3.5 stars - With excellent LGBTQ+ representation and an elemental magic system, 'A Dance of Water and Air' is an enjoyable YA fantasy.

I'm a little on the fence with this one, as I'm a sucker for good LGBTQ+ representation - and this is good rep, with m/m romance and a trans main character - but the story fell a bit flat for me.

I think this was an interesting concept, but the execution could've been better. I think the romance would've benefited from more development (but maybe that's because I prefer slow burn romance to instant attraction) as it felt rather rushed to me, with the two main characters lacking the chemistry I expected of them.

The story started off well, as we were introduced to the world, the elemental magic and the characters. However, it all fell flat about halfway through, as it felt like the focus was mainly on the romance, which in itself wasn't developed enough to hold my interest.

That being said, I did love the representation of this book and it was enjoyable enough. If you're looking for a quick, light and tropey read, this is for you!

With this book Antonia Aquilante proved that she has good ideas. And that’s about it.

The book premise is interesting. Edmund, a prince with affinity for water magic sees himself into an arranged marriage with a queen from a country were the affinity for air magic prevails. Although his duty, he starts to get close to Queen Hollis brother, Arden. As if that wasn’t bad enough there is an attempt against Hollis’ life and Edmund is the suspect number one. By all means this would be the foundations to a very good story full of court intrigue and possibly action.
But it is not.

On the first part of the book, as we are introduced to the characters, we spend most of time jumping from one scene to another. These cuts are abrupt and confusing and make us feel that the author didn’t want to or didn’t feel comfortable describing some scenes that would be more difficult. Further on the book there aren’t so many abrupt cuts but they still exist.

Descriptions are few and sparse and when made are sometimes out of place. They are also simple, as it is the whole vocabulary throughout the book, and do not let the reader to get inside the book. Instead I could only imagine generic places and characters.

Adding to the bad descriptions is the fact that characters are badly introduced leaving us trying to correctly place them in the story.

When it comes to the chemistry between the two main characters it follows the overused trope of attraction because of the looks and nothing more is really added after that. Well we are informed that they did spend a long time together, ridding, talking or just hanging around but we don’t see much of it since the author just jumps all the bonding.

Overall this book read like fan fiction, felling that no real though was put in it other than the poor build up for two princes romance. The plot was badly developed, the characters interactions felt badly constructed and over all failed to impress.

I have always been a strong proponent of the LGBTQIA+ movement and more diverse characters throughout the publishing business, so when I discovered 'A Dance of Water and Air', I was instantly drawn to the premise and the promise of such characters featuring heavily here. That was one of the features that Aquilante completely delivered on and not only that but the characters are relatable, believable and have a great dynamic between them.

The story is one that is a fun, lighthearted and entertaining read that holds your interest for the duration, but it is chock-a-block with tropes and as a result, lacks originality. It is the perfect choice for beach or holiday reading or for passing time on a rainy afternoon, however, if you're looking for a unique story, you'd be wise to look elsewhere. The narrative flows well from page-to-page and is straightforward enough to allow the reader to relax. Everything is so vividly imagined, from the characters to the worldbuilding - this is a decent fantasy novel with elemental magic at its core. Essentially, it explores the bonds of love we make in order to make this earthly existence a little more pleasurable for each of us.

We need more diversity in our fiction, and although it is becoming more prominent, we still require the momentum to make these characters from minority backgrounds, different sexual persuasions and the disabled a normality. They are as entitled to feature in books as any other, we just need to turn that into action.

Many thanks to NineStar Press for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I've read couple of LGBT books this month because my reading was getting a bit narrow and I wanted to read a wider range of books so when this one came up on Netgalley, I had to request it because it sounded like an interesting (although not super original) LGBT fantasy read.

We follow Edmund, heir to the throne of Thalassa as he is betrothed to the heir to the Aither kingdom, Hollis, which it is hoped will strength both kingdoms against their enemies. However, Edmund and Hollis's brother, Arden, strike up a friendship which leads to something more. Amidst this are political problems and Edmund and Arden have to flee.

One of the main points I loved about this book was the complete acceptance in this world of LGBT relationships and I adored the elemental magic (I need to read more books with elemental magic in them). I liked the relationship between the characters of Edmund and Arden as well as Peregrine and his love interest (I can't remember his name!). Overall, it was a very quick, entertaining and light hearted fantasy read with a conclusion I wanted and interesting magic elements; however it was definitely trope filled, nothing new to the genre and a little cheesy at times but if you are looking for a quick, fun read with LGBT elements in a good fantasy setting then check it out.

I was really looking forward to another book written by Antonia Aquilante, but I was a little disappointed in this one. I liked the characters and the plot well enough but the story felt rushed at the end. It definitely lacked the finesse I'm used to seeing from this author.