Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wings Once Cursed & Bound by Piper J. Drake is a Thai-inspired fantasy romance that is extremely original. The story revolves around Peeraphan, a Thai bird princess. She lives in contemporary Seattle, keeping her powers and magical nature under wraps. One day, while in a dance rehearsal, she encounters Bennet, a vampire from a secret organization. Peeraphan has been dancing with cursed red shoes, and Bennet wants to save her from them..

Here is an intriguing excerpt from Chapter 1, which is from Peeraphan's point of view:

"Peeraphan Rahttana closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, letting her senses expand until she was aware of every dancer waiting in the wings, of every stage tech behind the backdrops. It was a part of her warm-up when she was onstage, a way for her to get a feel for the people and space around her and prepare for the performance to come. She bent at the hips and reached forward until her fingertips brushed her pointed toes, stretching her muscles as she extended her awareness in a way those around her couldn’t—past the empty rows of seats and outward into the halls beyond until she was aware of every stir of air within the theater, of every warm breath taken and given back.
And sensed one presence entering the theatre that…wasn’t drawing breath. A person, walking across the front hall who didn’t need to breathe.
That couldn’t be good."

Overall, Wings Once Cursed & Bound is an adult fantasy romance that will appeal to fans of Jennifer Armentrout's From Blood and Ashes series or Raven Kennedy's Gild series. One highlight of this book is the focus on Thai mythology. I've never read a Thai-inspired fantasy before. In fact, I can't remember reading any books with Thai characters. It was super interesting to see a new mythology in the fantasy space. Another highlight of this book is how the chapters from dual perspectives were written in third person. First-person dual perspectives is a major pet peeve for me, so I appreciated that. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of fantasy romance in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in April!

Before I even begin my assessment of this book, I want to take a moment to address something. I wish publishing companies would stop - comparing their authors. I think each author has a unique ability without comparison to other authors. Each author's story is different, and unique in characters and world-building and I think comparisons should stop there. I get it that some of the stories may have the same sort of world-building but these stories do not overlap each other. This story is one that does not feel or seem like something Sarah J.Maas or Jennifer Armentrout would write. It may be something similar but all stories have different paths and this is one of them.

Just my opinion on the matter. :D Now for the real review of this book.

I enjoyed this book immensely. The character development was absolutely great. I could see each character grow on their own causing their personalities to shine brightly but never overlapping each other. The world-building was amazing and I loved how richly the mythology and 12 dancing princesses fairytales were woven into the story. This book was actually a fun read.

Not everything is going to be perfect in the first book. I never expect it and I am quite sure the second book will be just as amazing as its first. I am really looking forward to seeing how the next book connects.

10 stars! Adventure, folklore, curses, witches, vampires, and fae - complex plot with interesting characters, and the addition of Thai myth and cursed objects. A bit of romance intertwines and keeps things interesting. Creative and engaging, hope to see more!

Wings once cursed and bound is about a young girl punch finding herself. She’s at an odd in between point in her adult life, trying to be independent. Until one day she is offered a pair of red shoes that will change her life. The shoes don’t come off and they compel the wearer to dance until death. A vampire, Bennett shows up to claim the red shoes, take them out of the mortal world so they cannot keep killing. Their connection changes everything. They both go on a journey together for their changing life and to get the red shoes off punch. They learn more about what they are in their own lives and their own growing relation on the quest to remove the shoes. This is a beautiful novel about Thai folklore. The characters are bold and speak their mind. The alternation of chapters is always a favorite for me. Seeing their relation grow was nice it was a slow burn. The truth punch learns of herself was just as sweet and heartfelt and the friendships she built. This is an arc from NetGalley and sourcebooks. Releasing in April.

