Wings Once Cursed and Bound by Piper J. Blake is the first book in the Mythwoven series. This book was a pleasant mix of fantasy, paranormal romance, and Thai mythology. The characters in this story are very likeable and interesting. I really enjoyed getting to know them throughout the story. Peeraphan is a strong female lead. I loved the slow burn between her and Bennett. Unfortunately the plot and pacing threw me off. The plot was confusing at times and it really ruined the immersion when I had to stop and try to figure out what was going on. There were a lot of plot holes and the pacing was either too slow or so fast it seemed too rushed. Overall, this was not my favorite story but it was a good start to a series that I'd like to continue.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Wings Once Cursed & Bound is the story of Peeraphan, a Thai bird princess or kinnaree, and Bennet, a broody vampire. When Peeraphan puts on a pair of cursed red shoes that don't really seem to hurt her but that she can't take off, she's swept up into a whirlwind adventure.

I didn't really love this book, nor did I hate it either. It just hit the dead middle for about everything. Story: mid, Characters: mid. Though it was just enough to keep me interested, Drake used a lot of telling in this story. I'm not sure if this was a conscious choice or that it should have went through more editors. (Though I am inclined to believe the publisher was trying to cut costs left and right here. See next paragraph for more on that).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Cindy Kay is my favorite audiobook narrator, and I LOVE listening to her narrate things, but it seemed weird to have a dual POV book narrated by only one person. Strange choice of the part of the publishers. (More money saving? Who knows?)

Wings Once Cursed and Bound – Piper J Drake (Audio Book)

I was given a copy of the audiobook through Net Galley in order to provide an honest review.

Piper J Drake is a Thai American author who writes a lot of romance novels – being either paranormal romance or romantic suspense novels, being her London Shifter series or her True Hero series.



Peeraphan Rahttana is just a young Thai American trying to make her way in the world. Her mother has managed to convince her to donate her time by dancing in a performance for an event. That is exactly where everything irrevocably changes her life. It's where the most gorgeous red shoes she has ever seen are mysteriously gifted to her.

But these shoes aren’t any normal pair of shoes, these are cursed and binds themself to the wearer until they dance themselves to death or confront the truth about who they really are. Cue the tall and dark mysterious vampire – Bennet.

Though Bennet isn’t your standard vampire – he's a member of the Dark Consortium. A group of humans and supernatural beings looking for deadly magical artefacts – to keep them safe and out of harms reach.

Now Peeraphan must come to terms with the whole other side to the world she lives in and how to survive long enough to get these deadly shoes removed – hopefully with her life left intact. Yet the longer she is immersed in this magical world the more she learns and can’t bring herself to leave. But she is also discovering who she is – truly who and what she is.

As much as Peeraphan has tried to be and live as a human she is something so much rarer and more than that. She is one of the long forgotten Kinnaree – a Thai princess bird. Unfortunately for Peeraphan there is so little known or written about them.

So Peeraphan with the help of Bennet and the Dark Consortium, is starting a life changing journey to discover who she really is and her place in this world – while also trying to save her life and get these dam red shoes off her feet.



“Wings Once Cursed and Bound” is a Thai themed fantasy story that has a very unique storyline that I found very fascinating and intriguing. I can honestly say it's not a theme or a storyline I have ever come across in a fantasy story before which I found to be very refreshing. I found the character of Peeraphan on the one hand to be strong and on the other to be very naïve. I'm assuming the author was trying to convey the inner turmoil the character was experiencing given the sudden and abrupt changes that happen in her life. Bennet is an old vampire who is meant to have closed off his feelings, yet they seem to quickly evaporate the second he meets Peeraphan. While I really enjoyed the story some elements of the characters and their interactions were extremely rushed and filled with plot holes. If these elements were givenl more time this could have really brought it up to another level.

Interesting start to a series. I really liked all of the beings and the mythologies discussed. The consortium is fascinating as well.
I liked both main characters and their connection. It did feel more like a YA book but I enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This book was interesting, so to speak. But definitely not my type.
The most important thing that I did not like was that it kind of mixed all of the supernaturals together, and it is not wrong or anything. I just sort of have the supernaturals divided into different worlds in my head and to have them all in one world was a little too much.

It could have been a much better and more- culturally centered book in my opinion. The MC is from a Thai culture and I didn't see much of that reflected in this. I actually didn't see much of anything reflected in this book and wish the plot was a more researched and thought through and did not just have supernaturals to qualify it as fantasy.

DNF @ 47%

ughhh I hate DNFing, but I am just not jiving with this book. The plot is all over the place and I literally do not care about it or the characters at all. I'm also not the biggest fan of the author's writing style.

Audiobook is fine, just not interested in this what so ever :(

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape media for allowing me to listen to a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who must have watched the classic film "The Red Shoes" this story was right up my alley! I loved the retelling and I also really enjoyed all of the mythical characters that populated this world. Bennet and Peeraphan were very interesting lead characters and I was extremely interested in all of the supporting characters. The world building is amazing.

