Customer Reviews

A Rush of Wings: Book One of The Maker's Song

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I picked this up at the airport, and was immediately sucked in. So I bought it (despite the outrageous airport prices) and pretty much finished it off in the day I was traveling.

The first third of the novel is quite good: the crime, police involvement, the introduction of our two protagonists, as well as various other plotlines, are deftly woven in.

Both of the leads are about as cliched as they come; one gorgeous but determined police detective - check; one stunningly sexy, dark and mysterious vampire male - check. They are, at least initially, saved by the complexity of their backgrounds, characterizations and motives.

Unfortunately, about the second third of the book, things go downhill.

Heather Wallace is supposed to be an FBI profiler who is heading the investigation into an infamous serial killer - but damned if I can figure out why. I'm honestly not sure how a profiler is heading a case, instead of a detective; but the point is, she's not a field agent. So what she is doing hot-dogging it around solo is beyond me. It also becomes clear that she is far too young (and oh so coincidentally gorgeous) to be doing this job.

She makes several very stupid mistakes; her gun magazine is stolen and she doesn't even realize it; she walks into a fight with her purse; etc. There is also the fact that she hooks up with her main subject after two days; this despite knowing he is a possible pschopath.

As for Dante Prejean, he has a fascinating build-up. But he also makes some very stupid mistakes, at least one of which resulted in the person he was trying to save being killed. There's a definite angry teenager here rather than an actual adult, complete with massive amounts of melodrama and angst. It also cannot help but call into question even further Heather Wallace's judgement in getting involved with him.

The supporting characters are numerous and generally well fleshed out. I actually thought De Noir would have been far more attractive as the main male lead. His backround, history and involvement come out gradually, but are never fully explained. Also, fair warning to the reader; there are several strange terms he uses which require referral to the back of the book.

The last third of the book picks up again. But at this point, a lot of connection with the story has been lost. The author, I think, tried to take on too much for her first novel. But all the various subplots do come together and most questions are answered.

The characters do not impress you with their intelligence, and the book lacks in the realm of realism, originality and consistency. You can find reworkings of these themes in other novels and fanfiction all over the web. The melodrama is high, the romance is overdone, and the police procedural fizzles badly. But it's still very entertaining, fairly interesting, and has good charaterization. The writing is above average, and the author manages to hold onto the complex plot.

Bottom line; nice effort for a first time author. If you like Kim Harrison, Carrie Vaughn, Mary Janice Davidson, Tanya Huff and Karen Chance, then you'll want to check this out. It's a fairly solid addition to the genre, and holds promise for improvement.

This is one of those rare books I just couldn't finish; I got about halfway through and gave up. As a result, I'll keep the review short.

The whole book seemed to be about adoring, warshiping, idolizing, whatnot, Dante Prejean. Dante is a sexy, rock-star vampire which ought to be pretty cool, but he's also fragile, weak, self-destructive, and childish. He seemed like a little boy to me, always needing to be coddled and taken care of, and I didn't like him.

Because I didn't understand the worship of Dante, none of the other characters made sense to me - because their lives seem to revolve around idolizing Dante and making sure he gets all the cossetting he needs. The protagonist, FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace, was brought into the fold while I read...she goes from tough investigator to passionate defender of man-child Dante.

I just lost interest. A reader either has to fall in love with Dante or put the book aside, there's nothing else in it.

For the past three years, FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace has been on the trail of a sociopath serial killer known as the Cross Country Killer (aka the CCK) , but when a body turns up outside a local club, Heather follows the CCK's path of destruction straight into New Orleans and Hell itself.

Club Hell is New Orleans's popular Goth club for vampire wannabes. Because after all, everyone knows that there are no such things as real vampires. Right? The only problem with that theory is that at Club Hell, it's not only the wannabes that hangout there. Dante Prejean rules supreme at Club Hell. He's also the lead singer of the popular Goth band, Inferno, and his hordes of fans adore and worship him.

