An emotional love story that follows the touch-and-go relationship of Hayden and Tenley; two young people who desperately want to love and be loved but are afraid to completely let go of their pasts.As Hayden and Tenley navigate their newfound but slightly unstable relationship, they want to trust each other, but Hayden is hiding a dark and shameful past that he doesn't ever want Tenley to find out about. And Tenley has secrets of her own that could make Hayden run away forever. When Tenley asks Hayden to put a beautifully elaborate tattoo across her back, the two form what they thought was an unshakeable bond. But when Tenley's past shows up on her doorstep, will Hayden stand by her side...or run?
Title: Clipped Wings
Author: Helena Hunting
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: March 4, 2014
RATING: 3/4 STARS
Barnes and Noble Purchase Page: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
ISIS' REVIEW:
I would like to thank NetGalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read this story. Although I received the ebook for free, that in no way impacts my review.
This is a well written love story about two damaged people. Hayden was the typical bad boy, possibly worse than the average. He certainly thinks so, and there are solid reasons why he feels as he does. Although it took years, he finally got to a place where things were calming down in his life, though that life only held work and a tiny circle of friends he socialized with. Hayden had capitalized upon his good looks in his youth and been very active in the bar scene, but never going back to the same woman twice. . . with one exception. Sienna was Hayden's personal albatross, his cross to bear, and sadly he felt that was what he deserved.
Hayden, Chris, and Jamie owned their tattoo studio, Inked Armor. They'd gone in together a couple years back, getting out from under the thumb if their mentor, who was a complete sleaziod. When they left they also brought Lisa, Jamie's girlfriend, with them. Jamie and Lisa have a story of their own, which both Hayden and Chris played a role in. What the four went through together, added to what Chris had gone through with Hayden even before that, made them a very close-knit group, and all protective of one another.
Hayden is slowly getting his shit together. He is still struggling with events from the past, and may never fully get beyond them, but he is trying. However, this time he is trying without the arguable aid of boozing, whoring, and drugs. So far things seem to be working out, at least they are until he meets Tenley.
Tenley is carrying the weight of her world on her slender shoulders, and for her the situation she's struggling to survive is much, much more recent than what Hayden is coping with. However they are both so damaged by their pasts that they are keeping secrets from each other. Secrets that could destroy the fragile relationship they're building.
For all that Tenley is going through, she is remarkably stable. Sure she has regular nightmares, nightmares so bad her neighbor from across the hall hears her screaming herself hoarse. And she periodically has to fall back on some of her prescription medications to make it through the day, but that is happening less and less often - in direct correlation to the amount of time she spends with Hayden.
The two go through the expected ups and downs of a new relationship where the two people are still learning about each other's boundaries, as well as their combined boundaries. Unfortunately they both make the same mistake and only share part of their story with the other, leaving plenty of space for something, or someone, to come along and drive a wedge between them. Possible a permanent wedge. . .
This story is nicely written, with characters that you can easily relate to and care about. At 400 pages this story dragged on far, far too long. Yes it was emotional, and it has complex characters that draw you in. The two lead characters have some serious baggage, and both do some emotional healing and growing. But after 400 pages of this to have no conclusive ending was just too much for me. I think this book would have fared better with a more rigorous final edit, as there was a fair amount that could have been cut without taking away from the story. In fact, it would have enhanced the story had we not continually revisited both Hayden's and Tenley's fears that the other would discover the depth of their damage and walk away from them. I got it after the first time, I didn't need it pounded into my skull as many times as it was. Hopefully the sequel will be more streamlined, maintaining the romance without browbeating the reader with the characters fears.
That being said, I still enjoyed this book and will seriously consider reading the sequel - depending upon how long it is. Don't get me wrong, I like long books, but only when there are new things taking place throughout that warrant the length. The repetition really frustrated me, as is clearly obvious from the number of times I've repeated the issue myself :-)
I would like to thank NetGalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read this story. Although I received the ebook for free, that in no way impacts my review.
This is a well written love story about two damaged people. Hayden was the typical bad boy, possibly worse than the average. He certainly thinks so, and there are solid reasons why he feels as he does. Although it took years, he finally got to a place where things were calming down in his life, though that life only held work and a tiny circle of friends he socialized with. Hayden had capitalized upon his good looks in his youth and been very active in the bar scene, but never going back to the same woman twice. . . with one exception. Sienna was Hayden's personal albatross, his cross to bear, and sadly he felt that was what he deserved.
Hayden, Chris, and Jamie owned their tattoo studio, Inked Armor. They'd gone in together a couple years back, getting out from under the thumb if their mentor, who was a complete sleaziod. When they left they also brought Lisa, Jamie's girlfriend, with them. Jamie and Lisa have a story of their own, which both Hayden and Chris played a role in. What the four went through together, added to what Chris had gone through with Hayden even before that, made them a very close-knit group, and all protective of one another.
Hayden is slowly getting his shit together. He is still struggling with events from the past, and may never fully get beyond them, but he is trying. However, this time he is trying without the arguable aid of boozing, whoring, and drugs. So far things seem to be working out, at least they are until he meets Tenley.
Tenley is carrying the weight of her world on her slender shoulders, and for her the situation she's struggling to survive is much, much more recent than what Hayden is coping with. However they are both so damaged by their pasts that they are keeping secrets from each other. Secrets that could destroy the fragile relationship they're building.
For all that Tenley is going through, she is remarkably stable. Sure she has regular nightmares, nightmares so bad her neighbor from across the hall hears her screaming herself hoarse. And she periodically has to fall back on some of her prescription medications to make it through the day, but that is happening less and less often - in direct correlation to the amount of time she spends with Hayden.
The two go through the expected ups and downs of a new relationship where the two people are still learning about each other's boundaries, as well as their combined boundaries. Unfortunately they both make the same mistake and only share part of their story with the other, leaving plenty of space for something, or someone, to come along and drive a wedge between them. Possible a permanent wedge. . .
This story is nicely written, with characters that you can easily relate to and care about. At 400 pages this story dragged on far, far too long. Yes it was emotional, and it has complex characters that draw you in. The two lead characters have some serious baggage, and both do some emotional healing and growing. But after 400 pages of this to have no conclusive ending was just too much for me. I think this book would have fared better with a more rigorous final edit, as there was a fair amount that could have been cut without taking away from the story. In fact, it would have enhanced the story had we not continually revisited both Hayden's and Tenley's fears that the other would discover the depth of their damage and walk away from them. I got it after the first time, I didn't need it pounded into my skull as many times as it was. Hopefully the sequel will be more streamlined, maintaining the romance without browbeating the reader with the characters fears.
That being said, I still enjoyed this book and will seriously consider reading the sequel - depending upon how long it is. Don't get me wrong, I like long books, but only when there are new things taking place throughout that warrant the length. The repetition really frustrated me, as is clearly obvious from the number of times I've repeated the issue myself :-)
Author's Bio:
Helena Hunting lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She’s putting her degree in English Lit to good use by writing contemporary erotic romance. She is the author of Clipped Wings, her debut novel, and Inked Armor.
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/
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