that Kova included LGBT characters and I enjoyed the first two books. They were charming and, whilst not perfect, impressed me enough to buy the entire series. Somewhere along the way, the plot went downhill and the romance between Vhalla and Aldrik that I had prior loved started to irritate me instead.
I thought Water's Wrath would rekindle my love for this series; I hoped Vhalla would impress me now that she wasn't with Aldrik any more and I hoped that the distance between them would make me love this couple again. But nope. Most of Water's Wrath was Vhalla yearning for Aldrik whilst still denying him because, hey, it adds angst and drama to the plot. And then you have the completely random deaths that, lo and behold, bring Aldrik and Vhalla back together again. All is well.
I don't know if I'll even buy the last book. I can see where the ending is going and, quite frankly, I'm not sure if I care enough for the characters to read another book for this series.
January 10, 2017
*added playlist
I signed up and received an advance copy of the ebook for free in exchange for an honest review.
The story started close to what happened in the end of Earth's End which was good. Right away, I got to see how Vhalla's doing on her own, and how she's handling her situation with all that has happened at the end of the third book. While it was a bit steady at first, exciting events just started coming one after the other. They could be too much to handle too soon (especially that terrible thing that happened to a side character that for sure we've grown to love from TFTF and EE!) that I was already thinking about the whole thing negatively at that time (could be because of my emotions), but then I thought that it could be just a writing style to catch the reader's attention right from the very start.
From that specific hurtful event in the beginning, everything else flowed smoothly. Finally, Elise was able to write events of Vhalla spending time with her friends from the Tower and the Golden Guard. It was a breath of fresh air to have the focus on them and not on her and Aldrik all the time (which was suffocating), and this was a major thing that was missing in Fire Falling in my opinion - there in that second book, Vhalla spent too much time with Aldrik that when Larel died, I wasn't devastated because I didn't feel that deep connection between them. I even felt that Larel was more of Vhalla's assistant than a friend and a mentor. So here in Water's Wrath, I saw that the author took her time to build and really show the relationship between Vhalla and her friends. But I'm still looking forward to her truly reuniting with Roan maybe in the last book.
Because of the good narration and flow of the story, I was able to relate well to Vhalla. I really felt what she was feeling all throughout her journey. I was greatly affected and it was as if I could feel the same emotions as her when she was hurt, in grief, jealous, and longing for Aldrik. However, it's not all bad feelings. While the book made me sad at times, it also made me happy. When I got upset and was devastated, there were also situations wherein I felt elated. I did cry like a baby at one point, and that proves how good and effective the author is in pulling me in and getting the right emotions out of me.
I was also relieved that both Vhalla and Aldrik showed their maturity when they learned to move forward on their own at some point. They had to learn and grow on their own without having to always depend on each other. Because of this, they were able to change and develop into better characters. Vhalla became braver, stronger and bolder than ever, and I can even say the same things for Aldrik.
All in all, I totally love the story. The pacing was just right, and the element of surprise was there - most of the events were very unpredictable. I'm glad that with the answers and other clues given in this book, I was able to further build my theories and broaden my thoughts again - oh, the possibilities!
So far, Water's Wrath is the best book in the series (okay, I said the same thing after reading FF, then EE, and now this). It definitely caught me unguarded emotionally - pulling all types of emotions possible out of me. It kept me really guessing and interested all throughout and it made me love all the characters (old and new) even more. There were new alliances formed and new enemies made, so I certainly can't wait for the last book to come out!
*Look at that smirk on the cover...
And again, here's my music playlist for Water's Wrath! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
I signed up and received an advance copy of the ebook for free in exchange for an honest review.
The story started close to what happened in the end of Earth's End which was good. Right away, I got to see how Vhalla's doing on her own, and how she's handling her situation with all that has happened at the end of the third book. While it was a bit steady at first, exciting events just started coming one after the other. They could be too much to handle too soon (especially that terrible thing that happened to a side character that for sure we've grown to love from TFTF and EE!) that I was already thinking about the whole thing negatively at that time (could be because of my emotions), but then I thought that it could be just a writing style to catch the reader's attention right from the very start.
