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.
