I really really enjoyed this book. I read it in one sitting while flying from coast to coast. It was pretty enjoyable. I loved the characters and the way the story flowed. It was super intriguing. Really excited for what this author has next!

Wings Unseen got off to a slow start with a first chapter that almost made me put the book down. However, I am glad I kept reading. I loved watching how a character that repulsed me on the first page transformed into someone I was rooting for, and she was just one of many fascinating characters.

Characters were one of many things I liked about this book.

The juxtaposition of two opposite realms was a fascinating way to explore gender roles, the relationship between the people and the government, and what people can come to accept as normal.

The world was exquisitely developed and describe with language that was beautiful and readable.

Once I got past the first quarter of the book, the pace picked up and suspense made me want to keep reading. The romance subplot was not what I expected, and near the middle of the book, when combined with the pacing the way the writer alternated between pov’s, made me want to cry, yell, or throw the book across the room.

Even though I wanted the characters to take different paths, but the end, the author convinced me they had made the right choice, and the emotions I experienced mid book were probably just a smidgen of what the characters would feel were this real.

Overall, it was worth read, and I would reccomend it to anyone who likes epic fantasy and has patience for a book that burns slowly.

I was given an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

In the end, I loved this book and give it high marks. It is very creative and the story was fresh and new. The characters were believable and likeable. It is an epic 'good versus evil' story and would be interesting for both young and adult readers. I would buy this book again. It is in the genre of "The Hunger Games" or "The Maze Runner" or the "Legend" series. But new and different. Anyone who enjoyed those series will really enjoy this book!

My one criticism of the book was that the story did not flow as well in the beginning of the book. I found that the author's idiom of naming every animal and plant a new and exotic name detracted from the book. Once the body of the story started, I no longer had problems with this.

It was a great read and I look forward to reading new books by the author!

How to summarize this?.........

Welcome to Lansera and Medua. These two places used to be one before they were separated, putting the bad people in Medua and the nice ones in Lansera.
Veseri lives in Medua. She’s the daughter of Lord Sewyll. As a woman in Medua, she has no rights. She basically belongs to her father and should be spending her days in the kitchen with all the other women.
But Vesperi doesn’t like to keep her mouth shut and do what’s expected of her, and her father, to keep her out of his hair gives her “some freedom”. It actually helps that Veseri can reduce someone to ashes with just a wave of her fingers; though no one but her knows it.
In Lansera, the prince, Janto, is about to get married to Serra but first, he has to go do his Murat (some kind of weird ritual thing that make boys grow into men I guess?).
As she waits for her betrothed to come back from his Murat, Serra is asked to go to a convent of sorts, where she finds out she has a weird ass destiny.
Our three characters turn out to be linked in more ways than one and have to find a way to get along to save the world and shit.

I mostly enjoyed this. I had A LOT of trouble getting into it but once I was, I had a great time and flew through the chapters.
The characters were well painted and even if it took me some time to get attached to both Serra and Janto, they grew on me.
At first, I was living for the Vesperi chapters who I immediately fell for. But I found them to be too rare and short.
There were a couple clichés but they didn’t really bother me.
What did bother me was that the romance was central to the story but seemed rushed; like it was just an afterthought. I didn’t really feel what the characters were supposed to feel…

All in all, a classic-ish story set in an interesting but enraging world with loveable characters.

2.5 stars

Why was Janto part of the threeheads? I never fully understood what his purpose was. To me it came across that he was supposed to be the brain behind the quest, and Serra and Vesperi were the tools. I actually could have done without Janto, and have the two girls be even more at the forefront, showing how badass they are.

The switch from marriage between Janto and Serra, to falling out of love, wasn't fully convincing to me. The love between them felt to real to fall apart like that. And their interest to shift to others.

While well written, I just wasn't fully convinced by the story and characters.

It is so difficult to find intelligent writing today - especially in the young adult genre. The majority of what I read in YA could easily be classified as Intermediate Reading with the lower vocabulary choices. Imagine my surprise and delight to find a YA title that leans more toward adult.

I have been an avid fan of fantasy books for as long as I can remember and I rather enjoyed this story. The characters are engaging and the author's attention to detail in building her world shows. A definite recommend.

The beginning of the book failed to pull me in. I just couldn't get into the book, even though I tried. It just...didn't work with me.

I DNF'd this book at about a third of the way through, unfortunately. I just didn't find it that interesting.

I started reading Wings Unseen after coming from a high that was the previous book I've read, and I picked it up cause it's an ARC and I had to read it and submit my review before the book comes out. So it did take me a while to get into it. But once I did, man was it good.....

Once upon a time some evil men did not like the kingdom they lived in (Lansera). It was a nice kingdom and the evil men couldn't be properly evil in it so they started a war and tried to claim as much of the kingdom for themselves as possible. After a long war and many, many casulties the ruler of the nice kingdom (again, Lansera) couldn't stand to see all those people murdered so he signed a treaty with the evil men that granted them a kigdom of their own (Medua).

