Interview & ARC Review: Air (Elements of Power #3) by Heather James

Title: Air
Author: Heather James
Series: Elements of Power #3

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads

Air.
I needed air.
I was gasping, but my lungs refused to take any in.
Jasmine's world is crumbling around her. Still reeling from the discovery of her parents' identities, she is forced to face the repercussions of her actions in the Helian Realm, while her beloved home is besieged by Helian attackers. And she still can't control her powers.
Roxy is confronted by the realisation that she has travelled across the Realms for a boy who thinks she betrayed him. A boy dating the girl who sold her out. And even while freezing in the Arcan Realm it seems she can't escape Cinaer's grasp.
Time is running out for the girls to save the world - and the boy - they love. But to have any chance of defeating Cinaer, they are going to have to work together. Cinaer is on a warpath and he's not giving up until he has secured the Helian throne - even if he has to reduce the Arcan Realm to dust in the process.

My body was in heat mode, charged up from all the fire in the air. It felt as though I was sucking energy from the flames themselves, taking in their heat, their warmth, their danger...

Jasmine’s journey has come to an end.

After travelling through the Realms, Jasmine and Roxy will have to come to terms with what they have both discovered. All Jasmine wanted was to find out who her parents were while Roxy wanted to fit in.

But the problems are never ending for the girls.

The enemy is no one else than Cin, Roxy’s ex. If he is to have the Helian throne, then he must have the Helian princess at his side. Does it matter that Roxy wants nothing to do with him or that the Archan’s have no plan of releasing her? Well no because Cin won’t stop until he has her.

Roxy never expected to be held prisoner in the Archan Realm but if that means spending time with Brae then she’s not going to complain. The only downside, Jasmine. Jasmine has regretted leaving Roxy behind and she’s even willing to sacrifice her “friendship” with Brae to make up for her mistake.

Among the lies, new alliances begin to form and new relationships flourish. Will they survive the impending war?

This didn’t feel like an end! I loved the book but the end was more like a new beginning for Jasmine and Roxy. All of their obstacles were tackled and just when the time came to finally plan their future, the book ended.

Truth be told, we do get a taste of what Roxy’s future will hold but for Jasmine, nothing’s for sure. In the end, she still struggles to find her place in the Realms. What I loved was the fact that Jasmine has truly moved on from Brae. There are some awesome scenes with her and Tristan, the Sephan Realm’s new president that left a lot to be desired.

Just as the previous books, the book is told by dual POVs. We get to see what both Roxy and Jasmine think and their motives for acting as they do. We also get to see many other characters and of course Queen Aurelian and General Emmerich LeMark.

All in all, it was an amazing book but it just didn’t feel like an end to me. Jasmine was such a kind person and a great heroine while Roxy wasn’t half as bad as she wanted to make others think. I can’t say that the girls were perfect but they totally won me over.

A worth reading book!

Totally recommended!

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

Interview

1) Can you tell us a bit about your main characters? How did you come up with their names?

Roxy - When we first meet Roxy in Fire, she's confident, feisty and not all that likeable! She's used to being in control and thinking of herself as the most powerful person in the room. But over the course of the series she sees her assumptions constantly challenged and she has to grow up a lot. She's still just as confident and feisty by the end, but she's hopefully much easier to like too.

Jasmine - In some ways, Jasmine goes on an opposite journey to Roxy. She begins Fire with a lot of self-doubt and a very big secret, but ends it with a decision which I know turned many readers against her. Air sees her confront her past mistakes and learn to have confidence in herself and her own ability.

Jasmine is much stronger by the end of the series, whereas Roxy has learnt the vulnerability and softness aren't such terrible character traits to possess.

Roxy's name came quite easily as it just seemed perfect for her, whereas Jasmine's changed a few times before I settled on something that felt right.

2) How did you come up with this whole new world and realms? 

The world evolved around the concept of the elemental powers. I tried to create realms which would fit their elements, so the Helian Realm has a second sun and a volcano, the Arcan Realm in mountainous and cold, the Brizan Realm is made up of archipelagos and the Sephan Realm is wooded and rural. At the beginning of the series, I had quite a detailed outline of the Helian Realm since that was where the main part of the action took place and I developed the other realms more as the series progressed.

3) Can you please explain the names of the Realms?

Helian Realm - I took Helian from 'Helios', the Greek god of the sun. It suited the fiery nature of the Realm and linked nicely to the fact that they have a second sun.

Arcan Realm - 'Arcus' is the Latin word for rainbow. I guess this name has the weakest link with its element, other than the fact that rainbows are found in the sky, but I really liked it.

Brizan Realm - Brizo is the Greek goddess of sailors, which I felt was really fitting for the water realm.

Sephan Realm - I took 'Sephan' from 'Persephone', a Greek goddess associated with vegetation and spring. She was also taken down into the underworld by Hades, which I think provides a nice 'earth' link.

4) Was there a scene in this book that was harder to write than others?

Jasmine's encounter with Emmanuel was one of the hardest scenes to get right and I tried quite a few different scenarios. The very last chapter took a while too - I'm so used to ending on cliff hangers that getting the right tone for a proper ending was really hard! My first draft of Air was missing the final chapter entirely and I didn't write it until much later.

5) What does the future hold for Roxy and Jasmine?

[Definite spoilers in this answer] I think Roxy would definitely end up staying with Brae, with Avery eventually taking over the Helian Realm instead of her. Jasmine stays in the Brizan Realm with her mum (falling in love and marrying another Brizan - I don't see her ultimately ending up with Tris). She travels to the Arcan Realm a lot though, to see Brae, Roxy and her family. And she has Imogen with her in the Brizan Realm too.

6) What was your favorite scene in this book?

This is hard as I love so many of them! I really loved writing the opening of the book, as Roxy is in a completely different emotional place and I had a lot of fun with her chapters. I also loved getting to write Cin scenes again - I missed him in Water!

7) What are you currently working on? Are you planning on releasing another book this year?

I am currently working on a futuristic/dystopian book, posting the rough draft on Wattpad as I go. It's based around the concept of direct democracy, where everyone gets to vote on EVERYTHING - from the way the country is run to the colour everyone should be wearing. It's giving me the chance to write a very different kind of hero to Brae, which I'm enjoying. http://www.wattpad.com/story/9525795-amber-%26-ice

About The Author

Heather James is a young-adult author who writes about heroines with amazing powers, heroes who will break your heart and fantasy realms that you will want to move to. 

She works as a librarian in a school and spends her school holidays writing, reading, playing flag-American football and baking.

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