Wings Once Cursed & Bound
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
For fans of Sarah J. Maas's Crescent City comes a bold and captivating Thai contemporary 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.
Peeraphan Rahttana lives her life in Seattle, unaware of the complicated magical world spinning just beyond the shadows and mist…until a violent clash outside her dance rehearsal has her literally whisked off her feet. Her darkly brooding rescuer, vampire Bennett Andrews, claims to represent a secret organization dedicated to locating objects of myth and magic, tucking them safely away where they can do no harm—but he’s too late to save Peeraphan from a deadly curse.
Yet Peeraphan isn’t what she seems. Wings unbound, she’s a Thai bird princess of legend...and while the curse won’t kill her outright, it’s only a matter of time. Determined, Bennett sweeps Peeraphan deeper into a supernatural world far beyond anything she ever imagined in a desperate bid to find a solution...and an explanation for the powers even she doesn’t know how to define.
Her world may have changed overnight, but Peeraphan knows one thing for certain: she can’t go back to living as a human anymore. Not when she’s felt what it’s like to fly with Bennett by her side. She's determined to keep her wings and her freedom…and defy anyone who would try to take them from her again.
What would you save if the world you knew disappeared and you could open your eyes to what exists just beyond?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Drake (the London Shifters series) launches her Mythwoven series with a spicy but shallow paranormal romance that blends Thai mythology with Hans Christian Anderson's "The Red Shoes." Contemporary Seattle dancer Peeraphan Rahttana has no idea that she's a kinnaree, a rare Thai bird princess, or that there's an underground magical world all around her. Then she unknowingly wears a pair of cursed shoes during a performance, putting her in the path of the Darke Consortium, an organization that seeks out magical objects to prevent mystical mayhem. Its leader is centuries-old vampire Bennett Andrews, who, despite being unusually powerful for his kind, is injured in his attempt to retrieve the shoes—and Peeraphan offers her blood to save him. With the shoes' curse—which forces the wearer to face their sins—already active, Peeraphan needs Bennett's help to free herself. In the process, she discovers her true nature and falls in love with Bennett. The kinnaree is a delightfully unusual supernatural creature to center, and there's potential in the ballet backdrop, but Drake does little to emphasize these unique elements amid familiar paranormal plot beats. As well, her stiff prose relentlessly spells out her characters' every thought and feeling, always telling, never showing. This one is only for diehard fans of the genre.
Customer Reviews
Intriguing and enchanting
3.75stars-WINGS ONCE CURSED is the first instalment in Piper J. Drake’s contemporary, adult MYTHWOVEN paranormal, romance series focusing on a group known as the Darke Consortium, made up of several supernatural powers. This is Peeraphan ‘ Punch’ Rahttana, a Thai bird princess known as a kinnaree, and ancient vampire Bennet Andrews’ story line.
Told from several limited omniscient third person perspectives including Bennett and Peeraphan WINGS ONCE CURSED follows in the wake of the attempted abduction of our story line heroine. Peeraphan Rahttana aka Punch is a Thai bird princess, a mythological kinnaree, and the target of a collector of rare items, artifacts and creatures. A gift of a pair of red satin dance slippers imbued with magical yet deadly powers from an unknown benefactor finds Peeraphan beholden to her would-be rescuer, ancient vampire Bennet Andrews, as they search for a cure to the never ending dance. With the help of several members of the Darke Consortium including vampires, witches, shifters, fae and sidhe, Peeraphan must venture onto a journey of truth, a journey in which Peeraphan’s legitimacy and certainty will free her from the ‘dance of death’. What ensues is the building relationship between Bennet and Peeraphan, and the potential fall-out as the collector makes good on his desire for our heroine, and Bennet must come to terms with the past.
The relationship between Peeraphan and Bennet begins as a rescue but Bennet is gravely injured and our heroine must ‘donate’ blood in order to save his life. Connected at a visceral level, Bennet and Peeraphan must search for a remedy or fix to remove the red satin slippers that are controlling our heroine’s life. Bennet struggles in the wake of losing someone he loved, someone whose life span was limited, someone he compared to Peeraphan Rahttana. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate without the use of over the top,sexually graphic language and text.
WINGS ONCE CURSED is a story steeped in Thai and Asian mythology with a large number of supernatural beings including dragons, vampires, shifters, fae and witches. We are introduced to several members of the Darke Consortium, responsible to locate and retrieve objects of myth and magic: Werewolf Thomas, witch Marie, Bennet’s personal assistant Duncan, winged Fae Ashke-the head of security for the Darke Consortium, Asamoah, and Peeraphan’s sugar gliders Toby and Cori. The requisite evil has many faces
WINGS ONCE CURSED is a story of power and control, obsession and greed, magic and the supernatural, acceptance and understanding. The premise is intriguing and enchanting but the early chapters were more telling than showing, often to the point of discomfort. The romance is fated and tender; the characters are edgy and spirited.