A Fall From Grace

Honestly, I'm glad I'm almost done this series. What should have been a triumphant return to the Air Awakens series, and a new way for people to get interested and excited, has only left me completely disappointed.

This book, much like it's earlier versions, feels as thought nothing has happened until the very end. There is something about this series that it tends to have huge cliffhangers with every book that get resolved pretty easily in the first couple chapters of the next book. Then nothing happens until the last two chapters again. I am over it, to be honest.

The pacing has just been so off in all of these novels - with many months being thrown away in a single line to the characters not doing anything for weeks at a time. I was really disappointed with the pacing in this banking on nostalgia and hope that some of the "previews" from the other series coming to fruition.

I think the worst part was that there was no payoff from the slow pace of this book. This book suffered from a lot of waiting, impulsive decisions, and eventually a rather large I-told-you-so. I get Vi’s character is supposed to be hard-headed, driven, and hopeful, but she toes the line into idiocy on more than a few occasions. More often than not I found myself frustrated by her actions, which seemed more petulant and immature than anything.

The characters have barely grown or changed over time and as the series has gone on, they've become more and more one-dimensional. I don't find myself caring about any of the "new" characters we are introduced to, but rather making sure the characters from the original Air Awakens series are still able to live their best lives. But that shouldn't be how it is - it should interest me to know what Vi is up to or keeping the rest of the characters alive.

I just feel like this book was ultimately a placeholder and a way to ‘meet’ Fiera and an alternate Tiberus than the despicable bastard we’re all so familiar with in Air Awakens. Seeing a kinder side to hated characters is another thing I’m not fond of in stories, and both that and the time travel thing are entirely subjective preferences on my part. I don't like the idea that the original novels or characters could be "tainted" by the time travel even though I know that means we have seen only "one" of the 93 timelines.

Taavin is once again in the book. He plays his usual role as the voice of reason - no pun intended, and is the overly cautious counterpoint to Vi’s recklessness. I don’t mind Taavin’s character in the capacity he serves as the Voice, but I can’t buy into the romance. We’re just glossing over the end events of Failed Future, but it’s fine because new world? I don’t know. Neither Vi not Taavin were particularly enjoyable characters in this one, and then together just grated.

I will finish this series because I've invested a lot of time and money into the audiobooks but I'm not sure that this is one I would recommend to people - even those who are die hard Air Awakens fans. I do hope that the A Trial of Sorcerers series is better, since it takes place in the same world, but I'm not holding my breath.

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