Aire by Lena Goldfinch

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Aire by Lena Goldfinch 3 Stars 

Goodreads Synopsis: 
Annalisia is a seer, a princess with a courageous spirit—and a soft spot for Legends. Jovanni is a Legend, a commoner with no patience for pampered royals.

Principessa Annalisia is stunned and conscience-stricken when an unknown enemy mistakenly abducts her maidservant. Determined to find the girl, Annalisia disguises herself as plain Anna and slips away from the palace. She tracks down Jovanni, her maidservant's daring older brother, and they soon begin to search together. As they uncover clues, Anna also discovers a kindred spirit in Jovanni. But would he be so free with her if he knew who she really was? Doubtful. Even so, she reveals her secret gift of visions to him, and in so doing disobeys the orders of her beloved grandmother, the queen.
 When she learns that he also has a secret—he's a sentinel, an ancient shapeshifter who can take the form of a falcon—it seems as if they were destined to be together, as in the legends of il Sentiro. Though Anna is tempted to wish otherwise, she can’t forget that she’s a princess and it's her duty to marry another. Meanwhile, their hunt leads Anna ever closer to danger, for she herself is being hunted.

A princess and a commoner.  They never should have fallen in love...but they did.

Isalla

Cover: Pretty 
Rating: PG
Overall: Pretty Good 
Characters:  Jovanni, Ilan, Anna
Page Turner:  Sometimes
Series Cont.?  No
Recommend:  To some
Book Boyfriend: Jovanni
Genre: Young Adult 
Sex Scenes: NOPE
Setting: Isalla 

Overall -- so first off I got the book for free in exchange to give an honest review. Im not certain I like this book, and Im still figuring that out. The book is good, its well written, with just enough mystery, action and love to keep me entertained.  I feel bad giving it only 3 stars, because there isnt one thing I can put my finger on to make it a bad book, I just didnt love it. Part of the issue, for me, is that I think it is a little outside of my typical genre. Given that though, I must say the author did an amazing job with the verse for the time period. I was impressed. Her world building was great too, I just didnt feel completely enthralled with the book.  

Anna

Plot-- The book had a great story line, there werent a lot of "twists" but there were times where I thought, how will this really play out, and I was surprised. I liked that the book moved at a more normal pace, there wasnt a time where it was always action or always love. The story line moved appropriately, both in time and plot. The relationships all seemed very developed. 

Characters- I like Annalise a lot, her character is very likeable. even if she isnt "relateable" in some ways, she is in others, specifically her caring nature, the compassion and empathy that she shows. Anna has a big heart, and a caring soul. It is so very interesting to read from her point of view, to feel what she feels the way she feels torn between her duties and her heart. I think the author captured this lifetime and culture very well. I also really like Ilan. I wondered whether he was in love with the princess or was he just a friend, and Im glad with the way it turned out. He was a good man. 

Jovanni

I loved Jovanni, he was protective, and honest, caring, kind. He is the kind of normal guy, that girls dream about. many times, books glamorize a love story or a male character, but Jovanni was not created and developed that way. Instead he was a normal guy with a good heart who happened to fall in love with the princess. Their love story is so perfect. I love the way it ended.
At first I didnt like the queen but by the end of the book I actually like her, "respect" her even. 

Overall- this is a good light hearted romance with mystery and action intertwined!