Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: April 11th, 2023
Pages: 304 (9 Hr. 36 Min.)
Publisher: Dreamscape Media (Sourcebooks Casablanca)
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Publisher’s Synopsis:
“For fans of Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer Armentrout comes a bold and captivating fantasy by bestselling author Piper J. Drake.
My wings unbound, I am the Thai bird princess
The kinnaree
And no matter the cost,
I will be free.
Bennet Andrews represents a secret organization of supernatural beings dedicated to locating and acquiring mythical objects, tucking them safely away where they cannot harm the human race. When he meets Peeraphan Rahttana, it’s too late—she has already stepped into The Red Shoes, trapped by their curse to dance to her death.
But Bennet isn’t the only supernatural looking for deadly artifacts. And when the shoes don’t seem to harm Peeraphan, he realizes that he’ll have to save her from the likes of creatures she never knew existed. Bennett sweeps Peeraphan into a world of myth and power far beyond anything she ever imagined. There, she finds that magic exists in places she never dreamed—including deep within herself.”
My Review:
I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand I was captivated and absorbed, but then there were moments that really pulled me out of the story altogether.
I needed more depth from the story world, more insight into the characters to really connect with them, and the plot was very brief with the quest way over simplified. I felt like this story had a lot of potential that it didn’t quite live up to. And while I liked what was there, there just wasn’t much of it.
I think my biggest contention was the age of the characters. Just from reading it, I thought this was young adult. Punch seemed way younger than she is supposed to be and the overall vibe of the story feels juvenile. And, honestly, the “sex scenes” were the most awkward things I’ve ever read. The spice seriously gave me the ick. It seemed really random and there wasn’t enough build up or tension or passion to make it believable.
I did like the multiple POV – I’m generally a huge fan of multiple POV stories. Even still, I didn’t really feel much of an emotional connection with either Bennet or Punch. I loved that the attraction between them was based on their personalities, her courage and his benevolence, rather than physical aspects. Similarly, I liked that the quest centered around accepting herself for who she is.
This was an okay start to a series. I would hope in future installments we get more detailed into the world and lore, as this one was very lacking in atmosphere and backdrop. In general, this was very generic, predictable, and didn’t bring anything special. If you’ve read any young adult fantasy book, you’ve basically already read this one. I don’t think that adult fantasy readers will love this one. I was personally a little disappointed that it was even marketed this way when the story lacks the depth and maturity that you would expect. While that isn’t necessarily a bad way for a story to be, it just meant that this didn’t live up to reader expectations.
The audiobook narration was done well and I really liked getting to hear the proper pronunciation for a lot of the Thai words. I thought the narrator did well with the cadence and flow of the story. But overall it was meh. I liked it, it was easy, kind of a fun simple escape for a few hours, but not something I’m likely to remember in a year.
Disclaimers:
Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an early copy of this amazing story! I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Have you read this book? Planning to add it to your TBR?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
I love a good book discussion. 🙂
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