In an attempt to find out more about Dante, Heather begins to investigate his past, but things just don't add up. Dante has a juvie record a mile long, yet no social security number, no known birth date, and no license. It's almost like he doesn't exit, or so it would seem. To top things off is the mysterious man who always seems to be in Dante's shadow -- Lucian DeNoir. What exactly is his connection to Dante? Lover? Close friend? Something...more?

I loved this first book of Adrian Phoenix's as-yet-unnamed series. I found that not only was the chemistry between Dante and Heather sensual, but also profound. Due to Dante's horrendous upbringing and his subsequent inability to trust others, he's taken aback when he looks into the depths of Heather's eyes to find she is sincere in both her claim to not only want to protect him but also to befriend him. Having experienced a tragic loss of her own, Heather finds she can relate to Dante's pain.

It's not often that I find a character with such a tortured past as Dante's and I found myself aghast with what Dante has had to endure, yet filled with compassion and awe for his ability to move forward at all.

Adrian Phoenix hits the jackpot in her first full-length novel. A Rush of Wings is a very dark, gothic, and original tale that will no doubt have readers of urban fantasy begging for more. Unfortunately for us, book two will not be released in 2009. Regardless, I, for one, cannot wait to dive back into Dante and Heather's dark world.

Reviewed by Mippy Carlson
ParaNormal Romance Reviewer

"A Rush of Wings" is Adrian Phoenix' first novel. I dearly hope it won't be her last.

Phoenix drops us right into New Orleans with a murder mystery-somebody is picking off local Goths, killing them in horrid ways, and leaving cryptic messages. Pretty straightforward, right? Toss in a strong-willed vampire/club owner/musician with an adoring following, a slightly confused FBI agent, and a host of original supporting characters, and the story starts to rise above the usual pulp. Have it written by a talented author who baits the reader with every page, and you have a recipe for a real page-turner.

One thing that I really admire about Phoenix's writing is her ability to make me care about her characters. The setting is nice, the plot is fast-paced, and she adds just the right amount of erotica to make it tasty, but without turning it into the overflogged vampire smut that's been going around. However, where Phoenix's strength really lies is in her character development and presentation. Her characters feel real, even the supernatural ones. They have believable flaws, and their interaction flows naturally, rather than feeling like a bad movie script. What really hit me, though, was now much I cared about what happened to them-when a couple of the supporting characters died, I felt sad, and I could get a good sense of the grief of those who cared about them. Phoenix evokes emotions like few others.

Her world-building skills are strong, too. I'm picky about my supernatural content. However, I was impressed by how she handled vampires, as well as other supernatural entities, and I'm hoping she continues to write in this world, because I'm curious as to how she'll develop it further. I think my only complaints are that she does fall into some patterns that have been done to (un)death. While she shows a totally different side to New Orleans than Anne Rice did, it's still-New Orleans. (With all the French undertones-why are vampires always French?) There's a vampire council that's alluded to a couple of times, though she doesn't put much development into it in this book. And her main vampire character isn't just a run of the mill vampire-he's a True Blood, a rarity (though he has enough flaws and believability to keep him from being a male Mary Sue). I realize it's kind of tough to write about vampires without hitting some of the modern conventions, though, and overall I think she did a good job of writing a really good vampire novel.

I'm very much looking forward to more from this author; if you want a good read to get you through a commute, plane trip, head cold, or other instance where you can let yourself sink into a good read, this is a good choice. It's got a lot of re-reading potential, too-I know I'll be coming back to it every now and then.

Four and a half out of five.

LIGHT SPOILERS, but no plot summaries. Recommendations included.

HIGH LEVEL: Disjointed story-telling, emotionally stunted, lacking in plausible romance. Had to force myself to finish because I felt a poor review wouldn't be fair otherwise. Writing style is highly descriptive and the mythos, while nothing really new or innovative was provocative. I have LOTS of issues with this book, but there were two MAJOR FLAWS that turned what could have been an intense, noir-ish crime driven urban fantasy into nothing short of TORTURE. Although, if you find Goth teenage boys attractive, you might like this more than I did...

