Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger

Vane Weston is the "Miracle Child" who survived a freak tornado that killed his parents and several other people. He doesn't remember anything from that day, except the face of a girl who haunts his dreams. But the girl in his dreams - Audra - is real and she is a guardian who has pledged to keep him safe from warriors who seek him. When a mistake reveals Vane's location, Audra has to tell him the truth: she's a sylph and so is he. Now they have a limited amount of time for Vane to come to terms with his heritage, learn the skills he needs to survive, and to remember the past, before it catches up with him.

The sequel, Let the Storm Break, will be released in March 2014.

This story is told from both Vane's and Audra's points of view, which gives each of them quite a bit of depth throughout the book. I found it interesting that the air elementals are the main characters and I was curious to find out what would happen, although parts of the story are a little predictable. I would recommend this series to fantasy fans who enjoy stories about magical creatures in the real world and romance.

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Living Violet, the Trylle trilogy, Wicked Lovely, or Carrier of the Mark

Elemental Masters Series by Mercedes Lackey

I have mentioned this series before, but I realized that I never actually reviewed the main body of books. These books are all historical (several include actual historical events including World War I and the San Francisco earthquake) and involve the workings of magic within the 'real world' on the premise that magic can be wielded by persons with a particular excess of an element (earth, air, fire, water) by summoning and using elemental spirits. Each of the stories is also a retelling of a fairy tale. Although not technically included in the series, the first is The Fire Rose, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

1. The Serpent's Shadow - In this version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Maya Witherspoon has just moved to London. The daughter of a British doctor and an Indian mother, she has had unique opportunities from living in India and has become a doctor in her own right. Unfortunately, she has not had proper magical training; although a powerful sorceress, her mother claimed that Maya's magic came from her father's world and that Maya would need to learn the craft from a western magician. Now, her parents dead (possibly by foul play), Maya has escaped with an Indian household and seven protective pets to make a life for herself in England. She must not only gain respect as a professional, but must also learn to use her powers before she will need them to protect herself.

2. The Gates of Sleep - The second book tells the story of Marina Roeswood, a girl cursed at birth and sent to live with three artistic 'relatives.' As Elemental Masters themselves, each of Marina's guardians has taught her the basics of the craft. Marina has never met her parents, but enjoys her life in the country, learning about magic and creativity. Her life changes abruptly when her parents die unexpectedly and she is swept away by her father's sister Arachne. Marina must find a way to learn the secrets surrounding her parents and her seclusion in the country before her aunt can bring her evil plot into play.

3. Phoenix and Ashes - Eleanor Robinson is not terribly excited when her father brings home a new wife and stepsisters; when he leaves to fight in the Great War, her stepmother, Alison, takes a firmer hand on the household. Eleanor realizes that something is very wrong the night that they gain word of her father's death when Alison cuts off one of Eleanor's fingers and buries it under a hearthstone with dark Earth magic. Suddenly, Eleanor is subject to all of Alison's whims, tied to the house, and unable to understand her own abilities when she starts to see faces in the fire. Meanwhile, an upper-class neighbor, Reggie Fenyx, has also gone to war. As an Air Master, Reggie has been drawn to the air force and made a name for himself until he encounters an Air Master from the other side. Wounded physically and emotionally, Reggie can no longer call on his powers, nor protect himself from those who mean him harm. Somehow Eleanor and Reggie will have to find a way to help one another before it is too late for both of them to stop the evil in their midst.

4. The Wizard of London - In this retelling of the Snow Queen, Isabelle Harton and her husband Frederick have established a school after returning from India for the children of those abroad who cannot send their children to an upper-crust school and for those who care more about the love and attention the children receive. It is also a school for children with psychical powers that need to be trained since Isabelle, her husband, and several of their staff have the abilities to deal with special children who do have abilities other than those of Elemental Magic. Sarah Jane Lyon-White is one such child, sent to the school from Africa with a protective parrot Grey. Sarah soon befriends a street-urchin named Nan who also has special abilities and is invited into the school. Through a series of events, it appears that children with abilities, particularly Sarah and Nan, may be the targets of attack from an unknown source. Soon, Isabelle must confront unresolved feelings about David Alderscroft - a former friend and the current leader of the local Elemental Masters (nicknamed the Wizard of London) - and Sarah and Nan must learn how to use their undeveloped talents before all is lost.

