Review: Earth's End (Air Awakens #3) by Elise Kova

Earth's End

(Air Awakens #3)

by Elise Kova

February 11, 2016

350 pages
 

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Goodreads Summary:

A woman awoken in air, a soldier forged by fire, a weapon risen from blood.

Vhalla Yarl has made it to the warfront in the North. Forged by blood and fire, she has steeled her heart for the final battle of the Solaris Empire’s conquest. The choices before Vhalla are no longer servitude or freedom, they are servitude or death. The stakes have never been higher as the Emperor maintains his iron grip on her fate, holding everything Vhalla still has left to lose in the balance.

*Review may contain spoilers from the previous books in the series but none from Earth's End.

Review

 

I don't even have words for this book! I guess let me start off by saying I get it now. All those people talking about their feelings destroyed after reading Earth's End finally make sense. Elise seriously knows how to write a book full of feels. One minute I was soaring from happiness on top of clouds, the next I was flat on the pavement with dread. Big hugs and thank you Melissa for being there for me!

At the beginning of the book, Vhalla treks across dangerous terrain on her own to save her beloved. Even though it was a reckless (maybe even foolish) move, she's so brave to do it. Love really drives her. "Vhalla knew that love wouldn't be enough to fix it, that change could only come from him. but love could be a catalyst for the process he would have to accomplish on his own, and she would push for that." (p. 189). In the face of threats and dangers, Vhalla does her best to stay strong and not crumble. The more people that wanted to take her down, the harder she fought for herself and for others. When she realized how morally ambiguous the war meant, she sought to end all the sufferings as swiftly as possible. She has the kindest heart.

 

I've been swinging between wanting to hug Aldrik and wanting to smack him hard. I still love him for the fierce way he always defends Vhalla. So bold and unyielding. He was also very sweet with her. "I wanted to give you the promise of my minutes, my hours, my days." (p. 229). He sure knows how to woe a girl but it got to be too sugary and mushy for me. It seems Aldrik is incapable of having a middle ground in his emotions? He was either super sweet or super moody. It was heartbreaking to watch the exchange that happens directed by Aldrik towards the end of the book but hello my moody prince!

Plot-wise Earth's End was a mixture of romance and politics. As Emperor Solaris prepared for war against the Northerners, Vhalla fought for her freedom and Aldrik plotted to keep them together. As much as I love seeing them so in love, I couldn't help but think their time together loosened their guard. They dared to dream for more. More together. It all comes crashing down in a cruel twist. I expected something like it but it was still hard to see it all play out on the pages.

Elise introduces more characters into the mix and I'm really loving how much they add to the story. In addition to Vhalla's current friends, she makes more allies. Baldair, Elecia and Fritz's unwavering support continues to touch me. One of the new characters, Jax, was gallant and loyal. He stood up for Vhalla whenever necessary but also cracked jokes to lighten up moods whenever things got too sensitive. I will say I wasn't a fan of the complication between Vhalla and Daniel. I don't dislike the guy but I'm confused- to what purpose does he serve?

Like with Fire Falling, Earth's End has one heck of an ending too. Such an emotional hit after all that's happened in this book. I was left reeling and frantically searching for a solution in my head. I see this ending as both a weakness and a strength. Readers might get frustrated and turned off from continuing since this is the second consecutive cliffhanger in the series. It's hard to just keep waiting and waiting. On the other hand though, the cliffhanger builds anticipation and makes one scream for the next book. For sure I'm in the latter ;)

 

With all that being said, I'm so fortunate to be able to jump into Water's Wrath! Thank you so much Elise for the ARC! I'm not sure my feelings are ready but I'm soldiering on because this series is worth all the emotions it puts me through.

 

 

My review of Water's Wrath is coming next week so please stay tuned for that :D