A review by laurie_p
Arabesque by Aprilynne Pike
5.0
AND IF I COULD HAVE GIVEN IT SIX STARS, I WOULD HAVE!
(Please be prepared for the sappiest review in the history of human-and-possibly-faeriekind)
Reading this book was like running into your first love again after ten years and realizing two things: 1) shit, you still love them, and 2) as you've both changed and grown, you discover all these new things about them and they actually somehow make you love them even more. Am I talking about the series or about Tamani? Possibly both. Anyways...
After rereading the other books more than I have ever reread any other book (except for Destined, which I only read the once), I was both thrilled and anxious when I discovered that there was a fifth book. Thrilled because I love the series to death and think it's perfect, and a little anxious because... it was already perfect. Did I really need this fifth book?
The answer is yes. Yes, I did. There are too many things that I loved about Arabesque to list, but I'll try anyway. I loved Tamani (SURPRISE!). I loved Rowen despite of her horrible flaws, and I loved how she overcame them. I loved Mitchell (although I wish I could have gotten to know him a little better outside of school). I loved Meghan, even when she was acting like a bitch. I loved Shawn, although I admittedly think things moved pretty fast with him and I would have liked to know more about his personality earlier on. I loved that Tamani's hair is longer and has green roots again. I loved how very used to the human world Tamani has become. (I'm talking a lot about Tamani again, ain't I?) I loved getting to know Lenore better . Most of all, I loved how Rowen found her place in the human world and got her own little human crew like Laurel did.
Are there things I would have done differently? Sure. After all, there were things I would have changed about Destined, and these characters have been living rent-free in my brain for ten years since then on top of that. But that didn't make this story any less magical, and it has more than earned its own special place in my heart next to the other four books.
And on that note, I will end this review with some lyrics from a song that I listened a lot to around the time I read the books for the first time, which seem to capture very well how I feel about the Wings series:
(Please be prepared for the sappiest review in the history of human-and-possibly-faeriekind)
Reading this book was like running into your first love again after ten years and realizing two things: 1) shit, you still love them, and 2) as you've both changed and grown, you discover all these new things about them and they actually somehow make you love them even more. Am I talking about the series or about Tamani? Possibly both. Anyways...
After rereading the other books more than I have ever reread any other book (except for Destined, which I only read the once
Spoiler
because I am still not over Shar dying and I am not reliving that, thank you very muchThe answer is yes. Yes, I did. There are too many things that I loved about Arabesque to list, but I'll try anyway. I loved Tamani (SURPRISE!). I loved Rowen despite of her horrible flaws, and I loved how she overcame them. I loved Mitchell (although I wish I could have gotten to know him a little better outside of school). I loved Meghan, even when she was acting like a bitch. I loved Shawn, although I admittedly think things moved pretty fast with him and I would have liked to know more about his personality earlier on. I loved that Tamani's hair is longer and has green roots again.
Spoiler
I loved to meet Misha (and I will spell that without a C until the day I die) and to find out that she was exactly like I imagined her to be.Spoiler
I loved that Tamani and Laurel had a seedling and that they named her Sharlet, oh my god, my heart.Spoiler
even if it hurt how much she reminded me of SharAre there things I would have done differently? Sure. After all, there were things I would have changed about Destined, and these characters have been living rent-free in my brain for ten years since then on top of that. But that didn't make this story any less magical, and it has more than earned its own special place in my heart next to the other four books.
And on that note, I will end this review with some lyrics from a song that I listened a lot to around the time I read the books for the first time, which seem to capture very well how I feel about the Wings series:
Oh, but even if I fall in love again with someone new
It could never be the way I loved you