Crystal Crowned (Air Awakens Series Book 5) Hardcover – July 12, 2016

I wanted to like this book as much as the first four, but... I couldn't. The pace was vastly different, and plot-wise not a lot happened. The author glossed over days, and even weeks in a single paragraph. At times it seemed more about the plot and less about the characters. The pace was just off.Sadly, Aldrik and Val's chemistry seemed to fade in the background except for a couple moments where I felt that familiar spark they had in the first four books. We did not get nearly as many meaningful scenes with them, and only a couple that stirred my emotions at all. A lot of their stolen moments were completely glossed over. I am also deeply saddened and very disappointed that they never got their Bond back. That was one of the worst parts of this book for me, as I would have loved to see their beautiful Bond restored after they had some time to develop as a couple without it. Especially after the horror she experienced with Victor. I was extremely let down.Character-wise, I felt that Adrik lost a lot of his commanding, powerful presence in this one. He, too, faded into the background and into Val's shadow... So much so that I struggled to see them as equals, as I used to. Val called almost all of the shots, and Aldrik lost a lot of his reckless, passionate spirit that drew me to his character since the beginning. The fearsome, raging Fire Lord seemed no more, and was replaced by a weaker character that I probably would not have been as fond of had this been him in the beginning of the story. Instead of being a powerful leader and co-leader with Val, he became more like Val's tech support, and he lost his voice and some of the beloved traits that made him *him*. It made me sad, because no one likes to see this happen to their favorite characters.At least we got a happy ending... however it was weird getting a different voice in the epilogue than Val's. I liked seeing more of the side characters, too.

‘Crystal Crowned’ is the gripping conclusion to talented author Elise Kova’s elemental magic series, ‘Air Awakens.’ Readers have watched Vhalla Yarl develop magic abilities, form a bond with secretive Prince Aldrik, become a symbol for soldiers to believe in and fight for, and then face the biggest betrayal of her life.‘Crystal Crowned’ begins just after the action ends in ‘Water’s Wrath.’ We follow Aldrik, Vhalla, Jax, Elecia, and Fritz (two firebarers, one groundbreaker, one waterrunner, and a windwalker) on their journey through Solaris to rescue their kingdom from a malicious, power hungry tyrant.As with the other entries in the ‘Air Awakens’ series, there are battle scenes, there are moving scenes of caring and friendship, and even love. We get to see more of Jax and Elecia’s backstories, and watch all our favorite characters further develop and mature.The epilogue beautifully wraps up Vhalla and Aldrik’s story.Thanks to author Elise Kova for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. reviews! [...] Read more

I received this review copy from the author in exchange for an honest and timely review.It's with a heavy heart that I rate the fifth and final book in the Air Awakens series, Crystal Crowned by Elise Kova, 3/5 stars. That rating is by no means a bad rating, but it crushes me to give it considering I gave the other four books in the series 4/5 stars each. There was just something about it that did not entrance me the way the previous four did.The entire series earned a 4/5 stars from me, though, and I give that rating happily. For reasons unclear to me right now, the fifth book didn't really 'do it' for me, but the series definitely did and I highly recommend it.Most of the characters that we know and love developed further in Crystal Crowned: some made us cry, some made us cheer, some pissed us off. When I say us, I obviously mean me, but I feel better imagining that I'm not the only one who felt this way. The Biggest Character Development Award goes to Vhalla. Aldrik came a long way since the first book, but Vhalla came farthest. The Vhalla I read in Crystal Crowned was a completely different character while still displaying the finest qualities of the library apprentice we all started reading about. And the best thing about her complex, five-story arc, was that it was natural and not only because of the situations and environments she was forced into, but because it's who fate needed her to be, who she would always become since her first day. This series spoke of destiny and fate, and I was not disappointed in the journey Vhalla took to reach her full potential and achieve her destiny.Crystal Crowned felt slower to me than the previous books. That might be why it took me so long to get through it unlike the others. The beginning started off slow, attempting to start and end storylines all at once, and didn't pick up speed until the last quarter or so. The story was told in distinct sections that almost seemed to correlate with the locations they inhabited.In line with the pacing and the distinct sections of the story, one of the more interesting sections was near the end and didn't last nearly as long as I felt it should have. It seemed like it could have been a great storyline for this final book. Because I try to review without spoilers, I'll just say that this involved Vhalla and Victor (not romantically, gag). #VhaldrikSpeaking of #Vhaldrik, the romance between them had also slowed down and became even less of a focus in Crystal Crowned. This time, the focus was on their love maturing more than their love making. While I was disappointed in this (Hahahahaha, I am #Vhaldrik trash through and through) it was nice to see this well-developed relationship come to a point that's been building since page one. Crystal Crowned seemed to focus more on their relationship as Emperor and future Empress, which was expected (and good), but just not what I was used to and expecting from this final installment.Now I know this review might seem more negative than positive, but just know that I did enjoy Crystal Crowned and definitely the series as a whole. The ending of Water's Wrath set up a hard journey for our cast of characters and seeing how it played out was important for me, as a reader, in my own journey to closure with the series. While I can't say that I felt each character experienced their own closure, the book did end in a satisfying way that left me asking a minimum number of questions, but still wanting more--not so much so that I needed to harass Elise Kova for more details and a spin-off series, though (Mind you, I did consider it and I do need a spin-off).And on one last final note, I know you aren't supposed to judge books by their covers, but this series has the most beautiful covers that you can totally judge the books by. The covers are the reason I first looked into Air Awakens and I don't regret it one bit. So. freaking. beautiful.

