Author: Shannon Messenger
Published: March 5th, 2013
Series: Sky Fall #1
Genre: YA paranormal
Publisher: Simon Pulse
POV: 1st person, present tense, alternating
Pages: 416
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4 out of 5
"Seventeen-year-old Vane Weston has no idea how he survived the category five tornado that killed his parents. And he has no idea if the beautiful, dark-haired girl who’s swept through his dreams every night since the storm is real. But he hopes she is.
Seventeen-year-old Audra is a sylph, an air elemental. She walks on the wind, can translate its alluring songs, and can even coax it into a weapon with a simple string of commands. She’s also a guardian—Vane’s guardian—and has sworn an oath to protect Vane at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing her own life.
When a hasty mistake reveals their location to the enemy who murdered both of their families, Audra’s forced to help Vane remember who he is. He has a power to claim—the secret language of the West Wind, which only he can understand. But unlocking his heritage will also unlock the memory Audra needs him to forget. And their greatest danger is not the warriors coming to destroy them—but the forbidden romance that’s grown between them."
Highlights: The world building regarding sylphs is top notch, detailed, and very fascinating. The dual points-of-view are similarly well done, as Messenger gives both Vane and Audra their own distinct personalities / voices. Audra was especially an incredible, badass, easy-to-love character, but I did equally enjoy Vane's sarcastic nature (and his concern for his family). Messenger's writing has a nice flow to it, making her novel an easy story to breeze through in a matter of hours. The romance, despite being a bit quick, is surprisingly believable and sweet. All in all, LET THE SKY FALL is a highly enjoyable and gripping story.
Lowlights: Despite Messenger's creativity with the slyph lore, she lets the actual story fall into the structure of your typical, clichéd young adult novel. The plot is familiar to those who read a lot of YA, so it's easy to see where everything is going (but there are a few twists that I'm sure many readers will find very surprising). I wish the secondary characters had been included in the story a bit more.
I would give this novel a 4 out of 5 rating. Packed with plenty of action, humor, and imagination, LET THE SKY FALL is a lively start to what could be a terrific trilogy. I have high hopes for the sequel, LET THE STORMS BREAK!
I would give this novel a 4 out of 5 rating. Packed with plenty of action, humor, and imagination, LET THE SKY FALL is a lively start to what could be a terrific trilogy. I have high hopes for the sequel, LET THE STORMS BREAK!
This sounds really great and I'm glad you enjoyed it aside from the few drawbacks! I definitely plan to read this sometime!
ReplyDeleteIt was a good story (it's hard to go wrong with awesome main characters and some imagination)! You should definitely check it out.
DeleteThanks for stopping by! :)
I do want to check this out for the unique sylph part; disappointed to hear that it's pretty cliche as I read a lot of YA and will probably recognize the beats but I still want to give this a try and maybe become invested enough to read the whole trilogy as it is published.
ReplyDeleteThe slyph aspect was great - it was so refreshing to read about a different sort of paranormal being. Even though it was easy to predict what was going to happen next in the story, it was still a fun book!
DeleteI've been wanting to read this for a while :) I'm glad that the characters were pretty good! I'm really excited to check this out. Great review!
ReplyDeleteJanina @ Synchronized Reading
The characters were great (especially Audra, she is awesome)! Hope you enjoy LTSF if you do check it out :)
DeleteI recently checked this one out from the library. I've heard great things about it and can't wait to dive in. I'm glad you enjoyed it for the most part!
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy LTSF! It's a great story :)
DeleteSylph lore is a cool way to go, especially since I can't think of another book offhand that has them in it (I'm sure if I focused, I could think of one...). Despite the typical novel pattern and lack of big surprises, it sounds like a great story! Plus, I like the cover, which always satisfies my inner cover 'ho.
ReplyDeleteCasual readers might find it more exciting, but as someone who reads a lot, it easy to see where it was all going. Still, it was a fun book! The sylph lore was incredible and very intriguing.
DeleteAgreed about the cover! ;)
Thank you for sharing your honest thoughts sweetie. <3 I quite enjoyed this book too :) Favorite book of Shannon is Keeper, though, but this one was pretty amazing as well :D Glad you enjoyed it :) And yess. I loved the romance too. <3
ReplyDeleteI think I'm a bit more fond of KEEPER too - that book is such a fun story!
DeleteOh dang, I did have a feeling this one might end up going the route of more cliched and familiar than totally original. Though the lore at least sounds really interesting! Great characters, too. So maybe I'll see how the second book fares in reviews before making a commitment to the series. Thanks for this review, Lea - very helpful!
ReplyDeleteThat might be a good idea - sometimes it's better to wait it out and see if you like it once more books are released. The lore rocks, though!
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