Latest Read: Let the Sky Fall

Here are the basics ...
Let the Sky Fall (#1) by Shannon Messenger
Publication date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Category: Young Adult - Paranormal
Source: Borrowed from library

Summary: Vane Weston has no idea how he survived the tornado that killed his parents. Or if the beautiful, dark-haired girl who’s swept through his dreams every night since the storm is real but he hopes she is. Audra is a sylph, an air elemental. She walks on the wind, can translate its songs, and can even coax it into a weapon with a simple string of commands. She’s Vane’s guardian and sworn to protect him at all costs. 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 their greatest danger is not the warriors coming to destroy them—it's the forbidden romance that’s grown between them. (Adapted goodreads.com)

My thoughts…

The good: Just when I thought I'd read about every possible paranormal being, Let the Sky Fall comes along and introduces air elementals called sylphs. And you know what? I totally loved it! Slyph, by the way, is not a made up word. I googled it and according to wikipedia they are considered "invisible beings of air" (this discovery only makes me love the concept more!). The author was able to take this bit of mythology that I'm sure no one really knows about it and make it her own. From page one I felt completely swept up in the world and the characters. The chapters alternate between Audra and Vane and I loved them both equally, because they both brought distinct perspectives to the story.

Vane's parents were killed by a tornado and he's the sole survivor. All he remembers is this vision of a beautiful, dark-haired girl standing over him (I'm sure you can guess who that is). But since then he's been living a normal life. Adopted by great parents, has friends, tries to date but he's very unlucky in that department for some reason. The only thing abnormal in his life is inability to forget about the girl from his past. Who, of course, is Audra. She's a badass loyal sylph, who can control the wind (walk on it, use it as a weapon, you name it), and sworn to protect Vane with her life. When their enemies discover their location, Audra is forced to reveal herself to Vane and throw him into this crazy world of air elementals and training to fight for their lives. I really can't give anything away but it was a well thought out plot with twists I didn't see coming. I experienced the same "what?!" moments the characters did as truths were revealed. And the romance! Vane is very swoonworthy and their intense chemistry made me want to scream "just kiss already!" at the book about a million times.

(No) reservations: Other than waiting for the next book.

Do I recommend?: I've been reading a lot of dystopians and fantasy lately but I enjoyed getting swept up into a paranormal book. I feel like it's been a while. So if you like that kind of book, I highly recommend this.

Happy reading!