Review: Clipped Wings by Helena Hunting

Clipped Wings (Clipped Wings, #1)
Helena Hunting
March 4, 2014
Gallery
400 pages

An emotional love story that follows the touch-and-go relationship of Hayden and Tenley; two young people who desperately want to love and be loved but are afraid to completely let go of their pasts.

As Hayden and Tenley navigate their newfound but slightly unstable relationship, they want to trust each other, but Hayden is hiding a dark and shameful past that he doesn't ever want Tenley to find out about. And Tenley has secrets of her own that could make Hayden run away forever. When Tenley asks Hayden to put a beautifully elaborate tattoo across her back, the two form what they thought was an unshakeable bond. But when Tenley's past shows up on her doorstep, will Hayden stand by her side...or run?


Laura's Review:

This book should be called "Clipped Book" instead of "Clipped Wings." I would have liked it a whole lot more if I weren't left with the feeling that it wasn't a complete story. I received a copy from NetGalley and nowhere there was an indication that it was not a stand-alone. And even knowing it is a series, I'm a little tired of this new sort-of trend where people take a full complete story arc and chop it into pieces and then call it a "series" - that's not a series, those are "serials." After reading 400 pages, I feel like I'm owed some kind of resolution.

With that said, up until the end, I did enjoy this book. It follows a changing POV, which I normally feel is a distraction, but I thought was very well used here. I loved Hayden - he's one of those heroes with a bad-boy exterior, but truly is a warm, caring person. His relationship with Tenley felt real and not as rushed as a lot of the NA genre seems to be. The pseudo-family of the tattoo shop is a perfect blend of personalities. There was a bit too much drama - much of which felt forced - and I felt that lowered the credibility of the book a bit. It felt more like it was set in a high school age group than with twenty-somethings. And Tenley was great, but seriously needed to grow a pair. I didn't understand where all the self-doubt came from, and I just wanted to shake her and tell her to stand up for herself! I hope she gets a chance in the next book, but I don't think I'll be investing another 400 pages of time to find out.

Clipped Wings: 2.5/5 stars

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange of an honest review.