Now, two generations later, the evil men in Medua are planing a new way to take over Lansera for good. And it will take three unlikely heroes (Janto, Serra & Vesperi) to stop them.

So get ready for a dashing fantasy adventure full of love, regret, weird acting people of Medua, glowing ghosts, some even weirder customs, unseen wings, and quite possibly, maybe a happily ever after, but who could tell??? Guess you'll have to see for yourself

Well for a book with a really strong start, this sure did fall flat. First I was lured in by that gorgeous cover, then I read the enticing synopsis and finally I read the delectable sample chapters- I was ready to go! Unfortunately, my excitement for this was short-lived. I feel like a lot of work went into that intro… and after that… nothing much happened. And then cos nothing really happened, I got bored. And because I was bored I started to nitpick. Still the book didn’t technically do anything wrong, it just didn’t do anything right. And since I don’t want to be all hypercritical about this I’m gonna try to not let that take over this review… so for that reason this’ll probably be very short.

Like I said, in terms of plot, this was very underwhelming. Unless you’re really into hunting trips, this was very much a s-l-o-w burner. There really wasn’t sufficient drama until 70% of the way in- when the *big reveal* happened- and even that was very predictable. It took too long for things to happen, after a really strong start. By the time the plot picked up, I’d lost interest.

The world building was colourful and refreshingly different. I also thought the “three heads” was a half decent idea- yet it wasn’t clever enough to stand on its own two feet and really depended on the three main characters being compelling. However… this is what we got instead: Vesperi, the most intriguing character, but not exactly likeable; Serra, mildly sympathetic, but too bland to hold my interest; and Janto… well as far as I could tell, his sole characteristic was that he was a prince.

Then there was the romance … I didn’t buy it. Not for any of them. To be honest, this comes down to the fact that if I’m not invested in the characters, I won’t give a monkeys about the romance. So making it a love triangle didn’t really matter to me, because I didn’t care which direction it took. And (spoiler warning) really, I know I said I wouldn’t nitpick, can we please all agree that in a non-romance novel closing on a kiss is naff?

Rating: 2½/5 bananas

Welp, that was the most confusing book I have read all year.

I don't know if I can call it "bad" outright, as there were some things that I did like about the book, yet the plot as a whole felt a little underwhelming. The opening felt like the middle of the book rather than an opening. None of the characters in the first few chapters really grabbed me they were all fairly flat. Vesperi was interesting in the opening, but her sections of the book were not what I was expecting in a YA book, I don't mind reading content like that but I just don't expect it from YA.

The writing was just okay in my opinion. It took far too long for the "big bad" to show up, and I had already started to not care how things turned out at that point. The politics were a little confusing, and the world building was a little weak beyond not covering the politics the way they should have been.

It took me a long time to get through this book, and I must say that I don't really remember details of what happened, things started to blur together at some point.

This was an entertaining book. I had a little bit of trouble getting in to it at first, but once it picked up it was a really good read.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

This novel is most certainly an adventure, trial/combat, novel that feels very much like a Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones type of story. Right away, you get swept into this world with many characters that are sometimes hard to keep track of. Some have similar names, making it even more difficult to remember who is related to who and who is the enemy, but after awhile it does begin to focus solely on a few main characters. There are a few chapters with what I like to call "Random" characters or stories that could have been left out as I felt there wasn't a good enough reason to introduce a character and tell a chapter from their perspective and then kill them off or never hear from them again. I will say, even though Rebecca switches characters with each chapter, I did like how she added their crest or icon to help remind us who they were or what family they were from.

The world building is not bad in this novel. I had a hard time keeping up with time jumps or lapses as they traveled or how far away places were. I will say, that the author commented on one of my posts about her book and said there would be a map in the final edition, which YAY, that is exactly what it needs to help the reader follow along. Bonus points for that addition to the finalized copy!!

Overall, the story wasn't bad, although I did find myself getting bored at parts and forcing myself to continue waiting for the climax. The ending moved very quickly, too quickly for my liking, and it felt a little unrealistic at how the three were thrown into this prophecy and excelled at it without ever knowing they had those type of skills or abilities? It took one of the main characters the entire novel to understand his role in the whole thing when a majority of the book had been focused on him and his namesake. Just seemed odd he didn't question his role until the very last moment and he had like an "Oh, I see" moment.

I think the whole concept of this story is fantastic. I love the ideas and relationships that were put into the book and intertwined within the cities/towns/kingdoms. I would have liked the epilogue to bring closure to the other two main characters as well instead of only a tidbit of one that I really didn't feel needed to be rounded out in the end. Seeing as one is the prince, it would have been nice to know what happened to him and the other female character. Just a thought.

But, I would still recommend this to someone who enjoys a good adventure novel, especially those who enjoy LOTR and GOT type reads. It was fun story.

