Title: Crystal Caged (Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles #5)

Author: Elise Kova

Pub. Date: March 14

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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The highly anticipated and breathtaking finale of Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles by USA Today bestselling author Elise Kova.

One way or another… she will be the end of the world.

With powers that weren’t supposed to be touched by mortal hands, Vi Solaris is determined to free herself and the world from the deadly vortex it’s trapped in. This mission has taken her to forbidden lands and has transformed her from a sheltered princess to a fearsome warrior.

But the ultimate triumph requires the ultimate sacrifice, forcing Vi to choose between the last tethers to her humanity and the very people she’s sworn to protect.

Vi’s story of magic, sacrifice, triumph, and love reaches its epic conclusion in Crystal Caged. 

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This will be a spoiler free review and thank you to Elise for providing a copy for review! I’m super grateful to have had the chance to read it early. If you’re interested, you can read my reviews for the first 4 books – Vortex Visions / Chosen Champion / Failed Future / Sovereign Sacrifice.

It’ll probably come as no surprise to any of you, but once again, Elise has blown it out of the park.

While it’s incredibly bittersweet that this is the final book in the Air Awakens Series, I really couldn’t have asked for a better conclusion. The initial Air Awakens series is one of my all-time favorite fantasy series. I love it so much, the world, the characters, basically everything about it. So, when Elise announced the Vortex Chronicles, I was super excited to see what happened next.

So much happened next.

I had no idea what I would experience with this series. I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea exactly what Elise was planning, and with her twist/reveal at the end of Failed Future I was so excited and unsure and ultimately blown away. What Elise did with this series, especially the latter half, and more importantly the final book, can be so hard to pull off, and pull off correctly.

This should also come as no surprise to you, Elise pulled it off spectacularly.

Crystal Caged was, overall, a very good book. I really enjoyed how it closed out the series, the world, the characters…it made me want to go back and reread all the books prior to it. I loved the alternate viewpoint, and the lens we got to view the Air Awakens world through. I loved the change in Vi, the maturity, the way she toes the line of what needs to happen, and what can just happen. It’s hard to talk about exactly what goes down in this book, if you haven’t read the ones prior. This book is a giant freaking spoiler on so many fronts.

While you can read the Vortex Chronicles without having read Air Awakens, or the Golden Guard Trilogy, I highly, highly recommend that you do, before you pick this book up. Like, I can’t emphasize it enough. If you don’t care about spoilers, you do you. If you’re someone who cares, read the initial series, and the trilogy first. Or at least The Crown’s Dog.

I want to talk about this book – so badly.

I want to blab all about it in this review, all the things I loved.

I won’t, I said no spoilers.

But there were so many interactions and moments that I loved, and moments that made me emotional. I loved the ending of this book, how it all concludes, and the journey Vi goes on.

I wholly loved this book, but I did find it a * little * bit slow at the beginning. I don’t think it’s a negative, and it doesn’t last for long. Vi very much plays a waiting game – that’s all I’ll say – so obviously the plot isn’t rushing past at a breakneck speed. Once the ball starts rolling, it very quickly picks up and I couldn’t put the book down. Pretty sure I read the whole thing in like 5 hours, with only bathroom breaks.

I’m sad that this series, with these characters is over. It will forever be one of my favorite series, and I recommend it to everyone. Seriously, if you haven’t read the Air Awakens and/or Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles, you’re missing out, and doing yourself a disservice. Elise is a master at creating intricate worlds, diverse casts of characters, and plots that keep you engaged and anticipating what might come next…even if it hurts. While this might be the end of this group of characters, Elise has announced a new project! It’s set in the Air Awakens World and it’s called A Trial of Sorcerers. I know nothing about this book except what Elise included in her Tower Guard Newsletter.

Like I said, I know next to nothing about this book, but I’m already so damn excited for it. While I’ll miss Aldrik, Vhalla, Vi and Taavin, I’m looking forward to meeting this new cast of characters, and undoubtedly falling in love with them.

Check out Crystal Caged when it’s released on March 14, 2020 and go with Vi as she finishes her journey to stop the vortex from spinning! You won’t want to miss it!