I truly believe that this will be the most difficult review I’ve ever written. Because, it is easy to review a book you truly love and are excited about! But, writing about a book you didn’t enjoy so much is harder. I would, however, appreciate if you still stay here and hear me out. And of course, you are welcome to add everything you want in your comments!
Wings by Aprilynne Pike
(I own this book and read it on my beloved Kindle)
I truly adore this cover! Definitely beautiful cover art!
Summary from goodreads:
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.
Wings is the first book in this series; the second one, Spells, is already out and ready to read.
The Plot and the World
Mrs. Pike created an unique world of Faeries that is truly one of it’s kind. I read a few Faery stories until now, but her’s is definitely unique and creative. Faeries in her world are more like plants and therefore also look so perfect in human eyes, because every cell is perfectly symmetrical. We learn more about the biology of the Fearies, which sounds boring but truly isn’t. Especially as a Biologist myself I found this part of the book extremely interesting.
Laurel is a girl that was always somehow different, in her eating habits (she only eats fresh vegetables and fruits) and her incredible love to be outside. Soon, she discovers that something is growing in her back and starts questioning herself.
That leads her right into a fantastic new world (or old..) of Faeries!
The Characters
Laurel, as mentioned, learns here that she is a Faerie which is why she always felt so different. And here comes one of my major problems with the book, I couldn’t connect with her and believe me I tried hard! In the beginning I was just confused by her eating habits which sounds like she had an eating disorder, which is not true since she’s a Faery and needs a special kind of food. Then, she was home-schooled and didn’t want to connect with other teenagers when her mother wants her to go to a public school.
David becomes her best friend in the book and is one of her romantic interests. David is a handsome boy who is a science geek and helps Laurel to find out more about herself. David was just not well developed in my opinion, I missed a deeper insight into this boy which again made it hard for me to connect with him. Normally I swoon easily about the main male characters but David didn’t do it for me. But he’s all sweet to Laurel and one fast knows that he wants more than just to be her best friend.
Tamani: He’s a Faery from Laurel’s world and he’s definitely the best and most interesting character in the book! He’s deeply in love with her and helps her to connect with her true self and he’s just so easy to like! My heart aches for his desperate love.
The Love Triangle
Both David and Tamani are in love with Laurel, the question is who will she choose in the end? For me it is definitely easy to be Team Tamani since I really don’t find my connection with David. I truly didn’t like at all how Laurel treats him, or even how she treats Tamani for that matter. Although I’m pretty sure this wasn’t intended, it felt like Laurel was playing with the boys.
*sigh* My final Verdict:
Sadly I give only two books. It has some sparkle moments but most magic was missing in the book. I found the world she created interesting but also a bit too far from what I picture a Faery world. But I truly appreciate the unique and creative ideas Mrs Pike has! But, mostly I had problems connecting with the characters, which is why I can only give 2 books.
Will I read the next book? YES I will, maybe not right away but I want to give those books a chance and I want to know how it goes on with Tamani.
Since I know that many of my fellow bloggers and also goodreads friends love this book so much, I want to link to a review from Wicked Walker who truly loved this book and wrote a nice review. So please check out an other opinion about the book and read
Ok and now, you can start shooting at me!
Or are there probably people out there who understand my problems with this book?
Anydoodle, I’m open for discussion!
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Sorry you didnt like this that much. I guess it does lack the magic. But maybe thats because Laurel is more of a human in her own way. If you're looking for magic though, you might like Wondrous Strange! 🙂
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Oh I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this series! I just couldn't put it down!! I'm totally in love with Tamani too.
This is why there are so many books out there, there is something for everyone! If Wings wasn't your thing, maybe you'll check out The Iron Fey series or The Wicked Lovely series. Both about fey but totally different and dark.
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Glad you didn’t shoot me;)
And I’m incredibly in love with the Wicked Lovely series and I’m like a super huge Fan girl of The Iron Fey! Yes they both did it for me and I loved them senseless!
But thanks for the recc anyway;)
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It was more the lack of magic I felt for the characters. Normally I feel characters and I love the magic when you read a book and just feel the plot and the world. That was what I didn’t had here..
But I heard good things about Wondrous Strange and I will definitely read it! Thanks Precious for your recommendation!
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I personally LOVED this book. I liked that the faeries were plants and I liked that Laurel was very human. I liked David but by the end of the book, I found myself liking Tam a lot more! I hate being on "teams" lol.
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This is a great review. While you obviously weren't a massive fan, you have still totally managed to write a balanced break down which is really interesting!
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I haven't read this one yet, but I have a copy sitting on my shelf. Props to you for posting such a well-written review, even if you didn't like the book. I agree–writing reviews about books you didn't really enjoy are always harder!
Like some of your other commentators stated above, I'd highly recommend both Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston or The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. Especially The Iron King. I loved that one! 🙂
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