I'm going to keep this short, as we all know I love this series. I've reviewed each and every book right here in the last year, and if you've made it this far, you're already going to read it.That, or you're waiting to find out if you should start it, if the end is worth it.Yes.I'll sum up three of the best aspects of this series as a whole.FIRST. The character development is amazing. I started out seeing myself in Vhalla, to the extent that I became known as Actually Vhalla Yarl when talking with Kova and some other bloggers. However, this changed over time. Vhalla grew enormously, and she became the kind of fierce, determined, compassionate leader that I want to be. She became my role model. Aldrik also changed a lot, starting off as a dark, brooding, distant prince and become a strong, kind and caring man that I am even more in love with.SECOND. The world building is insane. Kova designed the entire continent, thinking about the physical landscapes, the customs and cultures, the histories, the languages... Historical events came up in conversation and affected the present. Even the future was tied in. She made this world complete, but she also left some mystery in there surrounding the world outside the empire. Here's hoping there's a reason for that!THIRD. Kova planned these books down to the tiniest detail. These weren't just sequential substories. No, this was one big intertwining tale, with crumbs left throughout the series leading up to the big finale in Crystal Crowned. When I started Air Awakens, I had no idea where the story would go. I was not expecting the massive twists that would be thrown at me along the way.I only have two niggles about Crystal Crowned. One, I didn't like what happened to Daniel. It kills me. Did he have to be cast aside like that? Two, the writing style seemed different from the first four books, and while it wasn't bad, the difference quirked me a little. Oh, and while this is shelved as Young Adult, I would personally put it in New Adult, as Vhalla is 18+ from halfway through the first book, and Aldrik is in his 20s! Other than that, though, I loved it!Final verdict? Should you read this series? If you love big, epic, high fantasies and elemental magic, you have to.

I wanted this to be better than it was, but it just felt like a fan-service where we got to see all the cute things happen and then there was 10% of saving the world. And of course it was missing Baldair who didn't need to die in the last book at all. Also Aldrick and Vhalla make me a little bit ill with how mushy they are. They're THAT couple that are all over each other in front of their friends, have an argument in front of those friends, get all moody with each other and complain to those friends, then make up and are mushy all over again. I seriously don't know how anyone didn't say anything to them... Except for the fact they're the Emperor and Empress... Still. Also, why you gotta try and spoil Jax for? He's a good character and now I have to hate him? I loved this series for the characters more than the story, but they just weren't there this time. I missed the friendships and not having Aldrick be like "my love, I love you, my lady, you are the champion of everything" makes me sick. In conclusion, less mush, bring back the characters I love, and the resurrection of Baldair please.

I would have given this 5 stars but I felt this lacked the strength and depth of the other books, but this may be because I had to wait for this one whilst I got to read the others one after the other, so I might have just lost my flow. Anyway if your umming and ahhhring about getting this one just buy it. My one quelm is that the ending could have been stronger, oh and the baddy less cliché, oh and a better sense of time passing which would explain the characters development.Aside from that I was/am reading a similar yet IMO better series (Sarah J Mass) alongside this one and got them a little confused as they both have female heroines.

I adored this series, so much that I read all 5 books in a week!The main character was so relatable that you couldn't help but bond with her from the get go. It has a fantastic romance arc that continues through all the books keeping you unsure of what will happen.This series is heartbreaking and yet uplifting at the same time and I couldn't recommend it more!

Liked everything about these books would recommend