DNF at 48%

This book just wasn't for me. I couldn't get into it and I found myself getting easily distracted. I didn't feel anything for the characters and the plot wasn't interesting to me anymore.

I’d like to start out by thanking #Netgalley & #Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me a free digital copy of this book for my honest review.

Wings Once Cursed and Bound by Piper J. Drake was the first book I have read by this author. It is a sci-fi romance novel and highlights Thai mythology & vampires. The book can feel slightly chaotic and as if you you are missing something at times but that is because that is how the primary character is experiencing these things as well. The character development was excellent and the world truly evolved on paper (or e-reader) as you continue reading. I would recommend this novel romance lovers looking to dip their toes into fantasy or fantasy fans that don’t mind a well developed romance! I look forward to seeing this series continue.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book early! This is a wholly original fantasy that I can’t wait to see more of. In a blend of urban/modern and epic fantasy, this book draws from Thai legends as the main character is drawn accidentally into the supernatural criminal underground. While this may sound like a lot of moving parts, it really isn’t. The prose is fast-paced and descriptive in a way that introduces the characters and world building efficiently and effectively without being too clunky. This is a supernatural fantasy romance, but at its core it is about agency and identity. Perfect for fans of The Star Daughter and the Shadowhunters series, this is a new addition not to be missed.

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.

I enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read this rest. While the world building felt a little complicated it didn't detract from the book.

This was definitely a different kind of read for me in all the good ways. I loved the authors writing style so much it was so easy to read definitely will recommend this.

I will leave my review on Amazon and B&N on April 11th

For me this book was a little out there, I do enjoy some books that are fantasy but this one just did not grab me as I like my books to do. I will give the author credit that the book was unique in the fact I had never read anything anywhere close to this storyline before. For those that enjoy fantasy I am sure they will enjoy it so I would still recommend it to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for free, I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I follow the author on Twitter and wanted to try her work. But urban fantasy is very hit-or-miss, and while I like the inclusion of Thai culture, this still didn’t quite work for me.

Firstly, the marketing has done this book a massive disservice. “For fans of Sarah J Maas and Jennifer L Armentrout”? Absolutely not. Do not read this book of that’s what you’re looking for because they are in no way similar except that they all have elements of fantasy. They honestly aren’t even the same genre. ‘Wings Once Cursed & Bound’ has more in common with urban fantasy novels than “high” fantasy. There’s a huge tonal difference that readers who don’t read both, or don’t read more than one type of fantasy, are not going to like/understand. Because of that, more appropriate comparisons would be Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs or Laurell K Hamilton, maybe even Christine Feehan.

The first 10-15% was a bit confusing because I was expecting a lore heavy fantasy. Once I realized it was more urban fantasy, I started enjoying myself. The narrative choices, characterizations and plot structure made more sense. I love urban fantasy, it’s my preferred type of fantasy novel to read but it has specific hallmarks, like any genre and trying to make this book into anything but urban fantasy is abjectly wrong.

All that said, I really enjoyed this book! I loved the Thai mythology and the worldbuilding, I think it laid a perfect foundation for books to come. The romance was a bit cheesy at times but very sexy and full of chemistry. Peeraphan is a great main character, she knows enough to let the reader feel included but withholds just the right amount to keep us interested. The “bad guys” are ominous enough to actually be considered the villains but there’s a lot of room for development.

I’m going to read the next one, I’m so interested to see if it continues with Bennett and Peeraphan’s story or moves onto another couple and how that works within the overall plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A unique and detailed showcase in worldbuilding and characters that bring the romantic drama. I really enjoyed this book.

I vaguely remember the tale of the red slippers and could tell the similarities with Wings Once Cursed and Bound. In general, I enjoyed the journey of Punch trying to remove the shoes. There were parts that I felt dragged a little bit and felt tempted to skim.

While I loved the concept of this book, the writing style kept me from fully enjoying it. I felt like there was too much “telling” me what and how to think and feel rather than being fully immersed. I did enjoy the story although, and I may still pick up the next book when it’s available.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

He was different, like her. Someone who might look human, but was distinctly not.

Peeraphan has always known she is different, a Thai mythological kinnaree born in a family of humans. Hiding from outsiders what she is, has made her feel that she can never truly be herself and allow herself to shine. Dancing has been an outlet and when her frenemie Sirin offers her a pair of beautiful red shoes, she wonders why Sirin is being so generous but is compelled to try them on.
Bennett is a centuries old vampire and a member of the Darke Consortium, supernaturals and humans who search out magical items to collect and safe guard them. When he arrives too late to stop the red shoes that make their victims dance to their death from being worn, he deadens any feelings he might have for the dancer he can't take his eyes off of. When the dancer manages to stop dancing, Bennett is shocked and is thrown into a battle against an old enemy vampire, while growing closer to the one he's trying to save.