From that specific hurtful event in the beginning, everything else flowed smoothly. Finally, Elise was able to write events of Vhalla spending time with her friends from the Tower and the Golden Guard. It was a breath of fresh air to have the focus on them and not on her and Aldrik all the time (which was suffocating), and this was a major thing that was missing in Fire Falling in my opinion - there in that second book, Vhalla spent too much time with Aldrik that when Larel died, I wasn't devastated because I didn't feel that deep connection between them. I even felt that Larel was more of Vhalla's assistant than a friend and a mentor. So here in Water's Wrath, I saw that the author took her time to build and really show the relationship between Vhalla and her friends. But I'm still looking forward to her truly reuniting with Roan maybe in the last book.
Because of the good narration and flow of the story, I was able to relate well to Vhalla. I really felt what she was feeling all throughout her journey. I was greatly affected and it was as if I could feel the same emotions as her when she was hurt, in grief, jealous, and longing for Aldrik. However, it's not all bad feelings. While the book made me sad at times, it also made me happy. When I got upset and was devastated, there were also situations wherein I felt elated. I did cry like a baby at one point, and that proves how good and effective the author is in pulling me in and getting the right emotions out of me.
I was also relieved that both Vhalla and Aldrik showed their maturity when they learned to move forward on their own at some point. They had to learn and grow on their own without having to always depend on each other. Because of this, they were able to change and develop into better characters. Vhalla became braver, stronger and bolder than ever, and I can even say the same things for Aldrik.
All in all, I totally love the story. The pacing was just right, and the element of surprise was there - most of the events were very unpredictable. I'm glad that with the answers and other clues given in this book, I was able to further build my theories and broaden my thoughts again - oh, the possibilities!
So far, Water's Wrath is the best book in the series (okay, I said the same thing after reading FF, then EE, and now this). It definitely caught me unguarded emotionally - pulling all types of emotions possible out of me. It kept me really guessing and interested all throughout and it made me love all the characters (old and new) even more. There were new alliances formed and new enemies made, so I certainly can't wait for the last book to come out!
*Look at that smirk on the cover...
And again, here's my music playlist for Water's Wrath! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
April 14, 2019
If the last book broke my heart, this book healed it, broke it, then healed it again and again.
Though I was quite devastated of the ending of the last book and wanted to read this book to satisfy my craving, I had to take my time before starting this book. I was curious on how the author will continue the story; I was bracing myself for things to go downhill because of the last events of the last book so I had to take a short break before starting this.
I have to tell you that I am deeply invested in the story of Vhalla and Aldrik and I didn't know what will transpire between them and want the best for them. Vhalla and Aldrik was broken, fractured, disjointed - the relationship that they had nurtured was taken from them by a power-hungry man, The Emperor.
I was scared that they will be different, that they are broken beyond repair. But instead they did their best to heal and to pick up their pieces even without the other, and tried to fix their own lives. And that made me love them more.
Although this book has no short of heartbreaking moments, it will still be one of my favorite books in this series.
Though I was quite devastated of the ending of the last book and wanted to read this book to satisfy my craving, I had to take my time before starting this book. I was curious on how the author will continue the story; I was bracing myself for things to go downhill because of the last events of the last book so I had to take a short break before starting this.
I have to tell you that I am deeply invested in the story of Vhalla and Aldrik and I didn't know what will transpire between them and want the best for them. Vhalla and Aldrik was broken, fractured, disjointed - the relationship that they had nurtured was taken from them by a power-hungry man, The Emperor.
I was scared that they will be different, that they are broken beyond repair. But instead they did their best to heal and to pick up their pieces even without the other, and tried to fix their own lives. And that made me love them more.
Although this book has no short of heartbreaking moments, it will still be one of my favorite books in this series.
May 11, 2017
*Contains spoilers for the series*
Elise Kova I kinda hate you right now. A little bit. You literally put me through hell wh-when you did what you did to us. I cannot forgive you for it. I refuse. It's mean, cruel and unnecessary. Really, it is. You should have giving us at least a bit of happiness.
