I have to start this review with: I knew that the book is YA and I like to read YA from time to time because it can relatively relaxing compared to adult novels where the stakes tend to be higher and everything is a bit grittier. Unfortunately, Air Awakens is one of those YA books that fall into the category of "What did I just read? I want my time back" because it's so bad.

The Plot
I'm sorry but what plot? Nothing really happened.

The story can be summarised in: Vhalla is a Mary Sue who finds out that she's the last airbender Windwalker, falls in love with the (crown) prince whom she had saved with her magic, becomes the victim of the evil politician and has to become a soldier to fight in the latest war (the last part is the cliffhanger at the end to set the scene for the next book).

The Writing
Atrocious.

Yeah, it's bad. The book needs another round of editing because the amount of grammar mistakes is exhausting. There were times where I had to read sentences three times before I understood them. I don't want to imagine how exhausting it must be if the reader is a teenager and doesn't speak English as first language.

The Worldbuilding
Ancient Rome meets Avatar: the Last Airbender.

The magic system is based on Avatar as it includes the four elements (with air being erased until Vhalla's magic makes an appearence) and is also based on geography. Each part of the continent relates to one element. The Empire is a mixture of Ancient Rome and the Fire Nation from Avatar. They are always at war and the reader doesn't learn the reasons behind it. Might be unification as it's mentioned very early in the book but that's just my guess. The religion system is barely explained but there are two deities ("The Mother" aka the sun and "The Father" aka the moon).

Concerning the magic system: sorcerers are feared and we never learn why. The author had the chance of explaining the entire world by giving Vhalla lessons on history, on magic, ... -- but Vhalla does research (that never goes much beyond the "and she read book xxx" and a short period of letter exchanges with an unknown character who turns out to be the LI) at the begin of the book but the reader never learns anything through it. Instead we learn that the sorcerers are educated in a tower on the palace grounds and after their training is done, they can leave and make their fortune in the world that fears them because it's expected that they support the tower with money/food/... for the next generation of sorcerers. Also, the LI aka the crown prince is also a mage and utterly feared. I still don't understand why he's still the crown prince because no one in this Empire would follow him/respect him as he's so feared.

The Characters
Vhalla is a Mary Sue. She is boring, she always complains, she is the last Windwalker (the first of her kind in centuries), she considers herself as ugly and plain ("fizzy, untameable hair, skinny, nothing special") while having three (!) attractive men being smitten with her / telling her that she is beautiful. She has no backbone in one chapter before telling herself that she needs to stand her ground in the next chapter. She's also supposed to be so clever but has zero common sense. I'm pretty sure that her brain is decorative. Of course, she gets a make over and goes to a ball where everyone fawns over her. Of course, she cuts off her hair at the end of the book to mark the change as she's a "different character" now.

The male love interest, the crown prince, is part abuser, part creep and part sensitive guy who is unconvential attractive but still falls into the typical description of every male LI in a YA novel. Tall, dark hair, dark eyes, mysterious, muscular but not too muscular. I believe that the author wanted to use the "bad boy" trope with him but gosh ... he abuses Vhalla physical (throws her off the highest tower, grabs her face until it hurts, ...) but also verbal ("You are like a pathetic little worm who only wants to sit in the dirt when I was prepared to give you a chance to grow wings and fly."). Of course, Vhalla forgives him because he shows her his sensitive side two chapters afterwards. Of course, they have a magical bond with each other because she saved his life, so they are drawn to each other. Lovely.

The other love interest is Vhalla's male best friend who is bland porridge. Of course, he's considered as attractive and slightly "exotic". Though I believe that he is described as dark-haired with pale skin. They have one awkward date during a major festival where he acts like he planned out the entire date but he never pays much attention to her. He hates/fears magic and looks up a way to remove Vhalla's magic. Such a great character. Afterwards, he just vanishes as character and dies rather quickly too.

The other best friend is her female best friend who becomes an one-dimensional, jealous "I'm in love with him but I let you have him!" girl. That's it. She's alive but I doubt that we will ever see her again unless she turn 100% evil as she lost the love of her life.

The crown prince's younger brother is the heartbreaker. Golden hair, light coloured eyes. Always flirting. A womanizer who talks everyone into his bed (Vhalla is the first who does not jump into it). Feels like the comic relief character. He has a difficult relationship with his brother but never dives into any explanation why their relationship is strained.

The Romance
A love square thingy between Vhalla, crown prince, male best friend and female best friend. Vhalla wants the crown prince, the crown prince wants her. The male best friend wants Vhalla, Vhalla doesn't want him. The female best friend wants the male best friend, status unclear if male best friend who have wanted her too. Thankfully the love square thing is rather short-lived and lasts for max. two chapters (if all scenes are combined).

The romance between Vhalla and the crown prince is ... exhausting. Starting, she fears him because he is a sorcerer and she fears all sorcerers. Do we ever learn why sorcerers are considered as evil? No, of course not. He wanted to have her for her magic and as an object of power (since she's the first Windwalker) before realising that he wants her for her characer because she makes him laugh. Major issue: she's 17, turning 18, and I believe that he's in his mid/late 20s. Yikes. Of course, she's considered as an adult once she turned 18 (how convinent) but she's still a teenager and he's an adult.

The Names
Vhalla Yara sounds like the author removed some letters from "Valhalla" and read/saw Game of Thrones. The names are all over the place in general with Aldrick (or Aldrik, idc), Baldair, Roan, Sareem, Fritznangle, Craig, Daniel, Egmun, Larel, ... -- W H Y. Set a theme for names if you have different cultures in their novel and stick to it. Do not use the fantasy generator and pick the names as they appear because they never fit your theme.

The Cover
Why is the girl white and blonde? By the description of Vhalla, I got the feeling that she was considered as POV. She is described as yellow-skinned with brown, gold-flecked eyes and "frizzy, untameable" hair. The hair as well as the yellow skin description give me racism vibes because a) Vhalla is from the East where people are yellow skinned (We used to call Asians "yellow skinned" not too long ago as well ...) and b) the hair reminds me of the phase where black girls with natural hair had always been described with "frizzy, untameable" hair.



TL;DR:
Bad plot. Bad writing. Bland characters. Mary Sue. Bad LI. Love square. Cliches upon cliches.

(I don't understand all the 5 star reviews. Did the author threaten you?)

Add-on:
The author starts the book with a reminder that piracy is illegal and a crime. She hopes that the copy that the reader has is legally acquired. Does she really believe that people pirate books for fun? I hate to break it to her but people pirate books because they cannot pay for them. Depending on the country, books cost between €10 - €50 (just for novels, we do not speak about academic literature) and libraries are not always an option (not one close-by, too expensive, ...). I do not want to encourage readers to acquire books via a torrent but the letter from the author is so unneccessary.
If you are still interested in this book after reading this review: the entire series is available on Kindle Unlimited. Amazon offers a 30 days test period for free and has regular offers where three months cost €0.99.