Early Review: Water’s Wrath by Elise Kova

Librarian turned sorcerer. Sorcerer turned hero. Hero turned puppet.

The Solaris Empire found victory in the North and, at the cost of her heart and her innocence, Vhalla Yarl has earned her freedom. But the true fight is only beginning as the secret forces that have been lurking in the shadows, tugging at the strings of Vhalla’s fate, finally come to light. Nowhere is safe, and Vhalla must tread carefully or else she’ll fall into the waiting arms of her greatest foe. Or former lover. 

My rating: 4.5/5 stars

Ack! Every book just keeps pushing in deeper a dagger into my heart. You’d think I’d be used  to it by now but NO, I am not. I always fall for the false sense of security the book lures you into, and when all is well, another big hit. And this time… ugh. There’s no going back, I’m afraid.

Water’s Wrath is the fourth installment in the epic Air Awakens series and it doesn’t disappoint. I love how Elise Kova has a way of drawing you into the story, making it extremely hard to stop reading. Or sleep. You want to know what’s on the next page, and then the next, and the next. A vicious cycle that is so good and so sweet, but ultimately ends up harming you. And weirdly enough, still love it?!

Sounds about right, Ron.

I think what I loved most about Water’s Wrath is how almost every character defines where they stand on. Throughout the book, they slowly unveil their true colors and the reader can finally start to see the big picture, their purpose or what they want to get from the final war. Of course, there is lots more to see and discover from each character in the final installment, betrayals and unexpected alliances will form just like in Water’s Wrath, and that has me extremely excited. I seriously cannot wait!

We don’t get to meet as many new characters, but the few we do are pretty interesting. Like Aldrik’s bride-to-be Princess Sehra and her guard, Za. I was prepared to dislike them greatly, mostly because the princess was threatening my love for Aldrik & Vhalla as a couple, but she turned out to be more than just a simple-minded threat. Actually, I was expecting her to be a weak, girly character (I DON’T KNOW WHY) but nope, she’s actually super smart… and dangerous. A ruler in her own right trying to protect her people. 

But the character I loved the most in Water’s Wrath was Vhalla. This girl is amazing. There has been times where I have shaken my head and disagreed with her poor choices, but they have no way affected my admiration for her. In Water’s Wrath, Vhalla is stronger and even more determined than ever. Feelings aside, she is ready to do whatever it takes to bring peace once and for all to the empire, even if it means seeing her beloved marry someone else. That is true sacrifice right there.

The romantic in me was a teensy bit upset with the lack of romance in most of the book, but I guess I understand WHY. It goes with how Vhalla and Aldrik were trying to do what needed to be done for the empire to have “peace”. However, the few small scenes we get were indeed precious and I still love Aldrik oh so very much. I was glad to have some of his brooding self back because ♥♥♥♥. And yet he was still incredibly sweet and, this time, 100% himself.

So all things considered, Water’s Wrath turned out to be one more epic addition to the Air Awakens series and it totally lived up to my expectations. Things I wanted to happen did, some I didn’t want to also did (whyyyyyyy?*cries*) and like true Elise Kova fashion, this book left me in a wonderful state of grief and hope, highly anticipating to read the last book that will surely break us once and for all. 

I’m ready.