Review: House of Beating Wings by Olivia Wildenstein
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Introduction:
Until an oracle predicted my regal future, I’d never imagined myself rising above the curve of my round ears. After all, I was the magicless halfling loved by beasts but loathed by every pure-blooded faerie at court. Well… by all but one.
Dante Regio, prince of Luce, had owned my heart since he gave me my first kiss. If gathering a slew of iron relics could help me overthrow the current monarch and crown his brother to rule at my side, then treasure hunting I’d go.
If only the oracle had warned me what winged demon I was releasing into the world.
And that I’d become this demon’s obsession.
Review:
Reviewed by Nethra Deckland
House of Beating Wings by Olivia Wildenstein had immense potential to be a great book but unfortunately the author managed to squander each opportunity to take the book to the next level spectacularly. The setting, a fantastical realm resembling Venice comprised of islands, lacked the depth and clarity necessary for effective world building and at times laughable. While the magical elements involving Elemental Fae and The Crows held promise, the author’s omission of proper explanations frustrated me to no end. The “prophecy” was intriguing but to my dismay, the execution of it fell flat. The excessive number of characters added little value to the overall plot, contributing to a disjointed and unsatisfying narrative riddled with plot holes and unaddressed elements from the outset.
Fallon was not a likable heroine at all. I mean I can understand if she was naive and ignorant at first but there was no real character development at all as the story progressed. For the lack of a better word, she came across as stupid the entire time. She jumped headlong into situations with no second thoughts without any rational thinking, it felt surreal. She was all for women working in the sex industry, called them her dearest friends and saw nothing wrong in doing what they were doing but god forbid if someone mistook her for a prostitute herself as she worked in the brothel’s tavern. Then she was all self righteous and above and better than them. She wanted to be queen so bad but there wasn’t a single thought in her head why she wanted to be the queen or how she was going to be any different from the current monarch. All she cared about was getting Dante to the throne so she can sit beside him. God! I am not even going to delve into her childish inner monologues which took up a good portion of the book.
Author set Dante to fail as a character spectacularly. I mean what girl don’t dream their first time having sex to be deep throated right at the start yeah? lol! His portrayal was weak and lukewarm from the beginning. And he was insufferable as well.
Lorcan was the only character that brought any light to this story. However, I didn’t understand at all what he saw in Fallon, especially given he could read her mind. And trust me that wasn’t a fun place to be in!
At midpoint of the book I was ready to give it up but then The Crows came in. Then only the story at least started to be a bit interesting. Honestly, Lorcan was the only reason, although he appeared in his crow form most of the story, that I held on.
Really disappointing book!
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