Here's just my summary/thoughts of each book to remember how I felt about them:
Book 1: is about Vhalla Yarl finding out who she is, what she is. She is Awakened, though a horrible Awakening, and finds out she is a Windwalker. Vhalla is a library apprentice, smart ass hell, reads a lot. She accidentally saves Crown Prince Aldrik Solaris when she thought she was trying to save his brother, and formed a Bond with the crown prince. Vhalla is weak, insecure and shy. Aldrik stole my heart from the first moment I met him.
→ The story takes place at The Solaris Empire/The Tower.
Book 2: Vhalla is sentenced to serve the Emperor as property of the Solaris Empire and must go to war. The Emperor depends on her for victory as she is the only Windwalker. Vhalla is becoming stronger, little less naive and she is starting to learn how to fight. She isn't afraid to speak up no more and is more sure of herself. Aldrik and Vhalla is struggling with their emotions and feelings, and with people trying to keep them apart. Aldrik shows us even more how he is the Dark Lord, the most powerful sorcerer there is.
→ The story is set on the march for war.
Book 3: The Emperor is pretty much yanking Vhalla's chains. Aldrik, my poor baby, is doing everything he can to keep Vhalla, his lady, his love, safe, but it's hard when so many are out to kill the Windwalker or to keep them apart. Vhalla is learning more about herself, as a fighter, a woman and as a person. She get colder, harder and stronger. One can only be pushed so far, before one breaks... Assassins and traitors, heartbreak and losses, misery and love, all wrapped up in one.
→ The story takes place when the war with the North is about to start and when it ends.
Book 4: In Water's Wrath my heart was still breaking after the horrible and sad ending of Earth's End. And Elise Kova had to of course break it more. Vhalla is back with her people after being away for 2 month after the battle that lead to victory for The Solaris Empire to find herself and to be alone. Aldrik is engaged to another, and that itself is enough heartbreak. But that sure as hell didn't stop Elise as she gave is even more heartbreak... The truth finally comes out, we finally get the missing pieces about Aldrik filled (my baby!!!!). And of course, we get to see who the real puppet Master is.
→ The story takes place at The Solaris Empire/The Tower, after the war and after Vhalla is reunited with her friends.
That out of the way, leaves me with the final judgment so far of the series as I haven't written full reviews for the first three books.. I like the series, I do. But there is something missing. What that is, I still have no clue what it is. I think...as much as I love Aldrik, he's still so insecure of himself, when I kinda want him to be this cold, heartless, alpha male. Don't get me wrong, he is, for the most time, but through Vhalla's eyes I can't quite see it... In Tales from the Front (#2.5) you see it a bit more, for how the other characters see the crown prince, but through Vhalla, I just see a young man who has been through hell, and is still there. He's a broken man, who's slowly healing, only to be knocked down again. Vhalla, I mostly like. I have to be honest and say that I didn't really like her all that much in book one, but that slowly went away as she became more herself, and became stronger. However, I started to not really liking her again when she became Serien and how she acted with Daniel.. I didn't like that, at all. Now I like her again. Strange, huh?
Now I have to wait for Crystal Crowned, which I hate, considering I'm not the most patient person you can meet. Also, since I have read each book after each other, it sucks that I have to wait for the final book. Can you believe it?! There's only one book left, and then the series is done. No more Aldrik. NO MORE :O! Oh god, I think I'm gonna cry, and Elise Kova has made me cry enough.
“Even something very small can cast a large shadow when it is close to the sun.”
Elise Kova I kinda hate you right now. A little bit. You literally put me through hell wh-when you did what you did to us. I cannot forgive you for it. I refuse. It's mean, cruel and unnecessary. Really, it is. You should have giving us at least a bit of happiness.
Here's just my summary/thoughts of each book to remember how I felt about them:
“...Fire needs air to live. Air fuels fire, stokes it, and makes it burn brighter and hotter than it ever could alone. But too much air will snuff it completely, just as too many flames will consume all the air. They are far greater than the sum of their parts together, but are equally as dangerous to each other’s existence.”
