Review by Katie
March 2013 by Simon Pulse
416 pages
Amazon + Good Reads
"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."
-Good Reads
First, I have to give a shout out to this cover. I love the simple beauty of this cover and the wind surrounding them. After reading the story, I like the cover even better - it's a perfect representation of the story. This book follows wind sylphs, or people that have the ability to manipulate and influence the wind. I really enjoyed the unique aspect of this story.
The book begins in Vane's perspective which I enjoyed, I haven't read many books with a guy's perspective so I thought it added a nice touch to this story. I felt that both Vane and Audra were unique characters and some of the most realistic characters I have read. Vane was realistic in the way he dealt with things and the way he cared for Audra. Audra was realistic with her actions, she was raised to put her guardian job first and that's exactly what she does throughout the whole book (often times that isn't the case).
I don't think that I have read any books that focus on one element and the people that have the power to manipulate that element. I loved the idea that each wind has it's own language. I also loved that the the wind sylphs did not control the wind, but rather they manipulated it. The wind was wild and natural and free, just as it should be and I loved reading about an environment like that.
The only thing I felt was missing from this story was the romance. I felt like there could have been more, I wanted more from it. If you like really light romance, then this is the book for you. In the very beginning we find that Vane has been seeing Audra for a majority of his life and in turn has grown feelings for her. Audra on the other hand, often seems to take her job too seriously to let herself feel anything. Though I realize that the characters stuck to who they were - which is an aspect that I loved - I was a little frustrated that there wasn't more going on between them. Especially because I think that they are perfect for each other. However, that makes this romance a little more realistic. There is no insta-love or crazy, intense, unbelievable love and that was something that I liked.
This book was a breath of fresh air (yes, pun intended) in the unique story, and characters. I really enjoyed this one and I hope you do too, if you read it (I recommend that you should). This book has inspired me to seek out more elemental books so I recently picked up Storm by Brigid Kemmerer. I hope it's a good one! Do you have any good elemental books to recommend?
Did you enjoy this review? Check out Katie's blog for more reviews by her!
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