Monday, May 28, 2012

Review: Destined by Aprilynne Pike

I've always loved the Wings series--Wings was one of the first Paranormal YA books I read, back before it was almost ALL of what I read. While the series had its ups and downs, I was really, REALLY excited to see what happened in the last book (sob): DESTINED.


[And people--this is the FOURTH BOOK in the series. In the synopsis and my review, there WILL BE spoilers for the first three books. NOT FOR DESTINED, but for the first three. You've been warned.]


Destined by Aprilynne Pike 
Tamani looked at her gravely, and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. 
He hesitated for an instant, then his hands found the sides of her face, pulling her to him. He didn't kiss her, just held her face close to his, their foreheads resting together, their noses almost touching. 
She hated how much it felt like good-bye. 
Laurel now knows the truth: Yuki is a rare Winter faerie, the most powerful—and deadly—of all, and Klea plans to use her to help conquer and destroy Avalon. But Klea's reach extends far beyond one wild Winter faerie. With Tamani, David, and Chelsea by her side, Laurel prepares to face what may be Avalon's final days, in the stunning conclusion to the Wings series.
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The fourth installment of the Wings series picks up right where the third left off, so we're tossed directly into the story, with Laurel and her friends trying to figure out Klea's plan--and stop it. If they can't, Avalon will come crumbling down. Oh, and they'll probably all die. They need to come up with a plan. But to save the faerie world, they're going to have to think way outside the box, and invoke powers that haven't been accessed in centuries. Powers that not everyone will approve of.


But because it's me writing this review, what I really want to talk about is the romance. Even though Laurel and David are kind-of-sort-of broken up, and she and Tamani have been growing even closer lately (never mind the fact that he's been in love with her since before she can remember), Laurel is still caught between the two of them and unsure who she loves most. Throw in the added bonus of Chelsea's feelings, and everything is tangled up in knots. Even in the middle of a war, emotions can't stay bottled up very long, and truths and feelings come out and love is declared and lost. 


Aprilynne Pike did an awesome job mixing in the romance with the action of the book, and neither one overpowered the other. There wasn't a boring moment, and I simultaneously couldn't wait to finish and see what happened and didn't want it to ever, EVER end. And while I'm sad to see the series over, I love the way everything came together. The ending was beautiful, and it was real, and it WAS bittersweet, especially the Last Word that was added at the end. 


So, who does Laurel choose? Does Avalon last long enough for her to GET to choose? Can Klea be stopped? Who will have to die before the war is over? WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN??


Find out all of this and more in Destined, a FANTASTIC ending to a FANTASTIC series!!


Destined obviously gets <*><*><*><*><*>


(:D)
~Mag

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