Book 1: is about Vhalla Yarl finding out who she is, what she is. She is Awakened, though a horrible Awakening, and finds out she is a Windwalker. Vhalla is a library apprentice, smart ass hell, reads a lot. She accidentally saves Crown Prince Aldrik Solaris when she thought she was trying to save his brother, and formed a Bond with the crown prince. Vhalla is weak, insecure and shy. Aldrik stole my heart from the first moment I met him.
→ The story takes place at The Solaris Empire/The Tower.
“I am the property of the crown. My chains are invisible, but just as heavy.”
Book 2: Vhalla is sentenced to serve the Emperor as property of the Solaris Empire and must go to war. The Emperor depends on her for victory as she is the only Windwalker. Vhalla is becoming stronger, little less naive and she is starting to learn how to fight. She isn't afraid to speak up no more and is more sure of herself. Aldrik and Vhalla is struggling with their emotions and feelings, and with people trying to keep them apart. Aldrik shows us even more how he is the Dark Lord, the most powerful sorcerer there is.
→ The story is set on the march for war.
“You show up as if you materialize from the wind itself, to save the life of the crown prince whom you jumped off the side of the Pass in an attempt to save. You’re unassuming, you’re filthy, and you’re soaked in what I can only presume to be the blood of our enemies.”
Book 3: The Emperor is pretty much yanking Vhalla's chains. Aldrik, my poor baby, is doing everything he can to keep Vhalla, his lady, his love, safe, but it's hard when so many are out to kill the Windwalker or to keep them apart. Vhalla is learning more about herself, as a fighter, a woman and as a person. She get colder, harder and stronger. One can only be pushed so far, before one breaks... Assassins and traitors, heartbreak and losses, misery and love, all wrapped up in one.
→ The story takes place when the war with the North is about to start and when it ends.
“Is that any way for a lady to sit?” Aldrik teased.
“I am a lady, and I am sitting this way; therefore, yes.” Vhalla nodded her head to underscore her response.
Book 4: In Water's Wrath my heart was still breaking after the horrible and sad ending of Earth's End. And Elise Kova had to of course break it more. Vhalla is back with her people after being away for 2 month after the battle that lead to victory for The Solaris Empire to find herself and to be alone. Aldrik is engaged to another, and that itself is enough heartbreak. But that sure as hell didn't stop Elise as she gave is even more heartbreak... The truth finally comes out, we finally get the missing pieces about Aldrik filled (my baby!!!!). And of course, we get to see who the real puppet Master is.
→ The story takes place at The Solaris Empire/The Tower, after the war and after Vhalla is reunited with her friends.
“Together,they were unstoppable.Bound,Joined,madly in love,there were no longer any boundaries that could limit them.They were a single force of nature.”
That out of the way, leaves me with the final judgment so far of the series as I haven't written full reviews for the first three books.. I like the series, I do. But there is something missing. What that is, I still have no clue what it is. I think...as much as I love Aldrik, he's still so insecure of himself, when I kinda want him to be this cold, heartless, alpha male. Don't get me wrong, he is, for the most time, but through Vhalla's eyes I can't quite see it... In Tales from the Front (#2.5) you see it a bit more, for how the other characters see the crown prince, but through Vhalla, I just see a young man who has been through hell, and is still there. He's a broken man, who's slowly healing, only to be knocked down again. Vhalla, I mostly like. I have to be honest and say that I didn't really like her all that much in book one, but that slowly went away as she became more herself, and became stronger. However, I started to not really liking her again when she became Serien and how she acted with Daniel.. I didn't like that, at all. Now I like her again. Strange, huh?
“He was a reckless fool, and I was a girl pulled along by puppet strings. The fire burned too hot, and we didn't notice until it consumed everything.”
Now I have to wait for Crystal Crowned, which I hate, considering I'm not the most patient person you can meet. Also, since I have read each book after each other, it sucks that I have to wait for the final book. Can you believe it?! There's only one book left, and then the series is done. No more Aldrik. NO MORE :O! Oh god, I think I'm gonna cry, and Elise Kova has made me cry enough.
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