Cindy Kay was a very good narrator whom I enjoyed listening to. They reminded me of one of my favorite narrators Cassandra Campbell.

I really didn't like this book. It was really hard to get thru. I stopped and started multiple times. i wantted to like it. but it wasn't my vibe.

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

This was an interesting fantasy novel and the inclusion of multicultural myth and lore was wonderful. The way vampires were portrayed in this book was also interesting and overall the cast of mythical creatures was amazing. I look forward to see what comes next in this series.

Audio 3/5 - Mostly enjoyable but not my favorite. I suppose I don’t have too many specific complaints. Pronunciation and pace were largely good. I just unfortunately found the performance kind of lacking in energy and wasn’t overly fond of the choice of character voices.

Wings Once Curse and Bound may be the most surprising fantasy romance I’ve read so far this year.

Admittedly, I was fully prepared for this to be shit which makes somewhat of a difference (don’t ask me why, I think I’ve just been let down a lot by hype with some recent releases) Still! I was impressed by what I got in this book. The use of lesser well-known fairytale elements and nonwestern folktales as inspiration made this way more original than I was prepared for it to be. The story was unapologetically grim in its telling, which I loved. We also got surprising well formed characters and a (mostly) healthy romantic relationship! Utterly refreshing!!

Honestly this absolutely could have been a knockout, I just have to dock a couple points for the writing. The narration, in my opinion, was occasionally lacking a clear voice. At other times characters motives or scenes were over explained. Everything would be flowing, until suddenly you’d be yanked out of the story and beaten over the head with a recap of what was going on. Really the characters and story were well developed enough that the narrative could have been trimmed way down and ended up more enjoyable! I’ll chalk that up to this being the first of a series. It’s a little frustrating at times though.

I’ll contain any more back-handed compliments and wrap this up. It’s a little rough at times but I did thoroughly enjoy this book! I really look forward to seeing what else Piper J Drake has in store!!

This book had the potential of being amazing. The narrator did a wonderful job. Some of the descriptions were amazing, painting wonderful pictures.

However, the characters seemed one-dimensional. The conflict seemed thrown together and never once truly felt like conflict. As far as I can recall, not a single person was injured (except for the very beginning) despite kidnappings, chases, and fights. The fights themselves happened so quickly that I didn't even have the time to process any tension before they were over.

As well, the romance seemed so forced. I still can't quite figure out why they liked each other. Neither of them really had much personality. She liked dancing for the first quarter or so of the book. He tasted her blood once and decided that she was the best thing to ever happen to him.

It all seemed so forced.

I have so many problems with this book that I hesitate to even write this review. The cover is beautiful!! That mixed with the mention of Thai mythology sold me on giving this book a try. I envisioned a fantasy with a foundation in mythology. What I got was a romance with a sprinkle of fantasy.

The romance between Peeraphan and Bennet was interesting with him being cold and brooding while she was the innocent light to his darkness. I have zero issues with this stereotypical romantic trope. For what would any book genre be without tropes? What I do have an issue with is how much time is spent on their interactions. And, it isn’t just their conversations, but it is the minute internal conversations they have when speaking to each other. It made reading/listening to this book a chore.

Peeraphan, nicknamed Punch, is a sweet innocent character. The main drive of her character is learning more about being a kinnaree, but she meets Bennet. After that, the whole plot of the book gets sidelined. If I could give a better example of how much of this book was plot versus how much was superfluous prose and dialogue, the movie Cast Away comes to mind. The plot is the island, Tom Hanks represents the characters, and the mass of prose is the water. If only he could get off the island! Wilson!

All the love for the various fae, supernatural, and mythological species and characters introduced. It would’ve been amazing if we could’ve gotten to know them more, introduce a background, maybe show some character development. They came off more as stereotypes than characters, and that was disappointing.

I enjoyed the Dragon. I enjoyed the fae and mythology. I also enjoyed that the book was set in Seattle. I don’t believe I have read many books set in Seattle.

However, I can not recommend this book. Maybe if fantasy romance is your main genre you would like this book. But, I was so close to giving up that I don’t want anyone else to feel the same.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the audiobook was very well done and the story was so unique. The shoes almost remind me of Dorothy since they are red and have such a draw to them. The vampires did seem a little out of place given the Thai mythology but when you take a step back and look at the mixture and melting pot of all the different storylines and characters that are introduced it makes sense to set up a series in this way. I thought the audio narrator did a great job especially with vocal inflections and trying to make Bennett sound a little more aloof than Punch. This is not on the level of Maas or Armentrout though but I think it is a great start to an urban series.

4⭐ 1🌶️

Wings Once Cursed and Bound was my first Piper Drake book and what a place to start! I really enjoyed this epic start to what I’m sure will be a captivating series. The mythology woven into the story had me utterly hooked and the world building was so fascinating and unique. The characters were so eclectic and inviting and I can’t wait to see where the rest of the series takes them. My only complaint was that this is written in third person point of view, which I tend to have a hard time connecting to, though it’s truly just a personal preference and I’d still absolutely recommend this book to friends.

