Vane Weston the miracle kid! Vane should've died with his parents in the storm when he was still a child, but instead he woke up and got another chance at life. What Vane didn't know is that he controlled his fate all along. Without memories, Vane touches in the dark to why he's the only one to survive in a tornado category-five. What he doesn't know is that there has been someone around all along that has the answers. He even sees her in his dreams...Audra doesn't seem real, and she absolutely isn't a human. She's a sylph and controls the wind, bends it to her needs and whispers to it while controlling it. She has sworn to protect him all along. It isn't until the wind reveals their location that they're forced to run from the treat that's been searching them for years. Only unlocking Vane's memories will give the answers and will safe their lives...
Let's jump in immediately and start with Vane! All his memories are totally wiped, he explains what happened to him and how he absolutely can't remember anything anymore. It's because of his explanation that we get a clear view on how he's feeling about all the memory loss: bad. Vane feels as if he hated his parents or as if they didn't love him and he therefore erased his memories after they died. Although he's living a good life with a new pair of parents who love them and new friends, you can feel he's really suffering from all that he has lost after the storm. The storm also made him question why he lived and others didn't.
When Audra comes along, she immediately bombards him with secrets, pieces of his memories that he has lost and also that there is danger. This will lead to the training of Vane. During his training, other fascinating characteristics of Vane will come to the surface, such as his lack of concentration and his weaknesses. It'll bring a few funny moments, especially if you read the chapter with his thoughts. He's a pretty funny guy but knows when things need to get serious. Even after all the things he discovered, the reader will develop some form of respect because he takes it all in so easily and won't let anyone hurt his family and friends in the valley.
This training will give us a much clearer view on, as I already mentioned, his weaknesses too and this is a facet I was very keen on. Especially because we then get to see how he will turn them into strengths. We really discovered Vane and also saw him grow in a very strong young man that would do anything to find out the truth about his past but at the same time will do anything to protect his loved ones. This character was absolutely great.
At the other side of Vane we find Audra, the sylph. A sylph is a mythical creature that can control the winds. She can bend them, she will send them, she will do all sorts of crazy with them. The first thing we notice about Audra is that she keeps a lot inside. We don't form a very clear view of her at the beginning because she doesn't want to share. She speaks in riddles and it's for the reader to find out what she means. Other things we immediately will see with this character is her toughness. She's been training her whole life to protect Vane from everything, even girls! She takes her job very serious but there is a certain reason for her to be this serious.
The guilt. Further in the story, Audra will have to come clean about certain things and we get a clearer view on what it is that's really weighing her down. The thing really drags on her and doesn't make her enjoy life at the fullest. Also, her mother gives her a very hard time because of what happened with her father and this will affect her a lot more. This creates a whole new side of Audra as she suffers from the past and guilt is really eating her away. I loved to see her open up this much, but I also loved how strong she was and how she had the upper hand in this book.
What I was absolutely keen on was that Audra and Vane are totally opposites of each other. They did share a past together and Audra's been in his life from the very beginning until now but Vane just never really knew (with his memories wiped and so on). He did dream a lot of her but never thought she was real until the treat presents itself and she stops hiding to train him. I just loved the fact that they didn't agree on everything and that it took Audra all her frustrations to get him to concentrate. All the encounters they'll make will have the seriousness of Audra but also the cockiness and hilarity Vane has in his characters. These two will mend together and influence each other a lot. It creates a funny vibe to the story but still the trill of training and getting stronger for the end battle. These two characters also share the same kind of loss and therefore will bond together much more easily after they get used to each others traits.