She is a Kinnaree who accidentally puts on dancing shoes that apparently are cursed and now she’s entangled with a handsome vampire who is willing to do anything to get the artifacts from her and maybe steal her heart along the way. Peeraphan “Punch” Rahttana is a dancer in Seattle, but her secret is that she is actually a Thai bird Princess known as a Kinnaree (wings included and animal guardians too). When she tries on beautiful red shoes she knows she feels something off but she doesn’t know what, until a dark and brooding vampire appears who claims to be part of a secret organization dedicated to locating objects of myth and magic to make sure they don’t harm anyone... except now the shoes are stuck on Peeraphan, and the curse is very much active and attached to her. Bennet now has to retrieve the artifacts from Peeraphan without killing her and free her from the curse, as well as keep other artifact hunters from going after her. Peeraphan finds her quiet life in Seattle now completely upturned as she is thrown into the supernatural world of vampires, werewolves, fae, and so much more, and she is now searching for answers on what she is herself. Yet the more time she spends with Bennett the more their connection and chemistry grows and despite the fact that he is definitely not available they are drawn to each other. Can they break the curse before it’s too late or will the shoes fulfill the curse and kill her? This is the first book in a series and I had fun with it. It definitely was a fun read and I enjoyed the romance between Peeraphan and Bennett. I can’t wait to see where the next book goes and what new adventures or characters are introduced!

*Thanks Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, Sourcebooks Casablanca for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I had high hopes for Wings Once Cursed and Bound, especially with the comparisons to SJM and JLA. But this story did not work for me. The pacing and writing style didn’t hold my attention enough to finish. DNF at 27%

The narration of the book is off. When it presents something interesting, it loses the reader with unnecessary information that works as a distraction. I read 1 interesting fact and then a bunch of information that had me skipping pages because I just wanted to keep on reading the dialogue.
I loved the fact that the story touches on Thai culture but the book lost me early and I just couldn't get back to it.

A beautiful story with such diverse folklore and characters!

The book starts off fast and you will instantly be drawn into the story. However I did find it peters off and takes awhile for the story to move forward from there.

Really cool concept. Loved the Thai mythology and use of various fairy tales and mythical creatures. However, this just didn’t click with me like I really hoped.

I don't think I will purchase this for our collection. It was a bit all over the place for me. I think the first few pages had me roped in but I lost interest really fast,

Thank you for allowing me a preview of this title. After trying a few times I was unable to connect with the story and the author's writing style was not my cuppa tea. I wish you all great success.

A thrilling fantasy. I was hooked from the beginning. So glad I had the chance to read this and love this!

Thanks Netgalley and Publisher for this advanced copy.

I am from Southeast Asia, so that was why I requested this book. The premise and concept were really interesting However, the dual POV wasn't so good. I couldn't differ their POV. The spicy part was enough and not really too much.

Enjoyed it.

I really liked this one. The premise and mythology are fascinating and in-depth and really immersed me in the story and the characters.

I also really enjoyed the romance element of this book. It felt a little fast in places but was well-written and I really liked the connection between Bennet and Punch. It was impactful and lovely. Punch reacts so stoically throughout the novel, she is very unphased throughout everything that is thrown at her but instead of being boring it works with the story and is just so very intrinsic to her character and personality. The side characters are a diverse bunch of people/creatures and it works very well.

Overall this is a fun, well-thought-out novel and I'm keen to read more from this author in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Fantasy is my favorite genre to read with romance being a very close second. Anytime I get to read a fantasy romance it is the best of both worlds. Wings Once Cursed and Bound left something to be desired in both sides of the genre. From the fantasy perspective I still don’t have the slightest idea what the main character even is. Kinnaree isn’t something I am familiar with so I was intrigued. There were plenty of details about the main male character, Bennett, and his vampire abilities. I enjoyed some of the characters and then end of the book set up a great place to start the next book. I would be interested in reading the next in the series. This may be one of those instances where the world building and background takes up so much of the book it is a bit boring to read but the books that follow are incredibly action packed and fun to read. The romance piece of this romance fantasy was shallow and virtually nonexistent. Overall an okay start to a new fantasy series. 2.5 ⭐️

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wanted to love it and there were parts of it I did, but it couldn’t compare to my 5 star Sarah J Maas or Jennifer Armentrout and for that I was bummed.

The concept is 10/10. I read a lot of fantasy romance and haven’t come across the Thai Bird Princess, aka Kinaree.

As I read this book, there were parts that were great, but there were also parts where it felt like scenes weren’t fully fleshed out. It felt like stuff hopped from one thing to the next without proper explanation, and while you could guess what happened (or didn’t), it definitely felt like the book was incomplete and these inconsistencies bothered me.

