Born of Air

The Valdir Chronicles, Book 1

By: RA Lewis

Narrated by: Elizabeth DeVault

Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

The dragon riders disappeared the year she was born.

Kalina is a nobody, an orphan whose only remarkable trait is the silver hair she is forced to hide.  But when she overhears that she might be a child of the Valdir, a silver-haired race of dragon riders that disappeared 16 years ago, she chooses to leave her old life behind and venture into the unknown to discover who she is and where the dragons disappeared to.

But someone has been searching for her. In a strange city, searching for answers to her past, Kalina must conquer her own fear, deal with dangers she never anticipated from a crown she never knew existed, and forge friendships with unlikely people to help her find her place in the world.  

Born of Air is the first book in the Valdir Chronicles. If you loved Eragon, you will love this coming-of-age adventure.

©2019 RA Lewis (P)2020 RA Lewis

Baskerville Book Reviews

I occasionally mention in my reviews that I go into books without reading the summaries. I prefer to go in without expectations and go on a journey alongside the characters. Revelations aren’t a revelation if the summary tells you about them. (Which is also why I write without spoilers to the best of my ability.)

I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I knew this was a series, but I didn’t expect it to be a rollercoaster ride as well. While I did find some of the twists and turns predictable, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment. For every twist that I predicted, there was another that blew my mind.

The #1 thing I absolutely loved about this story was the cast. I rarely ever get this invested in the lives of characters. I desperately want to know what happens to each of the people Kalina met and befriended going forward. This is a story that actually stuck with me after I stopped listening, which really is a rarity. I often consume one story, write a review and move on to the next without much thought. While most are good, few are gems and this, to me, was one of those rare gems I discovered.

This is an excellent example of how to begin a fantasy series. It’s relatively short, allowing readers to dip their toes in and see if it’s for them. It gives you interesting and compelling characters, locations, and, adventure. There’s real danger and consequences for their actions. It sets up the sequel nicely while not ending entirely on a cliffhanger.

The narrator was excellent. I never had a single issue with telling who was speaking. The audio was clean and clear the entire time.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.

Excellent story

After listening to the story, I’m hooked. My new favorite author. You should listen or read ‘Born of stone’ first. It will help you understand what’s going on. This is a coming of age story. I’m not going to go into what going what the story is about in detail. This story will make you smile and laugh and cry. The narrator did such a amazing job.

Fun Coming of Age Dragon Rider Series

If you like emotional rollercoaster adventures with dragons then this is a great choice. It's about an orphan girl forced to hide her silver hair, the soldiers track into information that leads them to her she goes on the run and begins trying to figure out why the Prince wants her dead. This does have a dark side to it but outside of some violence it's pretty clean. I'm a bit confused by the reviewer that complained about LGBT content because I didn't find anything in this one about that. The narrator does a great job and was fun to listen to.

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

BORN TO FLY

THIS IS A STORY THAT IS DARK, FILLED WITH ADVENTURE A MAD VILLAIN, AND LOVE AND LOSS. SHE IS MISUNDERSTOOD, AND THE NARRATION WAS WONDEFUL. BIGGEST OBJECTION IS LGBT.

Exciting

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was an intriguing story. You start off with Kalina daughter of none. She is an orphan in an Abbey. Knows nothing of her heritage or the family that left her behind. Being a constant target of bullying she tries to do an act that would she is not a coward. Little does she know how much that act would change her life.
You are in for a wild ride with this story of a girl who befriends a wyvern and is hunted across the land for reasons that she does not know.
I recommend to fantasy and dragon lovers.

DRAGONS , AN ORPHAN WITH A ZEST FOR ADVENTURE

REALLY ENJOYABLE STORY. BOOK 1. IS WELL WRITTEN AND EASY TO FOLLOW.
ACCEPTABLE FOR ALL AGES.

NARRATOR IS GOOD AND EASY TO FOLLOW.

An orphan seeks her hidden heritage

A fun coming of age adventure with lots of twists and shock reveals. Unfortunately I found Kalina, the main character, rather shallow, a person who used her friends. I also found the ending unsatisfactory. It felt contrived and really wasn't necessary to segue into the next book. However, the narration was great and kept me listening to the finish.

A wonderful start

A wonderful start to a series. It is well written and the story flowed with no problems.

Born of Air

This was a good coming of age story and definitely kept me very interested from the start of the book. I enjoyed getting to know Kalina and see how her early life shaped things for her. I hope she continues to grow more in later books. I definitely want the next book and to know what’s going to happen for Kalina. I really loved the dragon aspect of this story it was very well done! The narrator brought a lot of life and feeling to the story. I really want the next boo.

kalina

Kalina is an orphan whose only remarkable trait is the silver hair she is forced to hide because her life is in danger.

Great dragon rider story

Dragons are my favourite fantasy creatures and dragon rider stories are amongst my favourite. I enjoy how the focus here is often on character progression/coming of age and magic is secondary or not featured at all.

I liked the main character Kalina from the start and the other characters are very relatable too.
The parts of the country relative to Kalina’s adventures are well described and the glimpses into the wider world show that the world has been well thought out.

The first chapters were a little slow and all about getting to know the heroine Kalina.
After that the story picked up the pace and a number of different events followed on from each other in quick succession. In some cases I felt they moved on too quickly, because what happened should have had a bigger, often traumatic impact on Kalina, but she seemed to be able to move on fast.
I was also a bit confused as to time progression, I felt it was sometimes unclear how long Kalina was in a certain place and situation, and her injuries seemed to heal very fast considering their severity and often not be a hindrance to her soon after. Maybe Valdir heal quicker than regular humans, but if this is the case it is not mentioned.

Overall I enjoyed the story, though I think the author tried to fit too many experiences into the length of the story, so some parts felt a bit rushed and the effects and emotions not explored fully. Having said that, I would be hard pressed to say what could be left out, since everything played a part in developing Kalina’s personality. So maybe the book needed to be a bit longer?
For the same reason the flow of the story was at times a bit inconsistent. I am still looking forward to reading about Kalina’s next adventures and how she deals with becoming Queen of the Valdir.

The narrator Elizabeth De Vault has a pleasant voice and she was very clear and concise. In general I prefer narrators, who can give each character their own voice, but I didn’t really miss it.

I received this book in audio book format free from the author and am leaving this review of my own volition.