Author: Aprilynne Pike
Publisher: Harperteen
Pages:294
Challenge: None
Source: Own
Buy the Book: BN / Amazon
My Rating:
Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful—too beautiful for words.
Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.
In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.-summary from goodreads.com
When I first picked up Wings, I didn’t know what to expect. Considering the fact that it’s been out for some time now, I hadn’t read any recent reviews on it. What I did hear was awesome things about the love interest, Tamani (we’ll talk more about him later on). And although I did rather enjoy this new, fresh world that Pike has created, the story was just too dull. In my opinion, Wings should have been better classified as a Middle Grade fantasy read, rather than Young Adult.
The story follows Laurel, a teenage girl who is trying to adjust to attending school for the first time after being home-schooled her entire life. Everything seems to be going fine; she even managed to get herself a boyfriend (David), until the day she wakes up with a lump on her back. The lump blossoms into flowers, and Laurel soon learns she's a faerie. Not just any faerie, she’s a changeling.
Let’s begin with my first pet peeve; I thought it was too convenient that Laurel quickly accepted what she was. I wish there would have been more of an emotional reaction. But it was kind of like, “Oh, I’m a faerie?! Cool.” I seriously thought to myself, “WTF!? I would totally be cowering in a corner.” Secondly, Laurel was a very difficult character to relate too. Plus, she just seemed so plain-Jane. Yeah, she’s a fairy and is pretty much the personification of perfection (literally…. Perfect body, no acne, doesn’t need food to survive), but she had no personality. Now that I think about it, none of the characters had anything going for them. Her parents were only around when necessary, David (although I did like the fact that he was a nerd) was also very boring… everyone in the story was just dull.
The only character with even a breath of life is Tamani. Oh goodness…. Tamani…. Tam is the exception of my would-be Middle School classification. I absolutely loved him. David just didn’t do it for me. I’m sorry to all you David lovers, but he was just too ordinary for me. I tend to have high expectations for my leading men, and Tamani fit every single one (and more!). The only bad part is that he doesn’t show up until 80-something pages in. I’d get so frustrated with Laurel at times for always choosing David over Tam. I mean, I get it; he’s a loyal and trustworthy guy, but he does not compare to the magical awesomeness that is Tamani. Or at least, that’s my opinion.
Lastly, the ending felt so rushed. At the final showdown between Laurel and BLANK (don’t want to give to much away now), a gun is thrown into the mix… A GUN! You’re a freaking magical creature for crying out loud! Use some magic, strength or fairy dust…. Anything! A gun just seemed so human, a quick and easy way to end the battle…. You know what I mean? Of course, the ending doesn’t resolve much, leaving plenty of room for the next book in the series. Despite my complaints, I will be reading book two. I'm interested enough to see where the story goes, and plus, I want more Tam <3
Yeah, I have heard this about this book! don't know if I'll take the time to read it!
ReplyDeletecome see my review of Everneath here!
http://www.lindsaycummingsblog.blogspot.com/
Oh, no! I'm planning on reading this book soon so I can reach my AR goal (as my school is very slow, and does not carry AR tests for recent releases which is the majority of what I read). But now I'm hesitant to dive into it. I absolutely dread dull books and I'm already not too big of a fan of fantasy... Eh, I'm very iffy now. Thanks for the very helpful review!!
ReplyDeleteHaha I hate overly accepting reactions! It's one of my biggest pet peeve when reading paranormals too! Shame that this wasn't up to par with your expectations! Thanks for the wonderful and honest review :)
ReplyDeleteGiselle
Xpresso Reads
@Sophia- please don't let me thoughts make you hesitant. Give it a try, I know I've read plenty of bad reviews for a book (ex: halo) but when I read it, I LOVED IT! Give WINGS a try and let me know what you think :)
ReplyDelete@Giselle- Maybe I exaggerated a bit.... I mean she does have her moment of doubt and weakness, but I still think she accepted "who she is" too fast! I've a couple chapters into book 2 and I will say that it seems to be picking up the story line, so that's a good sign :)
I think I need to give this a try. I have been meaning to read this book for awhile now so I guess ill bump this on my list. Thanks for the honestly review.
ReplyDeleteJay @ We Fancy Books
Meh! I always thought there was a reason why I was never drawn to these books, it doesn't sound like I would like the characters so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the honest review.
I read this when it first came out. My opinion of it hasn't changed much since then. I agree with you on a lot of things. It should have been classed as Middle Grade because there weren't many (or any) themes in it that really said Young Adult other than the ages of the characters.
ReplyDeleteYou're also right in saying that Laurel didn't have much of a personality. She sort of drifts through the entire book and just goes with it. She doesn't ever do anything that makes us sit up and take notice. Tamani, on the other hand...loved him.
Great review, Diana!
What a bummer about the dull characters. Its like the cool plot sets up the perfect setting for cool, interesting characters. I'm still tempted to check it out for Tamani though!
ReplyDelete