Helpful Score: 3
I love books about fairies in the modern day world; so I was eager to read this book. I really enjoyed it; I thought the premise of the book was very interesting and the idea of fairies being plants was fascinating. This is supposed to be the first of four books about Laurel; at least that is what I read according to the author at this time.
This book is full of mystery and danger. Initially Laurel is just in shock when a blossom blooms out of her back. But after going over the evidence with her geeky biology friend they figure out that maybe she really is a plant instead of an animal; she can only eat fruits and veggies, she doesn't bleed, and she always need to have her skin exposed to air. When things start going bad for her family after a mysterious man tries to buy some land from Laurel's mom; land that has been in her family for generations, Laurel finds out that she is more than just a plant and that her mother's land is more than just land.
This book was a very creative take on fairies. I enjoyed the interesting prospective of fairies being plants. I also enjoyed how biology was applied to prove out the theories of Laurel's true nature. It was interesting that there is hinting at more types of mythical races being included in this series (trolls, etc.). The story itself was a fairly complete story; you aren't left in a huge amount of suspense at the end of the book. It was a well-written novel and was easy to read. I enjoyed the book immensley.
The only thing that I think detracted from the book was that some of the characterization was a bit weak. I think sometimes Laurel came across as whiny, helpless, and indecisive; there were times when this got annoying. David sometimes came across as needy and obessed which was also bothersome. Even though I found some of the characters to be a bit sterotypical and slightly annoying; it didn't detract from the story that much and the creativity of the story really outshown any of the faults.
Overall I find myself really looking forward to the next book in the series. This series should be interesting and shows a lot of promise.
This book is full of mystery and danger. Initially Laurel is just in shock when a blossom blooms out of her back. But after going over the evidence with her geeky biology friend they figure out that maybe she really is a plant instead of an animal; she can only eat fruits and veggies, she doesn't bleed, and she always need to have her skin exposed to air. When things start going bad for her family after a mysterious man tries to buy some land from Laurel's mom; land that has been in her family for generations, Laurel finds out that she is more than just a plant and that her mother's land is more than just land.
This book was a very creative take on fairies. I enjoyed the interesting prospective of fairies being plants. I also enjoyed how biology was applied to prove out the theories of Laurel's true nature. It was interesting that there is hinting at more types of mythical races being included in this series (trolls, etc.). The story itself was a fairly complete story; you aren't left in a huge amount of suspense at the end of the book. It was a well-written novel and was easy to read. I enjoyed the book immensley.
The only thing that I think detracted from the book was that some of the characterization was a bit weak. I think sometimes Laurel came across as whiny, helpless, and indecisive; there were times when this got annoying. David sometimes came across as needy and obessed which was also bothersome. Even though I found some of the characters to be a bit sterotypical and slightly annoying; it didn't detract from the story that much and the creativity of the story really outshown any of the faults.
Overall I find myself really looking forward to the next book in the series. This series should be interesting and shows a lot of promise.
Helpful Score: 2
What a disappointment. WINGS garners attention as being similar to Twilight, but let's just say that the over-hyped vampire series is still a lot more interesting than anything this book has to offer.
Where do I even begin? The characters lack personality or appeal. Laurel has not a stitch of mental or physical strength on her. The love triangle between Laurel, David, and Tamani is extremely contrived: I sensed no attraction at all between any of the three, no real reason why the boys would like Laurel the bland "heroine," and no appeal in the caricatures of the boys, David the goody-two-shoes good friend, and Tamani the "dangerously attractive and mysterious" fairy. If you're trying to copy off the popularity of the Twilight love triangle, at least develop the males well enough that readers are encouraged to take sides.
The concept of fairies being similar to plants was fairly interesting; my favorite parts of the book are when David geeks out and begins doing all sorts of scientific experiments on Laurel to prove to her that she is a plant. Unfortunately, the story lacked everything else: engaging dialogue, plot, movement. The word that sprang to mind most when I read this book was "contrived;" it felt like we readers were told how we were supposed to feel about the characters and their predicaments instead of actually letting us feel anything. Anything that readers needed to know about the plot was explained in endless pages of stationary dialogue, which I wouldn't even mind if not for the fact that the dialogue feels forced and the characters are not explaining anything of worth or interest to me anyway.
