Wings once cursed and bound was an entertaining read, but it moved a little slow for my liking. This book is packed full of mythical beings and objects. The first character we meet is Peeraphan, otherwise known as Punch. She's a self-taught dancer. One day at practice, she is given a beautiful pair of red shoes... you know the ones from legend, they make you dance until you die... enter Bennett, he's something else but quite human, but Punch isn't sure what at first. This starts Punches journey into the supernatural.

I was 3/4 of the way through the book before it really caught my attention, and I rushed to the end. It's highly imaginative, and i will be checking out the second book when it's available.

Thank you NetGalley!

A solid three stars.
A very good paranormal contemporary novel.

Punch’s journey starts off when she puts on a pair of red heels. They aren’t just any shoes. They are a magical relic from European folklore that foreshadows death to the wearer until they can dance no longer.

She encounters two vampires that want the shoes and luckily Bennett protects and saves her from Francesco but very injured.

She helps him back to his home where she meets different supernaturals for the very first time of her life. A faerie, werewolves, witch, dragon, and many many more.

This story is very slice of life where different characters point of view are interjected to make a well rounded story.

Punch is curious but takes accountability for her actions - good or bad, and has such a wise way with words and reading the room to address it properly. Very mature of her. She is discovering herself but in a very serene way.

I enjoyed this story because I never heard about Thai mythology and folklore before so it was very refreshing to be introduced to Kinnaree. What Kinnarees are capable of hasn’t been explored in depth in this book but I foresee the next book diving deeper into understanding Peeraphan’s gift.

This is my first Piper J. Drake book and will not be my last. This book compelled me from the first pages. I adored Peeraphan (Punch) – her vulnerability, honesty, positivity, and ability to feel fear and misgivings and try to do it anyway. I read a lot of romance – most of it fantasy – and this was the first book in a long time where I was just as invested in the plot as the relationship development. She's an incredibly relatable and likable heroine. The world Drake created is exciting and fascinating. I appreciated that we got multiple POVs, including Bennett's and Thomas's. The book felt fast-paced to me right from the beginning. I can't wait to continue this series.

3.5 ⭐️
A new fantasy series by Peper J. Drake that is inspired by Thai mythology. I always love finding new fantasy books that are inspired by mythology in general. I always find it fascinating. One of my favorite last year was Kaikayi and this year this might be a contender.
Bennett is the MMC and he goes into the theater where our FMC Peeraphan, aka Punch, is dancing. Punch was given these shoes by Sirin and Bennett a vampire tracker has come to get the shoes. Once the shoes are put on it means almost a certain death for the wearer, causing them to dance till they perish.
If you like fantasy romance that has a bunch of different types of supernaturals give this a try.

I feel like this one could have been better. It felt like parts were good then others were not. But I seriously am starting to hate when publishers say things like (For fans of Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer Armentrout comes a bold and captivating fantasy by bestselling author Piper J. Drake) Because, those two authors are amazing and all of their stories are so good. So you expect something along those lines and when you don't get it you're disappointed. And that was how I felt with this one.

This was an interesting read and one I was drawn to by the beautiful cover! We follow a Thai princess who is also a bird we have myths of vampires, werewolves, witches, fae, and a host of other supernatural creatures. So a lot if happening all at once. There's also a romance between our FMC and MMC which was more instalove and not a ton of depth to their love. The plot is based off a fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen BUT with a beautiful Thai twist. It adds so much more opulence, diversity and a culture I want to know more about. The dialogue is quick and witty but the worldbuilding was tad bit lacking. It was also really hard to get into but once you hit 30/40% in it picks up and the story gets interesting, I enjoyed the FMC and the wild journey she was thrust into...I mean who wouldn't want to try on a hot pair of red heels?? The supporting characters are quirky and delightful and reminiscent of all the lovable weirdos in Alice in Wonderland. I do rate this 3.5 stars though for the lack of worldbuilding and the slow buildup to get the story moving.

Peeraphan is of Thai descent and knows she has some magical abilities... but only once she falls in with a supernatural consortium of vampies and werewolves and fae (oh my) does she begin to come to terms with fully what she is.
Frankly, this book was disappointing: it's a Western paranormal romance with Thai mythology shoehorned in. Peeraphan is not fully realized, barely acknowledges her Thai identity, and never questions why on earth she's a kinnaree, much less even acknowledges that she even has a family. She falls in instalust (but no!! it's actually Twue Wuv) with Bennett, a vampire, and it's just Twilight all over again, complete with terrible, clunky writing.