(I hope they caught some of the grammatical errors or repetition of phrases on their last round of edits...! I wish I had kept track of exactly where they were because there were many times words would get repeated "I should have should gone with.." kind of things scattered throughout where removing one extra word would have made it flow more smoothly.)

This book had tremendous potential, but lost its way, repeatedly. The main characters were incomplete, with motivations that I could not understand, and stories that were mere sketches. At times I disliked all of them, and could find no redeeming characteristics - only their flaws. They lived in a world that was equally vague and undefined, or with details that felt artificially added to the plot when they became essential. Overall, a disappointing read.

This author's exceptional first full length novel boasts epic world building, strong character development, brilliantly complicated plot twists, and rich political commentary about environmental factors influencing people at their human core.

I had a great time reading this! Can't wait to read this again and again

Wings Unseen drew me in with an interesting blurb and attractive cover (I'm all about the cover love). Warring nations, magic and the promise of some badass characters is a sure fire win for me. But unfortunately I don't think the story quite matched up to the blurb. The first few chapters were really confusing, and I couldn't keep track of all the characters and their names. I think this was down in part because of the chopping between so many characters for each chapter. If we'd stayed with one character for more than one chapter I probably wouldn't have felt so disorientated at the beginning.

I enjoyed the magic, but felt the world building was a bit lacking and again confusing. There was little description describing the politics of the lands and about the different cultures/races. I wanted to know more about the people populating these lands.

Vesperi was my favourite character, but even she came across as a little bit more sullen and bad tempered than badass.

All together, a good concept that falls flat a little in execution.

Wings Unseen by Rebecca Gomez Farrell sounded quite intriguing. Fantasy is a genre I tend to orbit around and I was keen to be immersed in a new fantasy world. I did enjoy some parts of the book and I though the magic was pretty cool, but overall I was rather disappointed. 

First off, the aspects of magic and religion were interesting.

I enjoyed Farrell's ideas of a female god and the forces of magic working together in this society she's created. However, there was a lack of context or explanation when necessary. I understand that in fantasy we're usually left to fill in the gaps ourselves, but these gaps were too wide and it was hard for me to comprehend what was happening in some moments. I did enjoy the use of magic towards the end of the book more so.

The characters have specific voices, which was great in guiding the story across three perspectives.

Wings Unseen features three voices: Janto, the heir to the throne; Serra, the prince's betrothed; and Vesperi, the daughter of a Meduan lord. I had a lot of hope for these characters considering the trials they were about to face, but there were inconsistencies with their development and I found the short and quick shifts between them to be jarring. Their development was better towards the end though, and I particularly liked reading Serra's perspective. Also, a couple of the plot directions and changing relationships added an element of surprise I enjoyed.


The lack of world-building and descriptions was frustrating.

It could be because there was no map, but I found this world to be completely messy and confusing. There wasn't much in regards to orienting the reader with the land, or longer descriptions about the Meduans, the Lanserim and the other races. The politics between these countries was also left to the imagination.

Basically, this book is in need of further polishing as quite a few sections were convoluted. I had to reread many sections to fully understand what was occurring simply because sentences were too long or descriptions were confusing. An example of a description I questioned is: "Uzziel waved the club so lustily that he drooled."

Furthermore, the opening chapter simply does not work. It will either turn readers away or leave them confused. Upon reading, it felt like walking into the middle of Game of Thrones season 2 and being expected to know the politics, relationships and issues within the world. Also, it is marketed to young adults, yet some sections feel like they were closer to New Adult, whereas other parts catered to more Middle Grade. It was all over the place and I found it difficult to pinpoint the audience.

Overall, Wings Unseen has an interesting story that would benefit from more descriptions about the world itself and polishing of the text so it's more comprehensive for the reader. Farrell has created some really cool characters and I would love to see them fleshed out more and given longer sections for us as readers to settle in. The use of magic and religion was also fascinating and it would be great to see this with more explanation or context.  

Rating

1.5/ 5.


Disclaimer: Netgalley gave me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to Rebecca Gomez Farrell, Meerkat Press, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.


Well, I've debated my review for about a week. To say I was underwhelmed may be a bit strident, but I'm still left with a flat feeling. While I'm certainly glad I read Wings, I was never excited about any plot twist. The opening of the book threw me for a loop because it reads like a third chapter. I had no idea about whom I was reading. There was just no preparation. I had to start over three times before I firmly had my bearings. Vesperi was meant to be a despicable creature but came across as grumpy and misunderstood most of the time.

Once I finally got into the groove of the pattern of the chapters there was suddenly a spanner thrown in the works when a fourth cretin of a religious order was introduced and completely threw off my flow. Why did it take half of the book for this evil doer to come along? Shouldn't he have maybe either had a few earlier chapters or at least been integral in the previous storyline? As it is it seems like the author decided just then where the book needed to go and wrote him in. It wasn't a smooth transition.
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The book has some good points: the buzzing flesheaters, the squabbling kingdoms of goodness and vice, the "three heads". It was interesting. I just wasn't blown away.