“The wearer might be doomed, but at the same time, only the wearer has the chance to break the curse of the red shoes with a true acknowledgment of everything they are, everything they have ever done, everything they have the potential to do. Such honesty would counter pride and vanity and set you free.”

With a gorgeous cover that centers the female main character, Peeraphan, Wings Once Cursed and Bound begins the Mythwoven series. To me, this was more of an urban fantasy story that had a romantic element in it, integrating a lot of cool mythological, supernatural, paranormal, and folklore. Peeraphan knows she's kinnaree but not all that means, as far as her abilities and origins. At the end of the book, after the story, there was a Field Notes on the Supernatural and Paranormal and while I liked how it summarized all the beings introduced, I wished more of the kinnaree could have been explored in the story; I liked and cared for Peeraphan and wished this important aspect of her had been filled out more. Through Bennett, we learn that vampires can be made and born, he's born, and some other trademarks but, like with an aspect of Peeraphan, I wished we could have explored more of his background. If this is supposed to be romance genre, I want my two main characters to have more of a center stage for their romance, this felt more like a fantasy story with Peeraphan leading us into this newly discovered world.

She needed help to save her own life.

As far as world-building, I thought this focused on the right part, all the different supernatural characters and their characteristics. Like I said, I considered this urban fantasy, so the world is as we the reader know it, the fantasy component is through all the different beings existing in the reader's world. We learn that the Darke Consortium is actually one of many groups around the world, they're the good guys with trying to protect humankind by collecting the intentionally dangerous magical artifacts. Bennett's enemy, Francesco is the bad guy and as the story goes on, we learn that he's also tied to a “Babel”, a single or group trying to cause havoc or gain for evil purposes from the artifacts. When Bennett brings back Peeraphan to the sanctuary of the Darke Consortium , we see they have an attraction to each other that could grow and the world gets filled out as we're introduced to all the Darke members, one including a distant cousin of Peeraphan.

“I am kinnaree.”

There were two really great scenes that stuck out to me, Peeraphan and Bennett dancing in the air and then the sponsor of the Darke turns out to be a dragon and when Peerphan first meets the dragon, it will suck you right in. The dragon informs Peeraphan and Bennett that there is a way to save Peeraphan's life and get the red shoes off, a cave of truth and around the mid-way point, we get a journey to the cave. It was after the cave and Peeraphan doing what needed to be done to save herself, that I thought the story slowed some for me. This was mostly told in Peeraphan and Bennett's pov but we get some from Thomas (Peeraphan's cousin) and a witch named Marie that works for the Darke and while I liked those characters, I did think it slowed some of the momentum as it stole away from Peeraphan and Bennett's romance; first in a series issues.

For the first time in not just days, but years— maybe the majority of her life— she had something she wanted to do that was bigger than just herself and the expectations of her immediate family. This felt like a purpose.

The last 30% gives a climax scene between Peeraphan, the Darke members, Francesco, and “Babel”. It was after the battle that I thought even more steam was lost, unfortunately, it's when we get back to the romance. Bennett deals with his feelings of possibly outliving Peeraphan (there was some filling out of his character with having loved and lost before), each declaring their love, and then two bedroom scenes. I thought the fully intimate scenes felt both tagged on the end and since their romance didn't have the depth I was looking for, they didn't hit me they way they were supposed to, that tagged on feeling. This is an adult fantasy, Peeraphan is early thirties, but it also had a tone of YA to me at times, the way her learning about herself journey was relayed and most of the romance tone between her and Bennett. To me, this was a good urban fantasy story that just happened to have a little romance in it. I did like how the writing style had a leading me into the story, instead of pushing, feel and with all the cool different supernatural and mythology incorporated, I can see these elements and plot sustaining a series.

The first 3 chapters were confusing and lost me multiple times. Throughout the whole book there were some sentences that made no sense. Like extra words that didn't need to be used. And sentences missing a word or two to make it make sense. And around half the conversations seemed a little dull. Like it was professors talking to each other in academic conversation, but not in a fun way. I did like parts of the story like the red shoes and it's curse, the folktales and mythology, and the scene where she's in the cave and she faces her truths. But other than that it was just an okay read.