First of all, thank you so much to the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, for sending me an ARC of this book! I can say that the cover is just as fantastic in person as it seems from the small image above. Very unique and vibrant, just the sort of cover that would make me pause when browsing the aisles of the bookstore. Unfortunately, however, I didn’t enjoy the actual book itself nearly as much.

When a fellow dancer hands Peeraphan a box with beautiful red dancing shoes, she can’t resist their magnetic appeal. Now, however, she finds that these are not in fact ordinary shoes, but slippers that have been cursed to compel their wearer to dance themselves to death. Luckily for Peeraphan, her own magical heritage has given her some level of protection from the shoes themselves. But there are those who are hunting artifacts like these, and they don’t seem to care that the shoes are currently attached to a living woman. Another artifact hunter, a vampire named Bennet, has also been tracking the shoes, but after meeting Peeraphan, he realizes that much more is at stake than a simple recovering mission.

I initially requested this book because of the very intriguing premise of the Thai legend of the kinnaree. Urban fantasy has long been entrapped by the classic monsters like vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc. So I was incredibly excited to see a story focused on a lesser known legend. I also know next to nothing about Thai folklore or the legend of the kinnaree. Unfortunately, I still don’t. I’m not exactly sure what happened here really. I feel like I was sold on this very specific premise, but then I started reading the book and it turned out to be…not that. Our main character, who also goes by Punch (dislike), knows next to nothing about her own abilities. And then as the book goes on, very little is added on to that. Instead, we were once again bogged down with vampires and the typical “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” ilk.

I also never felt like Punch was given much characterization. The shoes show up with in the first few pages, far too quickly for any good character work to have been established prior. And from there, the action quickly sweeps her along, but I’m never given any reason why I should care or be particularly invested in her story. Instead, I was mostly just frustrated from the start! She senses something strange about the shoes right off the bat, and then, of course, just puts them on anyways. It wasn’t a strong start for the character, and the story never seemed to recover from there.

I also didn’t really care for Bennet or the romance as a whole. Again, his character and story felt incredibly familiar, with very little new to say about vampires or any of the other beings we encounter. The love story also felt rushed towards the end, and I couldn’t tell exactly who the audience was for this book. It didn’t feel as if it could commit fully one way or another, reading at certain points as very YA and then at others trying to take on a more gritty, adult tone.

Overall, the entire thing really didn’t work for me. Part of the problem was that I had fairly high expectations going in. I was really excited by the idea of a new urban fantasy story that was pulling from lesser known legends, and then when the book failed to deliver on that, it was hard to latch on to anything else. I think there will be readers who enjoy it, however, especially those who really enjoy urban fantasies as a whole. It just wasn’t for me, sadly.

Rating 6: While it’s an acceptable urban fantasy on the whole, I feel like the primary premise, that of the legendary Thai kinnaree, was a complete let-down.

Link will go live April 19

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Fantasy

Wings Once Cursed and Bound is an interesting fantasy book that mixes Thai mythology with fairy tales and paranormal romance. It is the first book in the Mythwoven series. The story follows Peeraphan, a Thai bird princess who lives in Seattle, hiding her wings and magic from the world. Peeraphan is cursed by magical red shoes, a pair of cursed artifacts that force the wearer to dance until they die. She meets Bennet, a vampire who works for a secret organization that collects objects of myth and magic. He tries to help her break the curse and protect her from other supernatural enemies.

The story is narrated from multiple points of view in the third-person narration style. This is more like an urban fantasy with a magical world, so expect many creatures like vampires, werewolves, fairies, dragons, etc. I’m not aware of Thai folklore and myths, but I think the story has a lot of that. However, the red shoe curse seems to be a fairy tale from one of Hans Christian Andersen’s stories.