Both Peeraphan and Bennett were fantastic and I really enjoyed their banter and chemistry. Peeraphan was such a kind and caring soul, while still showing some backbone and calling Bennett on his nonsense when needed. And Bennett was the delicious vampire boyfriend I didn’t know I needed but now can’t do without. Tragically broken by his past but unable to resist Peeraphan, I simply couldn’t adore him more. Not to mention his sweet little “bromance” with Thomas…I don’t know if I’ve read an enemies to friends storyline but I’m absolutely here for these two as well.

I tandem listened/read this on audio and e-book and Cindy Kay did an excellent job. Both her male and female voices were spot on and I’ll certainly be looking for future books she narrates moving forward.

Peeraphan is a self-taught dancer inspired by her Thai heritage to create her dances. When she puts on a pair of beautiful red shoes that are meant to kill her, and doesn't die - she piques the interest of a secret organization that investigates mythological artifacts. Bennett is the de facto leader of the organization and after preventing Peeraphan's kidnapping by another more sinister organization, she is brought into a world with vampires, werewolves, and fae (oh my.) This is more an urban romance than a fantasy romance and I overall I enjoyed the read. I will definitely be interested in further stories in the series (hoping for a future witch, kitsune throuple.) I loved the addition of South Asian mythology and look forward to more exploration within the diverse world. While I enjoyed the banter between the characters, as well as the side characters, the story could have benefited with more world-building, but a good first entry in a new series. I would recommend to readers who enjoy the Hollow series by Kim Harrison or Chicagoland Vampires/Heirs of Chicagoland series by Chloe Neill.

I really liked the synopsis and I was really looking forward to begin this audiobook. Maybe my mistake was to listen and not read this book because I had a hard time getting into it. Still, the story is nice overall.

The discoveries of new mythologies could have really carried this story but it was too superfluous for me. This is more of a super quick introduction to Thai mythology, which I know absolutely nothing about and would have loved to discover in more detail. There is no deepening, in my opinion, and it's a shame.

Another point that lowered my rating from 4 stars to 3 stars : the romance. The insta-love and insta-lust between the two main characters are too much for me. The romance was poorly delivered. And maybe there's a lot of time passing and I missed the timeline because I wasn't paying attention, but I feel like only a few days pass in this book, so declaring the other character as "the love of my life" was absolutely not believable.

Otherwise, all the characters, whether they are main or secondary, like Thomas, are believable in their personalities. There weren't too many flat moments in the chapters. The bummer for me was really the romance which is, like I said, poorly delivered.

Thank you to Piper J. Drake, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

As soon as I saw this was a take on The Red Shoes I was intrigued! I came across 1948 movie randomly in middle school and it left a mark on my memory. This was such a fun urban fantasy take on the story but it’s so much more than that! The shoes are really just the impetus to set us off into a world of supernatural beings and magical objects.

Peeraphan, Bennet (and Thomas and crew) are a delight! Not to say they don’t have their challenges but it was a nice change of pace in fantasy for a couple to not have to struggle so hard to get together. Love Peeraphan’s journey to figuring out who and what she is and her straightforward approach to life. Bennet is the classic broody morally good vampire, but who wouldn’t be broody after being alive for centuries? Lol

I’m so excited to see where this world goes and hope we get more of our secondary characters! They are all a++

I had a lot of mixed feelings with this book and struggled with how to rate it. I give it like 2.5 stars.

♥️ This book had some really good moments. Let’s start with those:

♥️ It starts off with a pair of red shoes that usually forces the wearer to dance until they die.

♥️ There’s an epic vampire chase and fight!

♥️ There’s a unique, fantastical FMC (a Thai bird princess!), a brooding vampire, and an organization of supernatural misfits.

♥️ So far, really fun and interesting!

🫣 But then everything becomes disjointed—like the author was on an episode of Chopped with a basket full of unrelated ingredients she tried to use to form a gourmet meal. And then she just kept adding more stuff that didn’t make sense.

👠 The moment that should have been the *most epic,* when Punch finally is able to remove the dreaded shoes… is a boring mushroom-induced vision of a philosophy lesson that I ended up skimming.

😭 And then THE red shoes, the whole crux of the plot, just kind of stopped being relevant.

💔 Also the romance was insta-love and their intimate talk was formal and lacked passion.

👀 My take away: Great concept. So much potential. But the execution of the story didn’t work for me.

In regards to narration, the narrator did well overall. But the way the narrator says “Peeraphan” sounds like “Peter Pan,” and I can’t un-hear it. 🙉

Hooked right from the start!

Loved a different spin on the typical vampire lore. There are so many aspects to the supernatural world this is set in. It add so much depth to this fairytale come to life story about deadly dancing red shoes.

Little romance to spice things up! Really fun read!

Great story, excellent narrator. I’ve gotten a bit weary of fairytale interpretations, but this one slaps! It’s like Warehouse 13 meets Grimm!