While there’s also some good principles in this book, they did feel a little amateurish. And maybe that’s just me. Perhaps others in the target audience need this messaging but I feel like it’s better suited for a younger audience, but with the romance it’s obviously geared towards adults so that’s conflicting.

There is a “to love again” trope, which I think was handled nicely.

I’d rate the smut like one red pepper. You get some spice at the end.

Peeraphan lives her life in Seattle, knowing she has supernatural senses and abilities but purposely keeps it hidden for fear of discovery and what that might mean for her. Despite those thoughts she is curious if there is anyone else out there like her. Peeraphan aka Punch unknowingly gets in contact with cursed dancing shoes which she uses for a dance recital.

Vampire Bennett is a member of a secret organization the Darke Consortium. An organization dedicated to locating objects of myth and magic. Bennet goes on the hunt to retrieve these shoes only to find that they have claimed a victim Punch.

Bennett launches Punch into a supernatural world of magic and folklore that she didn’t know existed. With the help of the Darke Consortium she learns more about herself, what kind of being she is and a way to save her from a deadly fate.

I appreciate that the author made Peeraphan into a character who was not completely helpless but strong and confident despite her lack of knowledge when entering into a new space.

From the perspective of Peeraphan this story has a theme of self discovery and rejection of trying to fit in a box for others. I would have liked to see more of Peeraphan’s life in Seattle (before her encounter with Bennet) in a prologue or in the early chapters of the book to make this point even more impactful.

I liked that Darke Consortium had a variety of beings with they’re own personalities that we get a glimpse of and I wish we got to know them more. I am hoping the author will dive more into their stories/povs in the future. At the end of the book we get descriptions of supernatural beings and items mentioned in the book. I would have liked to reference those notes while reading if I was aware of it before hand. If It was mentioned somewhere in the beginning of the book I must have missed it.

Overall I think it was a fun and unique read and I can’t wait to see what is in store for the future of this series.

Thanks to netgalley for giving this ARC, but this doesn’t influence my review. This was a different fantasy book and I liked it. It featured cursed shoes lol! I didn’t like the double POV, however.

*Thank you so much for this ARC! I really enjoyed this book. The review below does contain minor spoilers. I will be posting non-spoilery reviews onto Goodreads, Amazon, and my Instagram as well.*

-Characters-

“But no one else seemed to have noticed him, nor was he paying attention to anyone else but her. And that was exciting too.” (Absolutely loved this quote. Someone finally said what I was thinking!)

Bennett is an extremely seductive character. I think Piper did an amazing job with describing him! She gave so much detail and yet left the perfect amount of room for personal interpretation which I loved. I also love how he isn’t the ‘I’m a bad boy but secretly a good boy’ trope. He admits he is wicked and enjoys wicked things but still he cares so much for Punch and its beautiful.

Punch is a truly interesting character. She is so upfront about who she is and what she wants and doesn’t let embarrassment hold her back from anything. I love how kind and courageous she is. She’s also a very go with the flow type person. While I appreciate how independent she is and obviously confident in herself, I do think she takes it a bit too far sometimes. I don’t believe it makes a woman unfeminist to let a man take care of her every now and then and she could be a bit stubborn.

Thomas’s character is very funny to me as he is a werewolf and so he’s quick to anger and OF COURSE him and Bennett almost never get along. Marie’s POV was interesting because I absolutely love all the lore surrounding kitsune and so I am very excited to see where that storyline takes her.

I really enjoyed following Punch in meeting all of the members of the Drake Consortium! I found all of the characters interesting enough that I wish we could have explored who they were even more. All we got in this book was a surface level view of themselves and what kind of supernatural they were. Their voices all also sounded so similar that there’d be many times where I would forget whose I was in.

-World-

“Anxieties grew in the dark when one wouldn’t confront them in the light.”
We mainly stayed around the Consortium mansion for the majority of the book but I liked how much of this supernatural world we saw and with all that was teased, I’m excited to see more in future books! The world that Marie took them too was so dark and magical and very, very intriguing to me. I want to learn about the creatures that reside inside of it and why those hermits are there.

