Search - Black Wings (Black Wings, Bk 1)

The rambling and ranting review of a bookfanatic!

Ok, I do not get it. I really had a hard time with this book. I kept putting it down because I found it boring and frustrating. In fact, I ended up reading a novella in-between just to get through this book.
Here is my rants-(Yes, I’m reverting to the ole bullet point list- work with me people.)

• Madeline Black is one annoying character. I know other reviews talked about how much they enjoyed her but frankly, I was just the opposite. She was whiny, and stupid! She supposedly has been on her own since the age of 13 (I’ll come to that later) but manages to dive into one dangerous situation after another without any forethought. Then, when she gets beat up, bruised, and tossed around, she whines about it- non-stop.

• She is a virgin. Now, do not get me wrong. That in itself is NOT a bad thing at all. No, in fact, since the book was not focused on puncturing her “maidenhead” (can you tell I’ve been reading some historical romance recently), it was nice to have Maddy as a virgin without further explanation. HOWEVER, she sure did not act like a virgin with Gabriel. She goes from “who the heck are you and I don’t trust you” to “take me Gabriel”. The explanation given why Gabby would go from mistrust to lust was a bust (I couldn’t help myself) aka “very under-developed”.

• She is a virgin. Yes, I know this is a repeat, so sue me. A scene bugged me about a particular demon smelling her virginity. Now, I’ve read a lot of UF and I’ve seen this before in books but this particular demon has a particular relationship to Maddy (which I can’t say-spoiler) and the entire scene was gross, and as far as I know (at least in book 1), smelling her virginity seemed unnecessary to the story.

• Background info. There were so many gaps in this story. Some of the gaps were filled in eventually but the more the author tried to fill in the gaps, the more the story seemed to lose its way.

• She has been on her own since 13! This was casually mentioned as if it was no big deal. I felt the author missed some serious background info by not diving into this other than the casual reference.

• The writing. Here is an example-

“His face was very close and I was careful not to look directly into his eyes. I did not want to fall into starshine again and have my will sucked out of me. The pressure on my wrists was firm, but he wasn’t hurting me. I struggled even though it was clear he could hold me there all day without sweating.”

The writing comes across so mechanical or technical. The author wants me to be in Maddy’s head but I feel like I’m reading a technical manual instead of the thoughts and feelings of a girl struggling.

Ok, so I had many problems with this book but I’m still giving it two stars. Why? Because I managed to finish it and the last 10 or so pages were not that bad. I know everyone else is loving this book and I feel a bit left out but I’ll remain odd man out (ok, odd woman out) on this one and not continue with this series.

Completely agree w/ Michelle's review. I'll even go one step further...this book is the poster child for underdeveloped characters and plot. Very little world building, what was done was rushed and confusing. The writing was techincal at best.

Trying not to to be spoilery here...but as an example, one character is introduced and killed off in less than one chapter...this person was supposedly important to Madeline, yet no grief, nothing. The romance interest was so underdeveloped it really was nothing more than a 'who cares' for me.

I gave this book 2 stars. Most undeveloped book I've read in a long time. Not sure if I'll bother to give the next book a chance.

Maddy Black is an agent of death that escorts souls to their next destination. Her new tenant is a mysterious gorgeous man who seems to know far too much about her. Throw in fallen angels, demons and souleating creatures to complete the story. Of all of the above, Beezel the gargoyle is my favorite. He had some of the best dialog. 3.5 stars

I sat and read all three books in a row and loved them all. First I see a few people going a Virgin? Wow at her age? Well she is an agent of death and I had a hard enough time with relationships and working a normal job. And being raised by an over protective gargoyle since age 13 would put a damper on boyfriends.

I know how she felt with Gabriel I looked in to his eyes and was wham in love. I didn't really trust him hey only an idiot trusts someone they just met. However there is love at first site and I should have run.

I gave the book 4 stars only due to it is her first and hey nobody is perfect the first time out.

I love Beezle he is awesome. I can't get the thought of Bucky Katt out of my head when I read about him.