Water's Wrath (Air Awakens, #4)

by Elise Kova

[Vicki]

3.5 stars

Although I totally plowed through this one, I have to admit that this has been my least favorite in the series so far. The first half of the book I was really just waiting for Vhalla and Aldrik to be reunited. I also felt like the story was a bit all over the place. In the beginning, the Knights of Jadar are hunting Vhalla and they've been the secret enemies since the beginning (although we didn't know it at the time). Then they basically just disappear. There was a lot about the Sword of Jadar that ultimately didn't even matter. I was also confused at the end as well about what actually happened. I don't understand what Victor actually did at the end. The magical theory behind how the power of the Crystal Caverns gets unleashed was never made very clear (at least to me). The crystal crown was hardly mentioned during the book and it seemed to play an important role in this. Also, Baldair's death was really sad and unexpected. I'm not sure what the point of his death was, other than maybe being the catalyst for Aldrik and Vhalla to admit their relationship more publicly. That, as well as the grief Aldrik feels is very short-lived since the story immediately jumps to Vhalla getting tricked by Victor into heading toward the Crystal Caverns. It felt a little like the death was for shock value instead of driving the story forward or somehow impacting Vhalla/Aldrik character growth. Maybe I'm just being harsh because I liked Baldair... I still loved seeing Vhalla and Aldrik though and still really enjoyed this. I hope we get some answers in the next book.