-Plot-

“Come to me’ Aw, now, that didn’t sound like a good idea at all.” (I found this one particularly hilarious.)

The main plot of the story is them all trying to figure out a way to get Punch out of those red shoes alive while also kind of dealing with the mystery of her being a kinnaree. Most of the story was them bouncing from person to person to try to find an answer and when they finally did, I found the answer very interesting. It being Punch needing to face her deepest truth was a result of the shoes being sent directly to her and that particular question never got answered. Who exactly sent the shoes to trap Punch and why?

The scene where Punch faces her deepest truths was written very beautifully. My only issue was that the truths weren’t any shock to me and I had expected something bigger than what they’d turned out to be. It mainly just didn't feel truly transformative to me.

-Romance-

“He was not the sympathetic, tortured soul made popular in human books and movies. Predatory and powerful, he took pride in the simple fact that he was one of the most dangerous creatures in existence, even among his own kind.”
Bennett and Punch’s relationship is (from the beginning) a very hot and yet sweet and gentle one. I found their interactions so intriguing and I never wanted them to stop. Also the banter was always perfect and the respect?! The respect they give to each other is PHENOMENAL!! It definitely feels very grumpy-sunshine vibes but she’s the only one he’s super cool with. I also adore how protective he is with her.

The one thing at 50% that I’m beginning to find bothersome is that Bennett and Punch have plenty of chemistry, both emotional and physical, but…there is zero conflict between them. Which seems like the ideal world but thats what I love most about reading any romance is them slowly overcoming the conflict (or deciding they can’t). This said, I’m wondering if maybe there will be a big twist that throws everything into chaos.

Okay after finishing this book I learned that Bennett and Punch never really have any big conflict. The one they do seem to have feels small at best.

-More of My Favorite Quotes-

“So what do I do, just wave my wrist in front of him?”

“Please settle yourself before I attempt to…tuck you in myself.”

“I broke out of it because Bennett’s presence irritated the hell out of me.”

“While we’re making adjustments, I need a corgi,” Ashke announced. “If I’m to properly see to the security of this island, I need a battle steed.”

-Overall-

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! The writing was very beautiful and humorous. I seriously can’t wait for the next installment and I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a mature fantasy romance with spice! Thank you so much Sourcebooks Casa for this wonderful ARC.

In wanted to like this but found ti hard to get into and ultimately was left unsatisfied, which is a shame cause the premise sounded so good.

I really liked this book and hope to read more in the series. Peeraphan Rahttana, or Punch, is of Thai descent and works as a dancer. She knows there is something different about her and she is somehow sure that she needs to keep her unusual gifts hidden. She can extend her awareness to her surroundings and has some control over air and water. When her "friend" Sirin gives her a pair of shoes that were donated for her current production, she is at first hesitant to take them, until she actually sees them. They are a beautiful shade of red satin and she is immediately spellbound by their perfection. Even better, they are a perfect fit and easy to dance in. She knew there was something wrong but couldn't seem to focus on what it was.

Bennett Andrews is a vampire, an old vampire. He has come to the theater to collect the red shoes. He had had a small hope that he could intercept them before their victim put them on, but he was too late. The curse on the shoes would force the wearer to dance until she died, either from exhaustion or an accident caused by the dancing itself. All he had to do was wait. But when the dancers take a break the woman stops and sits down. Huh. Getting closer while staying hidden, he realizes that the woman is aware of him. He refuses to get too invested in her well-being since he is sure she hasn't long to live. But he can't stop himself from trying to let her know that she was in danger. The next thing he knows he is scooping her up and running out of the theater.

Punch finds herself thrown into a world of the supernatural as she and Bennett try to find a way to get the cursed shoes off her feet before it is too late. She becomes reacquainted with a long lost cousin who is a werewolf, meets a dragon who is everyone's boss and a fae who acts as the household butler, then then there is the witch who knows the way to another dimension where Punch may get answers. She and Bennett are growing closer, but he has events in his past that keep him from wanting a relationship with a human. But is she really just a human?

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and my review is voluntary.