review - Let The Sky Fall

	Let The Sky Fall by: Shannon Messenger | Website | Twitter Publication Date: March 5, 2013 Publisher: Simon Pulse Series: Let The Sky Fall #1 Format: eBook on PulseIt Page Count: 416 Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal US of YA: California Get your copy: Amazon | B&N
Summary: 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. Summary and cover image from goodreads.
Let The Sky Fall sucks readers into a fast-paced and brand new adventure. The Windwalker (who didn't automatically think Game of Thrones Whitewalker) mythology was a new genre of paranormal that Shannon Messenger slowly unveils to readers. Their powers, fighting tactics, social constructs, and history effortlessly trickle across the pages. In the world of YA, Vane is one of the truest male POVs that I've read. He isn't over romanticized as that perfect-male-specimen-way (while these are great to read!). He thinks just like a boy but not overly-crass. Vane handles learning about his heritage fairly-well. It's a little easier to swallow the news that you aren't human if its being delivered by your dream-girl. Admittedly, Vane is a little freaked out, but dream-girl would gives him the motivation to accept and move toward his future and learning to call the West Wind. Dream-girl, aka Audra, is struggling with her past and the consequences of her actions. Guilt and regret fuel her desire to be loyal to the Gale Force (wind walker guards) and her mission to protect Vane at all costs. She has trained and sacrificed for ten years, and it was good Audra relax a little and enjoy life, thanks to Vane. After watching from the sidelines and keeping Vane a single-man (via some wind tricks), Audra begins to feel more for Vane than what her mission requires. But there's the crux, Vane has been betrothed, due to his last-Westerly status among the Windwalkers. Talk about conflicting feelings over the right and wrong of their relationship. We don't actually get to meet the trying to take-over-the-world villain, Raidan, only his minions, which was interesting, keeps him a little mysteriously hidden for the next book. Audra's mother, Arella, provided a nice dash of angst. Her and Audra's relationship is strained from the beginning, but there are few twists here to keep the reader guessing on her true motives. I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment of this series. A much larger world has been opened to Vane, and I'm ready to explore it. Shout out to the new PulseIt website, which got a makeover recently. Looks really sleek and has a great user-interface. AND…here's the kicker, their monthly free-reads are now accessible on iPhones and iPads. Love! Thank you SimonTeen and PulseIt.
"That's where you're wrong, Vane. You're our only hope." I have to laugh. It sounds so Princess Leia. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. - Audra and Vane, 15% in eBook. Honestly, being with Audra makes the whole living-in-sylph-land-forever idea sound not so bad. I might be able to deal with it if I finally get to taste those full lips of hers. Undo that tight braid and run my hand through her silky hair as I move closer. Pressing every inch of her body against mine as she tangles her arms around me and slides her hands down my back, pulling me even closer… I shove the handle of the faucet all the way cold. - Vane, 32% in eBook I want to say more, but my dad's joined my mom at my bedroom door, and while he doesn't have her look of nervous terror, he looks like when he's watching the Discovery Channel. Aren't the mating habits of teenagers fascinating, honey? - Vane, 42% in eBook I'm not sure if I'm fueled by fear or want or just sheer desperation. But it's cards-on-the-table time. I've dreamed of her for too long… - Vane, 56% in eBook She doesn't wait for me to try. She doesn't even wait for me let her out of the booth. She pulls her feet up on the bench and climbs onto the table. - Hanna and Vane, 59% in eBook "No way. I will not let your first meal be cold McDonald's fries. I'm taking you to In-N-Out." - Vane, 71% in eBook My eyes focus on her mouth as she licks her lips and leans closer. She's going to do it. She's going to kiss me. I resist the urge to fist pump the sky. "You're beautiful," I breath instead. She leans closer. Our noses touch. I stop myself from closing the distance. It has to be her. She sucks in a breath and closes her eyes. "What are you thinking?" a woman's voice asks. At. The. Last. Second. "Come on!" I shout as Audra jumps back like I have the plague. - Vane, 79% in eBook