Clipped Wings by Helena Hunting Review

Clipped Wings by Helena Hunting
(Clipped Wings #1)
Release Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Gallery Books; 400 pages

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?

Thank you to Gallery Books for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"Clipped Wings and Inked Armor is being published."

That was the text message that I woke up to one day back in November.  To say I was happy was an understatement.  I fell in love with this story years ago.  I was very sad when it was taken offline.  But I want to make this clear, this is not a fanfiction.  So I hope that anyone who is interested in reading this book isn't hesitant.  This is a real, true, and gritty story.  And the reason why I fell in love with it was because of it's honesty and it's addicting characters. 

Over the years I watched many fanfictions get published, and was tremendously happy for their authors.  But I just kept wondering, "Where is Clipped Wings & Inked Armor?"  I knew the fanbase was there.  I have many friends who would wait impatiently for the email notification that a new chapter was up when the story originated online.  The answer to this question is that this story was being reworked.  I noticed in the beginning the changes that were made to make this story flow better.  The angst was toned down.  A lot of the sex scenes were taken out, but are still implied.  This actually made me happy because as much as we all love some smut every now and then, we don't need it in every chapter.

I want to talk about this story.  This story is very deep and emotional.  We have the dual point of views of the two lead characters Hayden and Tenley.  To say that they are both damaged would be an understatement.  And to have the story told from first person, you can feel their pain and suffering.  Hayden's parents were murdered when he was seventeen.  Tenley is a survivor of a plane crash that took the lives of her fiancee, his parents along with hers, and the members of her wedding party.  As you can see, all of this is very heavy.  But it shows you that even with such despair and grief, a beautiful love story can blossom.  I truly believed while reading that the two of them could save each other.  Their instant attraction for one another was written so well, that even a skeptic like me fell for their infatuation at first sight.

This book is definitely a page turner.  Even at 400 pages, you're so captivated that you don't even realize how long it actually is.  And I was never very fond of tattoos and body piercings, until I read this book.  But the detail that described of Hayden's tattoos, shows that the author is definitely a fan of ink!  It's usually pretty obvious when an author doesn't do research.  The author definitely knows what she's writing about!  And even though I've never once stepped foot into a tattoo parlor, the descriptions were so well written that I felt like I was in one.

Sometimes having a dual point of view makes it so nothing surprises you.  Since you know so much about both characters.  I wonder what it would be like if it was told from just one point of view.  But I must say that I didn't really see the ending coming.  And I was pleasantly surprised.  It's a good ending that leaves you ready and waiting for the next book!  I can't wait for Inked Armor!