I had the amazing opportunity to be one of the first bloggers to read and share the synopsis and cover of the first book of an all-new series by author Elise Kova: The Alchemists of Loom. I have mentioned several times before my love for the author, ever since I read Air Awakens I have been following her and have read all the books she has published so far. This time, she introduces us to a whole new world with a steampunk touch and a heroine looking for vengeance, without further due here's all you need to know about The Alchemists of Loom.

(Can we all agree on the fact that Kova always works with very talented and inspiring illustrators? I mean, look at that cover! A "judge it by its cover" post is on its way)

Overview:

**This review contains MINOR spoilers concerning the second book of the Air Awakens series, continue at your own risk.**

Earth's End is the third book in the Air Awakens series, a series that caught me off guard and has me eagerly anticipating its next installment while producing fan art like crazy. So if you haven't started on this series yet, I recommend you do. So, let's begin!

Earth's End starts with Vhalla desperately trying to save Aldrik's life after they both fall off a cliff while trying to make it to the north, now she is determined to save the life of the man she loves no matter the consequences, so she runs, she runs faster and harder than ever before. As I have mentioned in my previous reviews, I like how strong and smart Vhalla is, her love for Aldrik is always pushing her forward, making her better while kicking a**. In this book our heroine has to deal with different emotions and the moral complexity a war implies, as a reader I couldn't but fall more for her character, she has to fight, to kill, in order to get the peace she wants the most and when she is face to face with the enemy she realizes none of them deserve what was brought upon them, they might the enemies and yet they seek for the same, that being freedom; Vhalla now plans for the future, and not only hers but others. I liked how the author decided to portray the northerners by highlighting their humanity because now they are not people lusting for blood, they are humans trying to survive, at some point I almost felt like switching sides, I felt sorry for them and my despise for the emperor grew exponentially.

Romance is in the air -get it?- and things between our two main characters get steamy and hot, pretty hot; one of the things I like the most is that Vhalla isn't a pure innocent girl waiting to be rescued, she has flaws and a past she isn't ashamed to admit, in fact, she owns to it and her prince respects that, for he himself has a past too. Aldrik and Vhalla are a great team and they fight as one, it is almost as if they were one being with 8 limbs, they complete each other so well that I wish we could get more scenes like this because they are simply amazing making the battle scenes fast paced and gory. 

After taking a step forward, The Dark Prince tries to be as close to the Windwalker as he possibly can, they are practically inseparable and people start to notice and to talk about it, making the emperor's dislike for Vhalla grow larger than ever making him the real villain of the story again by not wanting them to be together. I am not quite sure how I feel about this, as much as I liked their romance at first, towards the end I felt it was too codependent and the book was too focused on it when I was expecting there to be more action once they made it to the front. Also, the whole plotline with the axe gets a little left behind making it feel little to non-important at all when it was an important quest given to Vhalla at the end of book one, it obviously hasn't been a priority so I am wondering the role it is going to play.

Have you guys started on this series yet? Which book has been your favorite so far? Let me know in the comments below.

This review may contain minor spoilers regarding the first book of the Air Awakens series. Continue at your own risk.

This series has positioned itself as my favorite series of the moment, it has elemental magic, romance and several kick-ass moments that make it simply irresistible. Fire Falling continues the story of our favorite -and so far only- Windwalker, Vhalla Yarl, after losing her freedom to the empire; she is now considered a weapon and not a person, she marches to war in order to win her freedom back by winning the emperor's long lasting war.

Now, things get a little complicated here, Vhalla being a Windwalker is considered a threat to all, people judge her by the events transcurred at the end of Air Awakens and even though she wasn't the one to blame no one seems to believe her, they all despise and fear her. Vhalla really grows as a character, she has to be trained to be able to survive, to become a warrior and with it, the monster they all think she is. I am amazed, Vhalla is all I want my main characters to be, she does get affected by the circumstances surrounding her and is obligated to change, for better or worse.

The elemental magic is my favorite part of this series, the way it works and how elements differ from each other not only because their essence but what it allows others to do with it: creating illusions, healing, among others. We get to know more about it by meeting new characters or reading about them training, though not as much as I would have liked to, I feel most parts in this book were oriented to develop relationships between characters and we got not much world building. Also, even though Vhalla's quest to finding the Axe didn't go anywhere there was a lot of action, gory action, which I honestly liked, Fire Falling makes Vhalla badass.

The relationship between Aldrik and Vhalla is, of course, an important plot line in the story and all I can say about it is that what was cemented on book 1 gets to grow in book 2, things between them get a little complicated and some new characters may shake things a little; not to mention the Emperor's despise for Vhalla forces Aldrik to consider every move he makes in order to protect her from his father. Guys, they have become my OTP, their relationship is beautiful.

One of the best parts of this book has to be the ending, it got me like "what?!" but in a good way; it was unexpected and I had to lay in bed for a couple of minutes in order to able to process it. And here I am now, wondering where is the author going to take us next, what will happen to Aldrik and Vhalla, if their relationship will become serious or if there is going to be a relationship at all. But more importantly: will Vhalla complete her secret quest? And if she does, how is this going to affect the war?

Have you guys started this series yet? If you could be a bearer of elemental magic, which element would you choose? Let me know in the comments below.