Audio #Review: VORTEX VISIONS by Elise Kova

VORTEX VISIONS

Author: Elise Kova

Series: Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles #1
Source: Purchased from Audible
Publisher: Silver Wing Press
Publication Date: February 4, 2019
Overall Rating:

Summary:

A desperate princess, a magical traveler, and a watch that binds them together with the fate of a dying world.

Vi Solaris is the heir to an Empire she’s barely seen. Her parents sacrificed a life with her to quell a rebellion and secure peace with a political alliance. Now, three years past when her wardship should’ve ended, Vi will do anything to be reunited with her family.

The Empire is faltering beneath the burden of political infighting and a deadly plague. Yet, Vi can’t help but wonder if her inability to control her magic is the true reason her parents haven’t brought her home. Suspicion becomes reality when she unleashes powers she’s not supposed to have.

Powers that might well cost her the throne.

As Vi fights to get her magic under control, a mysterious stranger appears from across the world. He holds the keys to unlocking her full potential, but the knowledge has an unspeakable price — some truths, once seen, cannot be ignored.

All eyes are on her and Vi must make the hardest choice of her life: Play by the rules and claim her throne. Or, break them and save the world.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Warning! This book and review may contain spoilers for the AIR AWAKENS series! You can read my reviews for those:

Reading Vortex Visions was like coming home. I didn't realize how much I missed the Air Awakens world until I started reading this. After taking a bit of a break from Kova's work after reading through the Loom Saga, I am coming back and reading through ALL of the stuff I missed. That means Vortex Chronicles, Married to Magic, A Trial of Sorcerers, and the Wish Quartet.

Honestly, part of me put this off because I was like "what if the revisit to the world isn't that great" and I was concerned that reopening a "closed" story would cause me to not love the first series as much. But that's definitely not the case. So if you're scared about that like I was, don't fear!

I thought it was a nice tie into the old and the new by having characters like Jax be present from the beginning, but it was definitely a bit of a slow start over all. The plot itself was really interesting and I liked seeing the new magic system, tying in some pieces from Air Awakens that went under discovered, and meeting new characters (like Jayme, but I mighttt be biased).

I liked Vi and felt her internal struggle, but there were some times that I felt she was making bad choices - ones that didn't seem to really make sense except to move the plot forward.

I would have liked a bit more time spent on the ending because some of the middle felt like "filler" but knowing how Elise writes, I'm sure this will all come back around.

In terms of the audio, I really liked the narrator and thought it was well-read and well-paced. I liked hearing the names being read aloud because I know some of them would have tripped me up. It was also nice to hear the "accents" of people that I have read about before and learning how the different areas spoke.

I can't wait to continue with this series!