naceprettub's reviews
786 reviews

What. In. The. World. This book!!!!! I've read so many comments about how messed up it is and how the ending is ridiculous. I've had a million theories as I've read. I've thought about it constantly. It's shocked me left and right. It's made me never want to get married. Ever.

There were parts where I guessed what was happening, other bits that blew me out of the water.

The writing was fantastic. I felt everything these characters felt. Kudos to the author.

The only complaint is the way it ended because now I'm just trying to figure out what happens next.

I'm giving it five stars because I feel like I can't go any lower. When a book messes with your head this much it deserves the top rating. Good gracious.

Yeah, never getting married.

I don't know that I have the appropriate words needed to talk about how beautiful a book Clipped Wings truly is. I'd read it in it's original form, as Twilight fan fiction so I was eager to get my hands on the published version. Sometimes you never know what changes (if any) are made when a fan fiction gets pulled offline and picked up by a publisher. That doesn't really bother me, I have to admit, because I like revisiting 'old friends'. Clipped Wings was one of the first fan fiction stories I read and it has stuck with me since.

It's hard to write a review for a book that you absolutely love and adore and not give too much away. Clipped Wings is packed with raw emotion and a lot of angst. I know that's not everyone's cup of tea but I love a touch of heartichoke mixed in with my eventual romance and spiciness.

And let me just say that the spice and the romance are both there in spades. Ms. Hunting does a gorgeous job with both of those.

Hayden is that guy you want to hug and heal. Tenley is that girl you want to see fit in her own skin and grow as a confident person. Both of these characters have had some really terrible things happen in their lives. They definitely make you want to bawl your eyes out a time or two. The writing in some scenes is so powerful I found it effecting my mood. I was a roller coaster ride up until I finished reading. This is not a complaint at all, but almost a compliment that a story could make me react so strongly.

The changes that were made in the book, compared to what I remember when I read it as FF are great. I believe they definitely strengthened my love for Hayden and Tenley, as well as the secondary characters. I really wish I could be more specific because so many things occur that are important to the overall aspect of why I loved the book. Since I can't do that, here's a small list of stuff I loved:

The Kitten, Hayden's passion for artistry, as well as hard exterior/soft interior, Tenley's strength and calm nature, Friendships between the small group of characters, Raw emotions and the slow slide into love, Cupcakes

Things I did not love: That cliffhanger! But that's ok because I've moved on to Inked Armor and I get to love up on more of Tenley and Hayden.

I have to admit that I received a copy via NetGalley through the publisher but I was not having any part of that and bought my own copy with my own money so I could have it in print. That's how much I love this series.

This is a book that has been on my bookcase for much longer than I can remember. I'd wanted to read it after watching the movie starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, but as always, there are so many books and too little time.

Finally, after deciding I'd waited way too long, I picked up my copy and dove in.

Now, I need to make it a point to say I should know better than to compare a book to a movie (and vice versa). One would think I'd learned my lesson about this. Alas, I have not.

If I'm comparing Practical Magic the book, with Practical Magic the movie...well, I'm just going to stop myself there because the two are not the same. I love the movie and have in fact, watched it too many times to count. I can obnoxiously quote it. Since this isn't suppose to be about the movie, I'll move along.

Sally and Gillian [I LOVE that name] Owens were orphaned as little girls and forced to live with their two aunts. Since I went into reading this with the aunts already firmly placed in my mind I really expected lots of page time with them. Sadly, while they were mentioned they weren't a large part of the book so that was disappointing. I wish I had been able to get more of the girls time with them. Growing up in a house with two women that never married nor had kids of their own. They were clearly eccentric and I felt like I missed out on a lot. In my minds eye I could see them teaching the girls more but that didn't take place.

I found Sally to be an interesting character. She was very 'mom factor', desiring a more "normal" life. No magic. No witches. No name calling from the other children. She wanted the family everyone else had. From the start, Sally did all of the cooking and cleaning and taking care of everyone. She was completely the opposite of everyone else in her household; an overcompensation really.

Gillian on the other hand, was the 'wild child' of the two girls. She did what she wanted, when she wanted, how she wanted. There was no discipline as she grew up. I felt like she used losing her parents as a crutch and a reason for her behavior. Poor Sally tried to step in and be her mother figure but Gillian wasn't having any part of that. She is a brat. Rude and selfish. If she were a real person, she'd be the child you dread seeing come to visit your house.

I'd have liked to have known who their parents were. Even if it was just one or two paragraphs. I was curious mostly because I wondered how they were connected to the aunts.

Since the book spans Sally and Gillian's childhood, and adult life the reader gets to see Sally find love, marriage and a family of her own. The bulk of the book features Antonia and Kylie as well. In the movie the girls aren't aged as much as the book. They are into young adult age here so you see more of them going through a lot of the things Gillian and Sally went through. Antonia (the oldest via the book) is a lot like Gillian while Kylie (youngest in the book) is a lot like her mother, Sally.

While I enjoyed the writing style of Alice Hoffman, I felt like a lot of the details were too long and drawn out and unnecessary. Her wording is beautiful though.

How did I feel about the book overall? I'm really not sure, to be honest. There were parts I enjoyed, obviously, since I did finish it. But there was a lot I hoped to read and didn't get in the book. I think my problem definitely was the movie and the book were HUGELY different, so that kept sticking out in my mind. Had I read the book first I don't know what my thoughts would be. I finished reading it days ago and I'm still not sure if I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would.