Clipped Wings by Helena Hunting

Clipped Wings by Helena Hunting

First in the Clipped Wings series

2.5 stars
Tenley has been watching Hayden ever since she moved across the street from the tattoo parlor, Inked Armor. He’s sexy, alluring and everything her past life would tell her to scream from. Hayden and Tenley both have secrets of their and when Tenley decides to let Hayden make her dream tattoo come true their push-pull relationship begins. Here’s the thing I really enjoyed the prequel to Clipped Wings. Cupcakes and Ink was a great prequel and made me start this book immediately. While Cupcakes and Ink offered little but was entertaining, Clipped Wings opens up with zero information about whom Tenley and Hayden are and as a reader if you haven’t read the prequel will be lost and confused. I struggled with this book for a very long time. TWO MONTHS! Two months before I got to the 50% mark in my ARC edition. I struggled with this book and at first I told myself slow and steady will win the race. Maybe this is the type where I need time to adjust, but I slowly contemplated DNFing Clipped Wings. I’m glad I didn’t though. Once the tattoo was introduced and the story seemed to have grown a bit deeper I couldn’t put down my Kindle and finished the rest of the book in one night. I think it’s so weird that I was so ready to throw this book to the wind and just wipe my hands of the boring dread-fest, but I’m glad I didn’t. The drama is petty, but I love tattoos. Hayden’s love for tattoos and his artwork was just fascinating to read about and made this book more enjoyable.



This book does have a lot of faults though and as a reviewer I think I should point them out. This book has a lot of metaphors that make zero since and really made me scratch my head when reading.
"The oxygen masks hung like victims of mass suicide, swaying slightly in a breeze that should not exist within the confined space.”
 


I just don’t understand why this sentence was in this scene. It made the scene lose impact and was just something I couldn’t overlook because it made zero sense. There are also weird descriptions:
"She looked up at me with her Disney eyes, all wide and pleading, lower lip jutting out in a sexy little pout.”
Again, what is going on? What are Disney eyes? Disney characters all have different eyes and drawings are almost always different. So what are Disney eyes?
I will give Hunting this: NA books are filled with sexual abuse victims, heartbroken girls with dead boyfriends, and drug addictions. Hunting, while still using the dead boyfriend bit, went above and beyond and wiped out everyone close to Tenley. Tenley’s whole life died in a plane crash. She survived but her family, fiancé, and few friends were killed.   Props to Hunting for trying something slightly different the usual car crash.


In my notes I found the most accurate description I could give of this book before the 50% mark: Basically this book is just odd cupcake fetishes with random “I HATE YOU” feelings thrown around. That is pretty much this book for the longest time, but it redeems itself and once you get past that it’s decent and even enjoyable.


The main female character is Tenley. I don’t know if I like Tenley are not. In fact, she’s kind of boring and very two-dimensional. She’s also an idiot. A very big idiot. If you finished this book, then I’m sure you agree with me 100% because Tenley is so fricking stupid I’m not sure why anyone would want to put up with her. Hayden it seems almost doesn’t want to anymore but that’s a whole different book. I’m not sure if I like Tenley at all. In fact, I don’t really. She has her moments, but then again they are very brief moments of liking.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 3

The main male character is Hayden.


Hayden is my perfect male. On the outside, but on the inside he is too much of a he-man for me. I’m not really sure how I feel about him either. He’s hot and perfect but not for me. Something about him just throws me off. Hayden and Tenley also love to keep secrets. Hayden is the bigger hypocrite though. He’s such a hypocrite that he is now to be dubbed as ‘Hypocrite Hayden’.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 4.5

You know what’s awkward but also hilarious. This:
"The piercing, what’s it called?”
“Apadravya.”
Nothing says dirty talk like penis piercings during sex. Tell me the name of your lips rings again, Hayden.




The Villain- Trey. So they have a villain in a contemporary for once. It’s completely different and in all honesty not very well done. Trey is just a douchecanoe hoping to row and cause destruction in Tenley’s life.


Villain Scale: 2

I do like the members of Inked Armor. They are pretty awesome and funny. Sarah and Hayden’s aunt were also good characters. I basically liked the side characters more.


Character Scale: 5

The downside to the second part of the book is that is full of half truths. That’s Tenley and Hayden’s whole relationship and why it caused so much problems. They can’t be completely honest with each other because there past is oh, so tragic.




The constant drama, lying, and secret hiding is ridiculous. I would suggest reading this when in the mood for trashy literature. I’m a little disappointed by this one, but that’s how books are. You can’t love them all, but at least I liked this one.


Cover Thoughts: I love the cover. It’s why I wanted to read it in the first place. The wings are gorgeous. I just wish it was similar to the tattoo on Tenley’s back.

Thank you, Netgalley and Gallery Books for providing me with a copy of Clipped Wings in exchange for an honest review.