4/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wings Once Cursed and Bound follows the main character, Peeraphan "Punch", who is a Thai bird princess, also known as the kinnaree. One day she finds herself in the middle of a supernatural community when she gets gifted a pair of red shoes that will make her dance until she dies. She meets Bennet Andrews, a vampire who works for a secret organization that collects mythical/magical objects. When he discovers that she possess the shoes, he makes it his mission to help her get rid of the cursed shoes.

This is definitely an interesting and unique story. I have never heard any Thai mythology and it was intriguing to read about. At the end of the book, the author also provides Field Notes on the different supernatural creatures mentioned throughout the book to learn more about them.

I enjoyed reading this book and I highly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this e-ARC. Wings Once Cursed & Bound was a beautifully written adventure that ties multiple legends and creatures together in. The market isn't highly saturated in Thai-based legends, so it was a fresh breath to read something unlike anything I've read previously. This author will be on my radar! Formal review will be available on GoodReads, socials & Amazon.

Wings Once Cursed & Bound sets a decent foundation for the Mythwoven series. The variety of characters creates an excellent narrative with a unique plot. I loved the setting of the PNW and thought it lent itself to this paranormal world of vampires, faeries, werewolves, and dragons. The book's concept is fantastic- I read a lot of fantasy romance but don't often get to read into Thai mythology, and before this hadn't heard of the Kinaree. I did like our two POV characters Peeraphan "Punch" and Bennet. Punch was overall very mature. I loved how anti-miscommunication trope her relationship with Bennet was. Bennet, however, is your typical centuries-old Vampire- he was fine, albeit a bit dull.

This book has some issues with craft- specifically regarding world-building/setting and pacing. I would have loved to have more background on the Darke Consortium and its members and maybe less of the mundane, like baths and financial discussion. The book is more character-driven than the plot, and half of the time, our main (life-threatening) issue was ignored to pursue other activities. Overall, it felt amateurly written and took me quite a long time to read because the pacing issues bored me and resulted in it taking over a month to finish. For the romance, I would have liked to see more build in the relationship between Punch and Bennet. Our characters quickly went from "who are you/what are you?" to "I love you," and it felt awkward.

Despite the issues in pacing, I am interested to see where this series goes, and think there is a lot of potential for success with the concept and characters.

World Building: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Pacing: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
⭐️ Overall: 3/5

Piper J. Drake ventures into Fantasy with the story of a Thai bird princess, Peeraphan (nicknamed Punch) who is gifted a pair of beautiful red shoes. There is one problem. She can't take the shoes off. And the shoes are compelling her to dance to the point of death. Luckily she receives help from Bennett Andrews, a vampire. Bennett works for a group supernaturals known as the Darke Consortium. They search for objects that have magical properties and store in a safe location.

A hermit allows Peeraphan into the forest where she faces the truth about herself. As she leaves the forest, she is kidnapped by the bad guys. By facing her truth, she is able to save herself and help the Darke Consortium take down the group of bad guys.

The book contains kinnaree, vampires, witches, werewolves, and fae. There are also 2 pet Sugar Gliders who are very protective of Punch.

I look forward to more adventures in the world of the Darke Consortium.

4 stars.

ARC review copy via NetGalley

DNF. Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book. Unfortunately I had to give up on this at about 20% in. Yes I knew this would be different from what I usually read, and i’m totally open to fantasy books, but it was really hard to read these characters. Bennett (vampire) did all but sparkle. I couldn’t separate him from pop culture Twilight/Vampire Diaries characters and it was reading like satire to me. Punch was also an unbearable character — she made ridiculous decisions, had unrealistic trust in Bennett waaaay too quickly, and just seemed obtuse. I really wanted to give it a shot, but after putting it down for a few days and then coming back to it, I couldn’t even read a full page before wanting to put it down again. Just not for me :(

I normally skip over books where one of the main characters is a vampire, but in this case I found the description intriguing enough to check it out and am so glad that I did. This is a new to me author and I will be looking for more of her books.

Peeraphan, Punch to her family, is Thai American and realizes that she is different from her family. She has been asked by her mother to dance in a fundraising program and during a rehearsal, she was brought a pair of red shoes to wear that were donated by a patron. It turns out that these are not normal dance shoes and they are being tracked by Bennett, who is a vampire, to prevent them from causing any more deaths. What follows in a great paranormal romance.

I received a free copy of this book to review through NetGalley.