Alas, it seems like I and other reviewers can blither and blather all we want; the audience (and publishers) clearly know what they want, and that's some more horrible Twilight spin-offs. Seriously, though, if you're looking for some more fantasy love triangles and fairy wars etc., don't check here. In fact, don't read this book at all if you can. It won't be long before you'll be wondering about how you can get a refund on your time.
Where do I even begin? The characters lack personality or appeal. Laurel has not a stitch of mental or physical strength on her. The love triangle between Laurel, David, and Tamani is extremely contrived: I sensed no attraction at all between any of the three, no real reason why the boys would like Laurel the bland "heroine," and no appeal in the caricatures of the boys, David the goody-two-shoes good friend, and Tamani the "dangerously attractive and mysterious" fairy. If you're trying to copy off the popularity of the Twilight love triangle, at least develop the males well enough that readers are encouraged to take sides.
The concept of fairies being similar to plants was fairly interesting; my favorite parts of the book are when David geeks out and begins doing all sorts of scientific experiments on Laurel to prove to her that she is a plant. Unfortunately, the story lacked everything else: engaging dialogue, plot, movement. The word that sprang to mind most when I read this book was "contrived;" it felt like we readers were told how we were supposed to feel about the characters and their predicaments instead of actually letting us feel anything. Anything that readers needed to know about the plot was explained in endless pages of stationary dialogue, which I wouldn't even mind if not for the fact that the dialogue feels forced and the characters are not explaining anything of worth or interest to me anyway.
Alas, it seems like I and other reviewers can blither and blather all we want; the audience (and publishers) clearly know what they want, and that's some more horrible Twilight spin-offs. Seriously, though, if you're looking for some more fantasy love triangles and fairy wars etc., don't check here. In fact, don't read this book at all if you can. It won't be long before you'll be wondering about how you can get a refund on your time.
Helpful Score: 2
I really wasnt planning on reading Wings today, but only because I didnt have the second book in the series yet. And if youve read any of my other book reviews you know I generally wait till Ive got 3 or 4 of the books in a series before I start it. However, I made the mistake of glancing at the first couple of pages. First thing I knew about an hour had past and I was well beyond the point where I could stop. I had heard this book compared to Twilight and Meyer had a nice little blurb on the cover, A Remarkable Debut. Boy was everyone right on the money. This book was so refreshing and though I heard it mentioned that it started slow, I didnt think so. I can see why others have compared it to Twilight as it left me with a feeling of total satisfaction when I finished it (gleefully knowing that there were to be 4 books in this series). While Id have loved it to have been the length of Twilight, I have the satisfaction of knowing that book 2, Spells, is on its way to me as we speak and Illusions is due out May of 2011. Pikes modern mythology of faeries was fascinating and a joy to watch unfold. I do hope we find out more about the faeries history as the next book unfolds but again the characters, the world building and the action within the story was an awesome thing to behold.
Helpful Score: 1
I couldn't finish it. It was very predictable and not unique enough. Try reading Holly Black or Melissa Marr if you like it though, as the storyline was very similar to both of those authors, though it fell short on plot and character development for me.
Helpful Score: 1
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was expecting it to be an okay read, but something that I wouldn't want to keep. (Also I had no idea it was a series, I thought it was one book in itself when I picked it up) Boy was I wrong. This is one that will be staying on my shelf. The beginning was a tad slow, but not too bad. Then it gets to the point where you don't want to put it down. I think the only reason it was compared to Twilight is because there are 2 guys who both want the girl, so there can be a Team David and a Team Tamani. The chemistry isn't quite as good as the Twilight saga, but it does get close. I got to the last page, and was on my way to the book store to get the next one!