5. Reserved for the Cat - A retelling of Puss in Boots.

Overall, I really enjoy this series and the characters that are created. In the first three, several of the characters reappear in later books with cameo roles. The fourth, The Magician of London was a bit vague, but based on some of the plot points in the other books, it appears to tell a story that comes before the others in the series, chronologically. Particularly, I like the way that Lackey finds a (relatively) plausible way to recreate fairy tales in the 'real world.' Each of the books has a slightly different feel which causes most readers to prefer certain books over others. For example, in Phoenix and Ashes, Eleanor learns about magic through the use of tarot cards, rather than with a human teacher as in the others; although I do not think this necessarily detracted from the book, it does not read the same way that the others do. Similarly, the last two books (as well as The Fire Rose) are not as closely connected to one another as the others in the series are. Regardless, I would definitely recommend these books, especially to those who enjoy retellings and simply suggest that disliking one book may not necessarily relate to the others.

• If these books sound interesting, consider these: Cecelia and Kate, Once Upon a Winter's Night, or Black Pearls

Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey

Ninette Dupond has just lost her job with the Paris Opera Ballet because she performed a piece just a little too well for the tastes of one of the prima ballerinas. With limited options, she is just about to give up on finding a new position when a cat shows up at her apartment and speaks to her, convincing her to pack her things and travel to England. Soon she is wrapped up in a scheme pretending to be a Russian ballerina and performing again in an English theater. Her new life seems a little too good to be true, however, and little does she know that an elemental spirit has devoured the real ballerina that she's impersonating and the elemental has found out about Ninette's deception and has decided to remove the competition.

This is the most recent book in the Elemental Master's series (The Serpent's Shadow, The Gates of Sleep, Phoenix and Ashes, The Wizard of London), but it seems to work more as a stand-alone than as a continuation that some of the other books maintain. I enjoyed this book well enough although I didn't feel that it was one of the best in the series. The characters are very well developed and the plot is interesting without being too predictable. I would definitely recommend this book to fantasy readers, especially those who enjoy historical fiction and fantasy books that involve magic in the 'real world.'

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: The Two Princesses of Bamarre, Wicked Lovely, or Black Pearls

The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey

When her father dies, Rosalind Hawkins is left with debt and few options. A professor of hers mentions a letter he has received from a man in San Francisco looking for a tutor/governess for his children, but requires particular language skills. As a scholar and doctoral student, Rose has the necessary qualifications and she decides to leave what is left of her life in Chicago to start a new one on the West Coast. She discovers when she arrives that there are no children, but that her position may actually be better than she had hoped.

I absolutely love these re-tellings of fairy tales that Mercedes Lackey does; the books are historical and put Magick in the 'real world' to create 'realistic' ways for fairy tale stories to come about. This one tells the story of Beauty and the Beast with realistic characters and an interesting plot. Although this bears no resemblance to the 'original' it is definitely the same story.

I need to give a brief explanation about where this book falls in the series so that it makes sense. This book is not listed among those of the Elemental Masters series [The Serpent's Shadow (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves), The Gates of Sleep (Sleeping Beauty), Phoenix and Ashes (Cinderella), The Wizard of London (The Snow Queen), and Reserved for the Cat (Puss in Boots)] presumably because all of the books in the series take place in England around the same time and the later books reference characters from the early ones. However, I think that this one still belongs at the head of the series in part because it gives a more thorough introduction to the 'Magickal' world than the others do. I don't think readers would be confused by not reading this one first, but I do think it helps.

I definitely recommend this book to fantasy fans, particularly those who like re-tellings or stories about magic in the 'real world'/historical fantasy.

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Beauty & Rose Daughter, The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Stories, or Wicked Lovely