Really good. The mcs are great and the story is supernatural magic. I really enjoyed the plot. I love fantasy and this one drew me in immediately. Great author

I enjoyed this book, it started off really great. I was very interested to learn more about Asian mythical creatures. The premise of the story was very interesting, and the introduction of Punch and Bennet was really great. However, it did get a little confusing toward the middle and end, there was a lot going on and things were happening very fast. Overall I liked getting to know the characters and enjoyed the journey they took me on. Thanks for the ARC, my review is completely voluntary and honest.

Piper J. Drake’s new paranormal, WINGS ONCE CURSED & BOUND (Sourcebook Casablanca, 304 pp., paperback, $16.99), is the story of a Thai bird-princess dancer — Peeraphan, or Punch for short — trapped in a pair of cursed shoes, and the ancient vampire, Bennett, who’s trying to break the curse.

Bennett is a wonderfully stodgy, formal vampire with a question of classic heroic angst: How do you let yourself love someone you know is going to die? He thinks of himself as immune to time in a way that Peeraphan isn’t, but that’s not true. Bennett is longer-lived, but dead in daytime. His life span is endless but interrupted, a prolonged nocturnal stutter. Peeraphan’s time is all her own — so who is really time’s victim here?

While being a compellingly and interesting story, there was that initial connection and spark that was missing from the characters. A lot of the story seemed rushed and did not allow the reader to develop those initial connections. Even the characters' relationship with each other seemed impetuous.

Peeraphan Rahttana is thrown into the supernatural world and having to navigate it with the charming Bennet Andrews who seeks mythical objects. Unfortunately for Peeraphan, she finds herself stuck with a pair of red shoes that curses its wearer to dance to their death.

Whoever wrote the blurb did this author a disservice by trying to cater to the SJM and JLA fans. This story is so unique on its own. Making this kind of comparison prepares the readers for something like what SJM and JLA bring to the table and it doesn't which could leave readers to disappointment due to expectations. This is more of an urban fantasy.

Oh, I really enjoyed this tale. It intertwined some European lore with Thailand lore and it just blended well. While I understand we aren't suppose to know much about the kinnari, since we are learning as we go with Peeraphan, I do wish we got a bit more before the end of this book. However, I can't wait to uncover more in the next book. The romance was decent with a splash of spice. I recommend to anyone who would like a medley of different cultural lores within the real world, just under our noses.

Ugh. I really wanted to enjoy this book, and I was at the beginning but then there became a point where there was SO much going on and i was so confused. So many characters going on, different journeys they were taking to figure out how to get rid of the shoes, and the relationships. I didn't really find any of the characters to be likable either. Very good concept but not executed well.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review
Three and a half stars rounded up. Paranormal new adult romance about a kinnaree (a mythological Thai bird princess) learning to embrace her own truest self. There are hints at a backstory and I can see this leading to a sequel, maybe even a series for each main character. There’s the expected supernatural elements: vampires, werewolves etc along with some new, at least to me, from Asian myths and legends, as well as a new spin on the red shoes fairy tale.

DNF AT 42%. I am utterly bored. But I think (at least via audio) this would be great for the "mysterious dark hot guy and innocent girl" type of readers. Just not for me. I honestly don't have a rating for this.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

What a fantastic and interesting retelling of the Red Shoes tale by Hans Christian Anderson. Now wrapped up in Thai fantasy, this story was a really compelling mixture of stories. This book has a Thai bird princess, vampires, werewolves, witches, and some other magical/mythical creatures, all working together to get magical items (like the Red Shoes) out of the hands of mere mortals.

The instant love aspect of this story felt a bit much for me, but otherwise, I loved the chemistry between all of the characters and I can't wait for more books in this series.

I am a big fan of fantasy with Asian mythology woven in, and found this one to be particularly intriguing for me. We have elements of supernatural beings, the Thai myth about the Kinnaree - a legendary Thai Bird Princess, and one of my favorite macabre folklore tales of The Red Shoes. It sounds like a lot to incorporate into a story, but for me it just worked.

I also listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the cadence of the narrator’s voice. She was expressive, and paced very well. It truly painted the story in my mind!

I am very much looking forward to reading the next book in the series, and hope to have a physical copy on my shelves at some point.

I love books that are multiple points of view because they keep me on my toes and the entertainment value of them is usually really high! I am not familiar with many of the cultural elements presented in this book but I was thrilled to learn new things as I journeyed through this story alongside the characters. The writing was descriptive and engaging and I really look forward to more stories by this author and also more books in this, which will hopefully be a series! Highly recommend!

Wings Once Cursed and Bound......what a beautiful cover to hook the reader before they even open this story! This story is multi P.O.V., Thai folklore with other mythologies/folklore as well, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance. I like the freshness of the writing and the interesting take on an alternative Seattle. My only drawback would be that the ending wasn't quite a cliffhanger, but it wasn't a complete ending. We will have to see what the next book in the series brings us.

First of all I want to thanks Netgalley and the Publishing House for the opportunity to read this ARC! Thank you so much!

