Book Review: Aina’s Breath by K.S. Villoso

Title: Aina’s Breath
Author: K.S. Villoso
Genre:Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Enosh, apprentice to one of the richest merchants in the Kag, is secretly heir to a broken line of mages. Because of The Empire of Dageis’ quest for sources of the agan–the life-source that mages use for power–his people have been reduced to scavengers, his culture diminished to a speck in the wind. For more than ten years, he has helped raise a conjured beast to use as a weapon against the Dageians. But Enosh’s plans are falling apart. A powerful enemy has escaped and Enosh needs to capture him before he reaches Dageis. His quest is further complicated after he finds himself used as a pawn by Gasparian nobles.

On the other end of the continent, Sume, daughter to a Jin-Sayeng hero, must return to her roots to save her country and bring honour to her father’s name. To do this, she must befriend a prince and understand the terrible, corrupting nature of power and the reason her father was driven to walk away from it all those years ago…

Meanwhile, Kefier, Enosh’s agan-blind brother, is forced back into a life of violence. As he struggles with the notion that hands, once bloodied, never stay clean for long, he finds himself occupied with an unexpected burden: his own brother’s daughter.

Aina’s Breath takes off where the first book in the series, Jaeth’s Eye, left off. Enosh is the secret heir to a broken line of mages. His culture has been diminished, and only a handful of mages have been left. He’s helped raise a conjured beast to use as a weapon against the Dageians who are desperate to find the source of the agan – the life source mages uses for their power. But his plans fall apart when a powerful enemy escape and has to capture him.

We also meet Sume and Kefier again. Kefier was my favorite character in the first book and remains so in this second installment. In this book, he’s forced back into a life of violence. But despite Kefier being my favorite, all three characters shine in their own way. They grow and adapt and mature throughout the book, and it’s wonderful to be able to follow their development as a reader.

The storyline pulled me in even more than in the first book. The world-building is outstanding, and with the world ever expanding as the readers gets to explore more parts of it, there’s something new and intriguing we discover every few chapters. Highly recommended to fans of fantasy novels.