Into the Air by A. K. Downing | Blog Tour and Spoiler Free Book Review

Title: Into the Air
Author: A. K. Downing
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Publication Date: September 30, 2016, August 2017 (digital)
Genre(s): YA, Sci-Fi, Fantasy (Personally I think this is more dystopian, but what do I know)
Source: Sent for Review in Collaboration with YA Bound Blog Tours
Pages: 367
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Synopsis

When Mia Bryn escapes her underground compound and travels into the air, she never imagines her world will explode. Separated from her father and attacked by creatures she never knew existed, Mia flees into the forest. Within hours she finds an abandoned girl, discovers a link to her missing mother, and meets beautiful, golden-eyed Archer. But why are so many guards intent on hunting down an ordinary girl from a compound? And how can she survive in a world she knows nothing about?

Review

Sorry this review is going up a bit late! Online class snuck some deadlines up and I needed to make sure I was on track!

Into the Air is an interesting read that had me going back and forth on my final rating for a while. The book starts off at a decent pace, we get to know our MC a bit then she is thrust into adventure. For the first 30% or so of the book, I felt myself asking more questions than what was being answered by any exposition (I know, ironic considering my last review). Lots of little things were being thrown at us. Some things felt like throwaway scenes/lines while other things felt like they were leading up to something big. This was definitely a book where I found myself wanting to know more. With each new question, I found myself craving an answer.

Every few chapters the POV shifts to another character. When this first happened I played YA roulette (figuring out the plot using tropes from other YA books) trying to figure out where this plot line was going. Without giving anything away let’s just say it kind of goes where you’d expect…kind of. Though the chapters do make sense by the end of the book.

As this is a spoiler-free review, I’m not going to talk about the ending…much. Several of the main questions were answered by the end, but I feel like some things were left open as well. I also commend this book for its use of pacing. While fast-paced, the book did slow down at times letting the reader take in what was going on. I felt like the ending was a bit slow, but seeing as most of the end took place in the last 25-30%, I’m actually impressed nothing felt rushed.

Getting critical, I did find aspects of the ending a too predictable. A surprise reveal or two would have really worked, at least in my opinion, and would have subverted some tropes. That being said, the ending we got was still satisfying. Also a slight nitpick, I’m not sure how this book is sci-fi. I know there are some drones, but it’s unclear how robotic these creatures are (at one point it just sounded like the drones were military dudes in armor rather than a robot). I felt like this was more or a post-apocalyptic dystopian myself, not my favorite genre, but one I dabble in at times.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this was an enjoyable read, especially for those craving something fast-paced and different. I liked that the reader wasn’t spoon fed everything, though I wish some of the reveals came a bit earlier.

I liked how the love interest wasn’t “the first guy she ever laid eyes on” but I felt like his character could have been a hair more interesting. The romance definitely takes up some screen time, but nothing that deems it unnecessary.

Into the Air lived up to my expectations and is something I think dystopian readers would thoroughly enjoy!

Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – 4/5

Author Spotlight:

A.K. Downing’s young-adult novel, Into the Air, is a 2017 National Indie Excellence Award Finalist. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the story follows the adventure of teenager Mia Bryn as she leaves the safety of her underground compound and tries to survive in a world no one has inhabited for more than a hundred years.

Growing up in the hills of southwestern Pennsylvania, Aimee spent her summers exploring the fields, woods, and orchards of her grandparents’ farm. She was inspired by prepper shows and survivalist websites to

create a story that weaves together the best aspects of young adult fiction–adventure, teenage angst, and a hint of romance.

Aimee studied graphic design at Kent State University and currently works as a Creative Director. She enjoys history and camping and feels there is no better way to see the world than from the top of a horse.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook│Instagram

Thank you to YA Bound Book Blog and A. K. Downing for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour and providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

All thoughts are my own.