Let the Sky Fall - Shannon Messenger

Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger
Genre: YA Fantasy

Blurb (on back of book): Vane Weston should have died in the category-five tornado that killed his parents. Instead, he woke up in a pile of rubble with no memories of his past — except one: a beautiful, dark-haired girl standing in the winds. She swept through his dreams ever since, and he clings to the hope that she's real.
Audra is real, but she isn't human. She's a sylph, an air elemental who can walk on the wind, translate its alluring songs, even twist it into a weapon. She's also a guardian — Vane's guardian — and has sworn an oath to protect him at all costs.
When a hasty mistake reveals their location to the enemy who murdered both their families, Audra has just days to help Vane unlock his memories. And as the storm winds gather, Audra and Vane start to realize that the greatest danger might not be the warriors coming to destroy them, but the forbidden romance growing between them.

MY OPINION: ****

While this is my second time reading this book, I don't seem to recall having written a review about it, which means that I read this for the first time around three or four years ago. The first time I read it, I marked it five-stars and left it at that. Now, as an older reader, I have changed my opinion about the book, but still found it fairly enjoyable and am interested in reading the rest of the series. I don't recall ever having finished the series the first time but this time around, I am more committed to reading all three.

Shannon Messenger has always been a favorite author of mine, since the time I first read the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. This is her first and only Young Adult series, I believe, and I found it entertaining and unique and romantic.

Vane, seemingly a human, is not a human (duh) and is instead what their world calls "sylphs", or "Windwalkers". He's survived a category-five tornado that his parents didn't, and he believes it's because of this dream girl he's seen for a decade in his sleep.

Audra is a sylph and she's also the girl that Vane constantly sees in his dreams. She can control the wind because she basically is the wind. She's a guardian sworn to protect Vane's life.

Audra makes a mistake that alerts the bad guys to where she and Vane are and suddenly, their world is put into danger. Audra has to teach Vane the four languages of the winds (Northerly, Easterly, Southerly, and Westerly) before Raiden (the antagonist) and his Stormers come and tear up the world. However, Audra only knows the first three languages because nobody knows Westerly.

Vane is the last Westerly, meaning that he has to figure out a way to trigger the language to save the world. He's also betrothed to this girl named Solana once he defeats the bad guys and becomes king. However, he and Audra can't fight their connection and soon realize that they might be falling in love (though Vane is 83905943758379 more times blunt than Audra about his feelings).

Audra has been torturing herself with guilt for years because she believes that she killed Vane's parents. Vane has had his memories wiped, though, and doesn't remember anything.

Overall, it's a complicated romance, complicated plot, and worthwhile to read, as it's a unique and original fantasy romance.

The writing is superb, as per usual of Messenger, and I would highly recommend this to readers looking for a different fantasy young adult read.

Main Character: Vane, Audra
Sidekick(s): Gavin, etc
Villain(s): Mother, Stormers, Raiden, etc
Fantasy Elements: This book is based on a fanatic world, characters, and creatures.