FLAW # 1: It fails to grab you and the pacing is painfully disjointed. The story is told using a shifting perspective, which CAN BE a great tool to make sure the reader sees what is going on when the characters don't. However, in this case there were NINE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES- heroine, lead male, supporting good guys, ALL the bad guys... everyone! Basically this prevented any kind of momentum from building up. As soon as it got interesting, you were forced away from the action and into a different character's head clear across the damn country. If I had been reading this in paperback, I would have skipped ahead. Reading it on a Kindle meant I was trapped and forced to suffer through the author's poor sense of timing and fragmented story-telling. I didn't appreciate it

FLAW # 2: Romance was just plain baffling and occasionally made me queasy. Can anyone explain to me how an intelligent, successful, 31 year old, career FBI agent could POSSIBLY fall in love with a 23 year old, angst-ridden, sickly, Goth smash metal singer who behaves like a cranky teenager?????? I'm sorry, but this entire story centered on a character, Dante, who needed a MOTHER, not a lover. We were constantly reminded of his lack of nurturing childhood, that he never had a chance to be a kid. There were several different paternal and maternal figures sprinkled throughout the story- yet somehow our professional FBI agent FALLS IN LOVE WITH HIM, instead of trying to actually protect him???

The poor kid- and that's what he was, a CHILD- needed caring and understanding, someone to accept him and who he could trust. He needed a friend, a mentor- not a grown-up girlfriend. He was described as short (5ft 7) and thin, sickly pale pallor, heavily made up in black lipstick and eye makeup. He slunk around the place in latex and leather and black hoodies and sported silver rings everywhere- including the bloody collar he wore around his neck. Oooooo, that spells SEXY to me, boy! His face, and just his face, was supposedly breathtakingly gorgeous- yet completely covered in black goop. He behaved like a child, he looked like a child, he was treated like a child, but the author used incredibly poor judgment and decided to throw in a romance with a mature woman. BLECH, it was insulting.

It would have made much more sense and made for a better story if she had fallen for the paternal character, Lucien, and decided to stand beside him in nurturing and protecting Dante from himself and the world- and all the other supernatural enemies. It would have suited the female lead better to fall for a mature man- strong, powerful, and sexy. It would have softened Lucien's unnervingly cold character. It would have provided hope and stability for the desperately lost and interminably tormented Dante. AND it would have suited the story-line that touched upon Lucien's inadequacy to protect and "bind" (whatever the hell that was supposed to mean) Dante and keep him sane.

BOTTOM LINE: I feel like I wasted my time here and have no plans to read any more of this series. It was a shame because the characters were very well developed. I was totally disgusted by the romance (which was also in no way romantic) and every chapter made me actually swear out loud when it moved me away from the action I was just starting to get into.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Karen Chance's two highly energetic, very sexy vamp series Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer, Book 1) and the related series (start reading Cassandra's series first) Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, Dhampir, Book 1)
2. Jocelyn Drake's vampire/were/demon centric series full of grit: Nightwalker (Dark Days, Book 1)
3. Jeaniene Frost's vamp mystery packed with action Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1)
4. Kim Harrison's witch/vamp/pixie team of private eyes in Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows, Book 1)
5. Caitlin Kittredge's procedural crime with a were heroine Night Life (Nocturne City, Book 1)
6. Lilith Saintcrow's two series, both darker and far more gritty Night Shift (Jill Kismet, Hunter, Book 1) and Working for the Devil (Dante Valentine, Book 1)
7. Nalini Singh's creative use of angels and vampires in Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter)
8. Eileen Wilks' procedural crime featuring werewolves, etc Tempting Danger (The World of the Lupi, Book 1)

FBI Special Agent Heath Wallace is on the trail of a serial killer and it has led her to New Orleans. Her investigation takes her to the doors of Club Hell and its extremely attractive owner, Dante. Dante claims to be not just a musician but also a vampire. When Heather digs into Dante's past she only finds more questions. Dante was bounced around from one foster home to another until he was taken in by Lucien DeNoir. Lucien is a mysterious man who will do anything to protect Dante, including hiding him from Heather.

