Review: Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger

Title: Let the Sky Fall
Author: Shannon Messenger
Genre: Young-Adult, Fantasy
Series: Let the Sky Fall #1

Hardcover,416 pages

Publication: March 5, 2013 by Simon Pulse

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Source: Publicist, arc

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.

 

Months before the release of Let the Sky Fall, I’ve heard tons of great reviews about it and was really intrigued about what the hype was all about.  The book is told from Vane and Audra’s point of view, switching every other chapter.  Vane is a seventeen-year-old boy, who survived a category five tornado when he was seven years old that killed both his parents. He can’t remember anything of his past except a girl, he dreams of her every night not sure if she’s real or a figment of his imagination. The girl is real alright, Audra is a sylph (air elemental), and she’s Vane’s guardian who has kept watch over him for 10 years.  Audra’s job is to protect Vane from Raiden and his Stormers that killed Vane’s parents and has been searching for Vane since then. Vane is the last of the westerlies and Raiden needs Vane to speak the fourth wind language (there are four: Southerlies, Northerlies, Easterlies and Westerlies). With the Stormers on their trail and days away from discovery, Audra trains Vane the wind languages.

Who would have thought to use ‘wind’ as the foundation for a book? I found the different types of air elemental really intriguing, each specific wind has its own characteristic but when combined it becomes a means of transportation or weapon.  Most of the book Audra is training Vane to master the different types of winds, combing it to create funnels, pipes, transportation from one place to the other, or morphing the winds to create wind-spike/spear. As for our main characters, I knew I’d like Vane right when I read the first chapter; he’s funny and an all around good guy. I love the chemistry between Vane and Audra, he’s always making comments about how much he’s into her but she tries to pretend she doesn’t feel the same way but he never lets it deter him. I really like Audra but at the same time felt that her life totally sucked. For the past 10 years she’s been guarding over Vane, she lives in an old crumbling house, doesn’t have interaction with anyone, and doesn’t eat (when sylph eat food or drink water they become weaker and get tied down to earth). She is one tough chick, but knows nothing but the laws of her people (Gales) and like a solider follows orders through and through. After spending time with Vane, Audra slowly changes…wanting to do things for herself and for once not follow the rules. Vane and Audra really bring a whole new meaning to soul mates and although there wasn’t much action, I found their interactions and banter fun and sweet.

Let the Sky Fall is the first book in a new series, and I can’t wait to read book two! The last 4 or 5 chapters are when all the action takes place. When I thought I already knew what was going on, the author throws twist after twist after twist (yes there were A LOT)...I am still shocked with what was revealed! Overall a great read, Messengers writing is superb and she definitely knows her craft in penning an engaging young-adult fantasy.