Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Published: May 2009

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 294

Copy Provided by: Purchased

Summary: Goodreads

Summary:

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.

Review:
I have to admit, this is my first fairy book. I'm not sure why I have never tried reading about fairies before. Perhaps I am more interested in vampires, demons and werewolves but I thought I'd give it a try. Part of the reason why I love this blog is because it pushes me to try new genres of reading. So to give you an idea of the depth of fairy knowledge Curlypow and I have, if we were to be reading about fairies, I would be reading Fairies for Dummies and Curlypow would be writing the Fairy Encyclopedia. I guess that makes me a fairy virgin...so does that make Miss Curlypow a fairy ho? (hahahahaha! Sorry, C, that was such a funny comment....I didn't mean to make it rhyme though!)

OK, back to the book. This was an easy read and at first I felt that it could be aimed at a younger audience (pre-teens). I feel that older teens would like it as well but the reading level was set lower than some of the books I have been reading as of late.

Laurel is such a lovely girl - cautious, careful and always thinking of others. Ms. Pike captured her innocence beautifully and slowly built up her relationship with David. When Tamani steps in, he really throws her for a loop as he is so familiar to her and understands her well without taking the same time to know her as David has. This book gives perspective in growing up one way and then discovering that you belong to a different culture. I can't wait to see how she develops as a character in future books (plus, will she choose David or Tamani?).

The pace of the story was steady and the author took the time to develop the characters well before the real action began. Overall, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to adding Spells to my TBR pile.

Curlypow reviewed the 2nd book, Spells last month so stop by and take a peek. Ms. Pike is coming out with two more books in the series. Book # 3 is called Enchantments (release date is May 2011) and #4 is Illusions. I visited her website and unfortunately, she does not have any appearances planned. I did find out that she is the mother of 3, she just finished a draft of Book #4...now not entitled Illusions, and is also working on a stand-alone title! Busy girl! Learn more about Aprilynne Pike on her website and her blog....she's also on twitter.

Don't forget to enter our contest! We are giving away a copy of Wings + a pair of hand-knit socks. The contest is open to Canada and the USA and ends at midnight on September 2nd. You must be a Google Follower to enter but there are many ways to gain extra entries as well. Good luck!