In my opinion, this is a good first book that lays a solid foundation for the series. The author has done an excellent job of including a wide range of different characters into the narrative. The primary protagonists are likable characters in their own right. I think the author should spend more pages building the world itself, preferably by giving it a clear structure. I would much rather read more pages about how the characters interact with one another and how the world works in this narrative than about how relaxing a bath was for the heroine. These are the little, insignificant scenes that made the pacing feel somehow off to me. I feel fewer of these scenes and more world-building would make a huge difference. Maybe the second book will have more surprises. I’m interested to see where the author will take this story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have never read a Thai mythological book and this was a treat. I was hooked from the minute the shoes went on Peeraphan's feet. The world building and character development was by far my favorite. I wasn't a huge fan of Bennet at the beginning but he grew on me.

I was SURPRISED to get dual point of view chapters. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to see the story from both of their eyes as we went along. I'm really hoping that as the series goes along we find more characters who know about the Kinnarree because I'm super curious.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

I was drawn to the book by the beautiful cover art. However the story within just blew me away. Peera is "rescued" by Bennett, a vampire and comes to learn that life is not what she thinks it is. She is not all human. This book will draw you in.

I wasn’t a big fan of this book but it did have its moments. I just felt that although it’s supposed to be more new adult, it read more young adult obviously except in certain scenes.

The beginning of the book caught my attention with a fascinating plot that left me eager to solve the main character's problem. The story introduced a group of paranormal and mythical creatures called The Dark Consortium, and I found their dynamics intriguing. However, I wished to learn more about them beyond their appearance. The main character, Peeraphan, also known as Punch, displayed a sense of wonder despite her perilous circumstances. Her pivotal moment came when she stopped pretending to be someone she wasn't and embraced her true identity.

However, I found the connection between Peeraphan and Bennett too rushed, following the clichéd "Instant love" trope. The chemistry between the characters was lacking, and their dialogues felt constricting. While I understand that Bennett's character is a vampire who has lived for a long time, his robotic way of conversing with Peeraphan feels stiff and unnatural.

I appreciate that the story was written in the third person limited, giving me insight into the perspectives of Punch and Bennett. However, the narrative was too reliant on telling rather than showing from their viewpoints.

This book is a quick-paced tale of discovering oneself, experiencing love at first sight, and finding a new family.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Peeraphan, or Punch as her friends refer to her, lives in Seattle. While rehearsing for a dance performance, one of the other dancers presents her with a pair of red shoes that fit perfectly. These red shoes soon expose her to a world of magic and mythology. A vampire, Bennet, who works for a secret organization that locates magical objects, claims to want to save Punch from the shoes that force anyone wearing them to dance to their death. Punch, however, seems to have a strange ability to counter the deadly effect that the shoes have on mortals. Perhaps Punch isn't as mortal as she first seems.

Drake creates an interesting world of folklore and myth in the first book of her new series. Punch, Bennet, and the supporting cast of characters are interesting and readers will be excited to learn more about each character's abilities. At times the writing does fall flat and the flow of the story stalls. Readers who enjoy Sarah J. Maas and/or the Twilight series will enjoy Wings Once Cursed & Bound.

A very enjoyable book one.
I really liked the Thai mythology and how fluid the world building and paranormal aspects wove into the story.
The characters were great and I’m interested to see them get even more developed as the series continues. It didn’t feel like a cliffhanger as much as the adventures have other places to explore.
*this is tagged as YA I don’t think that is accurate?

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuester Children’s publishing.

I didn't finish this book. I received this book by mistake.
I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I didn't read.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! There are things I loved about Wings Once Cursed & Bound and other things I thought fell flat. I loved the characters overall. Peeraphan (Punch) isn’t what she seems, or even what she initially thinks of herself. I loved the banter between her and Bennet. I love a good “facing our truths and suppressed feelings to move forward”…it’s something we all face in our lives. The downside is parts just felt choppy. It seemed to sometimes jump from situation to situation without much explanation or flow. This made the world building less complex which was surprising since it was compared to Maas and Armentrout who I feel like both build complex worlds in their writing. I liked it enough that I’d read book 2 to see where the story is going!

This was an interesting read and I like the Thai Mythology woven into the story. I was hooked from the start and didn’t want too stop. First book I read from this author and it won’t be the last.

I liked the plot, however, It moved slow at times. The writing style was too matter of fact and I didn’t get very much emotion out of it. I still liked the storyline but the flow was not there.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great fantasy novel and I throughly enjoyed this novel. This book was a great read.