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A review by catreadsitall
House of Beating Wings by Olivia Wildenstein
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Nonna says I’m a dreamer, but if I don’t dream, then what am I left with?"
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️.5/5
What To Expect:
✔️ He falls first
✔️ Touch her and die
✔️ Forced proximity
✔️ Twists and betrayals
What It's About:
Fallon is a halfling, looked down on by pure-blooded Fae, and she seems to make just about every poor decision under the sun. We start with her falling into the serpent-infested waters around the city where she earns herself the nickname 'Serpent Charmer' for making friends with a serpent rather than getting eaten. Fallon's Nonna (who apparently doesn't know how to have any fun) is a pure blood and, somehow, this means that Fallon got to go to fancy school where, for reasons that boil down to ~plot device~, she was the best friend of Dante, one of the princes of the Kingdom. As you might expect, Fallon is in love with Dante. Along comes a seer who tells Fallon to free the Crows to become Queen. Fallon makes some poor decisions, sets off on a one-woman death-wish mission, makes some more poor decisions, discovers that there are worse people in the world than her grandfather, and absolutely doesn't get the hots for a Crow statue-smoke-man.
What I Enjoyed:
I love a good quest, and this one was fun, actually allowing us to see some character growth for Fallon as she faces trouble along the way. I thought that the world building had a lot of potential, and gave me Venice/Florence vibes throughout - I desperately want to visit! Fallon's friends Sybille and Phoebus are an absolute delight from beginning to end and there just wasn't enough of them. Lore being an actual shadow daddy.
What I Struggled With:
The one-track Dante obsession was just a bit much for me. Fallon spends the first half of the book utterly obsessed with the man and it just became a little monotonous. The pacing struggled for the first half and didn't really get going until Fallon sets off on her Crow mission. Fallon spends the first 50% of the book alternating between dizzyingly naive and irritatingly obtuse, and there were some actual eye-rolls from me at her. Having said that, the writing's good enough that I was able to push on through.
All in all an enjoyable read that had me reaching for the next in the series.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️.5/5
What To Expect:
✔️ He falls first
✔️ Touch her and die
✔️ Forced proximity
✔️ Twists and betrayals
What It's About:
Fallon is a halfling, looked down on by pure-blooded Fae, and she seems to make just about every poor decision under the sun. We start with her falling into the serpent-infested waters around the city where she earns herself the nickname 'Serpent Charmer' for making friends with a serpent rather than getting eaten. Fallon's Nonna (who apparently doesn't know how to have any fun) is a pure blood and, somehow, this means that Fallon got to go to fancy school where, for reasons that boil down to ~plot device~, she was the best friend of Dante, one of the princes of the Kingdom. As you might expect, Fallon is in love with Dante. Along comes a seer who tells Fallon to free the Crows to become Queen. Fallon makes some poor decisions, sets off on a one-woman death-wish mission, makes some more poor decisions, discovers that there are worse people in the world than her grandfather, and absolutely doesn't get the hots for a Crow statue-smoke-man.
What I Enjoyed:
I love a good quest, and this one was fun, actually allowing us to see some character growth for Fallon as she faces trouble along the way. I thought that the world building had a lot of potential, and gave me Venice/Florence vibes throughout - I desperately want to visit! Fallon's friends Sybille and Phoebus are an absolute delight from beginning to end and there just wasn't enough of them. Lore being an actual shadow daddy.
What I Struggled With:
The one-track Dante obsession was just a bit much for me. Fallon spends the first half of the book utterly obsessed with the man and it just became a little monotonous. The pacing struggled for the first half and didn't really get going until Fallon sets off on her Crow mission. Fallon spends the first 50% of the book alternating between dizzyingly naive and irritatingly obtuse, and there were some actual eye-rolls from me at her. Having said that, the writing's good enough that I was able to push on through.
All in all an enjoyable read that had me reaching for the next in the series.