But Dante will hide behind no one and that includes a sadistic killer who has set his eyes on Dante. Heather must try and find out who is behind the murders all while trying to figure out Dante's past. Her investigation will take her beyond what she thought was possible and into a world of "nightkind" and an irresistible man who holds secrets that may get them both killed.

Dante is the main character of A Rush Of Wings I don't doubt that but the person who stood out for me was Heather. She is just a mortal female but manages to hold her own against both humans and vampires. She is intelligent, hard working, loyal and has a determination you have to respect. It's easy to like a female character when they are supernatural creatures with extraordinary strength and abilities but Heather is more than that. She doesn't let the fact that she isn't as physically strong as opponents she is up against stop her. Even when injured she will do all she can to aide those in need. How could you not admire someone like that?

Just because Heather was my favorite doesn't mean I didn't like Dante. To say Dante is attractive doesn't begin to cover it because it isn't just his physical appearance that draws people in. It's the way he cares for the people around him and the power of what he is that makes a person gravitate toward him until they begin to crave his attention and affection. I did feel this point was brought up a bit much and started to feel too repetitive. I did liked being there as he found out about his past, even though it was tragic. You get to be there with him as he takes his journey and it makes you feel like you got to share something special with him and you grow to really care for him.

Von, Trey and Simone are close with Dante and you could feel the love they have for him. Also living with them is Lucien DeNoir. He is the one who took Dante in and helped make Club Hell possible. He hides things from Dante and at first I was annoyed with him because of this but as the story goes on I started to understand why and my feelings about him changed. At first his character felt stiff and a bit cold but as the story went on I saw how deeply he really cares for Dante and because of that he grew on me.

While I enjoy the developing relationship between Heather and Dante, the story itself is not a pleasant one. The villain's are truly evil and the more that is uncovered about Dante's past the more the book takes an emotional toll. Adrian Phoenix did an great job reeling me into her world and got me to care about her characters. I look forward to continuing Dante's story. Right after I read something a little happier.

I love the way the author takes common religious concepts and integrates them into this series about angels and demons and vampires where the good guys are flawed, the bad guys aren't without sympathy (most of the time) and there is a conspiracy behind every event... but not always the one you expect. The author's style is engaging and stimulating without being gratuitous.

I rather enjoyed this book. It was a great read. I did enjoy it, but it wassn't so much a romance with paranormal characters, more like a paranormal story with a little romance instead. If your looking for a good story with thrills, chills, and and vampires, this is for you. If your looking for a steamy love story, look elsewhere.

Adrian Phoenix does a wonderful job introducing us to a new world of "Nightkind". Dante is a great tourtured soul and I loved learning his history right along with him.

Heather does make some poor choices in her role as FBI agent (hence the 4 stars), but she is still a strong level headed women trying to come to terms with the new world in which she finds herself. I enjoyed her balance of logic and instinct. There were times in the story she obeyed each, but never was she a slave to either.

A lot of questions about the world Ms. Phoenix has created remain unanswered (or even asked) at the end of "A Rush of Wings". However, I am hopeful that the next book...and there had better be one soon...will delve deeper into these issues while continuing the story of Dante and Heather.

This is not a traditional romance, but still a romantic read well worth curling up with.

It enterained me enough to finish it, but I felt it was a bit long, or maybe it just felt that way. I did not like the insertion of French phrases in the book. Yes, some of them were simple and not difficult to figure out, and yes, there was a section at the back of the book that translated the words or sentences, but I don't like to interrupt my reading to look for a translation and then go back to my reading. The plot was ok, but as another reviewer said, we pretty much knew what was going on and why fairly early in the book. The book wasn't really a romance either. I also agree with another reviewer that Dante seemed more like a teenager than a grown man/nightkind/fallen. Overall the book was a pleasant read. Will I pick up the next one? Not sure.