Ad Librum Aeternam

by Miranda Martin & Nadia Hunter

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Genre: Fantasy, Adult, Shapeshifter, Romance

Pages: 194

ASIN: B07D1CVKMG

Format: eBook, Kindle

Publication date: May 10th 2018

Series: The Phoenix Wars #2

*I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

The Story:

Rising from the ashes isn’t as easy as it sounds…

Finding out just how special my bloodline is wasn’t the best thing to ever happen to me.

The Phoenix Clans are on the verge of open war. As the Consort of the Phoenix King, I’m sheltered, protected on all sides. It’s frustrating because I should be helping. When two flocks have a skirmish, I’m the only one with the skill to solve it.

Or so I thought.

Things aren’t working out quite the way I hoped. It’s about to get bad, so bad I’m not sure even my miraculous blood will save me. Or if I’ve seen my King and love for the last time.

The Introduction:

I chose to read Wings of Blood by Miranda Martin because 1) I was in awe with the cover 2) Phoenix stories are so rare and I love the concept! It looked like a story I would enjoy.

Only downside was a mistake on my part: I didn’t see it was the second book in a series, so I was a bit at a loss, although it didn’t stop me from having a good time reading it.

The Positive Sides:
Generally speaking, the humor and light tone used are very enjoyable. Moreover, the cover is quite beautiful and eye-catching (it’s what truly got me interested in reading the summary.) There are a few phrasing gems sprinkled in the story that made me either impressed or emotional. The point of view switches between Adara and Sven are good and entertaining to read. However, the best point of Miranda Martin’s Wings of Blood is the undeniable tension and seemingly never-ending conflict either underlying the story or just plain to see! It made me notice I actually care about Adara and Siro and the fact I want to see what happens next. And isn’t this just what an author wants?

The Negative Sides:
Unfortunately, this book also has a few notable flaws. While there are a few phrasing gems like I mentioned above, most of the vocabulary is simple. Too simple. Since this is obviously an adult book (it’s not in the children’s/teenagers’ section and it has at least one sex scene), the words used to convey the story should be more mature or elegant. I read Young Adult stories with more developed and complex vocabulary! So, I think it could be improved for the target readers (adults). On the same topic, I’ll mention the explanations of actions and thoughts (even emotions) are too numerous and there’s a lot of “telling” instead of showing, which makes me feel like a child again. I’m sure the author simply wants the story to be extra clear and doesn’t mean any harm, but it should be more subtle in order to be excellent. Also, I hope it went through one last round of proofreading because I saw several mistakes that made me cringe. But that is not the main flaw, so if you don’t mind them, go ahead.

In Conclusion:

Overall, the characters are sweet and lovable and the story keeps me on the edge of my bed (I read mostly in bed, it’s so comfy what with a good book). Nevertheless, the negative sides are too important to me to overlook. Honestly, I give Wings of Blood a rating of 3 stars for the emotional attachment I feel towards the characters and the constant conflict I so love, taking into account the easy vocabulary and too much telling.

Now, would I recommend it? If you don’t mind a simple vocabulary, sex scenes (I wish the author had mentioned there was one in the book’s description), and a few mistakes, but crave lovely characters and tension, then please do read it! I’ll just say I won’t read the sequel, but I welcome anyone to try it for it’s not bad. It just needs more work in my opinion, because the story at its core is great!

If you want to learn more about the authors, Miranda Martin and Nadia Hunter, and their books, please visit Martin’s Web site. You can also add Wings of Blood to your Goodreads shelves and follow her Goodreads author page!