Review: Let the Sky Fall
Author: Shannon Messenger
Rating: 5/5
Genre: modern mythology, romance
Recommended To: fans of Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Yay read this the day it came out! I had to put Girl of Nightmares on hold for this but it was worth it.
The Plot: Vane is a regular human guy who dreams of a mysterious girl every night. He doesn't know who she is, but he does know that she is connected to the fact that his entire family died in a tornado with him the sole survivor. Audra, the girl, then runs into problems, boom, they meet, and now Audra and Vane must team up so he can learn how to control the winds in time before the evil Stormers come. Pretty straightforward right? And yeah it is. But of course there are complications along the way. It's what makes a novel good.
Characters: It's told in dual POV, which is my favorite thing. I love books where you can get both sides to the story and see the people mature and learn,( and fall in love - just saying...). Both Vane and Audra are pretty different people. Vane is flippant and pretty cocky. Although he at times irritated me with his constant descriptions of his desire to see Audra in a tiny dress, I will attribute that to the crazy hormones of a 17 year old guy. He quickly develops a desire to learn the language of the wind though, and beneath it all he was really sweet. Audra is a completely different story. She is tough and bitter, constantly punishing herself to redeem herself from past actions. At some points it goes almost beyond crazy, and she never lets herself enjoy anything, even the wind . She at times seems overly obsessed with herself (you know, "me, myself, I, oh I'm so tragic, pity me") and she seems to complain almost too much, but she is easily willing to put it all away for the sake of her people and Vane. And she did have a really tough life, I will give her that. She's a good person, if a bit deluded about redemption.
The Romance: Did I mention how much of a sucker I am for forbidden romance? Cause there is nothing better. Especially when there are betrothals, and true love/bonding mixed in. It's good stuff. At times I was worried that Audra and Vane might not really fit together, but opposites attract. They are kinda like thunder and lightning, powerful going against each other , but even stronger as one force. (Best analogy ever, I can't believe I came up with that.)
They Style: It was gorgeous. I could almost feel the dry, oppressive heat and the breeze drifting though. Sigh. Everything was well detailed, especially the settings. The wind whispering was so real I could nearly hear it myself. The sylph mythology was really interesting, detailed, and new too. All the lore about the 4 winds, and the languages was amazing. However, I would really like to know more about Raiden's force, Arella, and the Windslicer.
Overall: It had absolutely everything. An interesting plot, deep characters, great conflict and action, emotions running high, and an awesome setting. What more could a book give? What else could a reader want?
PS. There is a cliffhanger at the end and it does stink, but its not desperate (thank god).