There aren't a lot of characters that'll be very important for the story to understand. These two will really create the story on its own and other characters are nice bystanders that do come around a few times but not that much. I personally didn't think this was a problem because I never got bored by Audra and Vane but others might feel these two are not enough to base the whole story on. As I said, a few will come around such as the mother of Audra which will be important near the end, as well as the parents of Vane and a few friends but it's not as if they came around each few chapters. As for the plot, it wasn't boring to me. The biggest part of the book will all be about training but during this training we of course will get to know a lot of stuff that'll make our heads spin! What I was fond of in the beginning was that Audra knew everything and held all the cards. The book alternates between a chapter in the head of Audra and then a chapter in the head of Vane, this causes us to be confused in the first few chapters of Audra. She talks about all these things in riddles and we don't understand what she talks about at all. When Vane and Audra finally meet and she finally starts to explain we'll finally understand her better. I absolutely loved it for me to be lost in those first few chapters because it made you feel like Vane. This was a great asset!
What I just thought in general that was a great asset to Let the Sky Fall is the whole "windwalker-I'm-a-sylph" kind of thing. It was a very refreshing creature to find in a book. I haven't come across anything like it, you might have if you did make sure to comment it so I can look into it because the whole controlling wind thing... it's amazing! The author had this big thought around it and had four winds that each had their own whispers and languages, it also had its own characteristics and so on Shannon Messenger sure knew where to go with it. She did it big and it was fantastic.
The plot really explains each and every wind and what is so special about them. It'll also make sure that during the training you will know how they control wind which I thought was really cool to understand. It wasn't just "she send a blast of wind", Audra and Vane will make sure you know what kind of winds or forms of winds (such as a pipeline,...) work and how they created them. I really loved discovering this new concept in this book!
So mainly, as I already said, the book concentrates on the training and learning about the whole system but during this training will also see the characters grow. We'll find out memories from the past, we'll understand why Audra doesn't let her guard down, how Vane will become strong and so on. It might seem boring, more than half of a book as training but during these moments we'll learn so much it's just interesting to read.
Also the characteristics of the characters will create a laughable and funny vibe it is hard to think it's boring. If that isn't enough, I kind of start to ship them! But we'll soon learn that my ship is sinking to the bottom of the earth after we learn certain things... or not? Who will tell? They just had a very comfortable vibe hanging around them too. It just made things easy to read, you felt at ease just like the other two characters and I was really up for that.
And then... the moment we all waited on! The treat has been located! After being at ease and comfortable you'll be ready for battle! Audra becomes very strong and serious, even Vane knows when it's time to get tough. The ease will drain away and you'll be in the storm yourself. The comfort you were in will turn into this thrill of defeating the stormers, the enemies. The reason they're attacking is because they want Vane. He's a very important character, even more important once you understand why they need to win this battle. But all will get clear while you read it, believe me!
I was just very fond of the battle scene because of the storm that was created by the author. You're really dragged into it, you'll feel everything like the characters are experiencing it. You know what would be a nice asset? If you could actually feel the wind rage! I mean, the descriptions are great and I loved how well you felt the thrill through the characters. It was a very nice scene, although I would've liked some more action. The more the better! I'm not disappointed, I just wanted more.
But the plot will take a few unexpected turns after that and these will make up for it. The reader might think things are over at the end of the battle but they're not. There will be plot twists and these will create an ending I never expected at all. All this time we were blinded by the heavy emotions that we could've never see this coming. Speaking of the surprising factor! All of this will conclude into a very swoony, awh-kind-of ending and will be open for discussion! It was, to be fair, a more open ending, I still had so many questions but they will not be answered until the next book. Was I disappointed? Also that is up for discussion. All I know is that I want the next book!
It's fair to say I really was fond of Let the Sky Fall. The author creates a very new concept for me with the characters controlling the wind and whispering to it and this was something I absolutely grew to adore. The characters were also very well written and also total opposites of each other which create funny, laughable moments but will also make sure that the characters will develop a lot! The plot was very comfortable and easy to read, mainly concentrating on training and, as a reader, discovering all there is to the sylphs alongside Vane only to end with a ball of thrill, fighting, the wind raging and a few unexpected plot twists. Let the Sky Fall ends in a more open ending which I'm not sure I'm all that pleased with but it does certainly lead to go and want the next book! I really enjoyed it a lot and really recommend it to everyone who's open for controlling the wind and discovering a whole new world."Come to me swiftly, carry no trace. Lift me softly, then flow and race."
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