Let's talk about this book!
Let's start with what I had read from the plot: that it was perfect for Sarah L Maas fans! Well, you know I clearly love her, and so every time I read something like that I'm going head over heels trying to find something like what she writes. Although it's happened other times, it wasn't for this one.
Let's start by saying that it's a completely different story from what I expected. The plot is very interesting but could have been developed much better, because the themes are beautiful, detailed and certainly particular, both from a material and a traditional point of view. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, it talks about mythology, Thai tradition, folklore and much more, in addition to the thousand fantastic creatures that are a classic in our fantasy imagination. Here, the Thai-inspired part is very interesting, also because I know very little so it's even more so, so I would have liked something even more focused on this, which would have made the book truly one of a kind.
The plot revolves around a paranormal fantasy with a romance background which, however, in my opinion runs a bit too much (for example, many things on this aspect already happen in this book, when in my opinion we could have waited and increased the tension) while instead i found the paranormal plot really too slow, too much introduction, very fast initial action and then super slow again! Too!
Let's just say that it didn't win me over from this point of view!

This book was fun, and started immediately with sinister magic and a violent battle between vampires. I was "sucked" in and eager to know more. Unfortunately it became a bit convoluted as more and more magical characters were introduced in different roles, many of which lacked depth. We didn't really get their story or significance it just got hard to keep track of who was who. The details got a bit murky as well. How was Punch this mythical Thai kinnaree but kept it hidden so long? Especially if she slept and transformed so easily. A quarter of the way through and there was still so much to figure out that instead of being invested I began to lose interest. It felt like a forced attraction of Punch and Bennett I wasn't buying right away because we didn't get to know much of who they were. It was more of that dangerous handsome immortal who has morals and the tough female protag that breaks down his stoic persona and takes no shit. I'd have appreciated more world building and backstory. The entire book happens within a 24 hour period. Putting those thoughts aside however and just letting the story unfold, the overall story was entertaining. I enjoyed learning about less-known mythological legends and I happen to read this during AAPI month which fit well in recognizing and celebrating diversity and inclusion of Asian culture and history. This story was a unique blend of Thai mythology with fairy tales and paranormal romance. It was marketed more as a high fantasy though and I think that is misleading as it is more a paranormal romance, urban fantasy closer to a Karen M. Moning than Sarah J Maas.

I loved every single thing about this. The modern world setting was done to perfection. It had a diverse cast and drew from Asian culture and I was super engaged by that aspect of the story. But also I loved the romance. This was one hundred percent a supernatural story done the right way. I hope this is a series because I want more. Also, I listened to the audiobook from my library.

What bummed me out about this is that there was legitimate potential early on. Yet, the author decided instead of making a story about fairy tale/supernatural influence in the "real" world, that the MC would fall dramatically in love (while fighting for her life) with a guy she'd known for, what? Like, six hours? Then it's all sexy interludes, but with teeth. Literal teeth. Blech.

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

Wings Once Cursed and Bound was a unique take on a supernatural realm, and I appreciated bringing to light some lesser known mythological ideas. I flew through the book and look forward to the series next books.

In Wings Once Cursed & Bound, we meet Bennet Andrews who just happens to represent a secret organization of supernatural beings and this organization dedicates itself to finding and acquiring mythical objects to protect these objects from the humans. Bennet ends up meeting Peeraphan Rahttana, she just happened to step into a pair of Red Shoes, which ultimately traps her in the shoes curse-she will have to dance herself to death. He thinks he is too late when it comes to The Red Shoes and Peeraphan, but he quickly realizes the curse is not harming her. In the end though, Peeraphan will go through a world of creatures she has never known about.

First, let's just talk about the cover: it is simply eye catching and beautiful.

The premise to me for Wings Once Cursed & Bound sounds beyond amazing and I love that it is marketed to fans of Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer L. Armentrout since they are two of my favorite authors, so that made me even more excited to read this book.

When I first started to read this, I was instantly transported into this books world and wanting to know anything and everything. The writing was well done and I was enjoying our characters.

But, somewhere around the middle of the book it started to feel meh for me. I just was not sucked in anymore and that continued all the way to the end of the book. There was a lot of amazing parts, but there were parts that felt lacking and I think maybe if I knew more of the Thai Mythology that was woven into this story and the Kinaree, then maybe I would have liked this more.

For the ending of this book, it does feel rather incomplete with how it ended. I would not fully say it is a cliffhanger, but just an incomplete feeling. Thankfully this is only book one, so I am curious about the upcoming books and will be checking them out.

"I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you, and I don't want to waste a day, not even a minute, denying myself the joy of it for fear of how much it will hurt to lose you."

Wings Once Cursed and Bound is so original! The Thai bird princess folklore is a wonderful concept and definitely one I want to read more about.

- found family
- diverse characters
- instalove
- multi pov

Peeraphan "Punch" is literally swept off her feet by Bennett as he claims to be apart of a secret organization dedicated to locating magically object. Said magical object happens to be stuck on Peeraphan's feet & they have to work together to break the curse. Bennett is the PERFECT vampire - all tall, dark and brooding.

Although it's set in Seattle, the world building was exceptional. It contains a diverse cast of characters such as vampires, werewolves, fae, witches and many more! And the multi-pov is perfect.

It's definitely a first book in a series and I'm looking forward to what comes next!

As a modern Thai fantasy, I was quite excited to read this as we rarely get South East Asian romance books in this sphere. Unfortunately, I no longer have the motivation to continue with this book and will be DNFing this book at 30%. The conflict of the book was introduced early on: the tale of the red dancing shoes, but everything else I've read to this point has been some form of romantic banter or discussions about how beautiful the main character is. I love that a Thai woman is depicted as beautiful here, however it is not adding to the story or driving it forward at this point. The pacing feels off as well because as of 1/3 through the story, only a few hours has passed since the beginning of the story. While I can forgive a book for its slow plot, there doesn't seem to really be a plot at all to keep me motivated to stay with their story.