Royal Airs
Ratings7
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings7
Average rating3.7
****Master storyteller Sharon Shinn created the thrilling and enduring world of Welce in her acclaimed novel* Troubled Waters*. Return with her to that elemental universe in this tale of secrecy, romance, and a battle for power...***
Josetta is a princess of one of the Five Families. But she is far from the throne, so she is free to spend her days working in the poorest sections of the city.
Rafe Adova, an outcast since he was born, lives the life of a career gambler in those slums. He has no ambition other than cheating at the card tables--until the night he decides to help a girl named Corene, who looks like she's stumbled into the wrong bar.
She, too, is a princess--sister to Josetta, who finds her with Rafe. Josetta has never encountered anyone like him--someone seemingly devoid of elemental blessings--and he fascinates her.
Rafe is drawn to her, though he thinks they are unlikely to ever meet again--but their connection grows strong when she nurses him back to health after he is assaulted by foreign mercenaries. And when they learn the reason he's being hunted, they know that the truth about his history could endanger not only their love but also their very lives...
This description comes from the publisher. *Royal Airs* is the second book in the Elemental Blessings series, the first of which is *Troubled Waters*.
Reviews with the most likes.
This is a tough book to rate - I probably added a gratuitous fourth star just because I was so happy to read a Sharon Shinn book that wasn't part of that dismal shapeshifter series. Royal Airs returns readers to the kingdom of Welce that was introduced three years ago in Troubled Waters. The setting is an intriguing mix of fairy-tale and Industrial Revolution - people have one of five personality types, with portentous blessings associated with each, but, in a more modern touch, rudimentary automobiles are in use and airplanes are being tested (with a great deal of risk).
The hero of the novel, Rafe, is a rootless gambler who learns that he has more to offer than he thought. I liked him a lot, and felt invested in his journey of discovery, but was less enthusiastic about the heroine, Princess Josetta, who was introduced in Waters. She has an admirable dedication to the poor residents of the kingdom, but she doesn't do anything particularly heroic or memorable. She especially pales in comparison to the few glimpses we get of Zoe, the heroine from Waters, who continues to display her awesome ability to control the kingdom's water supply and discern blood relationships by touch. Compared to her, Josetta is a bit of a wimp.
I enjoyed spending time with the characters who were previously introduced, and appreciated re-familiarizing myself with the Welce customs, so I'm going with a four-star rating. The book's ending indicates that at least one more book in this series is planned, although Shinn's website only notes an upcoming shapeshifter novel (ugh) so it may be three years again before we see another Elemental Blessings novel. I hope not - this series has the potential to be as engaging as Shinn's Twelve Houses novels.
Featured Series
3 primary booksElemental Blessings is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2010 with contributions by Sharon Shinn.
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